PHMI Previous Board Members

Nina Ledis-Cannon is a pre-health advisor at Hunter College and provides the full range of pre-professional services to pre-health students from academic planning, to portfolio development, to application, essay, and committee letter review, to mock interviews, to pre-professional workshops. She is also responsible for the PHMI Initiative as a faculty supervisor. She works closely with the PHMI Advisory Board to ensure that mentor applicants are timely interviewed and trained and that mentees are timely matched with

mentors. She also ensures that the PHMI program meets the standards of the Hunter College Pre-Health Professions Advising Office.

Nina is a 1983 summa cum laude graduate of Dickinson College with Political Science honors and a 1986 graduate of Duke Law School. After practicing law for 15 years, she followed her interest in education, writing, and student advocacy through her freelance academic advising and essay writing services beginning in 2011 and has been privileged to serve the Pre-Health students at Hunter College since 2016.

Susanna Kasparov is a senior on the pre-medical track and is majoring in Biological Sciences with a double minor in Chemistry and Psychology. She joined PHMI as a mentee in her freshman year and became a mentor in the fall of her sophomore year.

Being a part of PHMI has allowed her to transition into the pre-med community and has provided her with support throughout her time at Hunter. During her junior year, Susanna took a larger role as PHMI Administrative Coordinator. As the Program Director, Susanna will dedicate herself to strengthening the PHMI community and promoting outreach to new students.

Diana Katanov is a rising junior on the pre-medical track. She is majoring in Biological Sciences and pursuing the Business Certificate. She joined PHMI as a mentee during her freshman year

and became a mentor for PHMI during her sophomore year. Having experienced both the mentee and mentor aspects of mentorship, Diana deeply values a strong support system that can be a source of comfort and guidance amidst a rigorous academic and pre-professional environment. As the PHMI Mentor Relations Coordinator, Diana is dedicated to working closely with the PHMI Board and prospective mentors to strengthen the PHMI community and foster a welcoming environment for mentorship, guidance, and clear communication between mentors and mentees.

Rohan Ghoshal is a rising senior on the pre-med track, majoring in Biological Science with minors in Mathematics and Japanese studies. He joined PHMI as a mentor in the Fall of 2023 where he had an enriching experience helping students with a similar immigrant background pursue their interests

in medicine and research, and is looking forward to serving as the PHMI Mentee Relations Coordinator. With his new role, he hopes to make successful, long-lasting mentee/mentor relationships and continue to support the Hunter Pre-health community!

Tanvir Raihan is a senior on the pre-medical track. He is majoring in Biological Science. He joined PHMI as a mentee as a freshman and greatly appreciated the guidance and support provided by the program. He became a mentor in his junior year to give back to the community and has thoroughly enjoyed supporting his mentees through their own pre-health journeys. As the

PHMI Ambassador Coordinator, Tanvir aspires to expand the PHMI community to reach and aid as many Hunter Pre-health students as possible and to strengthen the relationships between ambassadors, mentors, and mentees.

Shahd Badawi is a senior on the pre-Physician Assistant track. She is majoring in Human Biology with a minor in Psychology. As a first-generation college student, she knows firsthand the challenges of navigating academic and personal life without a roadmap, which is why she became a PHMI mentor—so she could help other Pre-health students who felt lost and needed guidance on selecting classes and managing stress. As the PHMI Social Media Director, Shahd aims

to expand PHMI's presence on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Shahd's goal is to increase engagement and involvement, allowing more students to benefit from the resources and support PHMI offers.

Janie Chan is a senior on the pre-medical track, double majoring in Biological Science and Studio Art. In her freshman year, she was a mentee in the PHMI program and quickly became inspired by the prospect of mentoring others. Janie then became a mentor in her sophomore year. Through first-hand experience assisting her mentees for the last two years, Janie is excited to support Hunter Pre-health students on a broader scale. As the PHMI Administrative Coordinator, Janie will utilize her organizational skills to keep PHMI well-

coordinated and running efficiently while also supporting the other board members with their roles to ensure that PHMI is meeting the needs of all mentors and mentees.

