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Department of Surgery Department of Surgery
  1. Department of Surgery
  2. Education and Training
  3. Residency Programs
  4. General Surgery
  5. Current Residents

Current Residents

Chief Residents

Wyeth Alexander, MD

Wyeth Alexander, MD
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
MD: University of Pittsburgh
Research: Cardiac transplant

Sophie Chung, MD

Sophie Chung, MD
Hometown: Naperville, IL
MD: Yale University
Research: Surgical oncology and outcomes

Kristin Cox, MD

Kristin Cox, MD
Hometown: Bainbridge Island, WA
MD: University of Washington
Research: Fluorescence labeling of gastrointestinal cancers
Mentor: Michael Bouvet, MD

Ana Maria Dumitru, MD, PhD

Ana Maria Dumitru, MD, PhD
Hometown: Bucharest, Romania/ John’s Creek, GA
MD: Dartmouth University
PhD: Dartmouth University
Research: Pre and postnatal gene therapy

William Johnston, MD

William Johnston, MD
Hometown: Houston, TX
MD: Baylor College of Medicine
Research: Trauma — resuscitation, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary contusions

Sean Perez, MD

Sean Perez, MD
Hometown| Upland, CA
MD: Boston University
Research: Surgical informatics, health disparities, education
Mentors: Bryan Clary, MD, MBA, and Christopher Longhurst, MD, MS

Louis Perkins, MD

Louis Perkins, MD
Hometown: Newburgh, IN
MD: Indiana University
Research: Trauma and emergency general surgery
Mentors: Bruce Potenza, MD, and Jarrett Santorelli, MD

PGY-4

Mark Antkowiak, MD

Mark Antkowiak, MD
Hometown: Walnut Creek, CA
MD: Northwestern University
Research: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST)
Mentor: Jason Sicklick, MD

Thomas Handley, MD

Thomas Handley, MD
Hometown: London
MD: Imperial College School of Medicine

Simone Hyman, MD

Simone Hyman, MD
Hometown: Berkeley, CA
MD: University of Arizona at Tucson
Research: Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship
Mentor: Benjamin Keller, MD

Kim Nguyen-Ta, MD

Kim Nguyen-Ta, MD
Hometown: San Diego, CA / Lincoln, NE
MD: UC San Diego
Research: Pancreatic cancer
Mentor: Rebekah White, MD

Parisa Oviedo, MD

Parisa Oviedo, MD
Hometown: Irvine, CA
MD: UC San Diego
Research: VA Chief Resident in Quality and Safety
Mentor: Bruce Potenza, MD

Graham Spurzem, MD

Graham Spurzem, MD
Hometown: Novato, CA
MD: UC San Diego
Research: Minimally invasive surgery
Mentor: Ryan Broderick, MD

PGY-3

John Austin, MD

John Austin, MD
Hometown: Irvine, CA
MD: Stanford University
Research: Trauma and Emergency General Surgery
Mentors: Allison Berndtson, MD, Laura Haines, MD, Jarrett Santorelli, MD, and Jessica Weaver, MD

Javier Bravo Quintana, MD

Javier Bravo Quintana, MD
Hometown: Mexico City
MD: Universidad Anáhuac Escuela de Medicina
Research: GI Cancer surgery enhancement through fluorescence
Mentor: Michael Bouvet, MD

Asimina Courelli, MD

Asimina Courelli, MD
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
MD: UC San Diego
Research: Pancreatic Cancer
Mentor: Andrew Lowy, MD

Jessica Della Ripa, MD

Jessica Della Ripa, MD
Hometown: Castaic, CA
MD: UC San Diego

Brittny Flynn, MD

Brittny Flynn, MD
Hometown: Portland, OR
MD: Oregon Health & Science University

David Hu, MD

David Hu, MD
Hometown: Hamden, CT
MD: Dartmouth College

Nicholas Neel, MD

Nicholas Neel, MD
Hometown: San Dimas, CA
MD: UC San Diego
Research: Machine learning, colorectal surgery, gastric cancer
Mentors: Samuel Eisenstein, MD, and Winta Mehtsun, MD, MPH

Federico Palacardo, MD

Federico Palacardo, MD
Hometown: New York, NY
MD: Weill Cornell Medicine

PGY-2

Brandon Bellen, MD

Brandon Bellen, MD
Hometown: La Porte, IN
MD: University of Colorado

Natalie Kessler, MD

Natalie Kessler, MD
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
MD: University of Virginia

