Suffolk Reporter

Mike Sova, a fingerstyle guitarist and founder of the Music in Medicine Club at the Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University, and Alaba Danagogo, a Nigerian student who led creative writing workshops focused on anti-racism, are among 130 RSOM students set to begin their residency training. These students have matched to programs across New York State and nationwide.

Match Day events occur simultaneously at medical schools throughout the country. The RSOM’s Match Day took place on March 21 at the Bauman Center, where students discovered their residency assignments. Collectively, they matched to over 20 specialties in New York and 17 other states. More than half will remain in New York State for their training, with 14 percent staying at Stony Brook Medicine.

Most residencies are scheduled to start around July 1, 2025. In addition to placements within Stony Brook Medicine, graduates will begin their careers at institutions like the University of California Irvine Medical Center, Stanford Health Care, Brown University, Yale University School of Medicine, and Montefiore Medical Center/Einstein in New York City.

The top specialties include Internal Medicine (26 matches), Anesthesiology (15), Psychiatry (11), and Diagnostic Radiology (10). "We are delighted that 27 percent of our students matched to primary care specialties," stated Peter Igarashi, MD, Knapp Dean of the RSOM. He also noted that all 158 residency positions offered at Stony Brook Medicine were filled.

The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) reported more than 40,000 positions filled this year—a record for its over 70-year history.

Sova's personal experience with Chiari Malformation as a child inspired his medical career; he matched to Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Danagogo is one of five students entering Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residency after a transitional year at Montefiore Medical Center/Einstein. She received a prestigious scholarship from Syracuse University and contributed significantly through her Writing Away Racism Project.

These graduates represent the future generation of physicians needed to address growing healthcare demands globally.