Effie Berry, M.D.

Introduction: I was born and raised in the beautiful Pacific Northwest! I grew up in between Seattle and Tacoma, then moved to Portland for art school where I then spent 18 years (including med school and a surgical internship) before coming to Albuquerque for residency!

Interests

• Pathology/Research Interests: I originally came to UNM specifically for their STELLAR forensics program because I had been wanting to go into forensics since I was a (weird) little kid. To my surprise (and the surprise of everyone who knows me) I discovered an unexpected love for Transfusion Medicine and Blood Banking! I am currently applying for fellowships in that field and want to work at an academic program where I can also do research. I have a master's in clinical research and a majority of my research has been (and continues to be) around transgender health. I'm currently working on a project looking at all the transgender decedents in the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator database and hoping to publish a paper within the year! I also loved HLA and hope to find a job after fellowship that includes a junior directorship in HLA as well!
• What do you like about living in New Mexico: Meow Wolf in Santa Fe is hands down my absolute favorite thing in New Mexico! Ask me about my perfect Santa Fe day trip itinerary and I can send you a map to follow! I also love how many days of sunshine we get, especially in the few (very cold) months of winter, instead of the 9 months of grey rain I grew up with!
• Interests Outside of Pathology: I am VERY active in our resident union at UNM and have a long history of grassroots political organizing and am still actively involved in a political organization I co-founded in Portland. I love midcentury fashion and style and you are more likely to see me in a petticoat than jeans. My house was built in 1951 and I spend a lot of time at estate sales, flea markets, and antique stores looking for fixtures, furniture, and decorations to "backdate" my house to a mid-century modern aesthetic. I have learned to do carpentry, plumbing, laminate, tiling, and electrical work and have done an entire kitchen remodel and built and plumbed my bathroom vanity myself!

Why I enjoy the pathology program at UNM

We have a very diverse group of residents in every way possible and that isn't just a DEI talking point, it's actually true. We come from so many different walks of life, some of us are older and followed non-traditional paths to medicine, some were born, lived, and/or trained outside the US, some practiced other specialties before pathology, I myself am queer and non-binary and I'm not the only resident under the LGBTQ umbrella! Because of this, we are an incredibly supportive group and us senior residents go out of our way to help our junior residents and each other to make sure we all succeed. We also have an incredibly supportive Program Director and Coordinator, and when the unexpected things in life happen (as they do!) I have felt very supported and not at all worried about taking care of myself and my family when I needed to. That alone is priceless and not something that can be said about all programs, unfortunately.