Match Day 2026: Welcome pediatric trainees!
L-R: Pediatric program residency leaders welcome incoming residents Megan Samuels (second from left) and Macey Plihal (third from left). Megan is the daughter of proud parents Cheryl and Josh Samuels, MD, division chief of pediatric nephrology.
The Department of Pediatrics was thrilled to welcome our new class of pediatric residents during the Match Day festivities on Friday, March 20. Pediatric Residency Program Director Emma Omoruyi, MD, MPH, and Program Coordinators Kimberly Cooper, C-TAGME, and Gabriella Nicholson, MS.
Many thanks to all those who volunteered their time to interview and select these outstanding candidates. You are shaping our future!
Categorical Pediatrics
Child and Adolescent Neurology
Combined Pediatrics and Medical Genetics
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- Christina Kelly, University of Texas Medical Branch
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- Anusha Vavilikolanu, Wayne State University College of Medicine
Katie Abel’s story
[as featured in McGovern class of 2026 celebrates residency matches (external link) by UTHealth Houston Public Affairs]
Incoming pediatric resident Katie Abel (right) was one of 245 McGovern students who matched on Friday, March 20.
Katie Abel will stay at McGovern Medical School as a resident in the Department of Pediatrics (specifically, med/peds).
“I’m so excited to be staying here,” she said. “I’ve gotten a great education so far and I’m ready to expand that further.”
Katie grew up listening to her parents’ stories about their patients while gathered at the dinner table with her sisters. Her parents are both doctors in Dallas, and while her sisters didn’t care much for their workday tales, Katie’s interest was piqued right away.
She had a feeling she wanted to go into medicine from a young age, but her experiences as an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame solidified her career choice. Between years pursuing a science-business major, Katie volunteered as a counselor at Camp Sweeney, a summer camp north of Dallas for kids and teens with Type 1 diabetes.
“The counselors get a lot of training in how to manage diabetes, and they kind of help support the kids throughout the summer,” Katie said. “You really see a mix of kids who are recently diagnosed versus those who have had diabetes for 10 years. Both have a lot of struggles regardless of how long they’ve been diagnosed.”
Her summers helping kids manage their chronic disease led Katie to choose internal medicine-pediatrics for her residency.
“Young adulthood is a really hard time for people with chronic conditions. People have to switch from their pediatrician that they know super well to an adult provider,” she said. “I like the idea of being able to work with kids through their young adulthood into late adulthood and being able to address those needs for them.”