Paramus Twins Enter Rutgers Medical School

Jessica and Jordana Goldman, Paramus natives and first-year students at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, have always been curious about what makes them identical.

“Growing up as an identical twin you want to know why you and your twin look the same when other people don’t,” said Jessica recently as the two sisters sat together in the medical school’s leafy courtyard in Newark. “Medical school is a natural place for us to learn more about the genetic profile we share.”

According to a report by Rutgers University, It is estimated that one birth in 250 produces identical twins. And Jessica and Jordana know well that the more science progresses, the more valuable knowledge about these special siblings becomes to researchers studying genes and their interactions with the environment.

The sisters are looking forward to learning about molecular genetics while in medical school at Rutgers. Their message to researchers who study identical twins is, “count us in.”

Jessica and Jordana have been in school together since pre-K in Paramus. Jessica recalls drawing a picture of herself in a doctor’s coat with a stethoscope while in preschool.

“Whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to be,” recalls Jordana, “I said, ‘doctor.’ I never said ‘ballerina’ or ‘I don’t know.’”  

While the thought a medical practice named “J. Goldman, MD and J. Goldman, MD” has crossed their minds, the Goldman’s are aware that the medical residency system or personal choices may finally send them in separate directions. 

“If it turns out that we want the same thing, great,” says Jordana. “But we are not tied to that.”

Check out the attached photo of the twins as tykes with their stethoscopes.