Infectious Diseases Fellowship Graduation, 2026
Thursday evening, Infectious Disease faculty and staff celebrated the ID fellowship program’s graduating physicians: Alexandria Burrtness-Guard, DO; Yacob Sallam, MD; and Sebastian Sanchez Lopez, MD.
The night kicked off with a buffet-style meal, after which Division Director and Associate Program Director Judy Streit, MD, divided guests into three teams for a friendly competition of “How Well Do You Know Your Fellows?” In this yearly tradition, Streit creates several multiple-choice questions that capture the interests and humorous anecdotes of each graduating fellow. With the game underway, Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases, Michihiko Goto, MD, MS, FACP, captured the celebration with his camera. We attribute several of the pictures in this post to Goto and appreciate his eye for photography.
After some lively rounds of the competition, each fellow rose to reflect on their time in the program and thank the ID team for their mentorship. Faculty members then took an opportunity to recognize the fellows’ contributions and recount their positive experiences working with them. Closing out the speakers was A. Benjamin Appenheimer, MD, the new Director of the ID Fellowship Program. He expressed gratitude for having an opportunity to not just teach but also learn from each fellow.
No fellowship graduation is complete without a round of group pictures. The division and its fellows made sure to pose for “a silly one”—a fitting close to a fun celebration.
Streit and Appenheimer offered a special thanks to Stephanie Cecil, who has worked within the division for nearly three decades and serves as the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Coordinator. This event, and the ID program’s operations more broadly, would not be possible without her.
