Program: 

Residency Program

Start Year: 

2026

Why did you choose Duke for your residency training?

I loved the warmth I felt from everyone on my interview day - from the Program Director to the faculty to the residents, everyone was so kind and welcoming, and it seemed like a wonderful residency family. I also appreciated the quality of the training and how excited everyone was about our education! The subspecialty opportunities are top-notch, and I know I will be well-prepared for any direction my career takes. Also, the Research Triangle is a lovely place to live, and I look forward to raising my daughter there!

What excites you about the residency program at Duke Ob/Gyn?

I'm excited about the people - I really loved everyone I met at my interview day, and I can't wait to work and learn alongside everyone. I'm also excited about the training opportunities - I am interested in learning how to manage high-acuity, complex patients, and I know that quality of care and education at Duke is excellent!

What are your career goals?

I am fairly certain I want to pursue fellowship training, but I haven't decided which field! I am leaning most towards Gynecologic Oncology or Maternal-Fetal Medicine. I am interested in treating medically complex patients through challenging conditions and building strong relationships with my patients, and I am looking forward to getting more exposure to both fields! I also want to pursue roles in medical education, either in a preclinical or clinical teaching capacity. Finally, I am interested in using my computational modeling background to do data-driven clinical research. 

Describe your research interests/goals:

My PhD research was in the development of multiscale computational models of antibody therapeutics against cancer metastasis to provide insights into optimal therapeutic design. My work specifically focused on differential equation-based models of monospecific and bispecific antibodies to determine how the bispecific characteristic impacts target inhibition.

In residency, I hope to apply the computational modeling techniques I have learned to clinical research questions, potentially looking at clinical outcomes data or other data-driven topics.

I also have done medical education research, looking at the impact of student-driven curricular feedback in preclinical medical education, and I would love to get involved in education projects in residency!

What are your hobbies?

I am an avid board gamer, and my husband and I have a great shelf of competitive and cooperative board games we love to play! I am also part of a long-standing D&D group, and we're big trivia fans. I love swimming and would love a recommendation for a good pool in the area! I have played clarinet since elementary school, and I was in marching band and wind ensembles for many years. Finally, I have an adorable six-month-old daughter!

Education & Training

Undergraduate school & graduation year:
Auburn University, 2016

Medical school & graduation year:
Johns Hopkins University, 2026

Awards & Honors

Graduation Marshal, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, AU, 2016

Runner-Up in Cancer Division, 2016 Harrison School of Pharmacy Student
Symposium, AU, 2016

President’s Award, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, AU, 2016

Publications

Ray CMP, Yang H, Spangler JB, Mac Gabhann F. Modeling binding of monospecific and bispecific
antibodies against the interleukin-6/8 receptors in heterogeneous tissues. Revisions in progress,
anticipated submission in August 2025.

Ray CMP, Yang H, Spangler JB, Mac Gabhann F. Mechanistic computational modeling of bivalent
monospecific and bispecific antibodies targeting IL-6R/IL-8R. PLOS Computational Biology.
2024;20(6):e1012157. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012157

Kumar P*, Pickering CM*, Atta L, Burns AG, Chu RF, Gracie T, Qin CX, Whang KA, Goldberg HR.
Student Curriculum Review Team, 8 Years Later: Where We Stand and Opportunities for Growth.
Medical Teacher. 2021;43(3):314-319. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2020.1841891. *contributed equally

LeMarie S, Raghuram V, Grady C, Pickering CM, Chou CL, Umejiego EN, Knepper MA.
Serine/Threonine Phosphatases and Aquaporin-2 Regulation in Renal Collecting Duct. American
Journal of Physiology – Renal Physiology. 2017;312:F84-F95. doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.00455.2016.
Experimental data gathering and analysis, manuscript revision.

Pickering CM, Grady C, Medvar B, Emamian M, Sandoval Concha P, Zhao Y, Yang CR, Jung HJ, Chou
CL, Knepper MA. Proteomic Profiling of Nuclear Fractions from Native Renal Inner Medullary
Collecting Duct Cells. Physiological Genomics. 2016;48(2):154-166. doi:
10.1152/physiolgenomics.00090.2015
 

Presentations

Ray CMP, Yang H, Spangler JB, Mac Gabhann F; Mechanistic Computational Modeling of Bispecific Antibodies Targeting IL-6R/IL-8R in Cancer Metastasis; Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting; Seattle, WA. October 12, 2023

Kumar P*, Pickering CM*, Qin C, Whang KA, Atta L, Goldberg HR; Empowering students in the development of medical curricula: do students believe it works?; Association for Medical Education in Europe 2020 Conference; Glasgow, UK (delivered virtually due to COVID-19). September 7, 2020

Kumar P*, Pickering CM*, Qin C, Whang KA, Atta L, Burns AG, Chu RF, Gracie T, Goldberg HR; Student Curriculum Review Team: Empowering Medical Students in the Preclinical Years; 2020 Johns Hopkins Institute for Excellence in Education Conference; Baltimore, MD (canceled due to COVID-19), March 27, 2020

Dobson CS, Pickering CM, Panizzi PR, David AE, Arnold RD; Development of Gold-Lipid Nanoparticles for Solid Tumor Theranostics; Auburn University Research Week; Auburn, AL. April 13, 2016