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Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Department of Surgery

Our Current Residents

PGY 5s

Ryan Jacobs, MD, MS

Ryan Jacobs, MD, MS

  • Undergraduate School: Washington University in St. Louis
  • Graduate School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
  • Medical School: Baylor College of Medicine
  • Hometown: Fort Worth, TX
  • Clinical Interests: Thoracic Surgery
  • Research Interests: Health services research, outcomes research, quality improvement
  • Hobbies: Volleyball, guitar, basketball, hiking
Whitney Jones, MD

Whitney Jones, MD

  • Undergraduate School: University of Missouri - St. Louis
  • Graduate School: Bellevue University
  • Medical School: Howard University College of Medicine
  • Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
  • Clinical Interests: Trauma, Surgical Oncology 
  • Research Interests: Medical Education, Surgical Outcomes
  • Hobbies​: Working out, traveling, having new experiences 
Marjorie Liggett, MD

Marjorie Liggett, MD

  • Undergraduate School: College of the Holy Cross
  • Medical School: Michigan State University College of Human Medicine 
  • Hometown: Detroit, MI
  • Clinical Interests: trauma, critical care; vascular surgery
  • Research Interests: surgical education, hemorrhagic shock, traumatic brain injury
  • Hobbies​: Finding the best Chili Cheese Fries in Chicago (open to recs), running, and whispering "sweet nothings" to my Basset Hound
Joseph Sanchez, MD

Joseph Sanchez, MD

  • Undergraduate School: The University of Georgia
  • Medical School: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons
  • Hometown: Atlanta, GA
  • Clinical Interests: Pediatric Surgery and Clinical Education
  • Research Interests: Outcomes and Translational Research
  • Hobbies: Baking, Rock Climbing, Scrolling through memes on Instagram, Lifting, Karaoke, and Archery
Rachel Van Doorn, MD

Rachel Van Doorn, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of Wisconsin-Madison GO BADGERS
  • Medical school: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health 
  • Hometown: Crystal Lake, IL
  • Clinical interest: General Surgery, Acute Care Surgery
  • Hobbies: trying new restaurants, finding the best dirty gin martini, spending time with my husband, boating and being in the sun
Dominic Vitello, MD, MS

Dominic Vitello, MD, MS

  • Undergraduate School: Purdue University
  • Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Naperville, IL
  • Clinical interests: hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgical oncology, gastrointestinal malignancy
  • Research interests: hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer, health services and outcomes, circulating tumor DNA, clinical trials
  • Hobbies: aeronautics and astronautics, cooking, film, no limit Hold 'Em, memetics

PGY 4s

Paola Barrios Martinez, MD, MSAI

Paola Barrios Martinez, MD, MSAI

  • Undergraduate School: University of Miami
  • Graduate School: Case Western Reserve School of Medicine
  • Medical School: Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve
  • Clinical Interests: Abdominal Transplant Surgery 
  • Research Interests: Outcomes research, translational research, artificial intelligence, health disparities, surgical education
  • Hometown: Mexico City / Miami, FL
  • Hobbies: playing and watching soccer, swim bike run, cookies pie ice-cream, drawing and painting, spending time outside with my wife and pup
Raheem Bell, MD, MS, MScL

Raheem Bell, MD, MS, MScL

  • Undergraduate School: Boston College
  • Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
  • Graduate School: Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (Master of Science in Law); Tufts University (Master of Science in Biomedical Science)
  • Hometown: Born and raised in Jamaica before moving to West Orange, New Jersey
  • Clinical Interests: Minimal Invasive Surgery, Medical Innovation
  • Research Interests: Surgical Outcomes
  • Hobbies: Basketball, soccer, running, biking
Clara Bosco, MD

Clara Bosco, MD

  • Undergrad: Creighton University
  • Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin
  • Hometown: Green Bay, Wisconsin
  • Clinical Interests: Vascular Surgery
  • Research Interests: Bioethics, Health Equity, Health Policy, Surgical Outcomes
  • Hobbies: Barre and pilates, anything involving a large body of water, trying new restaurants, traveling with my fiancé, wine tasting, skiing, philosophy, hanging out with my cat, ice cream
Daniel Liesman, MD

Daniel Liesman, MD

  • Undergraduate School: University of Michigan
  • Medical School: University of Michigan Medical School
  • Hometown: Okemos, Michigan
  • Clinical Interests: CT surgery, pediatric surgery
  • Research Interests: Telehealth, quality improvement
  • Hobbies: Watching the Lions, roasting and drinking coffee, going to breweries
Nicole Ontiveros, MD