Georgia Kirn, MD

Georgia Kirn, MD
Hometown: Mill Valley, CA
MD: UCSF

Jacob Kotlier, MD

Jacob Kotlier, MD
Hometown: Belmont, MA
MD: Tufts University

Kelsey Ogomori, MD

Kelsey Ogomori, MD
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
MD: UCSF

Cristian Puerta, MD

Cristian Puerta, MD
Hometown: Tijuana, Mexico
MD: Universidad Autonoma de Baja California

Celina Thomas, MD

Celina Thomas, MD
Hometown: Perry Hall, MD
MD: University of Maryland

Interns

Katherine Chen, MD

Katherine Chen, MD
Hometown: Fremont, CA
MD: UC San Diego
Research: Transplant surgery

Nosheen Moosvi, MD

Nosheen Moosvi, MD
Hometown: Mount Airy, MD
MD: University of Pennsylvania
Research: Thoracic surgery, surgical oncology and digital health/medical device development

Luke Newell, MD

Luke Newell, MD
Hometown: Chicago, IL
MD: Northwestern University

Vina Le Nguyen, MD

Vina Le Nguyen, MD
Hometown: San Diego, CA
MD: Johns Hopkins University
Research: Transplant surgery, surgical oncology

Alisha Poudel, MD

Alisha Poudel, MD
Hometown: Gorkha and Kathmandu, Nepal
MD: UC San Diego
Research: Transplant surgery, artificial intelligence

Laura Tincknell, MBBS

Laura Tincknell, MBBS
Hometown: Cambridge, UK
MBBS: King's College London
Research: Minimally invasive surgery, general surgery and colorectal surgery

Han Yin, MD

Han Yin, MD
Hometown: Albany, CA
MD: UCSF
Research: Surgical oncology

Marek Harris, MD (Preliminary)

Marek Harris, MD (Preliminary)
Hometown: Palo Alto, CA
MD: Howard University
Research: Minimally invasive surgery

Bao Luu, MD (Preliminary)

Bao Luu, MD (Preliminary)
Hometown: San Jose, CA
MD: UC San Diego
Research: Minimally invasive surgery and general surgery

Research Fellows

Sami Abujbarah, MD

Sami Abujbarah, MD
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
MD: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine — Arizona

John Deng, MD

John Deng, MD
Hometown: Springfield, IL
MD: UCLA
Research: Translational research, thoracic surgery, lung cancer
Mentor: Mark Onaitis, MD

Blackberrie Eddins, MD

Blackberrie Eddins, MD
Hometown: Beaumont, CA
MD: Northwestern University
Research: Fluorescence labeling of gastrointestinal cancers
Mentor: Michael Bouvet, MD

Yash Huilgol, MD

Yash Huilgol, MD
Hometown: San Diego, CA
MD: UCSF

Bradley Kawano, MD

Bradley Kawano, MD
Hometown: Kailua, HI
MD: Duke University
Research: Surgical patient quality and safety
Mentor: Bruce Potenza, MD

Ruth Laverde, MD

Ruth Laverde, MD
Hometown: Miami, FL
MD: UCSF
Research: Clinical informatics, quality improvement, global surgery, pediatric surgery, minimally invasive surgery
Mentors: Jeff Reeves, MD

Danae Olaso, MD

Danae Olaso, MD
Hometown: Maui, HI
MD: Duke University
Research: REIMAGINE Transplant Surgery Research Fellow, translational and clinical research in organ transplantation and organ donation
Mentors: Aleah Brubaker, MD, PhD, Gabriel Schnickel, MD, MPH, and Peter Than, MD

Lauren Poston, MD

Lauren Poston, MD
Hometown: Tulare, CA
MD: Case Western Reserve University

Gabrielle Rajulu, MD

Gabrielle Rajulu, MD
Hometown: Houston, TX
MD: University of Texas Health San Antonio

Nikita Thareja, MD

Nikita Thareja, MD
Hometown: Saratoga, CA
MD: UC San Diego
Research: Minimally invasive surgery, novel robotic systems, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, surgical education
Mentor: Ryan Broderick, MD

Allie Yan, MD

Allie Yan, MD
Hometown: Middleton, WI
MD: University of Chicago

Away Research Fellows

Alyssa Joachim, MD

Alyssa Joachim, MD
Hometown: Lodi, WI
MD: University of Wisconsin
Research: Long-term outcomes of neonatal surgical diseases

Paul Park, MD

Paul Park, MD
Hometown: San Diego, CA
MD: UCSF
Research: Pediatric and fetal surgery