Current Fellows

Second year fellows

 Hamid R. Amanatkar

Hometown: Kashan, Iran

Undergraduate: 
MD/DO: Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (IUMS) School of Medicine, Isfahan, Iran

Outside Interests: I had the opportunity of living in different cities, so by default, I came to love learning about new cultures, their foods, music, arts and literature. I enjoy traveling, hiking, doing photography, dining out and going to live performances. St. Louis is a great metropolitan area with four beautiful seasons, gorgeous parks and nature full of outdoor opportunities, wonderful museums and great ethnic restaurants.

Professional Interests: I am interested in academia and I love all elements of practicing, educating, and research in the field of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. My special interest is research on psychopathology and treatment of early-onset Schizophrenia, ADHD, Bipolar Disorder and Autistic Spectrum Disorder. I strongly believe early intervention can have a huge impact on the quality of lives of children and adolescents who suffer from mental illnesses.

What I like most about Washington University Child Psych: I chose Wash U since Wash U Child Psych is a unique program providing a wide range of training including inpatient, outpatient, consultation-liaison, addiction, residential treatment for eating disorders, child neurology, psychotherapy, school consultation, community and emergency psychiatry. The rotations and didactics are very well-organized and the warm and welcoming atmosphere is impressive. It is an honor to work with attending physicians who are at the top of this field.

Ali Anwar

Hometown: St. Charles, IL (Chicago Suburb)

Undergraduate: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

MD/DO: Midwestern University/Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine

Outside Interests: Spending time with family and friends, traveling, eating good food, playing sports, watching the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Cubs!

Professional Interests: Psychiatry in general but specifically consult-liaison psychiatry, childhood anxiety disorders, and adolescent substance use disorders.

What I like most about Washington University Child Psych: The best thing about training at Wash U is having the opportunity to work with the leaders in the field of child psychiatry. The faculty are accomplished and respected clinicians and teachers who are very supportive. Another great thing about Wash U is the location. I did my residency at Wash U and can say that St. Louis is a great city with amazing people.

Andrea Giedinghagen

Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri

Undergraduate: Cornell University

MD/DO: Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine

Outside Interests: Running, Writing poetry and essays, Cooking vegetarian feasts

Professional Interests: LGBTQ mental health disparities and advocacy, Resilience and complex trauma

What I like most about Washington University Child Psych: This program offers a chance to work closely with leaders in the field in an environment that nurtures curiosity, creativity and leadership.

Whitney Nall

Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK

Undergraduate: University of Oklahoma

MD/DO: University of Oklahoma

Outside Interests: Cooking, camping, hiking, music

Professional Interests: So far I have really enjoyed infant and toddler evaluations

What I like most about Washington University Child Psych: The variety of clinical rotations is better than what I saw at other institutions. The faculty are really supportive, approachable, and encouraging.

Alecia Vogel-Hammen

Hometown: Freeburg, IL

Undergraduate: Saint Louis University, BS in Biology and BA in Psychology

MD/DO: Washington University School of Medicine MD and PhD in Neuroscience

Outside Interests: spending time with family, being outside-hiking, jogging and eating (it’s all better outside), ice cream, music

Professional Interests: the development of emotional regulation, autism, the neural basis of psychopathology and psychiatric treatment

What I like most about Washington University Child Psych: I love Wash U so much I just can’t seem to leave- I’ve stayed here through the MD/PhD program, adult psychiatry residency, and now CAP fellowship.  It’s the people that have really kept me here.  The training opportunities here are great primarily because the faculty are so approachable and supportive.  I’ve learned so much clinically at Wash U, there are many research opportunities, and the mentor-ship, both personal and professional, has been invaluable.

First year fellows

Shahana Ayub

Hometown: Karachi, Pakistan.

MD/DO: Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi.

Residency: Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia.

Outside Interests: Traveling, yoga, enjoy dining, taking long walks/running and hang out with my friends and family.

Professional Interests: Child psychiatry in general, particularly neurodevelopment disorder, developmental psychopathology of personality disorders, childhood gender identity issues and social psychiatry.

What I like most about Washington University Child Psych: When I interviewed at WASHU for CAP fellowship, this program instantly impressed me. I moved from East Coast to Midwest to work with the distinguished leaders in Child Psychiatry. The program offers well-rounded training in all facets of child Psychiatry such as inpatient and outpatient setting, distinct consult rotation, exceptional eating disorders rotation and exposure to telepsychiatry. Program’s leadership is supportive, highly committed to excellence in medical education; the staff is very helpful, and fellow residents are very friendly.

Christopher Charlot

Hometown: Paducah, KY

Undergraduate:  Wash U

MD/DO: University of Louisville

Residency: Wash U

Outside Interests: I like hanging out with my wife and kids or chilling out by streaming show from Netflix or HBO. At some point I plan to buy a mountain bike and do some riding.

Professional Interests: No specific interests at this time, I just want to be the best clinician I can be.

What I like most about Washington University Child Psych: The faculty here are pretty amazing- both knowledgeable and approachable. They all like to teach and do so readily. My colleagues are also great. Everyone is a team-player and excited to be here.

Samad Hassan

Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

MD/DO: Five year medical program at The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Residency: Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan

Outside Interest: Dinner and movies with my Wife, playing, debating, and watching sports with friends, enjoying seasonal TV shows (Game of Thrones, House of Cards etc),  and spending time with family

Professional Interest:  Childhood anxiety disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. I am looking forward to my Eating Disorder rotation in the fall to better understand those specific disease pathologies and the psychodynamics behind their behaviors.

What I like most about WashU Child Psych:  Interviewing for CAP fellowships around the country was a great experience for me to see how advanced WashU is with their curriculum and overall training. Few fellowship programs have a proper eating disorder rotation allowing you to learn how to prescribe, treat, and manage this growing population of patients. Integrating telepsychiatry into the curriculum is also an attractive and up-to-date addition.  That being said, the main reason I chose WashU was because of the warmth and kindness displayed by the administration. Right from the interview they offered all of their resources to help my wife with medical licensing and employment in the state of Missouri (Canadian trained); it felt as if I was already a part of their family. That kind of compassion for a resident’s well-being is rare to find in a competitive academic environment.

Erica Vance

Hometown: Woodbury, MN

Undergraduate:  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

MD/DO:  American University of the Caribbean

Residency: Washington University in St. Louis

Outside Interests: I enjoy exercise (yoga, Pilates, Pickle ball), travel, reading, and spending time with my family.

Professional Interests: Telepsychiatry, working with athletes, and collaborative care.

What I like most about Washington University Child Psych: I really appreciate that our faculty are truly invested in the career development of each individual.

Michael Wenzinger

Hometown: Front Royal, Virginia

Undergraduate: University of Virginia

MD/DO: Eastern Virginia Medical School

Residency: Washington University

Outside Interests: Hiking, Indie Movies (Favorite: “Everything Will Be OK” by Don Hertzfeldt), Asian Food (a lot around St. Louis), and Music (Favorite-ish Band: The Mountain Goats)

Professional Interests: Addiction Medicine, Autism, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

What I like most about Washington University Child Psych: I chose Wash U C&P because of the eclectic and excellent training staff, the great work experience/didactic/supervision balance, and the very supportive atmosphere of the program. I had never been to Saint Louis prior to my adult psychiatry training but quickly came to greatly enjoy the city for its eccentric charm — particularly its food scene.