Meet Our Residents

The Johns Hopkins Department of Surgery residency program is designed to prepare trainees to become academic surgical leaders dedicated to patient-centered care and cutting edge innovations in research. The program offers unparalleled surgical training and mentorship, coupled with a curriculum that combines clinical, technical, didactic and scientific components.

Meet our current group of residents:

Residency Program

Learn more about our application process, schedule and curriculum.

Fellowship Opportunities

Read about our advanced fellowship opportunities.

Our Residents

Postgraduate Year Five (PGY-5)

Mohammad Aref

Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Critical care, cardiothoracic
Research Interest: Effects of systemic disease on vascular reactivity

mohammad aref

Mackenzie A. Eagleson 

Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Transplant surgery
Research Interest: Machine learning, computer vision, organ allocation equity and policy

A photo of Mackenzie Eagleson.

Dane Paneitz 

Hometown: Sullivan, Missouri
Medical School: University of Missouri School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Adult and congenital cardiac surgery
Research Interest: Cardiac surgery outcomes, nutrition in congenital heart disease, surgical bioethics

Dane Paneitz

Matthew Price

Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
Medical School: University of Utah School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Surgical Oncology, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Acute Care Surgery
Research Interest: Access to surgical care and surgical systems, surgical education

Matthew Price

Jessica M. Ruck 

Hometown: Greenwich, Connecticut
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Thoracic surgery
Research Interest: Neurocognitive outcomes in frail liver transplant patients, lung transplant outcomes

Jessica Ruck

Li Ting (Olivia) Tan 

Medical School: Newcastle University

Olivia Tan

Stefano Tassinari 

Hometown: Caracas, Venezuela
Medical School: Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
Surgical Interest: Colorectal surgery
Research Interest: surgical education, clinical outcomes, colorectal cancer in younger populations

Stefano Tassinari, M.D.

Postgraduate Year Four (PGY-4)

Muhammad Abdullah Arain 

Hometown: Karachi, Pakistan
Medical School: Aga Khan University
Surgical Interest: Cardiothoracic Surgery
Research Interest: CT Surgery in low resource settings

Muhammad Abdullah Arain
Lawrence Brown

Medical School: Meharry Medical College

Lawrence Brown
Sophia Diaz

Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Sophia Diaz
Daniel L. Eisenson

Medical School: Brown University

Daniel Eisenson
Solomon Levin

Medical School: Weill Cornell School of Medicine

A photo of Solomon Levin.
Katherine “Katie” McDermott

Medical School: Perelman School of Medicine

Katherine McDermott
Shannon Radomski 

Hometown: Moorestown, New Jersey
Medical School: Georgetown University
Surgical Interest: Transplant
Research Interest: Organoid models of metastatic gastrointestinal cancers, access to fertility preservation benefits for surgical trainees

Shannon Radomski

Postgraduate Year Three (PGY-3)

Benjamin Bigelow 

Hometown: Grass Valley, California
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Acute care surgery, surgical critical care
Research Interest: Disparities in an access to care, pre-hospital trauma care

A photo of Benjamin Bigelow.
Radek Buss 

Hometown: Prague, Czech Republic
Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin
Surgical Interest: Pediatric surgery
Research Interest: Quality improvement and surgical outcomes research

A photo of Radek Buss.
Ivy Mannoh

Hometown: Accra, Ghana
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Thoracic surgery
Research Interest: Health equity and global surgery

A photo of Ivy Mannoh.
Sarah Pisano

Hometown: Timonium, Maryland
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Research Interest: Outcomes research

A photo of Sarah Pisano.
Kyla Rakoczy

Hometown: Boca Raton, Florida
Medical School: University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Thoracic; Endocrine; Trauma/Critical Care
Research Interest: Surgical Education

 

 

A photo of Kyla Rakoczy.
Dylan Rust

Hometown: Green River, Wyoming
Medical School: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Surgical Interest: Transplant, surgical oncology
Research Interest: Outcomes research, transplant oncology

A photo of Dylan Rust.
Sumeyye Yilmaz 

Hometown: Trabzon, Turkey
Medical School: Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Liver transplantation
Research Interest: Machine perfusion, living donor liver transplantation, increasing organ donation

A photo of Sumeyye Yilmaz.

