General Surgery Residency

Meet the Residents

PGY 1

Dominic Amara, MD, MS

Dominic Amara, MD, MS

Medical School: UCSF
Undergraduate Institution: UC Berkeley
Hometown: Sonoma, CA
Interests: Data science, running, lifting, skiing
Research: Transplant/oncology, translational/clinical informatics, precision medicine

Mark Bailey, MD, PhD

Mark Bailey, MD, PhD

Medical School: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Undergraduate Institution: UC Berkeley
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Interests: Coffee, Running, Literature
Research: Virology, Vaccine development, Oncolytics

Tyler McCaw, MD, PhD

Tyler McCaw, MD, PhD

Medical School: University of Alabama School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: North Carolina State University
Hometown: Birmingham, AL
Interests: 
Research: Surgical oncology and basic: CD8 T cell response to and differentiation in solid tumors

Andrew Melehy, MD

Andrew Melehy, MD

Medical School: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Undergraduate Institution: Northwestern University
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Interests: Snowboarding, hiking, camping, tennis
Research: Health services, clinical research informatics, data-driven research, transplant

Whitney Orji, MD, MS

Whitney Orji, MD, MS

Medical School: University of Pennsylvania
Undergraduate Institution: Rice University
Hometown: Pflugerville, TX
Interests: Health equity/justice, global surgery, reading, creating the perfect playlist, being outside
Research: Health equity in surgery

Brittany Robinson, MD

Brittany Robinson, MD

Medical School: UCSF
Undergraduate Institution: Yale University
Hometown: Temecula, CA
Interests: Scuba diving, vinyl collecting, hiking, ice cream
Research: Global surgery, trauma, health equity (specifically access to surgery and surgical outcomes)

Michael Srienc, MD, MS

Michael Srienc, MD, MS

Medical School: University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Hometown: Lake Elmo, MN
Interests: Trying new restaurants, being outdoors, spending time with my family, surgical oncology
Research: Basic science or translational research related to oncology with a preference to work with proteins

PGY 2

Nikhil L Chervu, MD

Nikhil L. Chevru, MD

Medical School: Georgetown University
Undergraduate Institution: Princeton University
Hometown: Marietta, GA
Interests: Playing saxophone and drums, Atlanta sports, Cardiothoracic surgery
Research: TBD

Tess Huy, MD

Tess Huy, MD

Medical School:  Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution:  Washington University in St. Louis
Hometown:  Leamington, Ontario, Canada
Interests:  Traveling/backpacking, baking, quality improvement research, undecided career interests
Research:  Quality improvement

Serena Lofftus, MD

Serena Lofftus, MD

Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: Boston College
Hometown: Rochester, NY
Interests: Skiing, sailing, perfecting my mom’s Korean food recipes, surgical oncology
Research: TBD, have previously done work in outcomes research in cardiac surgery and tumor immunology as a medical student

Alykhan Premji, MD

Alykhan Premji, MD

Medical School:  University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Undergraduate Institution:  Duke University
Hometown:  Knoxville, TN
Interests:  Public Health & Global Surgery, swimming/biking
Research:  Still deciding!

Young-Ji Seo, MD

Young-Ji Seo, MD

Medical School: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Hometown: Corona, CA
Interests: Indoor gardening, classical piano, health services
Research: NA

Nicholas Siena, MD

Nicholas Siena, MD

Medical School:  Thomas Jefferson University
Undergraduate Institution:  Temple University
Hometown:  Philadelphia
Interests:  Healthcare policy, transplant surgery, old motorcycles
Research:  Something policy related

Haley Tupper, MD, MPH

Haley Tupper, MD, MPH

Medical School:  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Undergraduate Institution:  University of Pennsylvania
Hometown:  Seattle, WA
Interests:  Soccer, skiing, health systems design, my dog
Research:  TBD

PGY 3

Michael Dacey, MD

Michael Dacey, MD

Medical School: USC Keck School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: Northern Arizona University
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Interests: Cardiac Surgery, Beach/Outdoors, Basketball/Sports
Research: Translational neurocardiology

Razmik Ghukasyan, MD, MBA

Razmik Ghukasyan, MD, MBA

Medical School: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Undergraduate Institution: UCLA
Hometown: Yerevan, Armenia
Interests: Pancreaticobiliary diseases, healthcare administration , jazz piano,
Research: Pancreatic cancer, cancer immunology

Danielle Graham, MD, MBA

Danielle Graham, MD, MBA

Medical School: University of Pennsylvania
Undergraduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Hometown: Laguna Beach, CA
Interests: Camping, hiking, running, our dogs!
Research: Sarcoma, bioinformatics

