Christy Zheng
- Christy Zheng is a third-year student in the Pathways track and a first-generation college graduate with a growing interest in advancing cardiovascular medicine at the intersection of imaging, machine learning, and outcomes research.
- She grew up in New York City and Roselle Park, New Jersey, and earned a BA and an MS in biomedical engineering, as well as a certificate in global health studies, from Yale University.
- At HMS, Christy is pursuing research that uses computational methods to more accurately characterize cardiovascular risk. In a recent research study based on the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, she helped develop a machine-learning–derived “cardiac age” from transthoracic echocardiography. This work was published in The Journals of Gerontology and presented at national cardiology conferences.
- In addition to her research, Christy volunteers as a junior clinician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, dedicating her Tuesday evenings to patient-centered primary care.
Christy Zheng
MD Program (Pathways Track), Class of 2027
BA, Yale University (2022)
MS, Yale University (2022)
At the 2025 Soma Weiss Student Research Day, Christy (left) presented her research on whether patients receiving anthracycline chemotherapy undergo recommended echocardiographic monitoring, with the goal of improving early detection of cardiotoxicity. This project has allowed her to translate classroom training in data analysis into work with real-world clinical data. Click here to read more about how Christy and other HMS medical students are advancing science, education, and clinical care.
Kaleigh shares a day in her life, highlighting the resilience and dedication required to balance rigorous medical training with personal well-being.
Kaleigh Beacham
- Kaleigh Beacham is a third-year MD student in the Pathways track with clinical interests in orthopedic surgery and neurology. She is driven by a passion for helping patients achieve pain-free, comfortable movement.
- She grew up in Dallas in a single-parent household and is a first-generation college student, graduating from Stanford University with a BS in bioengineering (2022) and an MS in laboratory animal science (2023).
- Now a third-year medical school student, Kaleigh recently published her first scholarly article, “Stereotypy is strongly linked to multiple biomarkers of oxidative stress—a potential common etiology for abnormal repetitive behaviors.”
- She is currently preparing for the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 2 after completing her core clinical rotations in surgery, internal medicine, psychiatry, neurology, radiology, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology this winter.
- After Step 2, she plans to continue her sports medicine research while returning to the wards for sub-internships and elective rotations.
MD Program (Pathways track), Class of 2027
BS, Stanford University (2022)
MS, Stanford University (2023)
Kaleigh Beacham
Mauricio Garcia
- Mauricio Garcia is a fourth-year student in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST) with growing clinical and research interests in ophthalmology and genetics. He is focused on improving diagnosis and outcomes for patients at risk of glaucoma and retinal disease.
- Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Mauricio is a first-generation college graduate and the son of a cook and a domestic worker. He earned his AB in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard College in 2020, graduating with honors. He was additionally the recipient of the Herchel Smith–Harvard Undergraduate Science Award, which provides stipends for promising undergraduates to pursue full-time summer research in engineering or the sciences.
- While at Harvard College, Mauricio paired his scientific training with a strong commitment to service, acting as director of MEDLIFE for Global Brigades, where he organized medical service trips to Nicaragua and Peru and used his Spanish fluency to provide care to Spanish-speaking patients.
- Mauricio leads computational genetics projects with collaborators from Harvard Medical School and Mass Eye and Ear, using data from approximately half a million individuals to define the genetic architecture of glaucoma, and conducts retinal imaging research to quantify disease risk from ocular images. After medical school, he hopes to pursue an ophthalmology residency, integrating his computational, imaging, and clinical skills to enhance diagnosis, inform surgical decision-making, and improve long-term patient outcomes.
MD Program (HST Track), Class of 2026
AB, Harvard University (2020)
Mauricio Garcia
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Anna "Annie" Abruzzo
- Anna “Annie” Abruzzo is a fourth-year student in the Pathways track with clinical and research interests in otolaryngology–specifically, head and neck surgery. Her interest was shaped by her early experiences with significant health and developmental challenges.
