Fellows

Medical school: University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, Columbia, MO
Residency: St. Louis Children’s Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis, MO

Kelsey Busken started fellowship in 2023. She completed her MD at the University of Missouri- Columbia, and did her residency at Wash U/SLCH. Her clinical interests include leukemias and lymphomas.

Medical school: University of Medicine and Health Sciences, St. Kitts
Residency: St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, Paterson, NJ

Sameera Faiz started fellowship in 2023. She completed her MD at the University of Medicine and Health Sciences, St. Kitts, and did her residency and chief residency at St. Joseph’s in NJ. She is particularly interested in benign hematology.

Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Medical school: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Residency: Children’s Mercy Hospital

Rachel Granberg started fellowship in 2024. Her academic interests include high risk leukemias and survivorship, advocacy work on improving access to care, and qualitative research. In her free time, she enjoys hot yoga classes, cooking homemade pasta and listening to audiobooks.

Hometown: Indianapolis, IN
Medical school: Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN (2021)
Residency: St. Louis Children’s Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis, MO (2023)

Eric Hawley, MD, PhD started in fellowship in 2023. His clinical interests include solid tumors with research interests in drug design and development as well as sterile inflammation and immune tolerance. In his spare time Eric enjoys running, cycling, and exploring new playgrounds and public parks in the greater St. Louis area with his two kids.

Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria
Undergraduate: University of Lagos, Nigeria, 2015
Residency: Corewell Health William Beaumont Teaching Hospital, Medicine and Pediatrics Department, Royal Oak, 2023

Moyo Laditan is interested in classic hematology, particularly hemoglobinopathies but is also excited to explore the AYA scene as a medicine pediatrics trained physician. Her research interests is majorly in clinical research. When she’s not in the hospital, Moyo is hiking with her husband, riding her bike around her neighborhood or buried in a really good novel.

Hometown: Belleville, IL
Undergraduate: Creighton University (2015)
Medical school: University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL (2019)
Residency: St. Louis Children’s Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis, MO (2022)
Chief Resident St Louis Children’s Hospital (2023)

Mary Claire started fellowship in 2023. She is currently in her clinical year. Her research interests include late effects of chemotherapies, HSCT, and gene therapy. Her QI project focuses on Risk Assessment and Mitigation for Hospital Acquired Venous Thromboembolism. When not in the hospital, Mary Claire enjoys trying new Saint Louis restaurants, visiting attractions like the St. Louis Zoo, and exploring nearby state and local parks with her inflatable kayak and her dog Captain.

Hometown: Chennai, India
MD: Meenakshi Medical College and Research Institute, 2012
Residency: Texas Tech University Health Science Center, 2022
Mithra Lakshmi Narasimhan, MD, started fellowship in 2022. She is interested in hematological malignancies, particularly high risk leukemias and lymphomas and to learn about clinical trials involving treatment and improving survival. She is also passionate about medical education.

Hometown: Madison, WI
MD: Medical College of Wisconsin, 2019
Residency: University of Iowa, 2022
Emily Phillips, MD, started fellowship in 2022. She is particularly interested in using immunotherapies and cell therapies to improve patient outcomes. She looks forward to basic or translational research within that realm. In her spare time she enjoys exploring St. Louis, spoiling the cat, hiking and painting.

Hometown: Nashik, India
MD: Seth GS Medical College, India, 2018
Residency: Case Western Reserve University, 2022
Mehul Thakkar, MD started fellowship in 2022. His academic interests include classical hematology, particularly hemostasis-thrombosis and medical education. He is working on clinical research studying anticoagulation trends with direct thrombin inhibitors in patients on VA-ECMO without a history of cardiopulmonary bypass. He is currently a part of the Washington University Teaching Physician Pathway (WUTPP), a certificate program for clinician educators that focuses on building a foundation in curriculum design, assessment, active learning pedagogies, best practices in teaching, and education scholarship. He is also pursuing his Masters in Health Professions Education (MHPE) through the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In his free time, he enjoys cooking and traveling.

Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
Medical school: University of North Carolina
Residency: St. Louis Children’s Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis

Courtney Vaughn started fellowship in 2024. She is interested in molecular response to genotoxic agents and factors that mediate this response. Outside of work she enjoys running, hiking, cooking and puzzles.