Community Grand Rounds

Student-Led Forums

Community Grand Round events are held every week, addressing a wide range of topics including structural racism, health disparities, and various subspecialty-related topics. Our goal is to provide a forum for timely and informative education, meaningful discussion, and multidisciplinary networking opportunities for students and faculty.

Albany Medical College Community Grand Rounds is a student-led and student-organized meeting that grew in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. A volunteer group of students began meeting in early 2020 to review emerging evidence about the virus and this meeting grew into Covid-19 Journal Club, ultimately becoming Community Grand Rounds.

Contact Us

For WebEx links to future presentations or to join our team of presenters and commentators, email Lauren Tomlinson ([email protected]), Adam Gross ([email protected]) or Priya Nair ([email protected]).

Leadership Team

Advising Faculty

Andrew Coates, MD, FACP
Internal Medicine Academic Hospitalist, Albany Medical Center

Student Leadership

Lauren Tomlinson, '24
Co-President
[email protected]

Lauren is originally from Philadelphia, and worked in clinical research for many years at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia prior to starting medical school. Her first few years were in orthopedic surgery, studying sports injuries, bone tumors and spinal deformities. More recently, she worked in Pediatric Ophthalmology, managing a 45-hospital study group designed to improve screening criteria for a potentially blinding eye disease affecting premature infants called retinopathy of prematurity. Her goal is to use the skills she acquired in research to contribute to the educational, networking and mentoring objectives of our group.

Adam Gross, '24
Co-President
[email protected]

Adam was born and raised on Long Island. After college he worked in health care administration for The Greater New York Hospital Association before earning a master’s in Medical Physiology at Case Western. Adam is focused on advancing the values and goals of Community Grand Rounds and helping to create an open forum for care providers and community members throughout the Capital Region to discuss and explore critical societal and health care issues.

Priya Nair, '24
Co-President
[email protected]

Priya is from Chicago, but has lived in Albany for the last eight years while attending the Siena College/Albany Medical College program. She has been involved in Community Grand Rounds since her first presentation in November 2021 on the “Ethics of the Covid-19 Vaccine." Recently, she played an integral role in acquiring an Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) grant supporting our efforts.

Secretary & Treasurer

Smriti Moorjani, '24
[email protected]

Originally from New Jersey, Smriti attended undergrad at RPI. She is passionate about medical research and community service. In her free time she enjoys listening to music, swimming, and traveling.

Rushali Kothari, '25
[email protected]

Rushali is originally from the Bay Area and attended UC Santa Barbara for her undergraduate degree. She has budding interests in psychiatry and anesthesiology. In her free time, she enjoys staying active, vegan baking, and chasing sunsets.

Community Outreach & Special Projects

Aimee Capellan, '24
[email protected]

Yostina Soliman, '25
[email protected]

Yostina is originally from Rochester, N.Y., but has been in the Albany area for the past six years. In her free time, she loves watching rom-coms, going for walks when the weather is nice, and studying in cafes.

Deepika Kothakapa, '25
[email protected]

Deepika is originally from Philadelphia, and completed undergraduate degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In her free time, she loves to do arts and crafts like knitting and sewing.

Annie Leamon, '24
[email protected]

Manas Sharma, '26
[email protected]

Manas is from Phoenix, Arizona. He is a die-hard Lakers fan, loves to read books and listen to podcasts, and plays tennis in his free time. He is very interested in pursuing the field of psychiatry and is interested in the intersection between mental health and numerous public and global health issues such as the opioid crisis and the mental health crisis in colleges and medical schools across the country.

Communication Chairs

Aadya Kaushik, '25
[email protected]

Aadya is an Albany native. She received her MS in Bioethics from Albany Medical College and hopes to use this lens in clinical practice. When not doing Uworld blocks, she can be found with her puppy, spending time outdoors, and trying out local cuisine.

Sarah Cunningham, '25
[email protected]

Although she spent her early years in Connecticut, Sarah completed her bachelor's degree in Florida, received a master’s degree in Boston, and spent several years in the Bay Area, California working in clinical research before coming to Albany. While she continues to explore various specialties for her career in medicine, she has enjoyed researching the psychosocial impact of childhood cancer and understanding barriers to health care faced by homeless and disabled populations. Outside of school, she loves to play tennis and try new restaurants!

Oluwanifesimi Kasali, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences '26
[email protected]

Olu is originally from Nigeria and just completed a bachelor's degree in New York City. Olu is in the P1 class of 2026 at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Science and is interested in specialty pharmacy. Olu is passionate about providing personalized care and support to patients with complex health conditions and helping them manage their medications effectively, minimize side effects, and improve their overall quality of life. Outside school, Olu enjoys playing soccer, listening to music, and traveling.

Monique John, '25
[email protected]

Avi Sura, '26
[email protected]

Event Planners

D’Nea Galbraith, '25
[email protected]

D’Nea has a a budding interest in pediatric neurology and a deep desire for advocacy and health equity. She grew up and attended college in New York City. At Albany Medical College, she is a leader of quite a few clubs, but was especially eager to join the Community Grand Rounds team so that she could be a part of important discussions regarding the state of health care and to promote community engagement and education. She also believes it is incredibly important to create opportunities for medical students to network, gain exposure to public speaking, and share their knowledge on this platform. Outside of her pursuit of medicine, she maintain hobbies of singing with the Keytones at Albany Medical College, breaking a sweat at the gym, and binging Netflix on free weekends.

Richa Nathan, '26
[email protected]

Richa is very passionate about public health topics and health care equity and access for all. She attended RPI and enjoys hiking in the area and being outdoors. In her free time, she enjoys singing, playing tennis, and hanging out with friends.

Ria Paradkar, '25
[email protected]

Ria is originally from Colorado Springs, but has lived in New York for the past six years. She loves to go on walks, watch movies, and spend time with friends.

Aliyah Audil, '26
[email protected]

Interprofessional Development

Lena Farah, PA, '24
[email protected]

Ayomide Kumapayi, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences '24
[email protected]

Ayomide serves as an Interprofessional Development Chair at Community Grand Rounds. One of her main responsibilities is to represent pharmacy on the leadership team and to expand outreach to other health care professionals. She is most interested in infectious disease and would love to pursue a fellowship to specialize as an infectious disease pharmacist in the industry. She also enjoys hiking, listening to music, and working out during my free time.

Priyanka Metha, PA, '24
[email protected]

Priyanka is from Long Island. Prior to coming to Albany, she spent multiple years volunteering as an advanced EMT, working on adult glaucoma research, and teaching at her local cultural Sunday school. She has interests in emergency medicine and ophthalmology. Outside of school, she loves spending time with her close friends, trying out new restaurants, and starting new Netflix shows!

Diana Byk, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences '25
[email protected]