Class of 2024

Welcome to the Class of 2024

Sean P. Doyle, MD

Sean Doyle is a native of Concord, NC (located just north of Charlotte, NC). He graduated from Concord High School in 2006. He then attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his undergraduate education, earning his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish in 2010. During his four years as an undergraduate at UNC, Sean spent a full year studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain, where he became fluent in Spanish. After completing his undergraduate education at UNC, Sean took a job at UNC as a research technician in a basic science research lab studying cystic fibrosis and mucin secretion.

In 2014, Sean joined Emory’s MD/PhD program. He earned his PhD in Molecular and Systems Pharmacology from Emory in 2021. His doctoral thesis focused on the molecular characterization of the E3 ubiquitin ligase SPOP, a frequent driver of primary prostate tumor development. Sean then completed his MD degree at Emory in 2023. After completing the Transitional Year program at Northside this year, Sean will rejoin Emory to complete his Diagnostic Radiology residency. Sean is highly interested in medical education and scientific research. For fun, Sean enjoys exercising at his local CrossFit gym, cooking new recipes using his two Instant Pots, and trying out new restaurants around Atlanta.

Arulita Gupta, MD

Arulita Gupta was born in New Delhi, India, and grew up in the greater Atlanta area. She graduated from Northview High School in 2013 and received her Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience and Medicine, Health, and Society from Vanderbilt University in 2017. After graduating, she worked at the Neurogenetics Branch of the National Institutes of Health. The experiences she gained from working with underserved patients were pivotal in her decision to pursue medicine and pushed her to strive for a lifelong commitment to critical thinking and social action. She pursued an M.D./M.B.A at Vanderbilt to equip herself with the leadership, management, and administrative skills required to serve at scale and drive systemic reforms in the changing landscape of medical imaging. After her transitional year, she is thrilled to start diagnostic radiology residency at the Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Neal Hall, MD

Neal Hall was born in Roswell, Georgia, spending much of his early life in Cumming while attending Horizon Christian Academy, graduating in 2009. He received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from The University of North Georgia in 2013 while working as a technician in the emergency department at Northside Hospital Forsyth. Following graduation, he worked for five years in the medical field, mainly as a pathology assistant at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, before heading to Savannah to begin medical school at Mercer.

Following his transitional year, he will complete residency in Diagnostic Radiology at The University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. He has an interest in artificial intelligence and breast imaging. During his training, he has worked on numerous projects, including the discovery of a new protein implicated in breast cancer initiation and progression published in molecular and cellular biology, which he presented at the endocrine society national meeting.

Neal and his wife have three young boys, and they enjoy spending time together as a family, playing baseball, cheering on the Braves, and volunteering with their church. He is excited to return to the North Georgia area near family and friends and looks forward to serving his community again.

Shefali Jain, MD

Shefali Jain was born in Rogers, Arkansas (parents worked at Walmart headquarters), but grew up in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. She attended the Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology for high school, which is just a stone’s throw away from Northside Gwinnett. She went to Georgia Tech for undergrad and graduated in 2018, where she majored in Industrial Engineering and had double minors in Mandarin Chinese and Health and Medical Sciences. She subsequently went to Medical College of Georgia for medical school. Following her Transitional Year at Northside Hospital Gwinnett, she will complete her diagnostic radiology residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Shefali is passionate about health advocacy and has been actively involved in the American Medical Association throughout medical school. She plans to stay involved in organized medicine through residency and beyond. She is passionate about public and community health, having rotated through a regional campus with rural healthcare sites during medical school. Shefali is also passionate about medical education and participated in several initiatives to improve medical education throughout medical school. She hopes to continue to advocate for medical education and residency and beyond. Shefali’s interest outside of medicine include reading books (especially thrillers!), painting, trying new recipes and restaurants, and spending time with family and friends. She is excited to serve her home community over the next year!

Zohaib Lakhani, MD

Zohaib Lakhani was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan. His family moved to the United States 12 years ago. He attended Madison Academic High School in Jackson, TN, and graduated in 2015. He received his Bachelor of Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2019. Following his Transitional Year, he will complete his Diagnostic Radiology residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Prior to medical school, he participated in basic science research projects focused on regeneration and scaring of fibroblast post MI. During medical school, his research focused on similar processes in osteoarthritis and TKA. Coming from an engineering background, Zohaib is excited to explore AI and theranostics during his training. Zohaib is former president of Pakistani Students Association at Vanderbilt University and is closely tied to his cultural roots. In his free time, Zohaib enjoys watching and playing cricket, and listening to Qawwali, a Pakistani music form. He also enjoys spending time with his family, who now resides in Buford, GA. Zohaib is excited for this opportunity and looks forward to practice in what he considers to be a very culturally diverse community.

Parker Nguyen, MD

Parker Nguyen was born in Atlanta Georgia, and grew up in Lilburn Georgia. . He attended Parkview High School in Lilburn, where he graduated in 2014. He received his Bachelor of Science from Emory University in 2018 and stayed at Emory for medical school. Following his Transitional Year, he will complete his Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at Columbia Cornell. He has an interest in sports and pain medicine, as he played collegiate soccer at Emory University. His sports medicine research projects have focused on noninvasive treatments for difficult to treat tendon and bone pathologies. For fun, Parker enjoys playing in soccer leagues at Silverbacks Park and Sons of Pitches, video games, trying new restaurants, and spending time with family and friends in the area. He is very excited to be practicing medicine in an area that he considers his home community.

Akash Patel, MD

Dr. Akash Patel is originally from Savannah, Georgia, but has spent the last 9 years at Duke University for both his undergraduate (B.S. ‘18) and medical education (M.D. ‘23). Following his Transitional Year at Northside, he will complete his anesthesiology residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. He has an interest in data science and quality improvement, having worked on several projects, which include the Duke Hotspotting Initiative, the implementation of a Hospital at Home program, and the assessment of perioperative programs. He has also participated in many research projects ranging from analysis of critical care databases to creation of a patient complexity tool.

For fun, Akash enjoys playing basketball, cooking, hiking, and spending time with his family and friends. He is very excited about joining the Northside community this year!