Why learn from specialists? Meet the professionals behind MedCof USA

The profiles and roles in this article come from MedCof’s institutional introduction published on March 26, 2026. Exam results, publication counts and professional affiliations reflect that material, rather than a current check of each institution’s records. The group includes physicians at different training stages; appearing in the conversation does not by itself establish a teaching role or board certification.

Why does it matter who builds your course?

Preparing for a medical career in the United States involves learning content, developing clinical reasoning and understanding decisions that extend beyond an exam. The people organizing that learning need to understand medicine and the challenges of studying, seeking clinical experience and preparing an international application.

At MedCof USA, specialists help build the course. Their involvement is reflected in specific roles: Rafael Ulysses is MedCof USA's general coordinator, and Ivo Wandark is deputy coordinator of the Step 1 course and a cardiology question-bank author. The aim is to connect academic preparation with the questions that arise when planning a career in the US.

Turning professional experience into organized learning

International experience provides perspectives on training environments, communication expectations and career choices. Turning that experience into teaching requires structure: explaining concepts clearly, showing the reasoning behind a question and helping learners identify what they need to review.

This is where specialist involvement matters. Course coordination helps give preparation direction. Question writing connects foundational knowledge with clinical situations. Career conversations introduce different paths without presenting one person's experience as a route everyone must follow.

A course built with this involvement should help learners answer three questions: what am I learning, why does it matter and how can I apply it?

Meet the specialists introduced by MedCof USA

Team presented in MedCof USA's institutional material about the 2026 Match. The experience, roles and metrics below refer to that material.

Rafael Ulysses: coordination and surgical education experience

According to the institutional introduction, Rafael Ulysses earned his medical degree at the Universidade de São Paulo and is MedCof USA's general coordinator. His background includes:

• Clerkships at Harvard and Michigan.
• A fellowship in Surgical Education at Mayo Clinic.
• Previous PGY-1/2 General Surgery residency experience at Mayo Clinic and NYU.

His medical training, international experience and work in surgical education inform his role in course coordination. These perspectives help connect studying, clinical training and career planning.

Gustavo Gameiro: research, education and ophthalmology

According to the institutional introduction, Gustavo Gameiro matched into Ophthalmology at SUNY Stony Brook, New York, in 2026. His background includes:

• Research Fellow at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute from 2023 to 2026.
• A medical degree and a specialization in Health Education from FMUSP.
• Clinical clerkships at the University of Michigan and Harvard Medical School.
• The Prof. Antonino dos Santos Rocha award in clinical medicine and the Prof. Edmundo Vasconcelos award in surgery.
• A doctorate in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences from EPM/UNIFESP.
• Recognition as a Jovem Líder by Brazil's Academia Nacional de Medicina.

His path offers a perspective on the relationship between research, training in education and an international medical career. His participation in the 2026 Match conversation brings that perspective to the MedCof USA community.

Isabele Ayumi Miyawaki: medical-school experiences and the Match

According to the institutional introduction, Isabele Ayumi Miyawaki graduated from UFPR medical school in 2025 and matched into Internal Medicine at Boston University Medical Center. Her introduction highlights:

• Observational and hands-on experiences during medical school.
• 25 indexed publications, including abstracts.
• More than 250 Google Scholar citations, according to the figures in the 2026 Match material.

Her path provides an example for discussing how to organize clinical experiences and academic work during medical school. These figures describe Isabele's background; they are not universal application requirements.

Ivo Wandark: Step 1, question writing and clinical practice

The institutional introduction describes Ivo Wandark as an ECFMG Certified Physician with a Step 2 CK score of 274. His background includes:

• An Internal Medicine clerkship through Florida International University, FIU.
• An Internal Medicine observership at Jackson Memorial Hospital through the University of Miami.
• Deputy coordination of MedCof USA's Step 1 course and authorship of cardiology question-bank content.
• Work as an on-call physician on IMIP's rapid response team and in its clinical emergency service.

His involvement in question writing and course coordination is a direct example of a specialist helping build the course. His background combines exam preparation, international experiences and clinical practice.

What to look for when choosing your preparation

Knowing the specialists helps you evaluate an educational offering more carefully. Look at their training, each person's role in the course and how that experience informs explanations, questions and study guidance.

It also helps to distinguish the stages of your journey: preparing for Step 1, organizing clinical experiences and understanding ERAS and the Match are related but different goals. Personal accounts can put those decisions in context; individual outcomes do not guarantee another applicant's results.

Watch the conversation about the 2026 Match

In this conversation, Brazilian physicians share their experiences and paths through prominent institutions. It is an opportunity to meet the specialists and hear how different careers developed.

To learn about the course and the next steps in preparation, visit MedCof USA.