PGY 1

Dr. Maya Alexis

Maya Alexis, MD

Medical School: University of Pennsylvania
Undergraduate Institution: Johns Hopkins University
Hometown: El Dorado Hills, CA
Interests: Snowboarding, painting, running, vintage radio shows
Research Interests: Acute care surgery, trauma surgery, high value surgical care

Dr. Sherrefa Burchell

Sherrefa Burchell, MD

Medical School: Loma Linda University
Undergraduate Institution: Northern Caribbean University
Hometown: Montego-Bay, Jamaica
Interests: Traveling, learning new cultures, trying new foods (+ traveling to try new foods), anything with water, concerts/musicals, reading, knitting
Research Interests: Pediatric surgery, global surgery, public health

Ami Hayashi, MD

Ami Hayashi, MD

Medical School: University of California, Los Angeles
Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University
Hometown: Oxnard, California 
Interests: Listening to podcasts, reading short stories, spending time with loved ones, showing people pictures of my cats
Research Interests: Global surgery, health equity 

Dr. Emily Jones

Emily Jones, MD

Medical School: University of California, Los Angeles
Undergraduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Hometown: Berkeley, California
Interests: Boxing, hiking with my dog
Research Interests: Anthropology of surgery, violence prevention, health equity

Dr. Vanessa Mora Molina

Vanessa Mora Molina, MD

Medical School: University of California, San Francisco
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Santa Barbara
Hometown: Fowler, CA
Interests: Tennis, reading, painting, hiking with Maverick, traveling, trying new restaurants
Research Interests: Health disparities research, surgical education, improving access to surgical care for marginalized communities 

Dr. Charles Nicholson

Phifer Nicholson Jr., MD, MTS

Medical School: Duke University
Undergraduate Institution: Wofford College
Hometown: Plymouth, Minnesota
Interests: Music, cooking (and, of course, eating!), anything outdoors, reading
Research Interests: Ethics, health equity, religion and medicine, global surgery 

Dr. Deepika Sarode

Deepika Sarode, MD

Medical School: University of Southern California
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Hometown: West Hills, CA
Interests: Biking, traveling, beach days, charcuterie boards, finding LA's best new restaurants
Research Interests: Medical device design, transplant immunology, education

PGY 2

Madison Betcher

Madison Betcher, MD

Medical School: Columbia University
Undergraduate Institution: Georgetown University
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Interests: Backpacking/hiking trips, skiing (but only on the west coast), scuba diving, exploring new cities, pick-up soccer
Research Interests: Pediatric surgery, global surgery, surgical outcomes-based research

Reghan Conrey

Reghan Conrey, MD

Medical School: Baylor College of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: University of Texas
Hometown: Cypress, TX
Interests: Reading, board games, herpetology, kickboxing, knitting
Research Interests: Abdominal transplantation, regenerative medicine, health equity

Simon Esteva

Simon Esteva, MD

Medical School: Texas A&M
Undergraduate Institution: University of Texas at Austin
Hometown: Austin, TX
Interests: Traveling, concerts, going out to new restaurants and bars, house plants, cooking and video games
Research Interests: Outcomes and clinical research in either thoracic surgery or MIS, surgical education

Mohamed Gabir

Mohamed Gabir, MD, MPP

Medical School: Harvard Medical School
Undergraduate Institution: Washington University in St. Louis
Hometown: Aurora, CO
Interests: Soccer, Hiking, Escape rooms, board games, Random adventures in LA
Research Interests: Global surgery, Health Equity, Trauma Surgery, Health policy

Jamie Ko

Jamie Ko, MD

Medical School: University of California, Los Angeles
Undergraduate Institution: Yale College
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii
Interests: Reading, coloring, classical violin, long-distance running, figure skating​​​
Research Interests: Health equity and policy

Carter Prentice

Carter Prentice, MD

Medical School: University of Pennsylvania
Undergraduate Institution: University of Wisconsin
Hometown: Brighton, MI
Interests: Spikeball, hiking, climbing, live music, ice cream, burritos 
Research Interests: Health equity and disparities, improving access to surgical care among marginalized communities

