General Surgery Residents

Chief Residents

Victoria Bendersky, M.D., Ph.D.
Hometown | Los Angeles, CA
M.D. | Duke University
Ph.D. | Johns Hopkins University
Research | Transplant surgery

Claire Bensard, M.D., Ph.D.
Hometown | Denver, CO
M.D. | University of Utah
Ph.D. | University of Utah

Karina Covarrubias, M.D.
Hometown | El Paso, TX
M.D. | Johns Hopkins University
Research | Transplant surgery
Mentors | Justin Parekh, M.D., and Aleah Brubaker, M.D., Ph.D.

Jorge De La Torre, M.D.
Hometown | Mexicali, Mexico
M.D.| Tecnológico de Monterrey
Research | Pancreatic cancer
Mentor | Rebekah White, M.D.

Nicole Goldhaber, M.D.
Hometown | Los Angeles, CA
M.D. | Harvard University
Research | Healthcare management and quality
Mentors | Bryan Clary, M.D., M.B.A., and Christopher Longhurst, M.D., M.S.

Estella Huang, M.D.
Hometown | Lisle, IL
M.D. | University of Illinois at Chicago
Research | Minimally invasive surgery
Mentors | Garth Jacobsen, M.D., and Ryan Broderick, M.D.

Kevin Li, M.D.
Hometown | Somerset County, NJ
M.D. | UT Southwestern
Research | Pancreatic cancer immunotherapy
Mentor | Andrew Lowy, M.D.

Ashwyn Sharma, M.D.
Hometown | Kansas City, KS
M.D. | Johns Hopkins University
Research | Surgical oncology — gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), computational biology, bioinformatics
Mentors | Jason Sicklick, M.D., and Jill Mesirov, Ph.D.

PGY4

Wyeth Alexander, M.D.
Hometown | Cleveland, OH
M.D. | University of Pittsburgh
Research | Cardiac transplant

Sophie Chung, M.D.
Hometown | Naperville, IL
M.D. | Yale University
Research | Surgical oncology and outcomes

Kristin Cox, M.D.
Hometown | Bainbridge Island, WA
M.D. | University of Washington
Research | Fluorescence labeling of gastrointestinal cancers
Mentor | Michael Bouvet, M.D.

Ana Maria Dumitru, M.D., Ph.D.
Hometown | Bucharest, Romania / John’s Creek, GA
M.D. | Dartmouth University
Ph.D. | Dartmouth University
Research | Pre and postnatal gene therapy

William Johnston, M.D.
Hometown | Houston, TX
M.D. | Baylor College of Medicine
Research | Trauma — resuscitation, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary contusions

Sean Perez, M.D.
Hometown| Upland, CA
M.D.| Boston University
Research | Surgical informatics, health disparities, education
Mentors | Bryan Clary, M.D., M.B.A., and Christopher Longhurst, M.D., M.S.

Louis Perkins, M.D.
Hometown | Newburgh, IN
M.D. | Indiana University
Research | Trauma and emergency general surgery
Mentors | Bruce Potenza, M.D., and Jarrett Santorelli, M.D.

PGY3

Sami Abujbarah, M.D.
Hometown | Phoenix, AZ
M.D. | Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine — Arizona

Mark Antkowiak, M.D.
Hometown | Walnut Creek, CA
M.D. | Northwestern University
Research | Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST)
Mentor | Jason Sicklick, M.D.

Thomas Handley, M.D.
Hometown | London
M.D. | Imperial College School of Medicine

Kim Nguyen-Ta, M.D.
Hometown | San Diego, CA / Lincoln, NE
M.D. | UC San Diego
Research | Pancreatic cancer
Mentor | Rebekah White, M.D.

Gabrielle Rajulu, M.D.
Hometown | Houston, TX
M.D. | University of Texas Health San Antonio

Graham Spurzem, M.D.
Hometown | Novato, CA
M.D. | UC San Diego
Research | Minimally invasive surgery
Mentor | Ryan Broderick, M.D.

