Hi, I’m Emily — an internal medicine doctor and writer who is deeply curious about everything from hard science and technology to spirituality, philosophy, policy, and society. I’m most energized when engaging with great minds, learning quickly, and turning over the big, messy questions that shape our world. With a unique ability to connect and integrate different perspectives, I bring openness, intellectual depth, and joy to every conversation, thriving in the process of thoughtful, future-focused inquiry. 

At the heart of it all, though, is my true passion: storytelling. Crafting entertaining and provocative narratives has always lit me up, and this insatiable creative impulse led me to found The Nocturnists in 2016 while working as a burned-out medical resident in San Francisco. What began as a small gathering of medical colleagues sharing their stories in an atmospheric Victorian living room soon blossomed into a national movement, which has now amplified the voices of over 450 clinicians through an award-winning podcast and sold-out live performances.

My work with The Nocturnists has been recognized by The Webby Awards, Anthem Awards, Ambie Awards, and more, and has been featured in The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, CBS This Morning, NPR, Pop-Up Magazine, and at events like SXSW and the Bay Area Science Festival. Our pandemic clinician audio diary project was archived as culturally significant by the U.S. Library of Congress.

My writing, which often explores the human side of medicine, has been published in outlets like The New York Times, Virginia Quarterly Review, Boston Globe, JAMA, and McSweeney’s. I’m also proud to have been supported by MacDowell and the Pulitzer Center in my efforts to bring the clinician experience to the forefront of cultural conversations.

In 2020, I was on the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 100 List, which celebrates creative changemakers whose work builds sustainable, equitable, and regenerative communities. That same year, I was the Hellman Artist-in-Residence at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, and was one of thirty-four experts who served on the COVID Crisis Group, which published the book Lessons from the COVID War in 2023.

I live in San Francisco with my family.