PGY-1:

Nicolas Hernandez, MD earned his medical degree in 2008 from Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico. In 2003, he received his BS in Biology from SUNY Stony Brook. Nicolas has an extensive background of community service and volunteering. Nic did an awesome job as a subintern here a year ago while enrolled in studies at New York Medical College. After years of visits since his youth for church meetings, he is almost as at home in Leominster as he is with this family in New York. His personal interests include music and sports.

Jennifer Lin, DO is a 2011 graduate of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and earned her BA in Biology from Cornell University in 2006. Jen enjoys the versatility of family medicine. She joined us for an elective here as a third year student, showing her outstanding clinical care and team work at the ACTION Health Center and in work with the residents. She grew up n Cherry Hill, NJ.  Jen enjoys ballet, Chinese dance, photography, and traveling to different countries.

Ryan Montoya, MD is a 2011 graduate of UMass Chan Medical School and earned his BA in Biology from Harvard College in 2005. He spent many years as a laboratory researcher at the Forsyth Insitute in Boston. Ryan has a longstanding interest in both art and medicine and he has been published twice in the Journal of Dental Research. In additon to being a hedge fund manager, Ryan also is an amateur photographer and comic book artist. 

Stephanie Muriglan, MD graduated in 2011 from St. George's University and received her BA in Biology (1999) and MS in Biology from New York University as well as her MA from the College of New Jersey. Stephanie worked as an EMT in New York City for several years after her studies. She is drawn to the work of our community health center due to witnessing profound gaps in care from an urban ambulance. She's served as President of her school's chapter of Women in Medicine, speaks Spanish fluently and enjoys camping and photography. Stephanie is also a member of our residency's Global Health Track (read Stephanie's Track bio.)

Luisa Hiendlmayr, MD is a 2011 graduate from Ross University. A native New Yorker, Luisa graduated from Hunter College with a BA in Biology in 2006. Luisa worked as an EMT before attending medical school. She has a strong interest in preventive medicine and pediatrics and is fluent in Spanish. Luisa enjoys teaching as well as biking and skiing and is looking forward to training in New England. 

Samantha Richards, DO graduated from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. A product of a farm family in Maine, she ventured out to Michigan for a BA in Spanish from Hillsdale College in 2004. Samantha was thrilled to study manipulative medicine, and enjoys putting her studies into action. In her spare time she likes to read and play the harp, although she uses her not-spare time to cook flavorful foods. She loves sharing recipes, particularly the pumpkin ones

PGY-2:

Amanda Iantosca, DO
Mary Washington College
New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
Hometown: Yonkers, NY
Personal Facts: Amanda was born and raised in Yonkers, a suburb of New York City. She completed her undergraduate education in Virginia at Mary Washington College, where she majored in Biology. Following college, she spent two years working as a Surgical Scrub Technician at a community hospital in Westchester County, NY. She then moved on to attend medical school at New York College of Osteopathic Medicine on Long Island, NY. She chose Family Medicine when she discovered that all disciplines of medicine were equally stimulating. She then made the move up to New England to join the UMass Fitchburg residency because of the strong bond and friendly dynamic between residents she noticed during her interview. In her free time, Amanda enjoys hiking, camping, photography, and cooking.  

Timothy Lowney, DO
Boston College
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Personal Facts: Tim's two cousins graduated from Fitchburg, including his cousin, Mike, who is currently a PGY-1. Tim also comes from a family of doctors.. He has a passion for reaching out to the underserved and putting his osteopathic skills into practice.

Rocio Nordfeldt, MD
Universidad San Martin de Porres (Peru)
Personal Facts: Rocio trained and practiced general practice before moving to Framingham, MA in 2006. She has recently worked at UMassMemorial as a research assistant and as an interpreter in Spanish and Portuguese. Rocio has demonstrated a commitment to serving the underserved in Peru and in Massachusetts. She enjoys music and crafts with her daughter, volleyball, conditioning, reading, and arts.

