Taylor Lis couldn’t imagine being anything other than a doctor. Meeting new people every day and helping them live healthier lives is a deep passion of hers—one that has motivated her through the past four years as a medical student at Weill Cornell Medical College.
Now, on National Match Day, Lis learned where she’ll complete her residency training: Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania for pediatrics, her first choice.
“You think about Match Day from the day you get into med school, the big cornerstone culminating entire years of preparation, to then get to go on and become a real doctor and train at an amazing institution,” Lis said. “It's really surreal to be here and I'm super excited.”
Lis and her fellow classmates in the Class of 2026 learned on March 20 where they will be doing their internship and residency training—setting the stage for the next several years of their medical careers and lives.
M.D.-Ph.D. student Jeremy Chang celebrates his residency match to Stanford Medicine for internal medicine with Dr. Robert A. Harrington, right, and Dr. Joseph E. Safdieh, left.
More than 48,000 graduating allopathic, international and osteopathic medical students from across the country (and Americans studying abroad) competed for more than 44,000 residency positions, the most ever offered, according to the National Resident Matching Program.
The students gathered together for the annual rite of passage, opening their envelopes at a ceremony on the Starr Foundation-Maurice R. Greenberg Conference Center Terrace of the Belfer Research Building. Surrounded by family, faculty and friends, cheers and applause rang out, as the Class of 2026 celebrated their achievements and shared in the excitement of the day.
“We know that you're going to enter the field with humanity and skill,” said Dr. Robert A. Harrington, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine and provost for medical affairs of Cornell University, while emphasizing the importance of ongoing curiosity throughout their professional careers. “What we do ask you is to keep that love of learning, because all of us in medicine have to remain lifelong learners.”
Forty-five students are remaining in metropolitan New York. Nineteen students matched to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and another seven students to other NewYork-Presbyterian campuses and Weill Cornell Medicine-affiliated hospitals. And 34 students will pursue primary care residencies in internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, or obstetrics and gynecology.
“You will help shape the future of medicine, not only through what you do, but more importantly, through how you do it,” Dr. Joseph E. Safdieh, the Richard P. Cohen, M.D. Senior Associate Dean for Education at Weill Cornell Medicine. “And I hope you remain open to new paths and unexpected opportunities while staying grounded in the core purpose of medicine, which is serving patients with integrity, humility and compassion.”
Sarah Chowdhury, center, celebrates her match to NYU Grossman School of Medicine for internal medicine with her family.
As he congratulated the Class of 2026, Dr. Anthony Rossi, Jr. (M.D. '08), president of the Weill Cornell Medical College Alumni Association, highlighted the lifelong connections the students have made at the institution over the years. “No matter where your journey takes you, you will always be a part of the Weill Cornell Medicine family, and I hope you remember that.”
Sophie Kush is headed back to upstate New York, her home, after matching to the University of Rochester for orthopedic surgery.
“I chose orthopedic surgery because I want to help people feel better and move better and go through their lives better,” she said. “It’s an awesome field.”
Neerav Kumar knew he wanted to become a neurosurgeon after witnessing how deep brain stimulation improved the life of his former composition teacher, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. “His tremors went away entirely,” Kumar said. “It was totally inspiring to me.”
Now he’s a step closer to realizing his goal, having matched to a neurosurgery residency at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
“Weill Cornell is the best training environment for neurosurgery,” he said. “You have so many resources and some of the best mentors. There’s so much support from the residents, from the faculty, that I know that I’m going to hit the ground running.”