Nicole Ontiveros, MD

  • Undergraduate: Princeton University
  • Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
  • Hometown: Laguna Niguel, CA
  • Clinical Interests: Trauma and Critical Care, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery
  • Research Interests: Quality improvement, post-oncologic reconstruction, lymphedema, health disparities
  • Hobbies: Running, Peloton, eating my way through Chicago's amazing food scene, baking and sharing my creations, traveling, doing my best impression of an interior designer, napping on the beach, Costco runs
Saieesh Rao, MD

Saieesh Rao, MD

  • Undergraduate School: University of Chicago
  • Medical School: University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Buffalo Grove, IL
  • Clinical Interests: Surgical Oncology, HPB, GI/MIS
  • Research Interests: Health Policy and Economics, Computational Modeling, Statistical Methods
  • Hobbies: Cooking, exercise, Settlers of Catan, houseplant gardening, reading about etymology and philosophy
John Rode, MD, MS

John Rode, MD, MS

  • Undergraduate School: Connecticut College
  • Medical School: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
  • Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
  • Clinical Interests: Pediatric Surgery, Surgical Critical Care
  • Research Interests: Clinical Outcomes, Quality Improvement, Leadership in Surgery
  • Hobbies: Hiking, snorkeling, museums, comedy clubs, die-hard Philly sports fan 
Shelbie Waddle, DO

Shelbie Waddle, DO

  • Undergraduate: Missouri Western State University
  • Medical school: Kansas City University
  • Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri
  • Clinical Interest: Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
  • Research Interest: Firearm injury and violence prevention
  • Hobbies: Cooking, reading,  board games, plants, national parks, house music

PGY 3s

Ahad Azimudidin, MD

Ahad Azimudidin, MD

  • Undergrad: University of Houston
  • Graduate School: Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
  • Med school: Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
  • Hometown: Houston, Texas
  • Clinical Interest: Undecided
  • Research Interest: Surgical Innovation, Cost of Care, Global Surgery
  • Hobbies: DJing, Music Production, Bouldering
Samuele Cannas, MD

Samuele Cannas, MD

  • Undergrad: University of Pisa
  • Graduate School: University of Pisa
  • Med school: Università di Pisa Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia
    Italy
  • Hometown: Elmas (CA), Italy
  • Clinical Interest: Surgical oncology, MIS HPB,  Pancreatic Surgery
  • Research Interest:  Autonomous Robot Surgery, Surgical Device Innovation, Computer Assisted Surgery
  • Hobbies: Piano, Classical Music, cooking and eating traditional Italian delicacies, hiking and taking long walks in the countryside
Ashley Durant, MD

Ashley Durant, MD

  • Undergrad: University of Central
    Oklahoma
  • Graduate School: University of Oklahoma
  • Med school: University of South Dakota, Sanford School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Okay, Oklahoma
  • Clinical Interest: gender affirming care, breast, plastics, acute care surgery
  • Research Interest: healthcare access, healthcare policy
  • Hobbies: trivia, running, watching trash tv
Michael Erwin, MD

Michael Erwin, MD

  • Undergrad: Auburn University
  • Med school: University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Fairhope, AL
  • Clinical Interest: Pediatric Surgery
  • Research Interests: pediatric solid tumors, signal transduction pathways
  • Hobbies: hunting, weightlifting, reading, hanging out with my cats  
Sonia Lele, MD

Sonia Lele, MD

  • Undergraduate: UCLA
  • Medical school: VCU
  • Hometown: Cupertino, CA
  • Clinical interest: trauma, vascular, TBD
  • Research interest: clinical outcomes
  • Hobbies: running, swimming, ultimate frisbee
Sasha Suarez, MD

Sasha Suarez, MD

  • Undergrad: Universidad Autónoma de Centro América Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud
  • Med school: Universidad Autónoma de Centro América Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud
  • Hometown: Isla de Margarita, Venezuela / Dominical, Costa Rica / Boston, MA
  • Research Interest: Global Surgery, Health Disparities, Translational Research, Surgical Education
  • Hobbies: Music, Cooking, Travel, Kickboxing, Outdoor Activities
Erik Wu, MD

Erik Wu, MD

  • Undergrad: Rice University
  • Graduate School: Rice University
  • Med school: Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine 
  • Hometown: Allendale, NJ
  • Clinical Interest: Thoracic Surgery
  • Research Interest: Medical Device Innovation, Clinical Outcomes
  • Hobbies: Board Games, Yogurt Making, Supporting Arsenal Football Club

PGY 2s

Erik Davis, MD

Erik Davis, MD

  • Undergrad: UC Davis 
  • Med school: University of Iowa 
  • Hometown: Anaheim, CA
  • Clinical Interest: vascular surgery
  • Research Interest: medical education and surgical outcomes 
  • Hobbies: weight lifting, watching sports, exploring the Chicago restaurant scene
Robert Hu, MD

