Meet the Faculty

Daniel Mueller, MD
Program Director 

I was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an undergraduate.  Medical school interviews brought me to Philadelphia, and I was immediately drawn to Temple (now the Lewis Katz School of Medicine).  I packed up my Cheesehead, moved to Philly, and I've been here ever since.  After medical school, I completed my medicine residency, chief residency, and infectious diseases fellowship at Temple University Hospital.  I was fortunate to have the opportunity to join the Section of Infectious Diseases as faculty and to take on the role of Associate Program Director for the IM residency in 2016 with a transition to the role to Program Director in 2020. There are a number of reasons why I have become a Temple "Lifer:" our faculty is passionate about medical education, our trainees are enthusiastic about learning, and our patients have so much to teach us.  Above all else, we have the privilege of caring for the underserved community of North Philadelphia, which can be incredibly rewarding.  My professional interests include medical education, antimicrobial stewardship, and multidrug-resistant organisms.  Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, playing the piano, trying out new restaurants, searching for places in Philly that serve cheese curds (if you aren't familiar with this amazing food, just ask me), and cheering on my Green Bay Packers.

I was born and lived in Guttenberg, New Jersey until I was 7 when I moved with my mom, dad, and sister to South Florida to be closer to Disney World (or so I thought). My parents taught me the value of hard work and determination at a young age. I spent my time growing up molding my brain as a violinist (I wish I still played!), dancer, mathlete who loved logarithms, and crafted scrap books. When I entered college at University of Florida I experienced college sports to a whole new level – back to back to back national championships in football and basketball (who’s bragging?) and became a diehard Gators fan. I then went to the rival Florida State University for medical school (this betrayal was as dramatic as it sounds) which is where I met my husband. The couples match landed us in Philadelphia so we packed up a little bit of Florida sunshine and were on our way. The collegiality and warmth I experienced here were unmatched, which is why after completing my residency I stayed on as faculty in the Section of Hospital Medicine. Fast forward to the present –I have learned to parallel park, bought snow boots, am a mother to two kids and a proud owner of a leaky roof– Philadelphia is now my home and Temple is now my family.  Through my residency and career at Temple I have learned that collaboration and innovation drive opportunities and change. Learning to understand and work within a complex health system has made me a better educator and clinician. My passion involves teaching these concepts, otherwise known as Health Systems Science, to others so that they themselves can become better teachers and leaders. I am Temple Made, and I am humbled to be able to drive innovation and teach future clinicians.

I was born on the small unassuming isle of Manhattan and have slowly worked my way out concentrically from there. I grew up in Briarwood in Queens and then Great Neck (“West Egg”) on Long Island. My parents both worked in public schools and I was seemingly predestined to be involved in education. I attended college at Binghamton University in upstate New York, studying physics and math before deciding to pivot to what I considered at the time “science + people.” I still like to pretend my premedical studies have had some meaningful long-term effect on the way I think, so please humor me. Conversely, I have long since abandoned the idea that my teenage act of rebellion against my native-Spanish speaking mother to take High School Latin was a good idea. I fell in love with Philadelphia while attending the University of Pennsylvania for medical school and, more importantly, with my wife who is a Philadelphia native. Therefore, after a brief four-year stint at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx for residency and chief residency, where I came to love working with underserved patient populations, I moved back to Philadelphia in 2017 to start working as a hospitalist at Temple. My primary academic interests lie in medical education and clinical reasoning, and I have served in various educational roles during my time at Temple before getting this opportunity. Outside of medicine, I spend my free time obsessing about the New York Yankees, binging books/TV/movies, and spending time with my physician spouse, a pediatric rheumatologist.

Rachel Snyder, MD
Associate Program Director
Director of Ambulatory Curriculum, Co-Chair of Wellness Committee
Associate Track Director of Primary Care Track

I was born in Nebraska, but moved to a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when I was a baby. I lived there until I moved to go to college at The University of Michigan (forever Go Blue!). No one in my family even remotely has a career in science or healthcare; it was at Michigan that I really began to explore my love of science. After college, I moved back to Philadelphia to be closer to my family and have happily been here ever since! I worked for two years before starting at Drexel University College of Medicine. After medical school, I completed my residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania – the Primary Care Track. After residency I knew I wanted to stay in Philadelphia, get involved in medical education and work with an underserved population. I specifically wanted to be at a place where I would be surrounded by people who would challenge me to be the best doctor I could be and who shared a similar mission of taking care of the North Philadelphia community. Temple proved to be that place. My clinical time is spent in outpatient primary care and working at the TRUST clinic (suboxone). My non-clinic time is spent as the Associate Program Director where I oversee the ambulatory curriculum for the residency. I also serve as the Associate Program Director of the Primary Care Track. While I am biased because I am from the area, I do believe Philadelphia is an east coast city gem and I love living and working in the city. Outside of work, I enjoy experiencing all that Philadelphia has to offer—from overhyped sports teams to amazing food, music, and running trails. You can usually find me searching for a good neighborhood coffee shop (I have a lot of recommendations!) or hanging out at one of Philly’s amazing parks with my husband and two energetic kids.