PGY2

Jessica Della Ripa, M.D.
Hometown | Castaic, CA
M.D. | UC San Diego

Brittny Flynn, M.D.
Hometown | Portland, OR
M.D. | Oregon Health & Science University

David Hu, M.D.
Hometown | Hamden, CT
M.D. | Dartmouth College

Yash Huilgol, M.D.
Hometown | San Diego, CA
M.D. | UCSF

Federico Palacardo, M.D.
Hometown | New York, NY
M.D. | Weill Cornell Medicine

Lauren Poston, M.D.
Hometown | Tulare, CA
M.D. | Case Western Reserve University

Allie Yan, M.D.
Hometown | Middleton, WI
M.D. | University of Chicago

Interns

Brandon Bellen, M.D.
Hometown | La Porte, IN
M.D. | University of Colorado

Natalie Kessler, M.D.
Hometown | Atlanta, GA
M.D. | University of Virginia

Georgia Kirn, M.D.
Hometown | Mill Valley, CA
M.D. | UCSF

Jacob Kotlier, M.D.
Hometown | Belmont, MA
M.D. | Tufts University

Kelsey Ogomori, M.D.
Hometown | Los Angeles, CA
M.D. | UCSF

Cristian Puerta, M.D.
Hometown | Tijuana, Mexico
M.D. | Universidad Autonoma de Baja California

Celina Thomas, M.D.
Hometown | Perry Hall, MD
M.D. | University of Maryland

Research Fellows

John Austin, M.D.
Hometown | Irvine, CA
M.D. | Stanford University
Research | Trauma and Emergency General Surgery
Mentors | Allison Berndtson, M.D., Laura Haines, M.D., Jarrett Santorelli, M.D., and Jessica Weaver, M.D.

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

Asimina Courelli, M.D.
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
M.D.: UC San Diego
Research | Pancreatic Cancer
Mentor | Andrew Lowy, M.D.

John Deng, M.D.
Hometown: Springfield, IL
M.D.: UCLA
Research | Translational research, thoracic surgery, lung cancer
Mentor | Mark Onaitis, M.D.

Blackberrie Eddins, M.D.
Hometown | Beaumont, CA
M.D. | Northwestern University
Research | Fluorescence labeling of gastrointestinal cancers
Mentor | Michael Bouvet, M.D.

Simone Hyman, M.D.
Hometown | Berkeley, CA
M.D. | University of Arizona at Tucson
Research | Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship
Mentor | Benjamin Keller, M.D.

Bradley Kawano, M.D.
Hometown | Kailua, HI
M.D. | Duke University
Research | Surgical patient quality and safety
Mentor | Bruce Potenza, M.D.

Ruth Laverde, M.D.
Hometown | Miami, FL
M.D. | UCSF
Research | Clinical informatics, quality improvement, global surgery, pediatric surgery, minimally invasive surgery
Mentors | Jeff Reeves, M.D.

Nicholas Neel, M.D.
Hometown | San Dimas, CA
M.D. | UC San Diego
Research | Machine learning, colorectal surgery, gastric cancer
Mentors | Samuel Eisenstein, M.D., and Winta Mehtsun, M.D., M.P.H.

Danae Olaso, M.D.
Hometown | Maui, HI
M.D. | Duke University
Research | REIMAGINE Transplant Surgery Research Fellow, translational and clinical research in organ transplantation and organ donation
Mentors | Aleah Brubaker, M.D., Ph.D., Gabriel Schnickel, M.D., M.P.H., and Peter Than, M.D.

Parisa Oviedo, M.D.
Hometown | Irvine, CA
M.D. | UC San Diego
Research | VA Chief Resident in Quality and Safety
Mentor | Bruce Potenza, M.D.

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

Away-Research Fellows

Alyssa Joachim, M.D.
Hometown | Lodi, WI
M.D. | University of Wisconsin
Research | Long-term outcomes of neonatal surgical diseases

Paul Park, M.D.
Hometown | San Diego, CA
M.D. | UCSF
Research | Pediatric and fetal surgery

Alexander Zhu, M.D.

Hometown | Norman, OK
M.D. | Duke University
Research | Thoracic surgery and outcomes, wearables, lung cancer screening