Janice Benson, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Northshore Medical Group Residency Educator
Faculty Development Educator
Dr. Benson has been a Family Medicine doc for several decades now, and she continues to find the work that family physicians do to be important, meaningful, and intellectually stimulating. She is originally from Baltimore, MD and 'grew up' in the middle of the civil rights struggles. Dr. Benson went to MIT for undergraduate to plan a career in basic science research but quickly found that the life of a researcher was not the right fit for her, a people person with a commitment to social justice. At that time, community medicine principles were new but became the guide for scientifically-minded, idealistic pre-meds, such as her. Community Medicine has always meant Family Medicine to her - she saw she could take care of all ages, as the personal physician for families who need us the most. Dr. Benson received her MD from St. Louis University School of Medicine and chose Cook County Hospital for residency. There, she stayed and spent several years in practice and teaching in various roles. After completing a Faculty Development Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she co-founded a Faculty Development training program that continues to train 5-15 family docs each year.
Dr. Benson continues to love teaching residents and interacting with students, fellows and faculty, too.
Her special interests are the dynamics of the health care for the poor, family issues, patients with severe chronic illness and mental illness, and faculty development. Her leisure time activities are hanging out with family, kayaking, x-country skiing, and reading.
Victoria Braund, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Northshore Medical Group Residency Educator
Director of the Division of Geriatric Medicine at NorthShore University HealthSystem
Originally from North Dakota, Dr. Braund attended the University of North Dakota for her undergraduate and medical school training. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine Affiliated Hospitals in Fargo. She then moved to Chicago where she completed a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Chicago.
She maintains an active clinical practice at Glenbrook Hospital and teaches Geriatrics in both the Internal Medicine and Family Medicine residencies at NorthShore. She is also medical director of two skilled nursing facilities and is a Certified Medical Director.
Her clinical interests include aging well, memory loss, end of life care, and transitioning seniors and their families through various levels of care in the community.
She and her husband are delighted to have both of their daughters attending the University of North Dakota.
https://www.northshore.org/apps/findadoctor/results.aspx?doctor=braund
Mark Drexler, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Northshore Medical Group Residency Educator
Dr. Drexler was born and raised in the northern suburbs of Chicago. He attended Washington University in St. Louis for college where he received a B.S. in biology with a minor in mathematics. He played college football at Wash U for the first two years and served as a high school youth advisor in the St. Louis community. Dr. Drexler attended the University of Illinois at Chicago for medical school. He completed his residency in Family Medicine at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois. He has worked in a variety of clinical settings including group, solo, and academic settings.
Dr. Drexler joined the medical staff at Glenbrook Hospital in 2004 and started working with the Glenbrook Family Medicine Residency in 2005. Dr. Drexler has served in various roles including residency faculty, Medical Director/Lead Physician at the former Family Care Center where he led the residency clinic to achieve NCQA recognition as a Patient Centered Medical Home. Currently, Dr. Drexler is the Medical Director of the Complex Care Clinic at Glenbrook Hospital, and enjoys clinical encounters with patients and their families and continues to see his patients in the clinic, the hospital, and local nursing homes. Dr. Drexler is instrumental in the residency’s practice management curriculum.
Dr. Drexler is married with three wonderful children – Aaron, Coby, and Rikki. His wife Sara, is an actuary.
https://www.northshore.org/apps/findadoctor/results.aspx?doctor=drexler
Lindsay T. Fazio, PhD
Director of Behavioral Science and Clinical Psychology
University of Chicago (NorthShore) Family Medicine Residency Program
Erie Evanston/Skokie Family Health Center Staff Psychologist
As part of her role in the Family Medicine residency, Dr. Fazio works with attending physicians and residents on physicians' wellbeing and resiliency. She actively monitors wellness and develops initiatives to improve the lives of physicians. As a behavioral science faculty she teaches integrated behavioral medicine at Erie Family Health Center.