Robert Hu, MD

  • Undergrad: University of Pennsylvania
  • Med school: Creighton University School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Los Angeles, California
  • Clinical Interest: cardiothoracic surgery, transplant surgery, plastic surgery
  • Research Interest: surgical outcomes, transplant immunology, surgical disparities, surgical education
  • Hobbies: photography, sneaker collecting, painting shoes, computer building, car enthusiast, hiking, ultimate frisbee, exploring new coffee shops and restaurants!
Bhagvat Maheta, MD

Bhagvat Maheta, MD

  • Undergrad: California Northstate University College of Health Sciences
  • Med school: California Northstate University College of Health Sciences
  • Hometown: Fremont, CA
  • Clinical Interest: Trauma/ Acute Care Surgery; Surgical Oncology
  • Research Interest: Surgical Outcomes, Palliative Care, Medical Education, Health Services Research
  • Hobbies: Basketball, Die-hard Warriors fan, Fantasy football, Cooking, Watching Netflix
Kelvin Moore, MD

Kelvin Moore, MD

  • Undergrad: Brown University
  • Med school: UCSF School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Charleston, SC
  • Clinical Interest: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Abdominal Wall Reconstruction, Breast Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery
  • Research Interest: Black and LGBTQ health disparities, surgical outcomes, healthcare devices, surgical innovation, and surgical education
  • Hobbies: Exploring Chicago's food scene, Peloton rides, international travel, curating playlists, and attending live creative and performing arts events
Tomas Prudencio, MD, MS

Tomas Prudencio, MD, MS

  • Undergrad: The George Washington University 
  • Graduate School:  The George Washington University 
  • Med school: Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University  
  • Hometown: La Paz, Bolivia
  • Clinical Interest: Cardiothoracic Surgery, Transplant Surgery
  • Research Interest: Global Surgery, Healthcare Access, Surgical Device Innovation
  • Hobbies: Traveling, camping, scuba diving, cooking, espresso
R Reichenbach, MD

R Reichenbach, MD

  • Undergrad: Stanford University
  • Med school: University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix
  • Hometown: Pleasanton, CA
  • Clinical Interest: Cardiothoracic surgery
  • Research Interest: Surgical management of heart/lung failure, ethical global surgery partnerships, improving equitable medical access for LGBTQ+ patients
  • Hobbies: Climbing/bouldering, coffee, throwing pottery, being outdoors
Jack Scaife, MD

Jack Scaife, MD

  • Undergraduate: Colgate University
  • Med school: University of Utah School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
  • Clinical Interest: Pediatric Surgery, Transplant Surgery
  • Research Interest: Health services research, clinical outcomes
  • Hobbies: Endurance races, running on the shoreline trail, reading classic literature, golf, climbing, biking, cooking, and eating

PGY 1s

Rebecca Butler, MD

Rebecca Butler, MD

  • Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
  • Undergraduate School: 
  • Research Interests:
  • Clinical Interests: 
  • Hometown: 
  • Hobbies: 
Yash Deshmukh, MD

Yash Deshmukh, MD

  • Undergrad: UCLA
  • Medical school: Dartmouth School of Medicine
  • Hometown: San Jose, CA
  • Clinical Interest: surgical oncology, endocrine surgery
  • Research Interest: surgical outcomes research, financial toxicity, intraoperative molecular imaging
  • Hobbies: hiking, skiing, short stories, Chicago movie festivals
Hossam Halaweish, MD

Hossam Halaweish, MD

  • Undergraduate: University Of Minnesota 
  • Medical School: University Of Minnesota Medical School
  • Hometown: Brookings, South Dakota
  • Clinical Interest: Pediatric Surgery, Clinical Education
  • Research Interest: Surgical Education, Hemorrhagic Shock
  • Hobbies: Photography, Endurance Races, Backpacking, Lifting, Soccer, Tennis, and Lord of the Rings 
Mallory Happ, MD

Mallory Happ, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Medical School: University of North Carolina School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Denver, Colorado
  • Clinical interest: Pediatric Surgery, Trauma/Acute Care Surgery
  • Research interest: health services research, geographic and financial access to surgical care, firearm injury prevention 
  • Hobbies: yoga, reading, spending time with friends and family, buying things I don't need at farmer's markets, an annual corndog at the North Carolina state fair!
Carolyn Hu, MD

Carolyn Hu, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of California, Los Angeles
  • Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine 
  • Hometown: Burnaby, British Columbia / Irvine, California
  • Hobbies: travel, new restaurants, buying iced lattes because I deserve another treat, the Lord of the Rings, musical theatre 
Nadia Islam, MD

