Christine Tan Cadogan, MD

Associate Program Director, UW Pediatrics – Alaska Track
Pediatrician, Southcentral Foundation/Alaska Native Medical Center
Medical school: Loma Linda University
Residency: Loma Linda University

What do you enjoy most about working in Alaska?
My two favorite things about working at SCF are the families I have the opportunity to work with and our team. Both our clinical team in field health and our residency team are collections of amazing people that have compassion for those they serve, as well as, for one another. I value the team approach and I know we can rely on each other to do the job well.

Our family loves to be outside at all times of the year. We like living in a relatively less populated area and having access to the mountains. Our family enjoys camping, hiking, fishing, biking, skiing/snowboarding and traveling.

Amy Schumacher, MD

Associate Program Director, UW Pediatrics – Alaska Track
Pediatrician, Southcentral Foundation/Alaska Native Medical Center
Medical school: University of Wisconsin – Madison
Residency: University of Wisconsin – Madison

What do you enjoy most about working in Alaska?
I trained in Madison, WI (medical school and residency) and moved in 2000 to Anchorage, where my husband, Greg, was repaying Air Force scholarship. We were seeking a vibrant outdoor playground with a wintry component- and found it!- prompting extension from a 3 year tour to now 20 years as Alaskans. Trail runs, hikes, skiing and fishing draw us outside to continually explore new areas with our growing family: Gus, Rudy and Heidi and our 2 pointers, Greta and Lucy.

Having loved my residency elective at Shiprock,NM, an IHS Navaho site, I happily joined SCF initially as a hospitalist, awaiting a spot in primary care. Eventually, I then moved from my panel to the specialty/field health role where I am thrilled to work with our AK track residents in a multidisciplinary team. Adult learners add excitement and growth to every single day! Their enthusiasm for learning and adventure in Alaska life proves to be contagious throughout our clinic and community.

Michelle Nace, MD

Site Director and Pediatric Medical Director, Tanana Valley Clinic, Fairbanks
Medical school: University of Washington
Residency: University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital 

What do you enjoy most about working in Alaska?
Being a pediatrician in Fairbanks allows you to continue practicing the whole gamut of pediatrics from the NICU to the inpatient ward to the outpatient setting—you still are able to get a little bit of everything. Being involved in the residency program gives you continued access and updates through Seattle Children’s Hospital and their residents. We help train them while they help keep us trained. All this while in the outdoors wonderland of Alaska…you get to learn medicine indoors then you get to learn life outdoors.

John Tappel, MD

Site Director and Pediatrician, LaTouche Pediatrics, Anchorage
Medical school: University of Cincinnati
Residency: David Grant US Air Force Medical Center 

What do you enjoy most about working in Alaska?
Being a pediatrician in and of itself is extraordinarily rewarding, but doing so in Alaska is even more so, due to the need for primary care providers throughout this expansive territory. You become a vital cog in an essential service. If you don’t show up, someone goes without. The Alaska Track has been wonderfully fulfilling – we have attracted bright, outside-the-box residents from the program’s inception. Our retention rate speaks for itself – our AK residents often become our AK pediatricians. This is an opportunity to practice your skills in a resource constrained environment; this is challenging and there are issues to fix, but that’s why this program exists.

Lilian Ho, MD, Alaska Track ’17

Pediatrician, Southcentral Foundation/Alaska Native Medical Center
Medical school: University of Washington
Residency: University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital 

What do you enjoy most about working in Alaska?
The people are the best part! I feel so lucky to be surrounded by dedicated, hardworking and kind-hearted people in all facets of my life – at work, in the residency and on the trails. My job continues to challenge me intellectually and clinically, and I enjoy getting to flex all the skills I learned in residency, including outpatient skills through my field clinic in Kodiak. I love getting to work with the Alaska Track leadership team to continue improving the resident experience and enjoy working with current residents on career development and wellbeing. Life in Alaska does not disappoint! I’m out on the trails every day with my dog and still have so many areas of the state to explore. It’s beautiful year-round!

Lye-Ching Wong, MD, Alaska Track ’19

Pediatrician, Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, Bethel
Medical school: University of Virginia
Residency: University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital

What do you enjoy most about working in Alaska?
I enjoy practicing full spectrum medicine in Bethel. It is a unique place where pediatricians can have continuity with patients from the villages and clinics to the inpatient setting and ER. I also get to fly on medevacs and visit rural villages for clinic, which are so fun! Medicine here is challenging and rewarding at the same time. We also have the cutest children in the YK Delta I love working with the residents because they keep me on my toes. I enjoy teaching and learning from the residents. My favorite thing about living in Bethel are the people. The generosity and kindness of the community is unparalleled. I’ve also enjoyed learning about fishing, subsistence lifestyle, Yupik culture, and how to not die on the tundra in the Alaskan winter. There is never a dull moment.

Adrian Furman, MD

Site Director and Pediatrician, LaTouche Pediatrics, Anchorage
Medical school: Vanderbilt University
Residency: Social Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore

What do you enjoy most about working in Alaska?

Identifying as an Alaska Native from the village of Egegik in Bristol Bay, practice in Alaska was a planned home-coming. At the same time, spending two years in Hawaii as a preteen, premedical studies at Stanford, medical school in Nashville, and residency in the Bronx opened me to a world of diversity. I was blessed to train in a program focused on primary care and addressing the social determinants of health affecting urban underserved populations and I take pride in providing care for infants, children, and adolescents of all races, ethnicities, and faiths in a LGBTIQ+ inclusive manner. Alaska is such a beautifully diverse place I find great rewarded in constantly learning from my patients and their families.

Being involved in the Alaska Track has been equally fulfilling as we attract exceptionally-qualified residents who continually educate me as much I attempt to teach them. Learning in a resource-constrained environment will be an intellectually rewarding challenge. We hope you enjoy the experience so much that you also consider returning to contribute to the Alaskan healthcare community.

Gwendolyn “Gwen” Lieb, MD, Alaska Track ’17

Pediatrician, Tanana Valley Clinic, Fairbanks
Medical school: University of Washington
Residency: University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital

What do you enjoy most about working in Alaska?

When I started residency in the Alaska Track I had planned for a 3 year adventure, and then to settle somewhere in the Northwest. Little did I know, that it is hard to want to live anywhere else after living here. My wife and I fell in love with Fairbanks in particular, and found the community quirky, and welcoming. I think partly because of the extreme weather, people really go out of their way to take care of each other up here. And of course, there is no shortage of outdoor activities. We love cross country and downhill skiing, and snowshoeing in the winter, kayaking, camping, and hiking in the summer. Getting out in nature allows for a quick recharge on time off. Oh, and Fairbanks is one of the best places in the world to view the Northern Lights, which we often do from our porch, or bedroom.

And, practicing medicine in Fairbanks is fascinating: there’s never a shortage of interesting cases, and there’s the added element of helping folks who may live in *very* remote areas (no running water, no electricity, no roads etc). Not to mention the limited access to specialty care, this is really full spectrum pediatrics at it’s finest.

Amanda Soliai

Residency Program Coordinator

What do you enjoy most about working in Alaska?
I was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska and am proud to be “Alaska Grown.” I went to the University of Alaska Anchorage and graduated with a degree in business management. I have been with the Alaska Track for the last seven years and I love working with an adventurous group of residents in such a unique program. It truly is rewarding to see the residents’ journey from applicant, to intern, to senior, and then attending. I also really enjoy hearing about how much they enjoy Alaska, professionally and personally, as they explore everything this state has to offer. In the summers I love to fish and my year-round hobbies include coffee, CrossFit, Costco and puzzles.