Hattie Huston-Paterson, MD

Hattie Huston-Paterson, MD

Medical School: University of Pennsylvania
Undergraduate Institution: University of Oxford
Hometown: Lawrenceville, NJ
Interests: Health Justice, Structural Violence, Workforce Diversity, Surfing
Research: Thoracic Trauma

Michael A Mederos, MD

Michael Mederos, MD

Medical School: Baylor College of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: University of Texas - Pan American
Hometown: Laredo, TXA
Interests: Basketball, weightlifting, going to the beach, and surgical oncology
Research: Pancreatic cancer

Gabriel Oland, MD

Gabriel Oland, MD

Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin
Undergraduate Institution: Arizona State University
Hometown: Sioux Falls, SD
Interests: Medical device design, critical care technology, live music, basketball
Research: Medical device design, neurotrauma

Jordan Rook, MD

Jordan Rook, MD

Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: University of Denver
Hometown: Colorado Springs, CO
Interests: Addressing disparities in healthcare through policy, colorectal surgery, surgical oncology, exploring new neighborhoods!
Research: Exploring the health impact of out-of-pocket costs

Max Schumm, MD

Max Schumm, MD

Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin
Undergraduate Institution: University of Washington
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Interests: Golf, Traveling, Surgical Education, Endocrine Surgery
Research: Endocrine Surgery

Rivfka Shenoy, MD, MS

Rivfka Shenoy, MD, MS

Medical School:  New York University
Undergraduate Institution:  Washington University in St. Louis
Hometown:  Portland, OR
Interests:  Hiking, Health Services Research, Beach time, Eating delicious food with co-residents
Research:  Understanding how standardization of surgical care can prevent disparities (specifically racial/ethnic)

Linda Ye, MD

Linda Ye, MD

Medical School: Georgetown University School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: UCLA
Hometown: Sunnyvale, CA
Interests: Live music, eating out, surgical oncology
Research: Surgical oncology

Mark Yost, MD

Mark Yost, MD

Medical School: Harvard Medical School
Undergraduate Institution: UCLA
Hometown: San Jose, CA
Interests: Ice Hockey, Global Health, Trauma/Critical Care, Dogs
Research: MPH and Global Surgery Project(s)

PGY 6

Amy R Copeland, MD

Amy R. Copeland, MD

Medical School:  University of Virginia
Undergraduate Institution:  University of Virginia Hometown:  King George, VA
Interests:  Dance, yoga, knitting, oncology
Research:  Adoptive cell therapy (NIH/NCI)

Claire Faltermeier, MD, PhD

Claire Faltermeier, MD, PhD

Medical School:  David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Undergraduate Institution:  Columbia University
Hometown:  Bainbridge Island, WA
Interests:  Some of my research/clinical interests: cancer biology, transplant, critical care; Some of my hobbies: horseback riding, hiking and jewelry design
Research: Cancer Biology

Yang (Frank) Lu, MD

Yang Lu, MD

Medical School:  UC San Francisco
Undergraduate Institution:  UC Berkeley
Hometown:  Bozhou, China
Interests:  Basketball, medical education, MIS
Research:  Medical education

Roxanne Massoumi, MD

Roxanne Massoumi, MD

Medical School: The Medical College of Wisconsin
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Irvine
Hometown: San Carlos, CA
Interests: Learning languages, Baking, Being a mom
Research: Pancreatic cancer

Alexandra M. Moore, MD

Alexandra M. Moore, MD

Medical School:  David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Undergraduate Institution:  Stanford University
Hometown:  Alamo, CA
Interests:  Surgical Education, Vegetable Gardening, Reading Historical Fiction
Research:  Basic Science, Pancreatic Cancer Metabolism

Catherine Zhu, MD

Catherine Zhu, MD

Medical School:  Stony Brook University
Undergraduate Institution:  UC Berkeley Hometown:  Foster City, CA
Interests:  Clinical outcomes research, cooking/baking, martial arts
Research:  Clinical outcomes in endocrine surgery

PGY 7

Sudeep Banerjee, MD, MAS

Sudeep Banerjee, MD, MAS

Medical School:  UCLA
Undergraduate Institution:  University of California, Berkeley
Hometown:  Central California
Interests:  Cycling, tennis, cooking and keeping my kids alive
Research:  Cancer biology, translational oncology, and cost-effectiveness

Christopher Childers, MD, PhD

Christopher Childers, MD, PhD

Medical School: Northwestern
Undergraduate Institution: UC San Diego
Hometown: 1/2 Salt Lake City 1/2 Suffolk, England
Interests: Runing (mostly after my kids), Hiking in Yosemite, Health Economics/Finance
Research: Health Services Research - Primarily Focused on Healthcare Finance

