Meet our First Year Residents: 2018-2019

ELAINE DOWNIE, MD

Education:

  • BA in Chemistry from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota
  • MD from University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • PGY-1 internship at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Why Ophthalmology? My dad is an ophthalmologist so that sparked my initial interest. But then in medical school, I started doing some research and I really liked it. I had some opportunities to shadow physicians and work in clinic, and I actually kind of started in eye clinic at our student-run clinic. So all those things together just made me realize that it was really the perfect combination of all the things I like, such as medical management and surgery. 

Why UW-Madison? When I interviewed here I really loved the program. Everybody seemed super welcoming, and I like that there are lots of opportunities for research and all sorts of things. And again, everybody is just so friendly. On the interview day I felt so relaxed that I really enjoyed it, and the town is great too, in addition to the program, it seems like it would be a good place to be for the next couple years.

Hopes? I am really looking forward to learning more about ophthalmology, figuring out what I really want to do, do I want to do fellowship or not, hopefully getting a chance to start some interesting research projects. I am really looking forward to our trip to India. I am very interested in international service and working with other sub-communities. So that’s very exciting for me.


JACOB EVANS, MD

Education:

  • BS in Neuroscience from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah
  • MD from Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa
  • PGY-1 internship at University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine in Vermillion, South Dakota

Why Ophthalmology? When I was an undergrad at BYU, I was taking a physics class and I really enjoyed the optics stuff, which I thought was a great opportunity to be able to make a difference with something, like what can I do with this, it is just so cool to learn about. Maybe I could do lasers, and eyes and things like that. I started looking into that. I took an introduction to optometry class and then found out about ophthalmology where you can have the opportunity to actually take an eye that has a disease, fix it with surgery or things like that. So that is how I got started looking into ophthalmology and looked into a little more, did some shadowing, and went after it.

Why UW-Madison? I could tell that everyone was just good people, nice to be with. Another big factor is that I could tell the methodology that they have for training is really solid, because I learned about a kind of a unique safety-focused method of cataract surgery that they use here. I feel like as a resident I want to learn a lot, but it is great to know that I will be at a place where the safety of my patients is also a priority.

Hopes? I would say that the main things I want to achieve are to learn how to be a great ophthalmologist, and to do some service, which is one of my major goals with ophthalmology. I want to be able to go do an international service as well as service here. I think, like I said, I kind of got into it initially because I thought there’s got to be a way to use this optical science to help people, so I think service is a big goal for me, that’s probably really my chief goal.


MAXWELL WINGELAAR, MD

Education:

  • BS in Biomedical Science at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan
  • MD from Michigan State University – College of Human Medicine in East Lansing, Michigan
  • PGY-1 internship at Beaumont Health-Taylor in Taylor, Michigan

Why Ophthalmology? In my time in my small town I was an ophthalmic technician, and that is where I gained my first experience with the field of ophthalmology, saw how beneficial it could be for the patients and the large impact that you are actually going to have on their life, just by either telling them what is going on, what is causing their vision to be blurry or actually offering them a surgical intervention to improve their vision or improve their overall quality of life. That is really what swayed me into the field. I was just amazed at the procedures you could do and the diagnosis you can make, just by even dilating someone’s eye, and I was sold right there. And it was the perfect balance for me in between clinic, where you get to know someone and you can develop a lasting relationship with these patients, and then also surgery too, where you can make an immediate intervention for someone.

Why UW-Madison? I came across the University of Wisconsin-Madison during my away rotations and just fell in love with the place.

Hopes? During my time at UW, I would like to become a better clinician, expand my knowledge in the field of ophthalmology, become surgically competent, and then hopefully contribute a lot to the field whether it be in research and advocacy and also just giving back to my patients in any way I can.