Program Directors

Amanda Gomez

Amanda R. Gomez, MD, MPH, is Program Director of the Boston Combined Residency Program and a pediatric gastroenterologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. Amanda grew up in Michigan and attended the University of Michigan before moving to New York City, where she later earned her MPH and then MD at Columbia University. She then came to Boston for residency in the BCRP, remaining for an additional year as Chief Resident before completing her fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Prior to returning to Boston, Amanda was a pediatric gastroenterologist and medical educator at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. There, she served as an Associate Program Director for the pediatric residency, co-led residency recruitment and selection, and helped develop and lead a longitudinal coaching program focused on residents’ clinical growth, professional development, and leadership. During her time at Northwestern, she was recognized for her contributions to teaching and mentorship and received multiple honors for her work with residents and GI fellows.

Amanda’s interests in medical education center on mentorship and coaching, curriculum development and innovation, and creating inclusive learning environments in which residents can grow as clinicians and leaders while pursuing their individual passions. She has pursued additional training in coaching through the American Medical Association’s Academic Coaching Program and the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) Longitudinal Coaching Program. Nationally, she has been involved with the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) Training Committee and programs supporting trainees underrepresented in medicine. She is a member of the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD) and serves as Director and Chair-Elect of the APPD FUEL Faculty Mentoring Program.

Amanda met her husband, Agustin, while living in New York City during a different career before medicine. After several years in Chicago, Amanda and Agustin are excited to be back in Boston with their two daughters. Outside of work, Amanda loves spending time with her family, exploring with her girls, and cheering on Michigan sports – an interest she now gets to share with her co-Program Director, Dr. Cheston.

Christine Cheston

Dr. Christine (Chris) Cheston is Program Director for the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Medical Center. She attended college at the University of Virginia (wahoowa!) and obtained her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She was a pediatric resident in the Urban Health and Advocacy Track, now Leadership in Equity and Advocacy (LEAD) Track, of the BCRP from 2012-2015 and served as chief resident from 2015-2016 before joining the faculty at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine as a pediatric hospitalist. She served as an Associate Program Director from 2016-2023 where she led the Keystone Quarter rotation, a longitudinal experience in outpatient pediatrics and advocacy, quality improvement education, and resident assessment, and most recently co-led the advancement of antiracism in the BCRP. She also served as the Intern Selection Chair for LEAD from 2021-2023. Dr. Cheston is a graduate of the Clinician Educator Leadership Program at BU, was Clinical Sciences Educator of the Year at CAMed in 2024, and has received awards for her teaching from Harvard Medical School.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism are at the center of Dr. Cheston’s educational and academic work. She has led initiatives to streamline universal testing for approved bilingual providers and optimize the way interpreter services are accessed at BMC. Dr. Cheston is interested in understanding how systems of recruitment and selection for residency may be influenced by systemic racism and how programs may support trainees from diverse backgrounds in academic settings. She has led implementation of holistic review of applications during residency selection and enhanced educational offerings for residents and faculty. Dr. Cheston also co-led development of a novel residency process to support trainees who have experienced bias and micro-aggressions while ensuring accountability for systems-based change to prevent future events.

Dr. Cheston is a member of the Association for Pediatric Program Directors, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Alpha Omega Alpha, and is a lifelong Michigan Wolverines fan. She met her husband, Tim, a macroeconomist, on the gym bleachers of their high school in Northern Virginia. They live in the South End, love New England weekend day trips, and have two daughters, Evie and Clara, who are also diehard Michigan fans.