Our Team
Sophia Choi
President
Email: sophs.choi@gmail.com
Sophia Choi is part of the DO 2024 Class at WesternU, currently completing her second year while balancing board studies. She graduated from Pomona College with a bachelor's degree in Neuroscience in 2018. Before entering medical school, she has worked as a private tutor in all different disciplines for ages 5-18, a scribe for an outpatient pediatric clinic in Los Angeles, a researcher on opioid addiction at UCLA, and as a coordinator for a nonprofit that provides free counseling and family services for the at-need Korean community.
Born and raised in the mountains of Los Angeles county, Sophia is the oldest of four and was inspired by her father, a PA, to become a doctor. As a young girl, she would sneak into her father's office while he was at work to copy medical illustrations into her homemade "Sophia's Book of Medicine". Since then, under the guidance of many wonderful mentors who helped navigate failed tests and doubt is now on her way to becoming a possible psychiatrist or pediatrician. Wanting to return the favor, Sophia created MiM with the following team members.
If not at school, you will often find Sophia wishing that she was diving (she is PADI certified!), gaming or playing with her senior Chihuahua, Oliver. Please feel free to reach out!
Ed Cha
Vice President
Email: ed.cha002@gmail.com
Ed Cha is a first-generation college student who graduated from University of California, Riverside in 2017 with a B.S. in Biology. He took a few gap years working as a scribe in the Emergency Department at Loma Linda University Medical Center. In 2020, he was accepted into the Pre-Health Professionals Program at California State University, Los Angeles and was later accepted to Western University’s D.O. school through a linkage program.
Ed was part of the COPE Health Scholar program throughout his undergraduate and post-baccalaureate years. He became a Training Coordinator and later advanced his training to become the Director of Training and Education as well as a Program Manager Assistant to further impact program constituents. He developed a passion of mentoring students with similar interests in pursuing medicine and was able to provide insight into his experiences as a volunteer, EMT, researcher and medical scribe. He seeks to provide guidance for the next generation of pre-med students as navigating the system alone is challenging.
Nyree Khachikyan
Co-Director of Communications
Email: nyree.khachikyan@gmail.com
Nyree Khachikyan is currently a premedical student in her first gap year prior to applying to medical school. She graduated from UC Irvine in 2021 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering, and switched to the premedical route more than halfway through her college experience because she discovered that her true passion lies in patient care. During this difficult career switch process, she relied heavily on mentors and friends and became passionate about mentorship. She now wants to share her knowledge with other pre-meds to inspire and provide hope that it's never too late to follow your dream of becoming a physician.
Quang Pham
Co-Director of Communications
Email: qpham0205@gmail.com
Quang (Wayne) Pham was born in Downtown Los Angeles and is a current second year at Western University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He graduated from the University of California, Davis with a B.S. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Throughout his undergraduate career, Quang served as the Vice President and Publicity Chair for the American Red Cross Club at UC Davis as well as worked as a Chemistry Peer Mentor for his underclassmen. During his gap year, Quang worked as a medical assistant at a family medicine clinic in the San Gabriel Valley and as a medical insurance associate. This experience during his gap year provided a deeper understanding to both the clinical and insurance sides of medicine.
When he’s not studying, you can find Quang in the gym, at the local boba shop, or the archery field (Quang competed in archery nationally for 3 years).
An (Annie) Thai
Community Outreach Chair
Email: anvthai99@gmail.com
An Thai is a current second-year osteopathic medical student at Western University. She completed her undergraduate degree at UC Davis with a major in Anthropology and minor in Education. During her gap years, she completed a Post-Baccalaureate Program at San Francisco State while also working as a Medical Assistant at an Orthopedic Clinic for over 3 years. She was born and raised in San Jose, California and lived in Northern California all her life until officially moving down to Southern California for medical school.
An's non-traditional path towards medicine began with her degree in Anthropology where she gained a unique insight on the importance of healing through culture, spirituality, and herbal medicine. The foundation of Anthropology has given her the opportunity to create meaningful connections with her patients. Her biggest advice for anyone wanting to pursue a career in medicine is to major in what you enjoy learning about because your passion for medicine and your major will find its way to shine through in your medical school interview. An joined the Matched in Medicine board because she wanted to provide students with the support that she was fortunate to have during her application cycle. She noticed that there weren't enough mentors and advisors for the number of students interested in medicine and wanted to work towards making a change towards increasing the opportunities for students to have a fair chance at pursuing a career in medicine.
On her limited free time, you can find her enjoying some time with her friends and family or at the local plant shop where she continues to feed her obsession of being a plant mom.
Christian Doescher
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Email: christian.i.doescher@gmail.com
Christian Doescher grew up in Germany, playing soccer for as long as he can remember. His aspiration to pursue a medical career in the U.S. led him to move to San Jose, CA. After completing his A.A. in Chemistry at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, CA, Christian continued his studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) while performing Emergency Medicine research at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Following his graduation from UCLA with a B.S. in Biochemistry, Christian worked at the San Jose Integrated Wellness Center and now attends the Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA as a second-year medical student. Throughout his educational path, Christian attained certificates as a CNA, EMT, and TMS technician to expose himself to various medical fields and to start making a difference in patients’ lives. He is currently involved in cardiac and orthopedic laboratory research while completing his medical degree. In his free time, Christian enjoys playing and watching soccer, running, and traveling.