“Being class president allowed me to know many of my classmates individually and work closely with faculty to help make Emory a place where every student can thrive.”
Maeve McNamara, 2025 Doctor of Medicine (MD) candidate, Emory School of Medicine, is from Arlington, Massachusetts. Growing up with a large family, Maeve learned the art of compassionate caretaking coupled with a good sense of humor. She channeled her love of sports into becoming captain of the varsity women's soccer and basketball teams at Amherst College. She graduated in 2019 with a dual bachelor's degree in biology and film and media studies. She spent two years at Harvard Medical School as a visiting research fellow in an epigenetics and aging lab before joining eGenesis, a biotech company that engineers pig kidneys for xenotransplantation.
Maeve felt at home at Emory right away. “I knew this was a place that would challenge me to be the best doctor I could be,” she says, “I wanted to be at an institution that worked with an underserved patient population and advanced health equity through clinical excellence and robust research efforts.” Maeve received the Woodruff Scholarship, which honors renowned businessman and philanthropist Robert Woodruff’s legacy by recognizing individuals dedicated to positive social change.
Within her first month at Emory, Maeve was elected class president, a position she held throughout medical school. “Being class president allowed me to know many of my classmates individually and work closely with faculty to help make Emory a place where every student can thrive.” Her desire to serve others extended throughout her time at Emory, with highlights including teaching workshops empowering women about their own bodies, registering people to vote and providing health care for Georgia's incarcerated women. Outside the classroom, Maeve found community with the Grant Park Run Club, a group that supported her participation in marathons, including qualifying for this year's Boston Marathon.
Maeve chose gynecology and obstetrics because of "the stories and the teamwork on display in the care of female patients, through birthing, miscarriages, menopause and beyond." Caring for older adults, Maeve realized how much she enjoyed helping women navigate menopause and urogynecology. She views practicing medicine as a communal effort, saying, "teaching and teamwork are the most enjoyable and fulfilling parts of medicine.”
Match Day 2025 will reveal Maeve's next chapter. She fondly reminisces on her time at Emory, “The opportunity to serve the community of Atlanta reminds me that we always have something to learn from each other when we’re willing to be surprised.” As she eyes her next adventure, perhaps what she will miss the most "is running into a favorite faculty member or classmate serendipitously in the Grady elevator—the song and dance of exchanging rotation stories, sharing in the delight of new experiences and commiserating about those that were challenging.” During Match Day Maeve learned she matched at Emory in gynecology and obstetrics.