Postgraduate Year Two (PGY-2)

Valentine Sampson Alia 

Hometown: Houston, Texas
Medical School: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Emergency General Surgery
Research Interest: Trends in physician supply and demand, Healthcare disparities

A photo of Valentine Alia.
Nijmeh Alsaadi 

Hometown: Jenin, Palestine
Medical School: TheUniversity of Jordan School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Trauma Surgery, Critical Care Surgery, Emergency General Surgery, and Global Surgery
Research Interest: Immunothrombosis following hemorrhagic shock and traumatic injury, DEI in Surgery, Global Surgery

A photo of Nijmeh Alsaadi.
Luis Daniel Castellanos 

Hometown: Maracaibo, Venezuela
Medical School: Universidad del Zulia Escuela de Medicina
Surgical Interest: Vascular Surgery, Trauma Surgery, Colorectal Surgery
Research Interest: Global health, access to surgery in Latin America, surgical education

A photo of Luis Castellanos.
Swathikan Chidambaram 

Medical School: Imperial College London Faculty of Medicine

A photo of Swathikan Chidambaram.
Elizabeth Horne 

Medical School: Duke University School of Medicine

A photo of Elizabeth Horne.
Hanna Kakish 

Hometown: As-Salt, Jordan
Medical School:
 Jordan University of Science and Technology
Surgical Interest: Surgical Oncology
Research Interest: Surgical outcomes, Cancer treatment disparities

 

A photo of Hanna Kakish.
Gregory McKay 

Hometown: Medway, Massachusetts
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Acute Care Surgery / Trauma
Research Interest: Biomedical optics, non-invasive blood cell imaging, device design

A photo of Gregory McKay.
Ghulam Mustafa Qurashi 

Hometown: Hounslow, London, UK
Medical School: University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division
Surgical Interest: General Surgery
Research Interest: Medical Ethics

A photo of Ghulam Mustafa Qurashi.
Menaka Reddy 

Hometown: Fayetteville, Georgia
Medical School: Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Thoracic surgery, surgical oncology 
Research Interest: Public health, outcomes research, health disparities

A photo of Menaka Reddy.
Deborah Tsao 

Medical School: Stanford University School of Medicine

A photo of Deborah Tsao.
Paola Vargas 

Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Medical School: Universidad Militar Nueva Granada Facultad de Medicina
Surgical Interest: Transplant / Pediatric Surgery 
Research Interest: Clinical outcomes after liver transplantation, particularly interested in exploring underutilized strategies in the US to optimize organ utilization and access to transplantation.

A photo of Paola Vargas.
Nolan Winicki 

Hometown: Oceanside, California
Medical School: University of California – Riverside School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Surgical oncology, cardiothoracic surgery 
Research Interest: Peritoneal surface malignancy, pulmonary arterial hypertension, cardiac valvular disease, and applying biomedical engineering to surgery

A photo of Nolan Winicki.
Marinos Zachiotis 

Hometown: Athens, Greece
Medical School: University of Patras School of Health Sciences
Surgical Interest: Liver Transplantation
Research Interest: Liver Transplantation, International Patient Registries

A photo of Maronis Zachiotis.

Postgraduate Year One (PGY-1)

Grace Bloomfield
Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland
Medical School
: Georgetown University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Transplant, Thoracic, HPB/Surgical Oncology
Research Interest: Xenotransplantation; Health Equity in Surgery
 
Sardar Shahmir Chauhan
Hometown: Karachi, Pakistan
Medical School
: Aga Khan University Medical College
Surgical Interest: CT surgery, surgical oncology
Research Interest: Pancreatic surgical outcomes research
 
Charbel Chidiac

Medical School: American University of Beirut

Wyatt Dougherty 
Medical School: University College Dublin School of Medicine
Madeline Foo

Hometown: Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Medical School
: Northeast Ohio Medical University
Surgical Interest: Interventional Radiology
Research Interest: Vascular diseases and vascular malformations

 

 

Reed Jenkins

Hometown: Brewster, Massachusetts
Medical School
: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Transplant Surgery
Research Interest: Liver transplantation outcomes, history of surgery 

