• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Choose which site to search.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Logo University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
College of Medicine: For Medical Students
  • UAMS Health
  • Jobs
  • Giving
  • Academic Calendar
  • Career Advising
    • Career Advising Plan
  • Mentor Spotlight Podcast
  • Preparing for Residency
    • Residency Match 2020
    • Residency Match 2021
    • Residency Match 2022
    • Residency Match 2023
    • Residency Match 2024
    • Residency Match 2025
  • Student Links
    • Undergraduate Medical Education Policies
  • Academic Houses
  • Financial Aid and Scholarships
    • Cost of Attendance
    • Institutional Scholarships
      • Clinics/Groups/Individual Donor Scholarships
      • Medical Association Scholarships
      • Private Foundation Scholarships
    • Non-Institutional Scholarships
    • Service Connected Scholarships
  • Honors in Research
    • Research Opportunities
  • Visiting Students
  • Non-Discrimination Statement
  • Outstanding Teacher Nominations
  • Undergraduate Medical Education Competencies
  • Parents Club
  • UAMS Campus Security
  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  2. College of Medicine
  3. For Medical Students
  4. Mentor Spotlight Podcast

Mentor Spotlight Podcast

Welcome!

Hi everyone! Welcome to our student-produced podcast, Mentor Spotlight!

We are Manasa Veluvolu, Weijia Shi, Hannah Hubbard and Jasmin Cotoco, medical students here at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. What is Mentor Spotlight? Well, it is a podcast designed for students at our school to connect with faculty mentors you might not know about otherwise who can guide you during your career path. It was started because we all know the struggle of trying to find mentors when:

  • You’re an M1 and you didn’t even know you needed one.
  • You’re an M2 and drowning in house lectures and Step prep.
  • You’re an M3 and just trying to survive the rotations with Step 2 coming up.
  • You’re an M4, when you finally figured out what you want to do but that residency application is due in two months or less…

Don’t panic! We hope this podcast can help you find the right people to connect with! We, along with periodic guest hosts, will be talking to different UAMS/ACH/VA faculty about their career journeys, hobbies, and advice they live by. Our conversations will give you a peek into the diversity available within medicine – whether that be the career pathways you can create, the different personalities within a field, or even the specialities you can choose from and how to integrate your passions into them. We are super excited to get this podcast going! In our first episode, we will be talking with renowned EP cardiologist, Dr. Paydak. We hope you join us!

Please reach out to any of us via email, or fill out the form on this page, with suggestions, questions and/or concerns. Thank you!

Episodes

Episode 11: Sidney Dassinger, M.D.

Listen to Dr. Melvin “Sid” Dassinger, Chief of Pediatric General Surgery at UAMS, talk about his career path, surgeries he performs as a pediatric surgeon, his interests outside of medicine, and some of his most memorable moments in his medical education and surgical career.

Read more

Episode 10: Matthew Roberts, M.D.

Listen to Dr. Matthew Roberts, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery and a trauma surgeon and surgical intensivist, as well as ECMO provider, talk about his journey to and through medicine, as well as his interests and lessons learned along the way. We talk about topics like the future of his surgical interests at UAMS, as well as how he has been able to integrate his work with life outside of the hospital over the years. 

Read more

Episode 9: Katy Marino, M.D.

Dr. Marino is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery and a thoracic surgeon at UAMS. Listen to learn more about how she narrowed down her interests to decide in pursuing a career in medicine, as well as how she approaches mentoring and what she calls “sponsoring” a student. Other topics mentioned include being a female in this field, her lifestyle, what changes she would love to see within health care, as well as her advice for students. 

Read more

Episode 8: Johnathan Goree, M.D.

Meet Dr. Johnathan Goree, an Associate Professor in Anesthesiology, as well as the Division Director and Fellowship Program Director for Chronic Pain at UAMS. He considers his clinical title to be a “Quality of Life Specialist,” and in this episode, learn more about what his clinical and research interests are, as well as about his interests outside the hospital, from mixology and cooking to traveling!

Read more

Episode 7: Sowmya Patil, MBBS, M.D.

Dr. Patil is a Professor of Pediatrics at ACH/UAMS, and the Director of the Division of General Pediatrics. As a medical student, you have probably seen her through your Practice of Medicine course for which she is the current Course Director.

Read more

Episode 6: Nolan Bruce, M.D.

In this episode, learn about Dr. Nolan Bruce, a trauma surgeon and intensivist here at UAMS. We discuss his career and research interests, as well as his take on different aspects of a medical education/career. We also discuss some of his interests outside of medicine, including sand volleyball, and his pets!

Read more

Episode 5: Kathryn Stambough, M.D.

Our first female physician mentor we are featuring is Dr. Kathryn Stambough, a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist at ACH, as well as the Assistant Program Director of the OB/GYN residency program at UAMS. In this episode, she shares her journey to and within OB/GYN, as well as her passions both within and outside the field. Listen to hear her honest advice and tips for navigating a career in medicine.

Read more

Episode 4: John Spollen, M.D.

In the fourth episode, we have a conversation with Dr. John Spollen, a psychiatrist at the VA and the Clinical Co-Course Director of the M1 Brain and Behavior module. We talk about his educational journey to medicine, the highlights of his career, and his work with ECT and Ketamine. Dr. Spollen is enthusiastic about his work with students, so we can’t wait for you to meet him.

Read more

Episode 3: Matthew Spond, M.D.

In this episode, we have a conversation with Dr. Matthew Spond, an anesthesiologist here at UAMS.

Read more

Episode 2: Joseph Margolick, M.D.

Our second episode highlights Dr. Joseph Margolick, a general and trauma surgeon as well as Assistant Professor within the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care in the Department of Surgery.

Read more

Episode 1: Hakan Paydak, M.D.

Our first mentor we cannot wait to introduce you to is Dr. Hakan Paydak of the Cardiology Division of the Department of Internal Medicine.

Read more

The Mentorship Spotlight Team

Hannah Hubbard
Hannah Hubbard
Email: hrhubbard@uams.edu
Jasmin Cotoco
Jasmin Cotoco
Email: jcotoco@uams.edu

Mentor Spotlight Contact Form

Name
UAMS College of Medicine LogoUAMS College of MedicineUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Mailing Address: 4301 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 686-7000
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

© 2025 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences