Trinity RicoRole: President
Favorite Food: Pancit Lomi Batangas (thick egg noodle soup)Hi! My name is Trinity Rico and I am a rising MS2 with an interest in anesthesiology and internal medicine. Before coming to medical school, I attended the University of California, Berkeley, and studied Molecular and Cell Biology. After undergrad, I worked at an ophthalmology clinic as a scrub tech and surgery coordinator.
During that time, I continued to volunteer at food pantries and a free clinic in San Francisco, where food insecurity and diet was a major predictor of health outcomes, especially in ethnic minority communities. I am excited to learn from the Culinary Medicine program about how to utilize food as medicine in improving the health of our future patients. As President, I facilitate upcoming events, coordinate meetings, and oversee club operations with our executive board.
Aloysius James (AJ) Hora
Hometown: Glen Burnie, MD
Role: Vice President - Curriculum
Favorite Food: Chicken Adobo (Filipino dish)
Hi! My name is AJ and I am a rising M2 with an interest in internal medicine. Before coming to medical school, I attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and obtained a double major in Biological Sciences and Psychology. I also attended The George Washington University and obtained a Master of Sciences degree for Anatomical and Translational Sciences.
During my gap years prior to medical school, I developed my passion for culinary medicine through multiple exposures in the health sector. I also love to cook at home and develop skills in the kitchen that I use everyday when creating healthy dishes for myself. As the Vice President for our organization's Curriculum arm, I am responsible for overseeing the planning and coordination of our (very popular) student modules. These modules allow medical students to integrate what they learned in the classroom with real-world culinary experiences. Students are able to create healthy dishes that teaches them not only cooking life skills, but also medical knowledge that they can impart to their future patients.
Hannah Harris
hannah.harris@gwu.edu
Hometown: Roanoke, VA
Role: Student Outreach Coordinator
Favorite Food: Mac and cheese
Hi! My name is Hannah Harris, and I am a rising M2 with an interest in family medicine and geriatrics. Before coming to medical school, I attended the University of Mary Washington where I majored in Biochemistry and English Literature. I have always loved to cook and bake, and I began to see firsthand the importance of food for health, especially in older adults, when I worked in dining at a retirement community during high school.
Food is such a large part of community and individual identity, and I am excited to explore how I can educate and partner with my patients to use food as medicine in primary care. As the Student Outreach Chair, I am responsible for posting our events and volunteer opportunities on social media and connecting our group to other student organizations.
Students, please feel free to send me any pictures from events or ideas for collaboration, and follow us on Instagram @gwculinarymedicine!
Abdulla Ali
Nikki Karri
Mahi Bhatt
Hometown: Northern Virginia
Role: Vice President of Research
Favorite Food: Uttapam (thick savory pancakes) with Spicy Tomato Chutney
Hello! My name is Mahi Bhatt, and I'm currently a rising MS2 at GW SMHS. I attended GW as an undergraduate, where I majored in Neuroscience and minored in Computer Science. Last year, I had the chance to be part of the first undergraduate cohort of the Intro to Culinary Medicine course, which served as an incredible gateway into the world of Culinary Medicine; however, my connection to food started much earlier on. I was taught from a very young age that "food is medicine"–a belief that is deep-rooted in the South Asian communities I belong to.
