Drs. Ilias Christodoulou, Alexandra Adegoke, Sarah Soniwala, Georgia Vasilakis, and Cole Hansell.
Alexandra Adegoke, MD, PhD
Undergraduate: Smith College
Medical School: University of Pennsylvania
Career Plans: Endocrinology
Alexandra grew up in Romania just after the fall of the communist regime, in a world of academic rigor focused strongly on the sciences. She had a hard time deciding between engineering and medicine, and ultimately left home for a more diverse college experience studying engineering at Smith College and a MSc in biomedical engineering at University of Oxford. She soon realized combining engineering and medicine was possible and pursued an MD-PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. Fascinated with complex physiology, she completed a year of OB-GYN residency prior to deciding that medicine would better suit her long term interests.
She chose the UPMC internal medicine program for its strong Women’s Health track and individualized learning, emphasis on autonomy from the early stages of training, and overall sense of community. In her current role as a chief resident, Alexandra has a focus on quality improvement and patient safety. Alexandra plans to leverage her multi-disciplinary training to become an academic endocrinologist.
Outside of medicine, Alexandra has traveled the world and pursued her passion for hiking and travel photography, always returning to Romania as her home and bringing a corner of it to her daily life by cooking and hosting. She shares her love of traveling and exploring with her husband, pup, and now twins who bring joy and laughter (and unexpected adventures) to every day.
Ilias Christodoulou, MD, PhD
Medical School: University of Patras School of Health Sciences, Greece
Career Plans: Physician-Scientist in Hematology/Oncology
Ilias grew up in Olympia, Greece – the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games – where he developed a deep appreciation for science, history, and sports. From a young age, he was inspired to help people facing cancer, a calling that shaped his decision to become an oncologist. He earned both his MD and PhD at the University of Patras and began his medical career as a rural physician, providing care to remote villages in southwestern Greece. His drive to contribute to cancer research brought him to Baltimore, where he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins, developing novel CAR-NK cell therapies for acute myeloid leukemia.
Ilias chose UPMC for residency because of its dedication to attracting talented physicians from around the world, through the International Scholars Track, and its strong culture of academic rigor and clinical autonomy. As a Chief Resident, he now leads initiatives in recruitment, research, wellness, and medical education.
He plans to pursue a career in academic oncology, focusing clinically on hematologic malignancies and bone marrow transplant, with the long-term goal of running his own cellular immunotherapy lab to bring discoveries from the bench to the bedside. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, working out, playing soccer, and cooking – always with his family’s own olive oil from their fields in Greece.
Cole Hansell, MD
Undergraduate: University of Washington
Medical School: University of Washington
Career Plans: Medical Educator in Pulmonary & Critical Care
Cole grew up just outside of Portland, Oregon, where he explored his interests in photography and videography. He began a career in adventure videography while simultaneously studying the sciences at the University of Washington. Ultimately, he chose to pursue medicine, continuing to dabble in videography during medical school before pausing his professional creative pursuits during residency – though he still enjoys it as a hobby.
His interest in medical education began in medical school and deepened during residency, where he completed a medical education certificate. Cole chose UPMC for internal medicine residency because of its strong medical education focus, emphasis on autonomy, and excellent pediatric program – he couple’s matched with his now-wife, who entered pediatrics.
Cole plans to continue his passion for medical education as a pulmonary and critical care physician in academic medicine. Outside of work, he enjoys biking along the GAP trail, exploring parks around Pittsburgh, and visiting his favorite craft breweries in Shadyside, Lawrenceville, the Strip District, and Bloomfield.
Sarah Soniwala, MD
Undergraduate: University of Rochester
Medical School: Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
Career plans: Academic General Medicine
Sarah grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo and stayed close to home for college, attending the University of Rochester where she majored in molecular genetics. It was there that she first discovered her passion for both medicine and education—a combination that led her to spend a gap year in Boston with AmeriCorps City Year before returning to Buffalo for medical school. She chose UPMC for residency because of its strong emphasis on medical education, dedicated women’s health track, and meaningful representation of women in GME leadership. Outside of medicine, Sarah enjoys exploring new restaurants, traveling, reading, and spending time with friends and family.
Georgia Vasilakis, MD
Undergraduate: University of Pittsburgh
Medical School: West Virginia University School of Medicine
Career Plans: Cardiology – Cardiac Imaging, Medical Education
Georgia was born in Morgantown, WV, but moved to Beaver, PA a few years later and is proud to call this Pittsburgh suburb her home. She attended the University of Pittsburgh and earned a Bachelor of Philosophy Degree in Neuroscience, demonstrating her commitment to a breadth and depth of academic rigor as well as her scholarly work in the Seney Lab. Georgia moved back to Morgantown, WV to attend the West Virginia University School of Medicine, where she put her love of patient care into a mode of practice at the bedside, while also serving in roles impacting medical education at both the institutional and national levels.
Georgia is a graduate of both the UPMC Internal Medicine Residency’s Clinical Scientist Track and Medical Education Certificate Program. She is also a recent graduate of the Pitt-UPMC Senior Resident and Fellowship Leadership Academy and currently serves as a Fellow of the CardioNerds Academy. Georgia is privileged to serve as a Chief Medical Resident in a program where, above all, everyone has a primary responsibility of delivering high-quality, patient-centered care. She will be leading residency recruitment, projects involving undergraduate and graduate medical education, and efforts to incorporate digital medical education.
Georgia plans to become an academic cardiologist with a special interest in multimodality cardiac imaging. Outside of medicine, Georgia enjoys playing and writing music (piano and violin), Hellenic Dancing, and continues to serve as a choir member at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Ambridge, PA.