Senior Fellows
Jeena Kar, DO
Psychiatry Residency: University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Medical School: Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Undergraduate: University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Dr. Kar completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Florida. While completing pre-med coursework, she majored in Religion which helped broaden her worldview and understanding of cultural and religious factors impacting health decisions. She then completed a graduate certificate in Arts in Medicine. She used music and visual arts as a treatment modality in pediatric populations for her Arts in Medicine Graduate Practicum.
For medical school, she attended Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine and took a special interest in researching health disparities. In residency at the University of Florida, she became increasingly involved in advocacy and health policy. She currently serves as APA Delegate to the Resident/Fellow Section of the American Medical Association. Dr. Kar’s goals for fellowship are to continue health policy work to advocate for her patients and profession, to continue Arts in Medicine research and treatments, and to get further involved in teaching students and residents.
She also hopes to be a lifelong learner of the latest evidence-based pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions to help patients with psychiatric conditions.
Outside of psychiatry, her interests include painting, henna art, and spending time with family/friends.
Jasmine Murchison, MD
Psychiatry Residency: Gateway Behavioral Health Community Service Board, Savannah, Georgia
Medical School: Morsani College of Medicine-University of South Florida
Undergraduate: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida
Dr. Murchison completed her undergraduate degree at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, FL. She then obtained a Master’s in Medical Sciences at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL, and a Master’s in Public Health at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC, before attending medical school at the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida.
She completed her adult psychiatry residency training at Gateway Behavioral Health Community Service Board (CSB) in Savannah, GA. As a CSB, Gateway functions as a “safety net” for the citizens of Georgia who otherwise would not receive care. This experience cemented for Dr. Murchison that she would like to practice within a community setting.
She also has an interest in racial disparities within medicine. With the historical mistrust some under-represented minorities (URM) have towards health care providers, she hopes to use her public health training to implement mental health initiatives in areas of under-represented minorities to build community relationships to better serve patients. Outside work, her interests include reading, trying out new coffee shops, hanging out with family, and spending time with her two dogs.
Hemraj Persaud, MD
Psychiatry Residency: East Tennessee State University
Medical School: St. George’s University School of Medicine
Undergraduate: York University, Toronto Canada
Dr. Persaud hails from Toronto, Canada where he completed his undergraduate studies at York University majoring in Kinesiology and Health sciences. There at York university, he took special interest in child pedagogy and sports psychology courses which helped implement the use of physical activity in the child and adolescent population while understanding the value it provides for mental health. He completed his pre-med coursework at York University obtaining a Bachelor’s of Science to then transition to Grenada for medical school at St. George’s University in the Caribbean.
After completing his first 2 years of medical school on the island of Grenada, he headed back north to New Jersey for his clinical rotations and gravitated to the field of psychiatry with a collection of experience from undergraduate years and medical school. He matched into East Tennessee State University for his General Psychiatry Residency training program before fast tracking into the University of Florida for specialization of Child and Adolescent psychiatry. Dr. Persaud intends to further grow his knowledge in the child and adolescent population to broadly serve the growing and developing population.
Outside of psychiatry, Dr. Persaud is an avid basketball follower (Toronto Raptors fanatic) and loves playing basketball and working out in his spare time. He also likes to travel (preferred destinations: tropical), participate in his religious activities when possible, watching movies, and hanging out with his family and friends.
Junior Fellows
Alayna Buzzetta, MD
Psychiatry Residency: HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital
Medical School: University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Undergraduate: University of Central Florida
Dr. Buzzetta is originally from Orlando, Florida. She completed her undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology and Microbiology at the University of Central Florida. She has always enjoyed working with children, and during both high school and college she worked multiple summers as a camp counselor. In the following 2 years after college, she worked as both an E.M.T. and E.D. scribe. Coincidentally, it was during this time that she was first exposed to and gained interest in the field of Psychiatry, and during which her decision to become a physician was solidified. Dr. Buzzetta decided to remain near her family and stay in Orlando to attend medical school also at the University of Central Florida. She then moved to Jacksonville, Florida, to complete her Psychiatry residency at HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital. During residency, she became more interested in how childhood experiences can have significant lifelong effects and subsequently fast-tracked into Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship with the University of Florida. It is Dr. Buzzetta’s aim is that throughout fellowship she continues to advance her knowledge in providing high quality, collaborative care to ultimately improve the lives of both children and their families. Outside of Psychiatry, her interests include reading, spending time with her husband and pet dog and cat, and visiting her family and friends in Orlando.
Syed Moheeb Hussain, DO
Psychiatry Residency: UCF/HCA GME at HCA Florida , Gainesville, Florida
Medical School: Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Undergraduate: Nova Southeastern University
Dr. Hussain completed his undergraduate and medical education at Nova Southeastern University. His experiences during residency inspired him to pursue further training in child and adolescent psychiatry. After spending his residency in the lovely city of Gainesville, he is delighted to stick around for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship.
Outside of psychiatry, his interests include watching sports, playing board/video games, seeing movies, exploring nature, going on trips, and spending time with family/friends/pets.
Megan Ayala, MD
Psychiatry Residency: University of Central Florida/HCA Gainesville Consortium, Gainesville, Florida
Medical School: St. George’s University, St. George, Grenada
Undergraduate: Florida International University, Miami, Florida
Dr. Ayala completed her undergraduate studies at Florida International University. While completing pre-med coursework, she majored in Psychology which helped solidify her interest in human behavior, emotions, and neurology.
For medical school, she attended St. George’s University in St. George, Grenada. In residency, at University of Central Florida/HCA Gainesville Consortium, she focused on psychodynamic and object relations therapies which strengthened her understanding of how humans develop and relate to their environments throughout their lifetimes. As a fellow at the University of Florida, she aims to advocate for the needs of children and adolescents while providing excellent, evidence-based psychiatric care and psychoeducation.
She is committed to life-long learning throughout her career to best serve her patients and hopes to make a positive impact in the community.
Outside of psychiatry, her interests include well-being, exercise, cooking, baking, outdoors, meditation, and spending time with family/friends.