Matthew Plosker, MD
University of Tampa
Ross University School of Medicine
Hometown: Somerset, MA
Personal Facts: Matt iseager to embrace comprehensive family medicine, and has great interest in obstetrics, his father’s field of practice. He has found time to compete and achieve national NCAA ranking in golf. Matt also worked as a research scientist with AstraZeneca in Waltham before entering medical school.

PGY-3:

Elliot Schaeffer, DO
Brandeis University
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM)
Hometown: West Hartford, CT
Personal Facts: Before entering medical school, Elliot undertook studies of Southeast Asia with the Pacific Challenge experiential learning program in 2005, which he followed with volunteer work in Tsunami recovery in Thailand. He is skilled in Spanish and in sign language. He enjoys nature and the outdoors, and he is an avid sports fan and participant. Elliot is also a member of the residency's Global Health Track (read Elliot's Track bio.)

Katherine Fitzgerald, DO
Oklahoma State University 
Oklahoma State College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2009
Personal Facts: Katherine has an extensive musical background and plays the violin, piano, French horn and clarinet. Katie looks forward to a rural underserved practice location after graduation.

Kristen Kavulich, DO, Chief Resident
Marist College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM)
Hometown: Originally from Wappingers Falls, NY. Now settled in Lexington, MA.
Personal Facts: I love snowboarding and live music
About Being a Resident in Fitchburg: This is the best family medicine residency program! It is the perfect balance between practice in a busy community hospital and access to the tertiary care centers. We are able to do rotations in both settings. The interaction with the specialists at HealthAlliance hospital is so great for learning, and the staff makes the hospital and clinic really pleasant places to work. I love that the program is unopposed, giving us the opportunity to do everything. When you are on call, you take care of admissions, adults, pediatrics, OB, clinic calls, ICU patients, codes, etc. It is a wonderful (and busy) experience!
About the Fitchburg Community: Challenging and rewarding patient population with very complicated medical and social situations. We have the ability to make a big difference in their lives by simply providing great primary medical care.
About Choosing Family Medicine: Family medicine was an easy choice for me – I loved all of my rotations, but especially loved getting to know patients and their families. Family medicine is the ideal mix of everything, and the continuity of care is so special. I am also very interested in OMT (osteopathic manipulative therapy) and integrative medicine, especially nutrition and acupuncture.

Nancy Larkin, MD
Sonoma State University, BA; United States International University, MA
St. George's University, 2009
Personal Facts: Nancy has a background as director of a residential treatment program and as a therapist, and extensive experience in business management. She is also an avid bicyclist.

Michael Lowney, DO
University of Chicago
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2008
Personal Facts: As part of his OMM Fellowship, Michael worked at PCOM 12 months over the last three years managing his own patients, teaching in the OMM lab and assisting with research projects. Michael has a family connection to our residency - his cousin is a 2006 graduate! Michael looks forward to joining the "family practice" when he graduates.

Minh Nguyen, MD
University of California, San Diego
Ross University School of Medicine, 2008
Personal Facts: Minh has been a research assistant and was the founder of the College Mentorship Program to support and counsel underprivileged high school students to go to college at the Orange Glen High School in Escondido, CA. Minh's wife is a Pediatrics resident in Boston. He is fluent in Vietnamese and Spanish and has completed several service mission trips to Central America.

Maria Majchrowski, Psy.D.
Second Year Primary Care Psychology Fellow
Central Michigan University
California School of Professional Psychology – San Diego

Maria comes to us with experience in education, business, engineering and information technology. A native of Michigan and a long-time resident of California, she earned her doctorate in clinical psychology with an emphasis in health psychology.

“I'm so excited to be working in an interdisciplinary model in family medicine! Our patients’ behavioral health needs are identified and treated sooner. We believe in a collaborative team approach and shared decision making with the patient. The impact on their lives is significant. We see the improvement. It is very rewarding to be part of this process.”

Personal Facts: Maria enjoys teaching and just about everything outdoors including: jogging, gardening, hiking, bicycling, observing nature, the lakes, the ocean, and tasting/ creating new recipes with fresh herbs and spices.