Shawn Damodharan, DO
PGY4, 1st year fellow
From: Hoffman Estates, IL
Med school: Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
Residency: University of Wisconsin
Research interests: use of immunotherapy/immunomodulators for CNS tumors, epigenetic changes that affect CNS tumors
Current post-fellowship plans: Pediatric Neuro-oncology fellowship, academic practice
Family/Pets: Wife – Deval Patel (Hospitalist at UW) and our dog Cooper (eskimo/husky mix)
Hobbies: outdoor activities, cooking, sports
What’s your favorite thing about our fellowship program? About Madison? My favorite thing about our fellowship would be the supportive and friendly faculty who are always there for any reason. My favorite thing about Madison, WI would have to be all the outdoor activities it offers, both in the summer and winter.
Interesting fact: In medical school, I came up/invented a chest tube attachment that I presented to an innovation group. Ultimately, it failed to come to market but was a cool experience!
Non-medical dream job: NFL football broadcaster.
Dream travel destination: Italy – though this may have to wait for a while with the COVID19 pandemic!
Favorite food: Pizza
Christina Amend, MD
PGY5, 2nd year fellow
From: Northern IL
Med school: Medical College of Wisconsin
Residency: UW Madison
Research interests: benign hematology/bleeding disorders, immunology, leukemia
Current post-fellowship plans: clinical hematology at a teaching institution to continue to teach/mentor
Family/Pets: Husband (Kyle), daughter (Nora), I have killed all my plants 🙁
Hobbies: running, pottery, cooking, reading, travel
What’s your favorite thing about our fellowship program? LOVE working with our team every day! So supportive and encouraging. It’s so nice to have a group of people who all care so much about each other and what we do.
What’s your favorite thing about Madison? I love that Madison is a mid-size city with lots of events/restaurants to explore but also close to the outdoors-easy access to lakes, bike paths, hiking.
An interesting fact about you that no one or very few people know? I was named after a cat.
Non-medical dream job: Art Teacher
Dream travel destination: Spain/Morocco
Favorite food: Thai
Krista Grinde, DO
PGY5, 2nd year fellow
From: Sauk Prairie, WI
Med school: AT Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Crozer Chester Medical Center
Research interests: solid tumors, symptom management
Current post-fellowship plans: primarily clinical medicine
Family/Pets: a faux succulent named Boris.
Hobbies: thrifting, crafting
What drew you to the UW fellowship program? small size; MIBG, transplant, and CART offered; variety of diagnoses; location
What’s your favorite thing about the UW fellowship program? My wonderful co-workers!
An interesting fact about you that no one or very few people know: I have a black belt in karate
Non-medical dream job: children’s book author
Dream travel destination: Italy
Favorite food: spaghetti
Mallery Olsen, MD
PGY6, 3rd year fellow
From: Madison WI
Med school: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Residency: Wake Forest
Research interests: NK cell immunotherapy for osteosarcoma. I work in the Capitini lab and we are collaborating with Dr. David Vail, an oncologist at the School of Veterinary Medicine, to develop immunotherapy options for pediatric and canine patients with osteosarcoma. I am also working with Dr. DeSantes to add osteosarcoma patients to his NK cell and anti-GD2 antibody study, currently open for neuroblastoma.
Current post-fellowship plans: TBD, but hopefully staying on at UW as a clinical instructor to finish out my research projects. After that, I would like to work at an academic center, splitting my time between clinical work and clinical research, with a focus on sarcomas and solid tumors.
Family/Pets: I have a 2 year old yellow lab named Murphy and 2 semi-grumpy cats, Mike and Sam.
Hobbies: Triathlons, hiking, kayaking, attempting to copy desserts made on Great British Baking Show, playing guitar very badly
What drew you to the UW fellowship program? I knew that I wanted to come back to Madison, but I was also drawn by the strong immunotherapy research here, along with the friendliness and approachability of attendings and staff
What’s your favorite thing about the UW fellowship program and about Madison in general? My favorite part of our program is how easy it is to work with our attendings and co-fellows. As fellows we spend plenty of time hanging out outside of work, not to mention bouncing ideas for patients off each other. I feel we have a very collaborative program. Attendings are always willing to chat and answer questions, over text or calls. Everyone is pretty easy going and easy to work with. Our research facilities are also fantastic and we have lots of opportunities for exciting research within and outside the division. I love Madison, the ease of living here, ability to bike everywhere (when it is not snowing), great breweries and restaurants. The bike paths, lakes, and dog parks are great amenities. The farmers market and Concerts on the Square are some of my favorite summer activities.
An interesting fact about you that no one or very few people know? I went to Nepal the last 2 months of med school and got stuck in a giant earthquake. I ultimately got typhoid and was evacuated out. Got back to the US in time for graduation, but was dubbed “Typhoid Mallery”
Non-medical dream job: Have my own bakery
Dream travel destination: Anywhere with a beach, going back to Nepal to trek to Annapurna base camp, the W circuit in Patagonia.
Favorite food: Does coffee count?
Matthew Davis, MD
PGY6, 3rd year fellow
From: Chicago, IL
Med School: St George’s University
Residency: Children’s Hospital of Illinois
Research interests: Immunotherapy and Cell therapy
Current post-fellowship plans: I plan on staying at UW for another year post-fellowship to finish at the same time as my amazing wife, who is a NICU fellow.
Family/Pets: Megan and I met during the first month of medical school and got married during our second year of residency together. We have an obnoxiously adorable and perfect little girl, Mia, who is obsessed with Nick and Mallery. We also have 2 four-legged fur babies, our rescue dogs Max and Dixie.
Hobbies: I love getting outdoors whenever possible. I’m also a sports junkie.
What drew you to the UW fellowship program? UW was my very last interview. I knew during the morning that I would be ranking it first. The people were absolutely the type I wanted to surround myself with day in and day out. It just felt right.
What’s your favorite thing about the UW fellowship program and Madison in general? My colleagues are absolutely my favorite part of working at UW. And living in Madison is great. We really enjoy everything it has to offer from great restaurants to seemingly unlimited outdoor activities.
Non-medical dream job: If I wasn’t a physician, I’d be working in the front office of a professional baseball team.
Dream travel destination: New Zealand