Ben DiPardo, MD

Ben DiPardo, MD

Medical School:  Oregon Health & Science University
Undergraduate Institution:  Johns Hopkins University Hometown:  Iowa City, IA
Interests:  Exploring LA, hiking, bioinformatics, spending time with family
Research:  Cancer immunology

Jill Dworsky, MD MS

JIll Dworsky, MD, MS

Medical School:  David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Undergraduate Institution:  Stanford
Hometown:  Palo Alto, CA
Interests:  hiking, skiing, spending time with friends and family, geriatric surgery
Research:  Geriatric surgery

Qing Lina Hu, MD, MS

Qing Lina Hu, MD, MS

Medical School:  Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution:  Rice University
Hometown:  Richland, WA
Interests:  Hiking around LA and nearby state and national parks, exploring the LA food scene, health services and quality improvement
Research:  Health Services Research at the American College of Surgeons in Chicago

Stephanie Kim, MD

Stephanie Kim, MD

Medical School: Geisinger Commonwealth SOM
Undergraduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Interests: Running, fitness, diet/nutrition, kpop
Research: Pancreatic cancer biology

Yas Sanaiha, MD

Yas Sanaiha, MD

Medical School:  David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Undergraduate Institution:  UC Irvine
Hometown:  Irvine,CA
Interests:  Swimming, health services, critical care and extracorporeal life support
Research:  Health Services Research in Cardiac and General Surgery

Research Residents (PGY-3/PGY-4)

Kevin Blair, MD

Kevin Blair, MD

Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: Vanderbilt University
Hometown: St. Louis, MO / Chicago, IL
Interests: Running, Scuba Diving, Global Health, Trauma Surgery
Research: Global Surgery

Mariah Blegen, MD

Mariah Blegen, MD

Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: Macalester College
Hometown: Deephaven, MN
Interests: Implementation science, YouTube yoga, camping, propagating my succulents
Research: Disparities in lung cancer screening

Joseph Hadaya, MD

Joseph Hadaya, MD

Medical School:  Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution:  University of California, Los Angeles Hometown:  Burbank, CA
Interests:  Cycling, hiking, molecular biology, clinical outcomes
Research:  Cardiovascular diseases

Ivy Huang, MD

Ivy Huang, MD

Medical School:  Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution:  UC Berkeley
Hometown:  San Jose, CA
Interests:  enhancing resident autonomy, live music, trivia, playing with my co-resident's pets
Research:  Surgical education

Kyle Klingbeil, MD, MS

Kyle Klingbeil, MD, MS

Medical School: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: University of Iowa
Hometown: Estherville, IA
Interests: Cycling, traveling, cooking, meditation/yoga and surgical oncology
Research: Oncology - Sarcoma Metabolism

Amanda Labora, MD

Amanda Labora, MD

Medical School:  University of Pennsylvania
Undergraduate Institution:  Brown University Hometown:  Miami, FL
Interests:  Latinx health, POCUS, surgical critical care, hiking and baking
Research:  TBD

Joon Park, MD

Joon Park, MD

Medical School: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Undergraduate Institution: UC Berkeley
Hometown: Pleasanton, CA
Interests: Basketball, biking, surgical oncology, coffee
Research: Pancreatic cancer

Garrett Salzman, MD

Garrett Salzman, MD

Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of USCl
Undergraduate Institution: Macalester Collegee
Hometown: Glendale, CA
Interests: Acute Care Surgery, professional sports (Go Rams!), BBQing
Research: Health services research focusing on emergency surgery in geriatric patients.

Benjamin Tran, MD

Benjamin Tran, MD

Medical School:  Mount Sinai
Undergraduate Institution:  Mount Sinai School of Medicine medical school
Hometown:  San Diego
Interests:  Transplant surgery; translational research; cycling; camping
Research:  Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Circulating Tumor Cells, Liquid Biopsy

Whitt Virgin-Downey, MD MBA

Whitt Virgin-Downey, MD, MBA

Medical School:  Stanford Medical School/Business School
Undergraduate Institution:  Harvard University
Hometown:  St. Louis, MO
Interests:  Music, Basketball, Frisbee, Organizational Design
Research:  Hospital Administration

Zachary Weitzner, MD

Zachary Weitzner, MD

Medical School: University of Massachusetts Medical School
Undergraduate Institution: Boston College
Hometown: Acton, MA
Interests: Minimally Invasive Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Boston Sports, Golf
Research: Minimally Invasive Surgery, Robotics

Dennis Zheng, MD

Dennis Zheng, MD

Medical School:  UC San Francisco
Undergraduate Institution:  Harvard Hometown:  Granite Bay, CA
Interests:  Global health, trauma surgery, NBA basketball
Research:  Surgical care in sub-Saharan Africa