General Surgery Residents

Chief Residents

Rachel Blitzer, M.D.
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
M.D.: Dartmouth College

Rachel Jensen, M.D.
Hometown: Berkeley, CA
M.D.: UC Davis

Sohini Khan, M.D.
Hometown: San Jose, CA
M.D.: UC San Diego

Jay Meisner, M.D.
Hometown: Lincolnshire, Illinois
M.D.: University of Illinois

Tom Mou, M.D.
Hometown: Qingdao, China
M.D.: Vanderbilt University

Rohini Patel, M.D.
Hometown: San Diego, CA
M.D.: University of Arizona — Tucson

Michael Turner, M.D.
Hometown: Brawley, CA
M.D.: Oregon Health & Science University

PGY4

Victoria Bendersky, M.D., Ph.D.
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
M.D.: Duke University
Ph.D.: Johns Hopkins University

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

Jorge De La Torre, M.D.
Hometown: Mexicali, Mexico
M.D.: Tecnológico de Monterrey

Nicole Goldhaber, M.D.
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
M.D.: Harvard University

Estella Huang, M.D.
Hometown: Lisle, IL
M.D.: University of Illinois at Chicago

Kevin Li, M.D.
Hometown: Somerset County, NJ
M.D.: UT Southwestern

Ashwyn Sharma, M.D.
Hometown: Kansas City, KS
M.D.: Johns Hopkins University

PGY3

Sophie Chung, M.D.
Hometown: Naperville, IL
M.D.: Yale University

Kristin Cox, M.D.
Hometown: Bainbridge Island, WA
M.D.: University of Washington

Alyssa Joachim, M.D.
Hometown: Lodi, WI
M.D.: University of Wisconsin

Bradley Kawano, M.D.
Hometown: Kailua, HI
M.D.: Duke University

Danae Olaso, M.D.
Hometown: Maui, HI
M.D.: Duke University

Paul Park, M.D.
Hometown: San Diego, CA
M.D.: UCSF

Louis Perkins, M.D.
Hometown: Newburgh, IN
M.D.: Indiana University

PGY2

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

John Deng, M.D.
Hometown: Springfield, IL
M.D.: UCLA

Blackberrie Eddins, M.D.
Hometown: Beaumont, CA
M.D.: Northwestern University

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

Ruth Laverde, M.D.
Hometown: Miami, FL
M.D.: UCSF

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

Nikita Thareja, M.D.
Hometown: Saratoga, CA
M.D.: UC San Diego

Interns

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

Research Fellows

Mark Antkowiak, M.D.
Hometown: Walnut Creek, CA
M.D.: Northwestern University
Research: GI Stromal Tumors
Mentor: Jason Sicklick, M.D.

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

Javier Bravo Quintana, M.D. (Prelim)
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.

William Johnston, M.D.
Hometown: Houston, TX
M.D.: Baylor College of Medicine
Research: Trauma - resuscitation, ARDS, pulmonary contusions

Nicholas Neel, M.D.
Hometown: San Dimas, CA
M.D.: UC San Diego
Research: Machine learning, Colorectal Surgery, Gastric Cancer
Mentor: Samuel Eisenstein, M.D., and Winta Mehtsun, M.D., M.P.H.

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

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

Sean Perez, M.D.
Hometown: Upland, CA
M.D.: Boston University
Research: Surgical Informatics, Health Disparities, Education
Mentor: Bryan Clary, M.D., M.B.A., and Christopher Longhurst, M.D., M.S.

Graham Spurzem, M.D.
Hometown: Novato, CA
M.D.: UC San Diego
Research: Minimally Invasive Surgery
Mentor: Ryan Broderick, M.D.

Away-Research Fellows

Wyeth Alexander, M.D.
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
M.D.: University of Pittsburgh
Research: Cardiac Transplant
Mentor: Robert Bartlett, M.D., at University of Michigan

Ana Maria Dumitru, M.D.
Hometown: Bucharest, Romania / John’s Creek, GA
M.D.: Dartmouth University
Ph.D.: Dartmouth University
Research: Pre and Postnatal Gene Therapy
Mentor: Bill Peranteau, M.D., at CHOP

Alexander Zhu, M.D.
Hometown: Norman, OK
M.D.: Duke University
Research: Thoracic Surgery and Outcomes, Wearables, Lung cancer screening
Mentor: Chi-Fu Jeffrey Yang, M.D., at Massachusetts General Hospital