Aida Roman, MD, of West Hartford is having the grand opportunity to pursue all her interests in academic medicine right here at UConn Health post-residency training at UConn School of Medicine.

In July 2024 Roman successfully completed her three-year UConn School of Medicine internal medicine residency training, when an exciting new opportunity presented itself to remain at the UConn she loves to further explore her love of research, caring for patients, and training the next generation of primary care providers.

Roman is the first trainee in The Rising Scholar Program of UConn School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine. The new, two-year program launched in July 2024 with the goal of training and retaining the next generation of physician-scientists at UConn.

“It’s great to be the first Rising Scholar,” says Roman.

The program is the brainchild of Dr. Francesco Celi, the chair of the Department of Medicine: “We want to nationally recruit talented medical residents and clinical fellows including, in particular, those in our internal medicine residency and fellowship programs. Those accepted into the program work most of their time in the research setting to gain greater experience while working part-time in primary care to help give back to the community while easing the primary care physician shortage too.”

Roman, instructor of Medicine at the School of Medicine, received her bachelor’s in science from the University of Saint Joseph in Biological Sciences, her master’s of science in physiology and biophysics from Georgetown University, and her MD from George Washington University.

Roman’s busy internal medicine residency training at UConn School of Medicine allowed her to rotate across UConn John Dempsey Hospital, Hartford Hospital, and St. Francis Hospital.

“I loved my UConn residency experience,” said Roman. “It allowed me to treat a wide range of conditions in a diverse patient population. From the faculty to my co-residents, the community was very supportive and engaging. This was part of why I decided to stay at UConn to begin my professional career in academic medicine.”

Roman is thrilled to have the Rising Scholar Program opportunity.

“The program allows me to maintain my clinical skills by caring for internal medicine patients while also exploring my research interests in preventive cardiology and women’s health. The Rising Scholars Program is allowing me to explore all of it.”

Roman has been collaborating with preventive cardiologist and mentor Dr. John Glenn Tiu as a co-investigator to evaluate and promote lipoprotein (a) screening at UConn Health for patients to better understand if having this blood test done can influence patient care and physician decision-making.  She is also grateful for the guidance of the Rising Scholar Programs experienced mentors like Dr. Francesco Celi, Dr. Eric Mortensen, and Dr. Justin Radolf to guide her research pursuits. Also, she is enjoying forming many new collaborations inside and outside of UConn to push her research forward.

Giving Back

For Roman, who was in her last year of medical school when COVID-19 struck, when making a residency program choice she knew she wanted to be close to home and family in Connecticut and also had heard great recommendations from past UConn residents.

“UConn was a great fit for me,” said Roman. “After medical school in Washington, DC, I knew I wanted to come back to Connecticut and be of service to my local community,” says Roman who used to volunteer to help local Hartford churches provide free health clinics to underserved community members in need.

Roman is enjoying making a difference in the lives of her primary care patients at UConn Health. As part of the Rising Scholars Program, in addition to research, she is dedicated to caring for patients in need of primary care two days a week in the Outpatient Pavilion at UConn Health.

“I see patients for walk-in same day visits, conduct annual physical or post-hospitalization follow-ups,” she shares. “I really enjoy caring for our patients. Also, the internal medicine team is so collaborative and supportive. It’s an amazing working environment.”

Additionally, Roman’s clinic work is often helping fill the care gap for UConn Health’s primary care physicians overflowing with a large number of clinical patients ensuring their patients are seen for any pressing health issue quickly.

Roman immigrated to the U.S. from Peru with her family when she was sixteen and always dreamed of becoming a doctor as she was always curious about how the body works, how best to treat disease, and for caring for other people.

As such, Roman’s patient care and research is driven daily by one thing she says, “Making a difference in people’s lives.”

She adds, “In the clinic I am always thinking about how I can help my patient, help them feel better, improve their well-being and quality of life,” she says. “When doing my research, I hope my work will help medicine move forward to improve the lives of our patients. This keeps me going!”

In the Rising Scholars Program, Roman has had the opportunity to give back to her internal medicine residency program she graduated from too by working to make new enhancements.

“I am very interested in advancing academic medicine. I see myself someday as a teacher too. It’s another way of giving back and mentoring future physicians. My ultimate career goal is the convergence of clinical care, research, and education,” concludes Roman.

And Roman sure has found the perfect place to do all that, right here at UConn.