Becky MacDonell-Yilmaz earned her BA and MPH from Dartmouth College and her MD from Stony Brook University School of Medicine. During medical school, she composed numerous poems as well as a collection of essays for which she was awarded the university’s Berken Fellowship for sustained work in the humanities and the 2012 Award of Excellence in Humanistic Studies. She is completed her residency and chief residency in pediatrics and is continuing her sub-specialty training. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with her husband and two sons.