Shash Kala

Yale University School of Medicine

I matriculated at the Yale School of Medicine in 2020 and graduated with the Miriam Kathleen Dasey Award, presented to a graduating student who, through strength of character, personal integrity, and academic achievement, best exemplifies the ideal of the compassionate physician. During medical school, I was awarded multiple competitive research fellowships, including the Yale School of Medicine Research Stipend and the James G. Hirsch Endowed Medical Student Research Fellowship, to support my clinical research. My work resulted in 15 peer-reviewed publications, 28 conference presentations, first prize for best medical student research presentation at the Connecticut Chapter of the American College of Surgeons Annual Meeting, recognition as an Outstanding Presentation Finalist at the Society of Student-Run Free Clinic Conference, and an invitation to speak at the NIH on biomarker development. Beyond research, I served as student leader of the Pediatric Interest Group, choreographed and performed with Yale's premier hip-hop dance team (Rhythmic Blue), and pursued interests across multiple specialties, earning residency interview invitations from the nation's top psychiatry and Ob/Gyn programs. I also scored a 265 on the USMLE Step 2 CK, placing among the highest scorers in my class. Ultimately, I matched into the Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital Psychiatry Residency Program, consistently ranked the nation's premier psychiatry residency. I was also one of only two incoming residents selected for the MGH/McLean Child Track, which provides guaranteed admission to its child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship, the top child psychiatry fellowship program in the country.