Resident Life

As one of the most influential and iconic cities in the world, New York offers nearly anything that you can possibly imagine. Whether you are interested in the post-modern collections at the Museum of Modern Art, the newest Broadway hit, the latest fashion trend or the independent film industry, New York boasts an array of culture every night. And for the adventuresome foodie or indie rocker, the city bursts with a new crop of restaurants and musical acts on nearly a weekly basis. Each neighborhood offers a different flavor and feel and if you grow tired of Manhattan, the outer boroughs can provide a year’s worth of activities. Mount Sinai’s Recreation Office provides discounts and other special offers to residents.

Med-Peds residents receive the same benefits, salary and access to housing as their Internal Medicine Residency Program colleagues. Please review these advantages here under the Resident Life Tab.

Our Residents

Meet the Class of 2026

Krystal Aris, MD

• Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
• Undergraduate: Syracuse University
• Medical School: Meharry Medical College
• Career Interests: Primary care, adolescent medicine, medical education
• Personal Interests: Cooking/baking, traveling, reading
• Ask Me About: My plants, food and music

Jasmin Espinal, DO

• Hometown: Queens, NY
• Undergraduate: State University of New York at Oneonta
• Medical School: Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University
• Career Interests: Community-based health care, mentorship/med-ed, rheumatology
• Personal Interests: Nutrition and Cooking, espresso,
• Ask Me About: my time in New Mexico, Curly hair products, interior design

Christina Garcés, MD

• Hometown: New York, NY
• Undergraduate: Simon’s Rock College of Bard
• Medical School: Temple University
• Career Interests: Street medicine, harm reduction, addiction medicine, healthcare for criminalized populations - ie. healthcare for sex workers, undocumented persons, unhoused/housing-insecure and incarcerated populations, gender-affirming care, community health worker/promatora-based healthcare programs, medical education, medicine as social justice, ultrasound & emergency medicine, 
• Personal Interests: Reading, painting, history, working against systems of oppression, decriminalization, Nutella, sunshine, naps, naps in sunshine
• Ask Me About: Street medicine projects, why sex work is real and valuable work, my latest favorite book, the best playgrounds in East Harlem, and being a single mom in residency.

Mary Thomas, MD

• Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
• Undergraduate: Middlebury College
• Medical School: University of Minnesota Medical School
• Career Interests: Primary care, transitions, disabilities and/or technology dependence, palliative care, medical education
• Personal Interests: playing outside, sunrises, the perfect grocery store
• Ask Me About: winter, riding bikes, missing mountains, free audiobooks from the library

Meet the Class of 2025

Karem Abdel Jalil, DO

• Hometown: Corona, NY
• Undergraduate: Barnard College
• Medical School: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
• Career Interests: Primary care, community-based healthcare, health equity, medical education
• Personal Interests: Strength training, plants, baking, travel, hiking, biking
• Ask Me About: My plants, personal finance, poetry slams in the city

Claire Garpestad, MD

• Hometown: Boston, MA
• Undergraduate: Washington University in St. Louis
• Medical School: University of Michigan Medical School 
• Career Interests: Possibly primary care/adolescent medicine with a focus on caring for individuals with substance use disorders in life transitions, but I’m also loving a bit of everything so far so stay tuned! 
• Personal Interests: exploring the NYC food scene, pretending I’m going for a run but instead getting lost and sitting in Central Park for hours, city-biking everywhere 
• Ask Me About: being a first time New Yorker after many years in the Midwest, my search for the best BEC near Sinai, my deep love of Ann Arbor, MI (go blue!)

Clare Idehen, MD

• Hometown: Los Angeles, California
• Undergraduate: University of California, Santa Barbara
• Medical School: Morehouse School of Medicine
• Career Interests: Primary Care, ACEs/trauma informed care, healthcare for incarcerated populations, homeless medicine, advocacy, academic medicine, holistic health
• Personal Interests: dismantling systems of oppression
• Ask Me About: best spots to picnic in Central Park, my favorite books, NYC vegan food recommendations, how many playlist I have in my Spotify library

Meet the Class of 2024

Jasmine Blake, MD, MSPH

• Hometown: Snow Hill, MD
• Undergraduate: Townson University
• Graduate: Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Medical School: University of Maryland School of Medicine
• Career Interests: Developmental disabilities, complex care, international health, community-based healthcare, narrative medicine
• Personal Interests: gardening, photography, snorkeling/traveling, writing, and football (Go Ravens/Roll Tide)
• Ask Me About: Why my co-residents call me "abuelita," my plants's names, bargain shopping, or why Marylanders are obsessed with our flag/state. 

Amara L. Davidson, MD

• Hometown: New York, New York (Harlem specifically)
• Undergraduate: University of Miami
• Medical School: Howard University College of Medicine
• Career Interests: Primary Care, Critical Care, Urban Planning, Health Policy, Systemic inequities in healthcare
• Interests: Travel, Binge Watching Reality TV, Basketball, Swimming, all things R&B
• Ask Me About: Living with ‘Hurt Bae’ for a year, my newest nephew Ronald Anthony, my sister’s names

Adam Kraus, MD, MPH

• Hometown: Clearwater, FL
• Undergraduate: Dartmouth College
• Medical School: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Career Interests: primary care, global health, medical education, advocacy
• Personal Interests: being a dog dad, short-sleeve button downs, traveling, being eternally young (#leapdaybaby)
• Ask Me About: That time I crossed an international border via dugout canoe

Damián Suárez, MD, MA

• Hometown: Bronx NY, & Edison NJ
• Undergraduate: Rutgers University, NJ
• Medical School: Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina, Havana, Cuba
• Career Interests: Too many: global health, primary care, community medicine, neonatology, geriatrics, palliative care, medical education...
• Personal Interests: Jiu-jitsu, pizza making, high quality chocolates, languages
• Ask Me About: Amara getting run over by a bike taxi, craigslist bicycles, Cuba