HJAR Jan/Feb 2024

MELISSA NATHAN, OMS-IV A fourth-year medical student at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, located at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Melissa Nathan, OMS-IV, is dedicated to pursuing a career in general surgery. As a native of Charleston, Illinois, a rural town, and being Hispanic, she is passionate about improving Hispanic population health with a particular focus on preventive care and addressing healthcare disparities in rural areas. With a commitment to providing compassionate and effective medical care, Nathan is driven to make a positive impact in the medical field, especially in underserved communities. SARAH WHITEHURST, DO Growing up in a medically underserved community and experiencing the effects caused by a lack of preventative healthcare is what led Sarah Whitehurst, DO, to pursue a career in medicine and education. She graduated from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine in Arkansas in 2023 with a Master of Science in academic medicine and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree and is currently a first-year general surgery resident in Kansas City, Kansas, at Menorah Medical Center. Whitehurst is dedicated to educating the next generation of physicians and patients throughout residency and providing the best care every day for her patients. CHRISTINE HARTFORD, MD Christine Hartford, MD, grew up in Chicago. She received an undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and a medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. After medical school, she completed a residency in pediatrics at Brown University's Hasbro Children's Hospital. Hartford joined New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State in 2019. As a member of the faculty in Arkansas, she spent much of her time working directly with medical students, teaching classes in doctor-patient relationships, lecturing on a variety of topics related to pediatrics, and serving as the course director for the Population Health Certificate Program. Hartford was also a member of the Delta Population Health Institute and served as the medical lead for the Delta Care-A-Van, a mobile health unit that aims to improve health outcomes in the Delta. Hartford’s research interests include identifying barriers to infant health in underserved areas and identifying barriers to HPV vaccination. Hartford left NYITCOM in early January to pursue an opportunity closer to her home in Memphis, where she currently lives with her husband, also a pediatrician, and two sons.