The journey to becoming a physician was a long, fulfilling one for Karla Cristo, MD, measured not only by the miles she traveled from her native Brazil, but also by the milestones along her path.  

"This was the place I fell in love with," Karla says during a brief break between patients at her Fitchburg practice. Employed by HealthAlliance CPC Family Practice since her 2010 graduation from the UMass Fitchburg Family Medicine Residency, Karla adds, "I feel very welcome and happy here."  

A native of Vitoria, Brazil, Karla began her medical studies in 1989 at Escola de Medicina de Santa Casa de Misericorda. Upon graduating in 1994, she practiced Family Medicine in chiefly underserved communities, which helped her develop an affinity for the care she would later provide in central Massachusetts.

In 1999, Karla relocated to Brasilia, the capital city, to begin a two-year Internal Medicine residency at Hospital Regional Taguatinga/Fundacao Hospitalar do Distrito Federal. It was upon her 2001 completion of her residency that Karla first contemplated re-locating to the U.S. to join her parents.

"I always thought about going to Boston," to be with her family, Karla explains. Arriving in the U.S and moving to Revere, MA, where she still lives, Karla conducted research in Alzheimer's disease with the Neurology Department at Boston University.

She continued with another research position at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where she published two papers on topics in endocrinology and pediatrics. But after re-locating thousands of miles, Karla looked no further than an hour's drive as she considered her next move.

"The Fitchburg residency was my first... and my last interview," she laughs, noting that she loved the diversity of the community. While her native language is Portugese, she has since learned to become fluent in Spanish through caring for her patients. Joining UMass Fitchburg in 2007, Karla would be elected as chief resident. "I had a wonderful year as chief," she recalls.

Pursuing her particular interests in women's health and geriatrics, her Quality Improvement project last year focused on osteopororis research. As graduation approached, she says, she knew that staying on with the UMass HealthAlliance clinical system was "the right choice."

Karla and her husband Roberto are parents to 8-year-old Victoria and 5-year-old Samuel. She enjoys working only a couple of miles from where she trained for three years. "In life, we have to have goals," she emphasizes. "I'm a physician who loves my patients and enjoys what I am doing." 

Michael Smith, MS, Associate Director of Admissions, would like to thank Dr. Cristo for speaking with him for this profile.