Meet Our Neurosurgery Residents


Postgraduate Year 7

Tej Azad, M.D., M.S.

Undergraduate Education: Washington University, St. Louis (2012)
Medical School: Stanford University (2019)
Clinical Focus: Adult and pediatric spinal deformity, neurotrauma
Research Areas: Molecular diagnostics, clinical AI
Profiles: ResearchGate | PubMed | Google Scholar | X
Awards and Grants:
  • Harvey Cushing Hunterian Research Award, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2025)
  • 21st Century Grant, CSRS (2025, Co-PI)
  • Physician Scientist Award, Johns Hopkins University (2025)
  • J.A.N.E. Award, AANS/CNS Spine Section (2025)
  • Academy Award, American Academy of Neurological Surgery(2024)
  • Emerging Generation Award, ASCI (2024)
  • Walter Dandy Award for Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2023)
  • Kuntz Scholar, AANS/CNS Spine Section (2023, 2025)
  • Young Investigator Translational Research Grant, NASS (2022, PI)
  • Chairman’s Award for Improving Patient Safety, Johns Hopkins University (2022)
  • Julius Goodman Resident Award, CNS (2019)
  • Socioeconomic Research Fellow, CSNS (2017)
  • Clinical Research Mentorship Fellow, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (2016)
     
Tej Azad

Lydia Bernhardt, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Johns Hopkins University (2014)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University (2019)
Lydia Bernhardt

Landon Hansen, M.D., Ph.D.

Undergraduate Education: Brigham Young University (2011)
Medical School: Duke University (2019)
Landon Hansen

Yuanxuan Xia, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Washington University, St. Louis (2014)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University (2019)
Research Areas: Immunotherapy, spine oncology, trigeminal neuralgia
Profiles: PubMed | Google Scholar
Award and Grants:
  • Donlin M. Long Award for Outstanding Resident Teacher, Johns Hopkins Hospital
    (2025)
  • Irving J. Sherman Award for Resident Achievement, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2025)
  • Harvey Cushing Hunterian Research Award, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2024)
  • Physician Scientist Training Program Research Grant, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2024)
  • Physician Scientist Training Program Scholar, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2022)
  • HHMI Medical Research Fellow (2018)
     
Yuanxuan Xia

Postgraduate Year 6

Karim Ahmed, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Notre Dame (2014)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University (2020)
Profiles: Google Scholar | ResearchGate
Awards and Grants:

  • The Spine Journal and North American Spine Society (NASS) 2020 Outstanding Paper Award
  • CNS 2021 Tumor Paper of the Year
Karim Ahmed

Wataru Ishida, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Tokyo (2008)
Medical School: University of Tokyo (2012)
Clinical Focus: Skull base, brain tumors, epilepsy, functional
Research Focus: Robotic neurosurgery, autonomous neurosurgery, neurosurgery
education, EEG/AI
Profiles: Google Scholar | ResearchGate | PubMed
Awards and Grants:

  • JHH, Earl Walker Outstanding International Fellow Award (2016)
  • Columbia University, Gallen Professorship Research Grant (2017)
  • AANS/CNS, The American Brain Tumor Association Young Investigator Award
    (2018)
  • Publons, Top 1% Global Peer Review Award (2019)
  • JHH, Evelyn Spiro Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Research Fund (2019)
     
 
Wataru Ishida

Jawad Khalifeh, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: American University of Beirut (2015)
Medical School: Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine (2020)
Clinical Focus: Spine and peripheral nerve surgery
Clinical Track: Spine and peripheral nerve surgery
Research Areas: peripheral nerve and spinal cord injury, clinical outcomes and health services research in spinal surgery and spinal oncology, neuro-regeneration and neuromodulation, robotic spine surgery
Profiles: Google Scholar | PubMed | X
Awards and Grants:

  • Charles Kuntz Scholar, AANS/CNS Section on Diseases of the Spine and Peripheral
    Nerves (2025)
  • Chairman’s Award for Improving Patient Safety, Johns Hopkins University (2024)
  • House Staff Council Resident Appreciation Award (2022)
  • Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (2020)
     

 

Jawad Khalifeh

Postgraduate Year 5

Cory Chang, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Dartmouth College (2013)
Medical School: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (2021)
Cory Chang

Joe Dardick, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Virginia (2015)
Medical School: Albert Einstein College of Medicine (2021)
Clinical Focus: CSF disorders, Neurotrauma, and Complex Spine
Research Focus: Device innovation and translational/interventional research on improving diagnostics and outcomes for CSF disorders, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury with focuses on ultrasound technologies and low-risk/low-cost interventions. See ongoing clinical trial.
Profiles: LinkedIn
Awards and Grants:

  • K22 Pipeline Accelerator, NRCDP (2025)
  • Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Distinguished Teaching Society (2025)
  • Physician Scientist Training Program Research Grant, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2025)
  • Donlin Long Outstanding Resident Teacher Award (2024)
  • Johns Hopkins Discovery Award: Continuous and Active Surveillance of Shunt Infections
  • using Clip-on Device (2023)
  • Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation Research Grant (2023)
  • Physician Scientist Training Program Scholar, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2022)
  • AAN Futures in Neurological Research Award (2020)
  • Medical Research Fellow, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2016-2018)
     
Joe Dardick

James Feghali, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: American University of Beirut (2014)
Medical School: American University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine (2018)
Profiles: LinkedIn | X
Awards and Grants:
  • Chairman’s Award for Improving Patient Safety, Johns Hopkins University (2025)
  • A. Earl Walker Award for Research, Johns Hopkins University (2020)
  • Canon Medical Seed Funding Program Grant (2020-2022)
  • Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
     
James Feghali

Connor Liu, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Washington University in St. Louis (2013)
Medical School: Washington University in St. Louis (2021)
Awards and Grants:
  • Physician Scientist Training Program Scholar, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2022)
  • Program Evaluation Committee neurosurgery representative
  • CNS Tumor Neuro-Oncology Trainee Award (2019)
  • Medical Research Fellow, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2016-2018)
Connor Liu

Postgraduate Year 4

Timour Al-Khindi, M.D., Ph.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Toronto (2011)
Graduate Education: Johns Hopkins University (2022)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University (2022)
headshot of Timour Al-Khindi

Liam Hughes, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Cornell University (2018)
Medical School: Thomas Jefferson University - Sidney Kimmel Medical College (2022)
Profiles: X | Google Scholar
headshot of Liam Hughes

Emily Johnson, M.D., M.S.

Undergraduate Education: Yale University (2016)
Graduate Education: Tufts University (2017)
Medical School: Washington University in St. Louis (2022)
headshot of Emily Johnson

Ethan Srinivasan, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Michigan (2013)
Medical School: Duke University (2022)
Profiles: LinkedIn | Google Scholar
headshot of Ethan Srinivasan

Postgraduate Year 3

Joshua Materi, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Wyoming (2015)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2023)
Profiles: X | ResearchGate | PubMed | LinkedIn

Josh Materi headshot

Aaron Rusheen, M.D., Ph.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Rochester (2014)
Medical School: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine (2023)
Graduate Education: Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (2023)
Profiles: Google Scholar | X | PubMed
Awards and Grants:

  • Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31)
  • NIH Leadership Development Program Fellowship
  • Society for Neuroscience Uihlein Neurosurgery Research Scholarship, Mayo Clinic

 

Aaron Rusheen Headshot

Patricia Yee, M.D., Ph.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (2011)
Graduate Education: Penn State College of Medicine (2021)
Medical School: Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine (2023)
Profiles: PubMed | Google Scholar | X

Patricia Yee Headshot

Postgraduate Year 2

Andrew Hersh, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Princeton University (2018)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2024)
Profiles: Google Scholar | ResearchGate | PubMed | X

Andrew Hersh headshot

Bridget Nolan, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Lehigh University (2015)
Medical School: New York Medical College (2024)

Bridget Nolan Headshot

Jacob Jo, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Dartmouth College (2017)
Medical School: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (2024)
Profiles: Google Scholar | ResearchGate | X

Jacob Jo Headshot

Michelle Odonkor, M.D., M.P.H.

Undergraduate Education: Harvard University (2018)
Graduate Education: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2023)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2024)
Research Areas: Global neurosurgery, neurosurgery capacity building
Profiles: LinkedIn | PubMed | Google Scholar

Michelle Odonkor headshot

Postgraduate Year 1

Jonathan Ho, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Pittsburgh
Medical School: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Profiles: Google Scholar | ResearchGate | X

headshot of Jonathan Ho

Carly Weber-Levine, M.D., M.S.

Undergraduate Education: Stanford University (2019)
Graduate Education: Stanford University (2020)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2025)
Research Focus: Medical device design and innovation
Profiles: Google Scholar | ResearchGate | PubMed

headshot of Carly Weber Levine

Sumil Nair, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Washington University in St. Louis
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Profiles: Google Scholar | ResearchGate | PubMed

headshot of Sumil Nair

Pranav Warman, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Duke University
Medical School: Duke University of School of Medicine
Research Focus: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Real World Evidence
Profiles: Google Scholar | LinkedIn

headshot of Pranav Warman

David Zarrin, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of California, Berkeley
Medical School: University of California, Los Angeles
Profiles: Google Scholar | LinkedIn

 

 
headshot of David Zarrin