Dr. Fazio received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Indiana State University. She completed her residency in medical psychology at St. James Hospitals and Health Centers. Dr. Fazio's passion is promoting wellness in physicians and physicians-in-training. She works with departments and health systems nationally to monitor burnout and provides a programmatic series of strengths-base interventions to promote resiliency and engagement in both faculty and residents. She also has a clinical interest in health psychology and women's health. Outside of work she and her husband Patrick can usually be found at one of their kid’s sporting events, sitting on the beach, and enjoying time with friends and family.
Elizabeth Feldman, MD, FAAFP
Site Medical Director
Erie Family Health Center, Evanston/Skokie
Dr. Liz Feldman is responsible for integration of the family medicine residency into the Erie Family Health Center system. She grew up in New York City, attended Harvard University and returned to New York for medical training at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Drawn to family medicine for underserved populations, she completed family medicine residency at Cook County Hospital, with a special interest in women’s health, and maternal and child health. After faculty development fellowship training (with Janice Benson, MD!), Liz worked at an HMO on the northside of Chicago before joining the Advocate Illinois Masonic family medicine residency core faculty in 1990.
As a family medicine educator, she focused on adolescent medicine, completing a Certificate of Added Qualifications in adolescent medicine. In 2010 she left academic family medicine to spend nine years providing medical care to detainees at Cook County jail, during the last four of which she served as Associate Medical Director of Cermak Health Services of Cook County. Liz is thrilled to be back in the heart of family medicine residency education, and especially in introducing residents to care for vulnerable populations in a Federally Qualified Health Center! Liz is married to a public television producer, has two grown daughters, and lives in Evanston. She enjoys jogging, yoga, cooking and playing guitar.
Joseph Gibes, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Northshore Medical Group Residency Educator
Dr. Gibes grew up in the Chicago area and, after majoring in English at Calvin College, went to the University of Illinois in Chicago for medical school, planning to become a surgeon. However, he discovered and fell in love with Family Medicine instead. During that time, he also fell in love with and married Amy. After completing residency in Waukesha, WI, Dr. Gibes spent 11 years as a country doc in southwest Wisconsin, where his three children were born. He returned to the Chicago area and joined the residency faculty in 2006. Dr. Gibes has an MA in Bioethics. Interesting facts: he plays clarinet with Lake County Symphony Orchestra, and he once did a circumcision with an eight-inch steak knife. Ask him to tell you the story!
https://www.northshore.org/apps/findadoctor/physicians/joseph-p.-gibes
Nathan Holt, MD, MPH, MBA
Clinical Assistant Professor
Northshore University Medical Group/University of Chicago Residency Educator
Director of Inpatient Services
Born and raised in Southern Illinois, Dr. Holt received his BA in Physiology from Southern Illinois University- Carbondale. He matriculated to University of Illinois College of Medicine in Champaign and Peoria, and completed a Masters in Public Health degree concurrently. He completed his training in Family Medicine in the University of Illinois Chicago/Ravenswood Family Medicine Residency (under Dr. Elizabeth Feldman and Dr. Lise Weisberger). Following residency, he started his career practicing full-spectrum Family Min central Illinois. He earned the role of Regional Medical Director for his health system and oversaw 20+ providers and 9 clinical sites. After five years, he took a role as the director of hospitalist staffing firm and developed practices in Downer’s Grove and Arlington Heights. He completed a MBA through the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 2017. He has always had aspirations to expand on his passion for educating and mentoring others and has been a great addition to the faculty as a teaching hospitalist. He hopes to bring his expertise of working in both private practice comprehensive family medicine and as a full-time hospitalist to create a more robust experience for the residents in our program.
Dr. Holt’s philosophy is that effective medicine encompasses compassion and clear communication at the bedside as much as fostering growth, best practices, and allowing authenticity for all providers. Outside of work, Dr. Holt can be found enjoying the outdoors and spending time with family.
https://www.northshore.org/apps/findadoctor/physicians/nathan-paul-holt#profile
Katherine Lott, DO
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Chicago (NorthShore) Family Medicine Residency
Pritzker School of Medicine
NorthShore Medical Group Residency Educator
Dr. Lott was born and raised in Indianapolis, IN. She obtained her BA in Neuroscience at Oberlin College and her medical degree from Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Lott completed her family medicine residency at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka, IN followed by her geriatric fellowship at Rush University in Chicago, IL.