Nadia Islam, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of California, Los Angeles
  • Medical School: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Clinical Interest: Likely surgical oncology in some form (breast, endocrine, colorectal, complex surgical oncology) but TBD
  • Research Interest: Health disparities, global health, medical education, outcomes research
  • Hobbies: Piano, pickleball, board/card games, baking sourdough, collecting stamps, walking dogs on Wag, hiking, traveling and trying new foods 
  •  
Elizabeth Tsui, MD

Elizabeth Tsui, MD

  • Undergraduate: Duke University
  • Medical School: Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Goldsboro, NC
  • Clinical Interest: Open to anything
  • Research Interest: tissue microenvironment, metastasis
  • Hobbies: exploring Chicago's food scene and the city with my pup! 
Jeffrey Zucker, MD

Jeffrey Zucker, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of Pennsylvania
  • Medical School: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University 
  • Hometown: Short Hills, NJ 
  • Clinical Interest: cardiac surgery, plastic surgery, transplant 
  • Research Interest: surgical techniques, cardiac transplant, ECMO 
  • Hobbies: tennis (former D1 athlete!), cooking, running the lake, workout classes! 

PGY 1s Prelim

Miriam Chisholm, MD

Miriam Chisholm, MD

  • Undergraduate: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Medical School: Duke University
  • Hometown: Atlanta, GA
  • Clinical Interest: Interventional Radiology
  • Research Interest: health equity, impact of SDOH on procedural outcomes
  • Hobbies: weightlifting, Lagree/Solidcore, cooking, making floral arrangements
Thomas Turner, MD

Thomas Turner, MD

  • Undergraduate: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Medical School: The University of North Carolina School of Medicine 
  • Hometown: Kernersville, NC
  • Clinical Interest: Interventional Radiology
  • Research Interest: Portal Hypertension, Venous Disease, MSK Interventions
  • Hobbies: fly fishing, Japanese language and history, dachshund dad, making this house a home

 

Research

Elissa Abou Khalil, MD

Elissa Abou Khalil, MD

  • Medical school: Université Saint-Joseph Faculté de Médecine - Lebanon
  • Graduate School: University of Pittsburgh
  • Clinical interest: Pediatric Surgery, Fetal Surgery & Immunology, Global Health & Bioethics
  • Hometown: Tyre, Lebanon - Beirut, Lebanon - Paris, France - Pittsburgh, PA 
  • Hobbies: Reading & keeping up with Goodreads challenges, Marathon running/trail running/ triathlons, Yoga, hiking, being in nature, trail running, traveling/museums/art, creative writing, gardening and keeping my plants alive.
Johanna Borst, MD

Johanna Borst, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of California, Davis
  • Medical school: University of California, San Diego
  • Hometown: San Jose, California
  • Hobbies: skiing, triathlons, hanging out with dogs that aren’t mine, attending live performances of any kind
Jessica Colin Escobar, MD

Jessica Colin Escobar, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of California, Irvine 
  • Medical school: University of California, Irvine 
  • Hometown: Modesto, California
  • Clinical interest: colorectal surgery
  • Hobbies: I enjoy taking my pug and husky on long walks and teaching them new tricks! Houseplant enthusiast: I find comfort in taking care of my plants and propagating them to share with my friends.
Teja Devarakonda, MD, PhD

Teja Devarakonda, MD, PhD

  • Undergraduate: Saint Louis University, Saint Louis
  • Medical school: Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Hometown: Warangal, India
  • Clinical interests: cardiothoracic, trauma, surgical critical care
  • Hobbies: Guitar, rock climbing, listening to podcasts and watching reality TV (sometimes)
Nancy Ly, MD

Nancy Ly, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Medical school: University of Wisconsin-School of Medicine and Public Health
  • Hometown: Kenosha, Wisconsin
  • Clinical Interest: Minimally invasive surgery, complex abdominal wall reconstruction
  • Hobbies: Trying new restaurants, beach volleyball, solidcore, live music, reading, and long walks on Lakeshore
Maria Narvaez, MD

Maria Narvaez, MD

  • Undergrad: Kenyon College
  • Graduate School: Boston University School of Medicine
  • Med school: Boston University School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Boca Raton, FL
  • Hobbies: meditating, yoga, monthly book club, cooking and baking
Praneet Polineni, MD

Praneet Polineni, MD

  • Undergrad: Northwestern University
  • Med school: Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
  • Hobbies: tennis, science fiction and surgical history, blitz chess, espresso
Madisyn Primas, MD

Madisyn Primas, MD

  • Undergrad: Cornell University
  • Med school: University of Virginia School of Medicine
  • Hometown: New York City, NY
  • Hobbies: cooking international cuisine, rock climbing, traveling
Colin Yost, MD

Colin Yost, MD

  • Undergrad: Princeton University
  • Med school: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
  • Hometown: Portsmouth, NH
  • Hobbies: film, music, amateur geology, outdoors

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