Fellows
Second-year fellows
Melissa R. Band, DO
Hometown: South Hampton, PA
Medical school: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lewisburg, WV
Residency: Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA
Medical interests: Scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis
Why Geisinger: “I am very proud to be trained by exceptional clinician educators in our rheumatology department. They truly care about fellow feedback and make changes promptly. They encourage us to develop our own niche in training, which includes special tracks for MSK U/S, QI and osteoporosis. We have plenty of time incorporated in our schedules to develop our specific passions to pursue one of the tracks. I would not want to train anywhere else.”
Medical school: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lewisburg, WV
Residency: Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA
Medical interests: Scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis
Why Geisinger: “I am very proud to be trained by exceptional clinician educators in our rheumatology department. They truly care about fellow feedback and make changes promptly. They encourage us to develop our own niche in training, which includes special tracks for MSK U/S, QI and osteoporosis. We have plenty of time incorporated in our schedules to develop our specific passions to pursue one of the tracks. I would not want to train anywhere else.”
Rajesh Kuppuraju, DO
Hometown: Robbinsville, NJ
Medical school: Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, NJ
Residency: Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA
Medical interests: Seronegative spondyloarthritides, osteoporosis screening
Hobbies: Writing, cooking, board games, video games, spending time with my wife, hanging out with my co-fellows
Why Geisinger?: “Geisinger’s fellowship program has prepared me incredibly well to be a practicing rheumatologist. We take care of so many severe presentations of disease, and interact so closely with other medical specialties, including in our combined autoimmune nephritis clinic, that I feel well suited to practicing in any area of the country and serving any patient population.”
Medical school: Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, NJ
Residency: Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA
Medical interests: Seronegative spondyloarthritides, osteoporosis screening
Hobbies: Writing, cooking, board games, video games, spending time with my wife, hanging out with my co-fellows
Why Geisinger?: “Geisinger’s fellowship program has prepared me incredibly well to be a practicing rheumatologist. We take care of so many severe presentations of disease, and interact so closely with other medical specialties, including in our combined autoimmune nephritis clinic, that I feel well suited to practicing in any area of the country and serving any patient population.”
First-year fellows
Kristen A. Salava, MD
Hometown: Apollo, PA
Medical school: Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Residency: Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA; Chief Resident, 2021-2022
Medical interests: Medical education, vasculitis, scleroderma
Hobbies: Traveling, spending time with my family, reading, hanging out with my co-fellows
Medical school: Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Residency: Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA; Chief Resident, 2021-2022
Medical interests: Medical education, vasculitis, scleroderma
Hobbies: Traveling, spending time with my family, reading, hanging out with my co-fellows
Ruchi Patel, DO
Hometown: South Plainfield, NJ
Medical school: Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ
Residency: Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA
Medical interests: Inflammatory arthritis
Hobbies: Spending time with family and friends, board games, traveling, hiking
Medical school: Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ
Residency: Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA
Medical interests: Inflammatory arthritis
Hobbies: Spending time with family and friends, board games, traveling, hiking