About Me

I have had two interests since I was a child, sports and medicine. As I hit the big "30" this past year, I am completely immersed in my two passions. For medicine, I completed my medical school at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and am currently in my 3rd year of residency in ophthalmology (aka eye surgery) at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, FL.  I have 1 more year of general ophthalmology training before I embark on specialty training in vitreoretinal surgery. Academically, I conduct clinical and basic research on eye tumors and retinal diseases, including retinoblastoma (most common pediatric eye tumor), choroidal melanoma (most common primary eye tumors in adults), radiation retinopathy, and vitreoretinal surgical techniques. 

My other passion has been playing sports, something that I have been doing since I was a child. Playing baseball and soccer since I could walk, these sports helped shape my current fitness that has been years in the making. I have also enjoyed surfing since junior high school, and snow skiing since the age of 5. On top of this, I tend to be very competitive in everything I do. In 2009, I moved to Miami and discovered the sport of triathlon - swimming, biking, and running. I decided to give it a try, despite minimal swimming since my days in the ocean surfing, minimal training on my "fat tire" MTB, and off-on running over the past few years during medical school. I borrowed a bike and gave it a go. I made it to the finish line utterly exhausted after a sprint triathlon, averaging almost 22mph on the bike and running a 5K at a 6:22min/mile pace. I placed 22nd overall and 2nd in my age-group. I had heard it before, and always wondered what people meant by the phrase "getting bit by the triathlon bug", but I had been bitten.  I bought an entry level rode bike the next year, including some clip-on aerobars, and decided to start training.  This was easier said than done, as I was finishing the latter half of my internship (read: 70-80 hours per week), and would start my first year of ophthalmology training (read: 70+ hours per week). 2010 was a solid year where I made some improvements, but I knew that I could be better. 2011 was another year where I trained more consistently, and raced more frequently.  I was also fortunate to have the support of Odwalla as part of Team Odwalla, as well as the support from Lee Zohlman from BodyZen (www.bodyzen.com). Despite still riding the road bike with clip-ons, I moved up in the rankings, including a top 10 in my AG at St. Anthony's Tri, qualified for USAT National Championships, 2nd overall in the Mack Cycle Key Biscayne Trilogy series, Honorable mention in the USAT rankings (AG 30-34), completed my first 70.3 half-ironman in sub-5 hours, and finally bought a TT bike...my 2011 Cervelo P4!!! On my last 2 races of the season, and my only two on my new bike, I had my best bike splits, including a 2:24 (23.2mph) on a windy and wet 56-mile course (Miami 70.3). As I start 2012, I am honored to be part of a new team headed by Sean Watkins and KB of Wattie Ink (www.wattieink.com). The new Wattie Ink Elite Team is made up of 50 elite athletes around the country, who have been dubbed "the edgiest triathletes who are changing the face of the sport." I am looking forward to a great year rockin the W with my teammates, and look out for some new PRs from the "W" at a race near you!