She joined the NorthShore faculty in 2017, and currently helps with the Geriatrics curriculum. Dr. Lott's clinical interests include dementia, end of life care, healthy aging, fall prevention and sharing her passion for geriatric medicine.
Dr. Lott and her husband Steve live in Morton Grove, IL. Outside of her medical interests, she enjoys playing and watching tennis, reading historical fiction, traveling, and spending time with family.
https://www.northshore.org/apps/findadoctor/results.aspx?doctor=katherine+lott
Deborah Miller, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Vice Chair for Administration and Academic Affairs
Department of Family Medicine
NorthShore Medical Group Residency Educator
Dr. Miller grew up in the rural town of Brimfield outside of Akron, Ohio. She completed her bachelor's degree at the Ohio State University in Microbiology. She went on to Medical School at Wright State/Boonshoft School of Medicine and stayed on in Dayton, Ohio to complete her residency training. She entered private practice for 4 years and then joined her alma mater as faculty. Early in her career the hospital and residency program were suddenly closed. It was a pivotal event in her life. It sparked an interest in medical economics and management. She went on to become a Certified Physician Executive with the American College of Physician Executives and completed a Master's degree in Academic Medicine with the University of Southern California in 2009. She became the Family Medicine Residency Program Director for the University of Chicago (NorthShore) in 2011, and in 2020, was promoted to Vice Chair of Administration and Academic Affairs for the Department of Family Medicine
Dr. Miller enjoys the enthusiasm and passion of resident physicians and medical students. She finds it is an honor to work with such gifted people. At the University of Chicago (NorthShore) Family Medicine Residency she has been privileged to lead a group of diverse and inclusive residents and faculty that care deeply for their patients, their community, and for each other. She and her wife Karen live in Glenview. They have two grand-children Rose and Dean. They enjoy gardening, beaches and tending their new puppy Becca.
https://www.northshore.org/apps/findadoctor/physicians/deborah-e.-miller?oqs=doctor%3dmiller
Lauren Oshman, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Vice Chair of Quality, Department of Family Medicine
Dr. Oshman will be joining the University of Michigan, Department of Family Medicine in Ann Arbor, MI, but will continue to contribute her expertise in Quality Initiatives and population health to our residency. Dr. Oshman conducts quality improvement research and serves as the Vice Chair of Quality for the Department of Family Medicine at NorthShore. As a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), she teaches motivational interviewing to residents and medical students. Her current research interests include depression screening, diabetes, person-centered care, and behavior change. She was the chair of the NorthShore Opioid Task Force. She is passionate about taking care of patients of all ages, providing inpatient, outpatient, and maternity care. She is a dedicated advocate for family medicine, serving on the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians Board of Trustees and Government Relationships Committee. Before joining NorthShore in 2012, she completed medical school at Baylor College of Medicine, earned a M.P.H. at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and served as the National President of the American Medical Student Association prior to completing residency training at the Institute for Urban Family Health in New York City. She practiced full-scope family medicine for five years at Concord Family Medicine in Concord, New Hampshire.
Outside of work, she is married to percussionist Douglas Perkins, enjoys camping with her son in Boy Scouts, and enjoys music, cooking and running.
https://www.northshore.org/apps/findadoctor/results.aspx?doctor=oshman
Priya Nagarajan, DO
Core Family Medicine Faculty
NorthShore Medical Group Residency Educator
Dr. Priya Nagarajan is originally from the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. She completed her bachelor’s at Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Biology and Anthropology. She then received her medical training from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her family medicine residency training at the University of Minnesota North Memorial Program. She received additional training in sports medicine at the University of Chicago NorthShore Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship. She is now very excited to join as faculty at the University of Chicago NorthShore Family Medicine Residency. She is enthusiastic and excited about training residents in primary care, osteopathic manipulation, sports medicine, and musculoskeletal procedures. She is also passionate about lifestyle counseling for her patients regarding nutrition, exercise prescription, and stress management to help optimize their wellbeing. She does her best to meet each patient where they are when offering medical advice. She is humbled to join such an accomplished, hardworking, and compassionate group of faculty and residents that are truly committed to the wellbeing of their patients.
