PRESIDENT · Mirna Kaafarani
mirna.kaafarani@med.wayne.edu
There are two facts that you will learn about Mirna in the first 10 minutes of meeting her.
(1) - She is a proud Lebanese Palestinian American who grew up in the Middle East until moving to the U.S. for college. (2) - She is the biggest New Girl fan in the history of ever. Nick Miller is king forever and always. She has a huge family that she spends a lot of time with. In her downtime, she loves to try cooking/baking new recipes and spending money she don't have at the John K King bookstore.
VICE President · Arya Gaddam
agmd@wayne.edu
Arya (also known as the gentle giant) was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Biopsychology. When looking at his hobbies, most people would think he has commitment issues, but Arya likes to believe he is driven by an unquenched thirst for new and exciting experiences. When he isn't catching up on the latest anime or K-drama he is working out while listening to his favorite podcast: Armchair Expert. He loves Michigan summers and most summer weekends you can find him reading/grilling by a lake with his family and friends. Arya loves cooking almost as much as he loves eating and there isn't a dish in the world he wouldn't try (like seriously, he's had fried scorpion in Thailand and heart pâté in Denver, so please send him food/restaurant recs!).
SECRETARY · Joey Files
joey.files@wayne.edu
Meet Joey Files, your favorite soon-to-be (hopefully) "Ortho Bro" and Executive Secretary! Born and raised in the great mitten state, Joey majored in both Biology and Spanish during his time at UofM. Previously a Michigan Football tackling dummy, he now spends his days tackling medical school with a pinch of humor. Joey loves baking and working out, so he has an excuse to keep eating what he bakes without any guilt. Joey is also a big fan of the show Ted Lasso, and therefore is in need of a new pick-me-up show to unwind after a day of rotations. If you see him, please say "hi!" as he loves making new friends whenever he can!
treasurer · Devun Birk
hn2553@wayne.edu
Devun Birk is on his journey exploring the world, making a quick 4-5 year pitstop in Detroit. He graduated from University of California, Davis with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He hopes to do everything a Michigander does by the end of his journey like visit Northern Michigan on breaks, shout Go Green when at UoM and Go Blue at MSU, etc. He recently found out the Great Lakes look like the ocean (although colder) so he feels a bit closer to his home state of California. If he isn’t dancing randomly, mocking the birds by whistling their tunes, or fast asleep in the most random places, then he is probably at the Student Center Gaming Lounge (I promise I do study). Devun likes a lot of things: comics, anime, video games, all movies, K-dramas, marine life, the ocean, drawing, learning new languages, soccer, having people guess his ethnicities, and more so if you see him, have a chat because he could talk about these things for hours. He really hopes to make as many friends as he can while at WSUSOM so please feel free to say hi.
BSO PRESIDENT · Petar Martinovski
petarm@wayne.edu
I am pleased to meet you and greet you warmly by the virtual hand. A quick backstory about me is I went to the University of Michigan for undergrad and then spent two gap years working in elementary education before coming to Wayne for medical school. Some fun facts about me include that I am a Macedonian American dual citizen and am fluent in Macedonian. I also love Premier League football, tennis (my favorite player is Novak Djokovic), and classical music. I am also a very big Star Wars fan and love to travel to new and exciting places.
Exec Webmaster · Elise Turke
eliseturke@wayne.edu
Elise is from Beer City USA… Grand Rapids, MI! She has a B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Spanish from Michigan State University (go green!) where she also dove on the varsity diving team and sang in an a cappella group. When she’s not studying or dancing around her apartment, you can find her at the rock climbing gym, hiking/kayaking/generally spending time outdoors, or curled up reading a fantasy book. She also loves to draw/paint and watch singing competition TV shows. She finds most specialties to be pretty cool, but is currently most interested in OBGYN or Neurology! She also holds the role of House Coordinator, so please come to her with any ideas about student community building events.
Main Campus Representative · Noor Suleiman
noor.suleiman@med.wayne.edu
Noor is a Muslim Arab American woman that was born and raised in Michigan. She is a life-long bookworm, tea enthusiast, and self-proclaimed philomath. She comes from a family full of proud Wayne State University graduates and has a passion for researching an array of women's health topics and topics pertaining to understudied sub-populations: Arab Americans and Muslim Americans. When she's not at her desk with her head in a book or pile of articles, she can be found baking, playing with her cat, painting, listening to music, or drinking tea at a local book store.
MD/PHD REPRESENTATIVE · Amanda Paskavitz
amanda.paskavitz@med.wayne.edu
Born in Colorado, Amanda is really from Massachusetts in her heart and soul. No, but actually, she did live in Massachusetts for most of her life and won’t stop talking about it, lest you forget. From a young age, Amanda always loved school (and data). In fact, after graduating from college, she missed school so much she decided she needed to acquire as many doctorates as possible. Thus, she settled on the MD/PhD to occupy at least 7+ years of her life, though she is already worrying about which additional degrees she should get after that.
In her spare time you can find Amanda getting swole at the gym, being a devoted and loving (cat) mom of two, growing vegetable crops in her backyard, and complaining about how far Michigan is from the ocean (and before you say anything, no, the Great Lakes don’t cut it). Despite all the talk about the East Coast, she really does love Detroit and its people, and enjoys exploring its hidden gems with friends.
Sr House Rep · Jack Kulka
john.kulka@med.wayne.edu
Jack is a son of the City of Dreams - Toledo, Ohio - where the rivers run gold and the sun never sets. However, in the interest of picking good over evil, he left Ohio for the great state of Michigan in junior high. He attended the University of Michigan where he majored in useless Michigan Football trivia and minored in being disappointed every season. Outside of the classroom and clinic, Jack likes to spend his free time showing off his skills in the bowling alley or golf course. And by showing off skills, I mean blaming the wind, slippery terrain, and poor equipment on his downfalls. If you see him around, give him a big “Asuh, dude".
Sr AAMC OSR · Cedric Mutebi
ced@wayne.edu
Enough Ced.
EX AFFICIO PRESIDENT · Cullen Hudson
cullen.hudson@wayne.edu
Cullen Hudson has donned many hats in his life. Friend, Brother, Teacher, Artist, but most importantly Father, to his adorable pup Syd. When he's not busy in the kitchen developing recipes for his upcoming cookbook, "New Age Gastronomy with Dr. Hudson", you might find him staying fit at the gym or playing trumpet to his plants, willing them to grow to astronomical sizes. He was at one point a shoo-in for the Guinness World Record for largest Plumeria flower, but a run-in with a lawnmower dashed his hopes, so he decided to set his sights towards a higher calling, medical school.
His undergraduate journey began here at Wayne State, and finished at Michigan State University, where he graduated with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a specialization in making friends along the way. However, he couldn't resist the city of Detroit, and found himself returning to continue his education.