I'm a
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I am currently studying at Temple's Lewis Katz School of Medicine in the application cycle for Psychiatry residency.
In my free time, you can catch me coding, studying to convert to Judaism, learning Hebrew, crocheting, or documenting my life on YearOfDerek.com!
Derek Harmanli is an MD Candidate at Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine, applying into Psychiatry for Spring 2024. Harmanli is drawn to the translational research world of computational and digital psychiatry. He hopes to create mathematical models to gain insights into the complexities of the mind to make more accurate diagnoses of mental health disorders. He plans to incorporate evidence-based technologies into his clinical practice that can help increase accessibility and personalization of treatment.
Harmanli also has an insatiable desire to improve himself, which drives his everyday activities, both personally and professionally. He is an intrinsically-motivated individual with genuine intellectual curiosity. To complement his undergraduate business skills and healthcare interests, he recently attended Fullstack Academy, the number one programming bootcamp in the US. He has a background in entrepreneurship and a strong foundation in quantitative thinking. Obstacles do not intimidate him but rather, he welcomes them for their ability to further develop his skills. Lastly, Harmanli places a high priority on ethical leadership and upholds a sense of morality on and off the job.
• Founded two clubs: Business in Medicine and Anesthesia Interest Group
• Elected class president in first year, school treasurer in second and third years
• Proficient: JavaScript, Python, Node, Express, React, React Native, Functional Programming, Machine Learning, Pair Programming, Sequelize, Github
• Knowledgeable: Postgres, Heroku, Socket.io, HTML5, CSS3, VBA, Java
• GPA: 4.0/4.0
• Awards: 3x Harvard Derek Bok Award for Excellence in Teaching (2017, 2018), Harvard Physics Department White Award for Excellence in Teaching (2017)
• Concentrations: Finance, Strategy/Management Consulting
• Minor: Mathematics
• Initiated and spearheaded the development of an innovative start-up, transforming complex medical algorithms into a suite of user-friendly mobile applications, significantly enhancing physician efficiency and decision-making processes.
• Strategically collaborated with medical professionals to pinpoint operational inefficiencies and deployed tailored solutions, leading to marked improvements in clinical workflows.
• Integral member of a Harvard/MIT-affiliated startup, pioneering advancements in in-vitro fertilization technology, drastically reducing costs for patients.
• Formulated and executed a comprehensive business plan, encompassing detailed financial projections, a robust regulatory framework, and dynamic investor outreach strategies.
• Contributed to the innovative findERnow app, revolutionizing emergency healthcare by enabling patients and EMS to pinpoint the nearest emergency department efficiently.
• Creatively designed the app's anniversary logo and user interface mockups, alongside an automated Excel tool for nationwide emergency department data analysis, enhancing operational efficiency.
• Co-engineered a start-up to commercialize a novel medical device, navigating complex federal regulatory pathways and successfully conducting pivotal clinical trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy.
• Expertly negotiated with manufacturers, achieving significant cost reductions while ensuring product quality, and meticulously drafted FDA Class II device approval applications.
• Collaborated closely with C-level hospital executives to revamp revenue cycle processes, uncovering and rectifying critical internal inefficiencies and fostering the development of new patient-centric services.
• Facilitated ongoing dialogues with insurance companies, optimizing account and contract management, and significantly improving financial outcomes for healthcare clients.
• Efficiently prepared operating rooms with essential anesthesia and monitoring equipment, playing a crucial role in facilitating a broad range of surgical, obstetric, and diagnostic procedures.
• Conducted thorough patient assessments, leveraging limited historical data and physical examinations to accurately diagnose and dynamically adapt treatment plans in high-stakes emergency situations.
• Distinguished for exceptional teaching prowess, leading interactive weekly sections for over 100 students, grading assignments, and igniting students' passion for physics.
• Awarded the prestigious White Award for Excellence in Teaching, a first for a non-PhD teaching fellow at the Harvard Physics Department, recognizing outstanding educational impact.
• Handpicked for academic excellence to lead review sessions and bridge communication between 80+ students and the professor, enhancing their understanding of Physics I concepts.
• Selected for advanced proficiency in MS Excel to guide and mentor a class of 50+ students, significantly improving their competencies in data analytics and visualization techniques.