Vanneta Hyatt, MD, MA
Assistant Program Director
Director of Community Engagement, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Chair of Diversity Task Force

When I relocated to Philadelphia looking for my first job as a primary care physician, I knew I wanted to find an academic institution with a mission focus on serving the underserved population. This has been the driving force behind my medical education- helping marginalized and underserved population. I truly found that at Temple- from the medical school through the residency program, the faculty and staff, the passion for our mission and community motivates me daily. Originally from the beautiful island of Jamaica, I relocated to Brooklyn New York, where I spent majority of my life. I did my undergraduate and graduate studies at the City University of New York and my medical education at Weill Cornell Medical College. I decided to venture out of NYC and travelled to the south for residency at Emory University.  While in Georgia my passion for primary care flourished, thus it was no surprise when I relocated to Philadelphia that Temple would be the ideal place to plant my roots-and plant I did- as I am now the proud owner of a home in Philly.  My time here at Temple is spent working with the residency program, initially as a core faculty and now an Assistant Program Director, working with medical students within the Doctoring Program and of course taking care of our wonderful North Philadelphia population. In addition, I get to enjoy the unique attributes of the city, from the rich history, foods and of course the people. Now, I am not a huge sport fan, but I learned quickly how “fanatic” Philly natives are with their sports and I love it!! On any given weekend you may find me hanging out with my “tween” niece and yes, oftentimes chauffeuring her to her activities. I also love hanging out with friends exploring Philly and its suburbs, but most of all, I enjoy moments of relaxation with my siblings and extended family.

Key faculty members for the Internal Medicine program include:

• Jill Allenbaugh, MD, Director of Medical Education Track
• Jessica Briscoe, MD, Director of Professional Development
• Monica Busuioc, MD, PhD, Co-Director for Inpatient Interprofessional Education
• Ashwin Chandar, MD, Co-Lead of Academic Half-Day
• Giuliana DeFrancesch, MD, Co-Director of Global Health, Member of Temple's Diversity Task Force
• Anam Fatma, MD, Director of the Critical Appraisal Curriculum, Co-Lead of Academic Half-Day
• Jamie Garfield, MD, Co-Lead of LGBTQ/Transgender care curriculum thread, QI/PS curriculum creator
• Susan Gersh, MD, Co-Chair of Residency Wellness Committee
• Matthew Gordon, MD, Director of Simulation Education
• Sabrina Islam, MD, Resident Advisor
• Nicole Keane, MD, Director of Point of Care Ultrasound Education
• Rebecca Kim, MD, Core Faculty Health Systems Science Track, Co-Lead High Value Care Curriculum
• Sheetal Koul, MD, Co-Lead of Academic Half-Day
• Keith McNellis, MD, Director of Medical Consultation & Morbidity and Mortality Conference
• Neena Mohan, MD, Resident Advisor
• John Nawn, MD, Director of Board Review Curriculum, Clinical Pathology Conference Series
• Estefania Oliveros, MD, Resident Advisor, Diversity Task Force
• Mariah Presbery, MD, Resident Advisor 
• Paul Pronovost, MD, Section Chief of Nephrology
• Parth Rali, MD, Resident Advisor, Co-Lead for Simulation Education
• Carly Sokach, MD, Core Faculty Med Ed Track and Health Systems Science Track, Co-Lead Transitions of Care Curriculum
• Stephanie Spivack, MD, Director of the Urban Bioethics Track
• Sam Stern, MD, Director of Addiction Medicine Curriculum and Elective; Community Engagement Coordinator
• Cherie L. Vaz, MD, Director of Resident Research
• Janice Yackoski, MD, Director of Primary Care Track
• Isaac Whitman, MD, Resident Advisor

GME Administrators:

• Brittany Colombo
• Autumn Wert

Many other faculty make major contributions to the residency program. Please refer to the faculty directory for more information. Among them are:

• Arundathi Jayatilleke, MD, Section Chief, Rheumatology
• Michael Bromberg, MD, PhD, Section Chief, Hematology/Oncology
• Ankita Chatterjee, MD, Sub-Internship Course Director
• Gerard Criner, MD, Chair, Thoracic Medicine and Surgery Department
• Daniel Edmundowicz, MS, MD, FACP, FACC, Interim Chair, Department of Medicine
• Adam Erlich, MD, MPH, Section Chief, Section of Gastroenterology
• Lawrence Kaplan, MD, Section Chief General Internal Medicine
• Martin Keane, MD, FASE, FACC, Interim Section Chief, Cardiology
• Karen Lin, MD, MPH, Abraham Roth Chair of Preventative Medicine, Assistant Dean of Phase 1-M2
• Nathaniel Marchetti, DO, Director of Intensive Care Unit
• Lauren Monaco, MD, & Caitlyn Labella, MD, Co-Directors Medicine Clerkship
• Ajay Rao, MD, Section Chief, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
• Rachel Rubin, MD, Section Chief, Hospital Medicine
• Rafik Samuel, MD, Section Chief of Infectious Diseases