 

Shivalika Khanduja

Hometown: Delhi, India
Medical School
: Lady Hardinge Medical College
Surgical Interest: Cardiothoracic Surgery, Breast Surgery, and Trauma & Acute Care Surgery
Research Interest: Surgical Outcome Research, Global Surgery, and Surgical Education

 

 

Khaoula Ben Haj Frej
Hometown: Waterbury, Connecticut
Medical School
: University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Surgical oncology/HPB
Research Interest: Basic science, immunology, medical education
Laura Mafla

Hometown: Houston, Texas
Medical School
: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Facial reconstructive surgery
Research Interest: Surgical wound healing in setting of staged surgeries, bone regeneration of max volume bone loss in facial surgery

 

 

Jyi Cheng Ng

Hometown: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Medical School
: University of Putra Malaysia
Surgical Interest: Colorectal Surgery, Minimally Invasive Approaches
Research Interest: Surgical Outcomes, Rectal Cancer

 

Dianela Perdomo

Hometown: Miami, Florida
Medical School
: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Cardiothoracic surgery, heart/lung transplantation, surgical oncology
Research Interest: Immunology, surgical outcomes, history of surgery

 

Mansour Riachi

Medical School: American University of Beirut

Christina Sierra Rodriguez

Hometown: Lakeland, Florida
Medical School
: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Surgical Interest: Trauma and Acute Care
Research Interest: Medical Education, Health Equity

Fatemeh Shojaeian

Hometown: Tehran, Iran
Medical School
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
Surgical Interest: Surgical Oncology
Research Interest: Bioelectronics and 3D Modelling in Cancer Study, Surgical Outcome

Reena Suresh

Hometown: Colchester, England
Medical School
: University of Birmingham Medical School
Surgical Interest: Surgical Oncology
Research Interest: Surgical Oncology

 

Chi Trinh

Hometown: Hanoi, Vietnam
Medical School
: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Interventional Radiology
Research Interest: Interventional Oncology

Kyra Urquhart-Foster

Hometown: Suwanee, Georgia
Medical School
: Medical College of Georgia
Surgical Interest: Surgical Oncology
Research Interest: Clinical outcomes, surgical education

Sydney Wade

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Medical School
: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Interventional Radiology
Research Interest: IR in Women's Health, Global IR

Research Residents

Michelle Carvajal Villalba 

Hometown: Quito, Ecuador
Medical School: Pontificia University
Surgical Interest: Cardiothoracic surgery

Michelle Carvajal Villalba
Natasha Houshmand 

Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Medical School: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
Surgical Interest: Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
Research Interest: Firearm injury prevention, public health approaches to trauma care

A photo of Natasha Houshmand.
Sarah Jabour 

Medical School: University of Michigan

Sarah Jabour
Alexander Schulick 

Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Medical School: University of Colorado School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: HPB surgery; transplant and surgical oncology
Research Interest: Biomarkers in pancreatic cancer, liver transplantation coagulopathy

alexander schulick image
Jamie Schwartz
Medical School: University of Florida
Jamie Schwartz
Ifeoluwa Shoyombo 

Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria
Medical School: University of Texas at Austin Dell
Surgical Interest: Acute care surgery/trauma
Research Interest: Global surgery; functional recovery from trauma

Ifeoluwa Shoyombo
Latoya Stewart 

Medical School: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Surgical Interest: Global surgery; pediatric surgery
Research Interest: Clinical outcomes; biomedical informatics; global health

Latoya Stewart
Bryan Szeglin 

Hometown: Blue Point, New York
Medical School: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Surgical interest: Surgical oncology
Research Interest: Rectal cancer chemoresistance mechanisms and ex vivo prognostication assays

A photo of Bryan Szeglin.
James (Joey) Whitbread Jr. 

Hometown: Colville, Washington
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Cardiothoracic surgery
Research Interest: End-stage heart failure/cardiac transplantation

Joey Whitbread
Midori White 

Hometown: Tacoma, Washington
Medical School: University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine
Surgical Interest: Transplant, vascular
Research Interest: CRISPR-Cas9 to disrupt gene expression in cell lines

A photo of Midori White.