• Elevated the academic performance of 40+ students through tailored review sessions and effective communication, bridging gaps in understanding of complex Calculus II concepts.
• Pioneered a club to merge medical knowledge with healthcare business insights, attracting over 150 student members and hosting numerous industry expert talks.
• Elected as class president, subsequently transitioned to treasurer, adeptly managing a budget of over $100,000 and pioneering initiatives like the Student Diversity Council.
• Spearheaded event planning and advertisement strategies, leading to a 50% increase in student engagement in campus activities.
• Conducted critical studies for the Grady Hospital Dental Diversion project, impacting the dental care access of 500+ underserved individuals by diverting them from ER to a specialized clinic.
• Instrumental in amplifying the club's outreach, resulting in a 40% growth in membership and the establishment of key partnerships with top-tier consulting firms.
• Astutely managed a budget exceeding $200,000, achieving an unprecedented surplus of $40,000 through strategic financial stewardship.
• Coordinated with multiple university departments, optimizing budget allocation and enhancing the quality of student life on campus.
• Vigilantly upheld college standards of conduct, contributing to a 30% reduction in repeat conduct violations through educational and restorative justice approaches.
It is the opinion of many that medical treatment is an undeniable right. However, even more fundamental is access to food and shelter. Through NEHCV, I was able to support unhoused veterans, who sacrificed their safety for our country, with breakfast and pleasant conversation. I was very happy to share my passion for food by preparing meals for them. While it is important not to judge these men and women by their cover, many unfortunately do. Through this experience, I have seen just how meaningless outward appearance is to the substance of an individual. I plan to bring this knowledge base to my future as a physician and to treat each and every patient with the utmost respect and attention.
Beacon Hill Village is an amazing organization that caters to the older population in the Boston area. This experience opened my eyes to how truly underserved geriatric care is. While many of these individuals long for basic human interaction, there simply is not enough volunteer participation. As I assisted these older residents with daily errands and doctor visits, I equally enjoyed learning from their life experiences. There is an overwhelming and untapped wealth of knowledge in the older generation. All in all, my work as a volunteer at BHV added to my patient care skillset as I made sure to maintain the delicate balance of being a support and respecting their independence.
This was my first attempt at a personal website at some point between 2015-2018. I may incorporate it into this one in the future. TBD.
I wrote some articles for Medium in 2019 when I first started programming. Two of my articles have a decent amount of traction, which is exciting!
I have two Synology servers totalling 300TB of data, including my massive collection of tv shows, movies, and music. I love data management and organization and I have spent a lot of my own free time proving it. The music metadata is immaculate. The files are all in FLAC/ALAC format and/or 1080p/4K quality.
This food blog was ultimately an abandoned project but it remains close to my heart. I hope the play on words is evident. My goal was to highlight how much food waste there is and give alternatives to utilizing scraps. I love to cook more than anything but creating extrinsic incentive took away from my intrinsic love. It impacted me so much that I avoided cooking meaningfully (other than for basic sustenance) for a year afterward. At one point, I had a website, a logo, etc but that seems to have been lost to time. The logo was a play on the Superman logo but with utensils.
This was an idea to create a museum of music so to speak. This was pre-streaming and although music is very accessible, I do not feel the basic problem I wanted to address has been addressed. I wanted a place where people could go search for music in a completely different way. Basic quick example is "all love songs from 1980-1982 sung by a male artist." Just like The Food Savor, this was another logo lost to time but it was an M that resembled columns and an eighth note.
This was a project that I am in essence still working on at least in the context of psychiatry. Again, I hope the wordplay is clear. The initial goal came during medical school where I wanted a single source of truth. Also, medical information is more of a web than anything but the way we present information in textbooks (or online textbooks like UpToDate) is linear. In fact, in a lot of ways, since Gutenberg, there has been almost no true innovation in what a book is. Some other ideas I had were a slider that you could use to change the education level of the page you are on (from 6th to 10th to college to med school), thus ridding the world of the sheer number of textbooks out there. Again, my goal is still to do this but with a smaller scope (still nearly infinite) in Psychiatry.
The best way to reach out to me is via e-mail but feel free to use this form as well.