About

Ilona is originally from Moldova and came to the United States as a child. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in Psychology and Chemistry, she worked in DC as a research assistant for two years at Howard University. As a medical student, she has continued to be engaged in research and will graduate with a certificate in Research and Translational Medicine—her current work has focused on research in the field of sickle cell disease and an ethics project studying moral distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has served as co-president for the Refugee and Immigrant Medical Association at Virginia Tech, has worked as a Teaching Assistant with the Blue Ridge Literacy Group, and served as a MedDOCs teacher to underserved middle and high school students. In recognition of her outstanding academic performance and leadership, Ilona was inducted into the AOA Honor Society. Ilona enjoys learning languages and has more recently begun to study the Hebrew language.