2021-2022 CHIEFS

Isaye Barton, MD Chief Resident: Ambulatory

After my interview day at UIC, I knew that I wanted to train here for residency. The passion for working with patients from historically underserved populations, the camaraderie amongst residents and unique educational opportunities were all apparent after just one day. These features of UIC have been present throughout my training and have helped me begin to develop into the physician I dream of becoming. I decided to remain as a Chief Resident to continue making improvements to our program and support residents during a pivotal phase of their career. I hope to pursue Endocrinology fellowship next year. When I’m not in the hospital, you can usually find me at a new restaurant with friends or watching Netflix with my cat.

Marco Colamonici, MD Chief Resident: Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

I was born in Chicago and raised in Memphis TN, but have always had family roots in the Windy City. I moved up North to Champaign-Urbana in Illinois for college and stayed in the U of I system for medical school here at UIC. When it came time to choose residency, I decided to stay at UIC because I wanted to continue focusing my time on the diverse patient population that we serve. I wanted to stay on as a Chief Resident so I could give back to the institution that has taught me how to provide multidimensional care for patients. In my free time, you can find me smoking barbecue, fly fishing, and hanging out with my dog.

Jina Kwak, DO Chief Resident: Jesse Brown VA Medical Center

UIC has an institutional mission to serve the community, and this culture of service is what attracted me most to the program. Our residents are deeply invested not only in training to be excellent physicians, but work tirelessly to improve the system we work in. I am excited to serve as a Chief Resident to support our residents in every way possible and act as a vehicle in actualizing their goals and ambitions. I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago (hey Libertyville!) and spent my college years in Boston before returning to my beloved home of Portillo’s. Following Chief year, I plan to pursue a career as an academic hospitalist. Outside of medicine, I am an avid podcast listener, enjoy time with family and friends, and spend a (slightly) unhealthy amount of time planning what to eat next.

Conner Olsen, MD Chief Resident: University of Illinois Hospital

I was born and raised in Northbrook, IL and consider myself an Illinois lifer having attended the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign for undergrad and UIC for medical school. At UIC, I found a home where I matched for residency and now serve as Chief Resident of the University Hospital. I chose to stay on as a Chief to continue serving our amazing patient population, advocate for my co-residents, and assist them in their quest to become excellent, well-rounded physicians. While not at the hospital, I love to hang out with my co-residents, meditate, and play intramural sports. Next, I plan to pursue a fellowship in Palliative Care.

Aamir Twing, MD Chief Resident: Research and Education

Having grown up on the east coast of the US, I was drawn to Chicago and UIC in particular for the camaraderie exhibited by the resident community that was so prominently evident on interview day. As I progressed through my training here, it was abundantly clear that the internal medicine residents truly viewed each other as family, an attribute that has made my experience here more than worthwhile. This sense of community and cohesiveness has only been surpassed by the rich diversity of our patient population and resident commitment to research, education, and innovation. I decided to stay on as chief resident because I wanted to continue to help residents develop as clinicians and provide them with as much support as possible in their career paths. After chief residency, I hope to pursue a fellowship in Cardiology. In my free time I enjoy hiking with my wife and looking for the next big wilderness expedition!