- Born in rural China and adopted by a single mother, Annie was raised in New York City, where her intensive childhood therapies, made possible by her mother’s sacrifices, fostered a lifelong awareness of health inequities and a commitment to caring for patients with complex head and neck disease.
- Annie graduated from Swarthmore College with a double major in biology and history. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and served as president of her nationally competitive debate team. Her senior thesis on Chinese American adoption communities earned departmental awards in both history and Asian studies.
- At Harvard Medical School, Annie has earned outstanding clinical evaluations and contributed first-author work on radiation-induced heart disease and complex congenital heart surgery. She is now completing an honors project in Dr. Daniel Faden’s lab at Mass Eye and Ear on liquid biopsy approaches for head and neck cancer.
- She also volunteers at the Cambridge Health Alliance student-faculty clinic and leads the Ear, Nose, and Throat interest group, where she has expanded near-peer mentoring and hands-on skills workshops for students exploring the field.
AB, Harvard University (2020)
MD Program (HST Track), Class of 2026
Annie Abruzzo
In her New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) article titled “Family History: Unknown,” Annie reflects on how important family history is to medical decision-making, and what this means for patients like her who have no access to that information. She argues that medicine must distinguish between patients who truly have no known family history and those with a confirmed negative family history, so that care and screening can be tailored more equitably.
Christian Rivera
- Christian Rivera is a third-year student in the Pathways track with interests in primary care and cardiometabolic health at the intersection of clinical medicine, health equity, and emerging technologies.
- He grew up in Cape Coral, Florida. Frequent childhood sore throats and ear infections and the attentive care he received from his Cuban pediatrician inspired his interest in medicine and in caring for Latino communities.
- He earned his BS in microbiology, immunology, and public health from the University of Miami in 2023. He credits his education for providing a strong grounding in both basic science and population health that now underpins his medical education.
- Christian recently completed his core clinical year at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, with rotations in internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, psychiatry, neurology, and radiology.
- His academic work includes publications on the use of large language models in clinical care and a second-author paper on minority recruitment in clinical trials, using data from the GoFresh trial, a DASH diet–based grocery intervention designed to reduce hypertension among Black adults in Boston. This work has strengthened his interest in cardiology, and he looks forward to further research in this area.
MD Program (Pathways Track), Class of 2027
BS, University of Miami (2023)
Christian Rivera
At Harvard Medical School, the REACH Scholarship Program transforms the journeys of aspiring physicians who demonstrate qualities of Resilience, Excellence, Achievement, Compassion, and a commitment to Helping the underserved. REACH scholars bring their skills and passion directly into communities, expanding the program’s impact far beyond the classroom.
Bernard S. Chang,
AB ’93, MD, MMSc ’05
2026 REACH Students
Click on each profile to learn more about each scholar
Annie Abruzzo, MD '26
Kaleigh Beacham, MD '27
Christy Zheng, MD '27
Matthew Merritt, MD '29
Mauricio Garcia, MD '26
Christian Rivera, MD '27
Matthew Merritt
- Matthew Merritt is a first-year student in the Pathways track with interests in health equity, community engagement, and global health.
- He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and raised in Bridgeport, Alabama, primarily by his grandmother while his mother, a single mother, worked multiple jobs. After attending under-resourced schools, he earned a scholarship to a private boarding high school that he credits with changing his trajectory.
- Matthew graduated from Yale University in 2024 with a BA in African American Studies and a minor in global health studies. He co-chaired the Episcopal Church at Yale, founded the Tiger Times mentorship program for middle school students, and co-directed the Men’s Youth Program at Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, supporting immigrant youth through community-building and college readiness programming.
- He also gained research experience in microbiology and youth development and worked night shifts as a patient care technician on the cardiac stepdown unit at Erlanger Hospital, using his EMT-B training to care for patients from rural and urban communities in the Southeast.