Healthcare Network Welcomes Columbia-Bassett Class of 2026

COOPERSTOWN—Bassett Medical Center has welcomed 10 new students to the community, as the Columbia-Bassett Medical School Program Class of 2026 advances to phase two of their education: the clinical component.

These students have completed 18 months of pre-clinical training on Columbia University’s New York City campus and will now be based at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown for the next two and a half years.

“The Columbia-Bassett program is unique in its design, giving students experience with both urban and rural patient populations at New York City’s Presbyterian Hospital and Cooperstown’s Bassett Medical Center. We are proud of our long and successful partnership with Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons to provide our students with the best possible education,” said Dr. Henry Weil, senior associate dean for the Columbia-Bassett Program, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, president of Bassett Medical Center, and chief clinical officer and chief academic officer of Bassett Healthcare Network.

According to a press release, Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has partnered with Bassett since 1947 to give students a unique clinical education. Columbia and Bassett expanded this experience by establishing the Columbia-Bassett Medical School Program, which welcomed its first class of 10 VP&S students in 2012.

The Columbia-Bassett Medical School Program is competitive in its enrollment and is structured with a rigorous curriculum that emphasizes classroom training followed by practical experience, officials said. The first year and a half of the program takes place in New York City in pre-clinical studies. The second phase, two and a half years, begins at Bassett’s Cooperstown campus, consisting of a required one-year clinical experience. This is followed by a year and a half of electives and pursuit of an area of concentration utilizing the full array of opportunities at both the New York-Presbyterian and Bassett campuses.

The Columbia-Bassett Class of 2026 includes individuals from across the United States. They are:

Nithyashri Baskaran

Nithyashri Baskaran, known to all as Nithy, is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. Baskaran graduated from Yale University in 2022 with a BS in biology. While at Yale, she became interested in how seeking patients’ stories could improve their care. “Since joining Columbia for medical school, I’ve been grateful to continue growing in relationship-centered healing,” said Baskaran.

Simon Blanchard

Simon Blanchard hails from the Philadelphia area. He graduated from Villanova University with a degree in chemical and biological engineering and minors in global health and biochemical engineering. During college, he volunteered as an emergency medical technician, worked in a gene-therapy laboratory studying methods to improve the delivery of gene-therapy products, and volunteered with several tutoring and outreach organizations.

Katherine Dunkelberger

Katherine Dunkelberger is originally from rural Pennsylvania. She attended the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied bioengineering and explored both cutting-edge biotechnology and vast health disparities. She is studying medicine in the hopes of providing care to underserved communities. “I’m more excited than ever to move to Cooperstown and begin our major clinical year at Bassett Medical Center,” said Dunkelberger.

Claire Howlett

Claire Howlett grew up in Stamford, Connecticut and moved across the country for college at Stanford University, where she studied cognitive science and became interested in medicine and public health. She completed her pre-med requirements at Bryn Mawr College and spent three years working at SIRUM, a technology-based medication access nonprofit. Through this work, she became interested in healthcare delivery and how health systems design can impact patient access and quality of care. “I’m especially interested in primary care, psychiatry and addiction medicine—I’m looking forward to exploring these areas clinically at Bassett,” Howlett said.

Madhav Nekkar

Madhav Nekkar was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 2021 with a BA in economics. “I’m drawn to the Columbia-Bassett program due to its unique approach to medical education, allowing students to explore how to improve healthcare delivery at all levels. I’m excited for the opportunity to gain a patient-centric understanding of the health system, to learn how to build strong doctor-patient relationships through the course of the longitudinal curriculum, and to understand more about healthcare challenges in both urban and rural areas,” said Nekkar.

Georgia Payne

Georgia Payne grew up in downtown Charleston, West Virginia. She attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where she studied biology of global health. “I felt drawn to the Bassett program because of its emphasis on learning from patient relationships and improving health systems, knowledge that I hope to bring to my future practice,” said Payne.

Tanner Powley

Tanner Powley was born in Germany and raised in the Ozark Mountains of Southwest Missouri. He attended Missouri University of Science and Technology and received a BS in chemical engineering with an emphasis in biochemical processes. “I am beyond excited to be in New York and begin serving and caring for a new community,” Powley said.

William Rork

William Rork is originally from Dallas, Texas and grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from Rice University with a degree in neuroscience and classical studies. In his gap year, he worked in a clinical psychology lab at Baylor College of Medicine, researching the psychosocial needs of individuals with brittle bone disease. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of the Columbia-Bassett program and can’t wait for the opportunity to serve and learn from the Cooperstown community,” said Rork.

Kyle Tower

Kyle Tower was born and raised in the North Country, the northernmost part of New York State. Tower noted: “It’s a very rural part of the country, and a place with limited access to healthcare—a huge part of what makes Bassett so exciting to me.” Since graduating from Columbia last year, he spent the intervening year doing social work with foster children in Brooklyn and Manhattan, something he says, “has been incredibly rewarding, revealing, and challenging.”

Melissa Wang

Melissa Wang grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She attended Dartmouth College, where she studied biology and anthropology of global health. In college, she was involved in developmental biology research and worked for hunger relief organizations and independent food councils in Boston and Upstate New York. “I am ecstatic to receive my medical education at Columbia-Bassett, where I will learn how to enact change with my classmates and medical community across spheres of people, places, and systems,” Wang said.