Chief Residents Announced for 2024-2025

The class of 2023-24 Chief Residents have been announced: Hayley Galitzer, Vishnu Nair, Sulaiman Somani, & Celeste Witting.

Ron Witteles, MD, professor of cardiovascular medicine and program director for the internal medicine residency training program, will announce the new chiefs at a special in-person Medicine Grand Rounds on Wednesday, May 25, expressing his excitement and joy. “The best part of being program director is getting to work with amazing chief residents each year!” he explained. 

Meet the Chief Residents

Hayley Galitzer

Hayley Galitzer earned a B.A. in Psychology from Columbia University, graduating summa cum laude and as a Rhodes scholarship finalist. She then worked for two years as a clinical research coordinator at Mount Sinai, before enrolling in medical school at NYU – where she was one of the very top medical students, earning Honors distinction in every core clerkship, and co-chairing the MD student ambassador program. We were thrilled when she matched with us for her residency training in 2021.  As a resident, Hayley has been a star. She has been the Chair of the Internal Medicine Wellness Committee from shortly after her arrival, she serves on the GME Wellness Committee, and she is an elected Class Representative. Her clinical acumen and caring are known throughout the residency program, and we can’t wait to work with her as a Chief Resident. After her Chief year, Hayley plans to pursue a career in academic Hospital medicine, with a continued focus on physician wellness.

Vishnu Nair

Vishnu Nair earned a B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from UC Berkeley, graduating magna cum laude. He then enrolled in medical school at UCLA, earning Honors in every core clerkship, and being selected for a teaching fellowship in his senior year. We were delighted when he matched with us for his residency training in 2021.  As a resident, Vishnu was quickly recognized for both his clinical skill and his passion for teaching. He won the peer-selected Wolfsohn Award for Outstanding Performance in Internal Medicine as a 2nd year resident, and has been involved in teaching the Practice of Medicine course in the medical school from early in his intern year. Always curious, Vishnu is currently working on a project to distinguish between ‘authentic’ applicant personal statements vs. ChatGPT-generated personal statements. After his Chief year, Vishnu plans to pursue a career in academic Hospital Medicine, with a focus on medical education, clinical reasoning, and quality improvement.

Sulaiman Somani

Sulaiman Somani earned his B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, graduating summa cum laude. He then enrolled in medical school at Mount Sinai, during which time he took a 2 year leave to co-found and lead product development for Monogram Orthopedics. This startup focuses on improved outcomes following hip and knee replacements by generating 3D-printed, patient-specific implants from CT scans, work which has resulted in 9 patents being filed. Upon his return to medical school, he was not only a top clinical student, but he was incredibly prolific as a researcher – with over 30 manuscripts published from his time before and during medical school. Needless to say, we were delighted when he matched with us for his residency training in 2021. As a resident, Sulaiman has distinguished himself as a clinician, as a researcher, and by his endless enthusiasm and curiosity.  As a PGY-2, he was a winner of the peer-selected Wolfsohn award for Outstanding Performance in Internal Medicine, he has continued his impressive research output, and he has served as the leader of the Resident Research interest group. After his Chief Resident year, Sulaiman plans to pursue a career in Cardiac Electrophysiology, with plans to focus on AI research.

Celeste Witting

Celeste Witting earned her B.S. in Biochemistry and Psychology from the University of Maryland, and then enrolled in medical school at Northwestern University, where she earned her M.D. in 2021. She was a leader in medical school, serving as Senator and as Vice President of the student Senate, and she was an active researcher, ultimately publishing five manuscripts from her work from that time. Clinically she was a top student across her clerkships, and we were delighted when she matched with us in 2021. At Stanford, Celeste has thrived – earning a reputation for her patient care and for her teaching abilities.  Celeste was awarded the prestigious Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award from Stanford Medical School in March, 2022.  She has been equally prolific as a researcher, working with Drs. Fatima Rodriguez and Alex Sandhu – already having a first-author publication in JACC: Heart Failure and presenting multiple abstracts at the American Heart Association national meeting. After her Chief Resident year, Celeste plans to pursue fellowship training in Cardiology.