Cristina is a hotshot cardiothoracic surgeon who starts her internship at Seattle Grace at the same time as the original bunch of interns. Cristina is of Jewish heritage but an Atheist who doesn't really have time or much interest in anything beyond what can be proven or explained by science. She is best friends with Meredith Grey after the two hit it off soon after meeting at the start of their internships and are often referred to as each other's person. Cristina is very good at what she does and she knows it. She is easily bored when she isn't doing something groundbreaking and is constantly looking to be challenges by her work and by her mentors. She shows great respect and admiration for surgeons from whom she can learn, and is likewise impatient and intolerant of those who she thinks are wasting her time. Cristina wants to find someone to share her life with, but not at the expense of her medical career. In many ways, she is a reflection of Meredith's mother Ellis Grey. She does not want children. In her pursuit of perfection, Cristina often stifles any sense of emotion or compassion to the point of being annoyed with herself when she lets herself get caught up in any kind of emotion.Background: Cristina suffers from dyslexia and overcame this condition to graduate from UC Berkeley before attending medical school at Stanford. At a young age, she watched her father bleed out and die.