Nisha Manahil is a Hunter senior majoring in Biochemistry and on the pre-medical track. Her interests lie in addressing and eliminating health disparities in the US and in developing countries around the world. As a first generation college student, she joined PHMI as a mentee during her freshman year, and has been serving as a mentor since her sophomore year. In her junior year, Nisha had the opportunity to serve as the PHMI Ambassador Coordinator and manage mentor

trainings and peer-advising sessions, along with initiating tabling events and ambassador takeovers for the PHMI instagram.

Entering her senior year, Nisha now has the privilege of serving as the PHMI Program Director. As our new Program Director, she aims to increase awareness of and involvement in the program and expand and strengthen the PHMI community. She hopes that her diverse experiences and passion for healthy equity will enable her to make a positive impact on the PHMI community.

Vicki Yang is a senior majoring in biological sciences on the pre-med track. As a freshman, she felt confused about the pre-health process, how to balance classes with work and other extracurriculars, and make friends online. She applied to be a mentee

through PHMI and was matched with a mentor who validated her struggles, shared their own, and supported her as Vicki tried out different things to get adjusted to Hunter. Being a part of the PHMI community inspired her to become a PHMI mentor for three mentees and share academic and extracurricular resources. As the new Mentor Relations Coordinator, she looks forward to supporting current and new mentors in growing strong and long-lasting relationships with their own mentees. Vicki also aims to make mentorship more accessible to pre-health students at Hunter.

Emily Chan is a Hunter senior double majoring in Biology and Sociology on the Pre-Medical track, and is part of the Macaulay Honors Program. Her interests lie in health equity and women's health in particular.

She joined PHMI as a mentor during the Spring of 2022 and is looking forward to being the new Mentee Relations Coordinator. With this role, Emily hopes to make effective mentee/mentor matches that provide

mentees with the best mentorship possible, and ensure mentors have meaningful opportunities to support their peers. She is excited to help foster new connections and experiences within the PHMI and Hunter Pre-Health community!

Mashhura Nurilloeva is a senior at Hunter College, pursuing the pre-medical track with a major in Biochemistry. Her passions lie in pursuing an MD/PhD program. As a first-generation college student, Mashhura joined PHMI as a mentee in her first year at Hunter, an experience that greatly influenced her journey. She was later honored with the opportunity to serve as a mentor, inspiring and guiding fellow mentees. In her junior

year, Mashhura expanded her impact as an ambassador, actively contributing to the PHMI community.

Now, as the PHMI ambassador coordinator, Mashhura aims to foster stronger relationships between ambassadors and mentors within the PHMI community, drawing from her own valuable experiences to create an empowering and supportive environment.

Emma Demiraku is a Yalow Honors Scholar who graduated in the Spring of 2023 on the pre-dental track with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Political Science. She has been serving as a PHMI mentor since Spring 2023 to assist freshman, sophomore, and transfer students seeking guidance on entering the pre-health track.

After being guided by many upperclassmen Yalow Scholars, she was inspired to provide the same advice they gave to others who are confused about navigating pre-health requirements and potential careers.

As the new PHMI Social Media Director, she hopes to expand both the @phmihunter Instagram and PHMI at Hunter College Facebook pages and expose pre-health students to helpful student resources. She wishes to continue featuring a diverse array of successful students for Humans of PHMI and, simultaneously, introduce a new activity which features student clubs that could benefit students on their pre-health and social endeavors! She hopes to aesthetically revamp the PHMI pages and showcase the true helpful qualities of PHMI to Hunter students!

Susanna Kasparov is a rising junior on the Pre-Med track and is majoring in Biological Sciences with a double minor in Chemistry and Psychology. She joined as a mentor in the Fall of 2022 as a sophomore.

Being a part of PHMI has allowed her to transition into the pre-med community and has provided her with support throughout her time at Hunter.

As the Administrative Coordinator, she will be able to oversee the logistics of PHMI. In her position, she hopes to continue to guide others through their own journeys and educate peers about health-related topics.