Kyla Wright

Kyla Wright, MD

Medical School: New York University, Grossman School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: University of Washington
Hometown: Spokane, WA
Interests:Live music, hiking, flea markets, collecting vinyl, contemporary dance
Research Interests: Clinical outcomes, health equity, endocrine surgery, education

PGY 3

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

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

 Kelsey Haddad, MD

Kelsey Haddad, MD, PhD

Medical School: Washington University School of Medicine
Undergraduate Institution: University of Notre Dame
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Interests: Donuts (food in general), hiking/backpacking, any form of workout class
Research Interests: technology in medicine, bio/device design, health disparities, impact of environment on human health

Noah Cray, MD

Cray Noah, MD

Medical School: Harvard Medical School
Undergraduate Institution: Georgia Tech
Hometown: Houston, TX
Interests: dancing, lifting, sailing, cliff jumping, sports, sushi, crypto
Research Interests: machine perfusion of transplant organs, drone delivery of organs, medical devices, immunotherapy

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

Terrance Peng

Terrance Peng, MD

Medical School: University of Southern California
Undergraduate Institution: Boston College
Hometown: Edison, NJ
Interests: Making music, time with family, cooking, hiking, soccer, waving hello to dogs on the street
Research Interests: Health services and outcomes research, thoracic surgical oncology, medical/surgical education

Carolyn Smullin

Carolyn Smullin, MD

Medical School: University of California, Los Angeles
Undergraduate: UC Berkeley
Hometown: Eureka, California
Interests: spending time with my family, long runs, going to the beach, traveling, reading
Research: Intestinal failure, multivisceral transplantation, transplant immunology

PGY 4

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

Dr. Bennet Cho

Bennet Cho, MD

Medical School: Harvard Medical School
Undergraduate Institution: Columbia University
Hometown: Buena Park, CA
Interests: Working out, eating, spending time with family
Research: Clinical trials and cardiac surgery outcomes research

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

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

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.

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

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 5

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

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

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

Zachary Weitzner, MD

Zachary Weitzner, MD

Medical School: University of Massachusetts Medical School
Undergraduate Institution: Boston College
Hometown: Acton, MA
Interests: Minimally Invasive Surgery, Boston Sports, Golf, Beach
Research: Advanced Endoscopy, Surgical Outcomes, Bariatric Surgery, Hernia

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

Research Residents (PGY-3/PGY-4)

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

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

Kera Kwan

Kera Kwan, MD

Medical School: University of California, Los Angeles
Undergraduate institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Hometown: Lake Forest, CA
Interests: Rock climbing, crochet, hiking, camping, house plants, pugs
Research Interests: Health services research, including colorectal cancer screening and outcomes, LGBT health disparities

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: outcomes research in cardiac surgery and tumor immunology
 

Jose Luis Lopez, MD

Jose Luis Lopez, MD

Medical School: University of California, San Francisco 
Undergraduate Institution: California State University, Fresno
Hometown: Clovis, CA
Interests: Fútbol, Art/galleries, Live music, Skateboarding, Ice cream, Health equity 
Research Interests: Health equity, optimizing access to surgery and improving surgical outcomes for marginalized communities, improving surgical education/culture
 

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

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
 

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)

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

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: Hiking, classical piano, endocrine surgery, minimally invasive surgery
Research: Healthcare outcomes, clinical trials

Nicholas Siena, MD

Nicholas Siena, MD

Medical School:  Thomas Jefferson University
Undergraduate Institution:  Temple University
Hometown:  Philadelphia
Interests:  Trauma and acute care surgery, experiencing as much of Los Angeles as is possible, trying to learn golf
Research:  The semantics of cancer, philosophy of medicine 

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

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

Serena Zheng, MD

Serena Zheng, MD

Medical School: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Undergraduate Institution: University of Southern California
Hometown: La Canada Flintridge
Interests: scuba diving, wildlife photography, backpacking/traveling, skiing, tennis
Research Interests: subclinical significance of circulating tumor cells; racial disparities in oncology, at the population and molecular levels