Meet our Allies

A Southern California native, Dr. Merrill Shum returned to practice medicine in his home community after serving as an attending physician and member of the Crozer Regional Cancer Center, a Fox Chase Cancer Center affiliate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for two years. During his tenure, he served as a relevance reviewer for the Hematology and Medical Oncology section from the American Board of Internal Medicine. He was appointed Clinical Assistant Professor at Temple University’s School of Medicine. Dr. Shum is double-board-certified by the American Board of Hematology and the American Board of Medical Oncology. He completed his fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper. Dr. Shum earned his medical degree from Autonoma University of Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico, and his fifth Pathway Certification from New York Medical College. He completed his residency at UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (Cooper University Hospital) and served as Chief Institutional Fellow. Prior to this, he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Michael Sy is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Sy graduated from Yale University (2002) with a distinction in Biology and then returned home to complete his MD and PhD (2011) with the UC Irvine Medical Scientist Training Program. Afterwards, he finished residency training in Neurology and fellowship training in Neuroimmunology (2016) at the UC Irvine Medical Center. After graduation, Dr. Sy was the Co-director of the Multiple Sclerosis Regional Center at the Long Beach VA.  In addition to providing complete and holistic care to Multiple Sclerosis patients and other patients with neuro-immunological diseases, Dr. Sy has been involved in basic, translational, and clinical research with the goal of advancing our understanding of the pathophysiology of Multiple Sclerosis and other autoimmune disease of the nervous system.

As a preeminent consumer attorney, Michael J. Bidart has made a major impact on our healthcare system. Mr. Bidart is the Managing Partner for the firm, and he leads the firm’s HMO Litigation and Property/Casualty Departments.

Since bringing his expertise to the firm in 1986, Mr. Bidart has developed the firm’s health insurance practice by successfully prosecuting bad faith disputes against insurers and HMOs.

His inexhaustible efforts were showcased in 1999 with a landmark $120.5 million verdict against Aetna over its refusal to pay for care recommended by the health plan’s own physicians

Martin has over 10 years of experience working as an R&D tax specialist. He has “Big Four” and top ten accounting firm experience relating to Federal and State Tax Credits and Incentives. Martin has performed credit and incentive work for numerous high profile, multi-million dollar companies and has been instrumental in obtaining credits for his clients in a wide spectrum of industries including: Computer hardware/software, Consumer products, .COMs, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Automotive, Medical and Engineering. Martin has extensive tax knowledge with Federal and multi-state returns. Martin uses the rich mix of general tax knowledge with his specialty knowledge in tax credits to providethe highest level of service to his clients by obtaining the maximum amount of credits

available.

Ciannah, MPH has been interested in the intersections of health and equity for as long as she can remember. Originally in pursuit of a medical degree, her course changed when she discovered the breadth and importance of health economics, public health, and policy when it comes to people’s access to health and their subsequent outcomes. Her undergraduate thesis was a research grant proposal for SPS research focusing on better understanding the mechanism by which SPS patients’ antibodies contribute to their symptoms. She is currently a research assistant at the CDC working on health economics research, evaluating the cost effectiveness of vaccine programs globally. She loves to be active, going on walks, playing soccer, and going to theme parks. She’s always happy and excited to talk politics to hear new perspectives and change her mind or grow in understanding. She is an LA native, a Dodgers fan, and enjoys experiencing life in new locations wherever life takes her. Ciannah especially hopes that her work within and outside of the Wendy Carrera SPS Foundation can contribute to greater policy changes encouraging protections for patients with the greatest health needs.

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