In her free time, she enjoys staying active with yoga, dance, high intensity interval training, and biking around the city. She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends as well as exploring new restaurants in the Chicago area.
Pooja Saigal, MD
Associate Program Director
Clinical Assistant Professor
NorthShore Medical Group Residency Educator
Dr. Saigal is a family physician at NorthShore University HealthSystem and serves as the Associate Program Director for the family medicine residency. A longtime Chicagoan, Dr. Saigal completed her undergraduate degree in psychology and her medical doctorate at Northwestern University. She subsequently completed her residency in family medicine at the University of Chicago (NorthShore,) and was immediately invited to join the faculty. She has completed the University of Arizona's Fellowship in Integrative Medicine, Cook County's Faculty Development Fellowship, and The University of Chicago MERITS Fellowship in Medical Education. Dr. Saigal practices comprehensive family medicine and also offers integrative medicine consultations to optimize disease management and overall wellbeing. She seeks to provide care in an individualized and evidence-based manner, emphasizing nutrition and positive mental state as vital components of overall wellbeing. She is passionate about sharing this holistic philosophy of care with the resident physicians and medical students who train with her.
https://www.northshore.org/apps/findadoctor/results.aspx?doctor=saigal
Emily White VanGompel, MD, MPH
Clinical Assistant Professor
Departments of Family Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology
The University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine
Dr. White VanGompel is a family physician, health services researcher, and directs the residency’s evidence-based medicine curriculum. Born and raised in Chicagoland, she received her BA from Northwestern University where she studied psychology and anthropology, and her medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. White VanGompel enjoyed being a Californian while completing her residency and an AHRQ T32 fellowship in Quality, Safety, and Comparative Effectiveness Research Training at the University of California Davis. Returning to Chicago, she joined the University of Chicago (NorthShore) Family Medicine Residency team in 2016. She currently divides her time between the NorthShore Research Institute, the Hyde Park campus, and Erie Family Health where she sees patients.
Dr. White VanGompel’s research career is devoted to improving maternal and child health by better understanding how to deliver safe, high quality, patient- and family-centered maternity and newborn care, decrease overuse of potentially harmful or costly practices, and improve mother-baby dyad care. She has a special interest in understanding the role of labor and delivery unit culture and its effects on maternal health outcomes. Her work on culture and cesarean delivery overuse has fostered collaborations with several statewide perinatal quality collaboratives, and was honored as one of AcademyHealth’s Best of ARM in 2018. She serves as associate director of the University of Chicago’s Reproductive Health Outcomes and Disparities (RHOADs) research group, and is a Program Director in the NorthShore Outcomes Research Network.
Miriam Whiteley, MD
Program Director
Clinical Associate Professor
NorthShore Medical Group Educator
Dr. Whiteley grew up in Evanston, Il., and studied Biology and Fine Arts at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. During medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago she was immediately drawn to Family Medicine and the care of underserved populations. She did her residency training and Faculty Development Fellowship at the John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County (formerly Cook County Hospital) and studied for a Masters in Health Professions Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Before joining the University of Chicago (Northshore), Dr. Whiteley was the Director of Maternity Care Services for Family Medicine, Cook County Bureau of Health Services for 10 years. Dr. Whiteley brought her passion and skills in Maternity care to the University of Chicago (NorthShore) Family Medicine Residency Program in 2007, and currently serves as the Family Medicine Residency Program Director. She loves to teach residents, and to care for pregnant women and their babies. Current interests include substance use treatment, mental health, and opioid use in pregnancy. Dr. Whiteley continues to be committed to serving the underserved, and teaching residents to not only understand the social determinants of health, but to become active agents of change.
Dr. Whiteley still lives in Evanston with her partner Evan. They have 4 grown children between them, and a happy Golden Retriever named ‘Eddie’.
https://www.northshore.org/apps/findadoctor/physicians/miriam-k.-whiteley