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Brian Cortese M.D., M.B.A.

NU Biochemistry ’19

Brian Cortese is currently a first-year Urology resident at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN and works part-time at Rubrum Advising, a boutique health policy consulting firm. His career interests lie at the intersection of medicine, business, and health policy with much of his current research focusing on public-private partnerships and pharmaceutical drug pricing. While at Northeastern, he did his first co-op through the joint NIH-, NCI-, and Northeastern-funded CaNCURE Program. Through this program, he worked at the Gordon Center for Medical Imaging associated with Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Subsequently, he decided to return to the same position for his second co-op, furthering his work in translational medicine research. Brian earned both his M.D. from the Perelman School of Medicine and his M.B.A. in Health Care Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated summa cum laude from Northeastern University in 2019, majoring in Biochemistry. Brian grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and is an avid Philadelphia sports fan.

Sara Ha, DMD Candidate

NU Cell and Molecular Biology ’20

Sara is originally from New Jersey and graduated from Northeastern University in 2020 with a major in Cell & Molecular Biology and a minor in Psychology. She is now a fourth-year dental student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and is currently applying to orthodontic residency programs.

Stephan Palm, MD Candidate

NU Behavioral Neuroscience ’21

Stephan graduated from NU with his BS in behavioral neuroscience in 2021. He spent three gap years working in a hybrid clinical/research role in a neuroimaging laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In August, he started as a first-year medical student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

Ciara O'Donnell, M.Ed. (She/Her)

Director

• c.odonnell@northeastern.edu

Advising Caseload: Last Names U-Z

Book an appointment with Ciara: https://northeastern.campus.eab.com/pal/jhxywHSLYO 

Ciara O’Donnell is the Director of the PreMed and PreHealth Advising Program at Northeastern University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and her master’s degree in Guidance & Counseling from Providence College. Currently, she is pursuing a Doctor of Education at Northeastern University, focusing her research on the experiences of pre-medical students who are underrepresented in medicine.

Since 2018, Ciara has shown unwavering dedication to her roles within the university and it’s PreMed and PreHealth Program. With a background in both hospital and higher education administration, and student advising, Ciara has overseen poignant administrative developments and spearheaded the creation of innovative programs. These efforts have led to a remarkable 110% increase in participation in PreMed and PreHealth letter of evaluation processes, as well as achieving record-breaking university admissions rates to health graduate schools, surpassing the national acceptance rate by double.

Ciara’s professional interests lie in career advising and application coaching, specifically in helping advisees to identify and develop academic and experiential competencies essential for competitive applications to health graduate schools, tailored to their distinctive paths. She employs a collaborative approach with her advisees to achieve these goals and prioritizes fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion within the PreMed/PreHealth community.