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Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Department of Surgery

Our Current Residents

PGY 5s

Emily Cerier, MD

Emily Cerier, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Medical School: The Ohio State University College of Medicine
  • Hometown: Schaumburg, IL
  • Clinical Interest: Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery
  • Research Interest: Surgical outcomes, cardiothoracic surgery, surgical ergonomics, bioengineering
  • Hobbies: Marathoning, figure skating, traveling & forever searching for the best rooftop bar
Jessie Ho, MD

Jessie Ho, MD

  • Undergraduate: The University of Texas at Dallas
  • Medical School: Texas A&M College of Medicine
  • Hometown: Plano, TX
  • Clinical Interest: Vascular Surgery
  • Research Interest: Clinical outcomes in vascular surgery, translational research in septic and hemorrhagic shock
  • Hobbies: Rock climbing, fantasy football, cooking & outdoor activities
Audra Reiter, MD

Audra Reiter, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Graduate School: UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
  • Medical School: University of North Carolina School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Cary, NC
  • Clinical Interest: Pediatric Surgery, Global Surgery
  • Research Interest: Global health, outcomes/health services research
  • Hobbies: Running, yoga, working out, baking, trying new restaurants, exploring this awesome city
Suhail Zeineddin, MD

Suhail Zeineddin, MD

  • Graduate School: Northwestern University
  • Medical School: University of Aleppo (Transferred) / International Americal University
  • Hometown: Aleppo, Syria
  • Clinical Interest: Pediatric Surgery
  • Research Interest: Pediatric surgery, surgical education
  • Hobbies: Running, Tennis, Food, Languages, Sitcoms

PGY 4s

Brooke Golisch, MD

Brooke Golisch, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of Arizona
  • Medical School: University of Arizona - Tucson
  • Home Town: Buffalo Grove, IL/ Phoenix, AZ
  • Clinical Interest: Trauma and critical care, acute general surgery
  • Research Interest: Medical education, outcomes research, health disparities
  • Hobbies: Yoga, travel, hiking, spritz season, doomscrolling on social media
Lauren Janczewski, MD

Lauren Janczewski, MD

  • Undergraduate: Saint Joseph's University
  • Medical School: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
  • Home Town: Endwell, NY
  • Clinical Interest: Surgical oncology
  • Research Interest: data-driven staging standards, personalized cancer survival risk stratification, hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy, quality improvement
  • Hobbies: playing with my Corgi named Chuck, taste-testing Chicago's best donuts, dedicated 76ers fan
Steven Papastefan, MD

Steven Papastefan, MD

  • Undergraduate: Vanderbilt University
  • Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine
  • Hometown: Lake Forest, IL
  • Clinical Interest: Pediatric Surgery
  • Research Interest: Fetal gene therapy, fetal and pediatric device innovation, ethics
  • Hobbies: Exploring Chicago with my wife and dog, reading, Sunday crosswords, travel and running
Jes Sanders, MD

Jes Sanders, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of Arkansas
  • Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Rogers, AR
  • Clinical Interest: Abdominal Transplant 
  • Research Interest: Basic science, transplant immunology, machine perfusion, transplant tolerance induction 
  • Hobbies: Whipping up a batch of dark chocolate protein pancakes, not skipping leg day, golf, fishing, Netflix, hanging out with friends
Catherine Valukas, MD, MS

Catherine Valukas, MD, MS

  • Undergraduate: University of Iowa
  • Graduate: Northwestern University
  • Medical School: VCU School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Evanston, IL
  • Clinical Interest: Minimally Invasive and bariatric surgery, complex abdominal wall reconstruction
  • Research Interest: Medical Education, quality Improvement, access to and timeliness of care for vulnerable populations and disparities in surgical outcomes, health equity
  • Hobbies: Adventuring around the world, cooking, finding the perfect pairing of popcorn and red wine, pad thai eating
Samantha Warwar, MD

Samantha Warwar, MD

  • Undergraduate: The Ohio State University
  • Medical School: The Ohio State University College of Medicine
  • Hometown: Dayton, OH
  • Clinical Interest: Breast surgery, Oncofertility
  • Research Interest: Institutional infrastructure, hospital leadership and physician well-being, high risk breast lesions
  • Hobbies: Candy connoisseur with a special interest in sour gummy mixes, wine (particularly the cork pop sound from a fresh bottle), Cleveland Browns fan, someone who appreciates reading a good user manual, and the butler to my dog Luna
Norah Zaza, MD

Norah Zaza, MD

  • Undergraduate School: Case Western Reserve University
  • Medical School: Case Western Reserve University SOM
  • Hometown: Libertyville, IL​
  • Clinical Interests: Surgical Oncology, Colorectal surgery, Endocrine surgery
  • Research Interests: Surgical outcomes and disparities
  • Hobbies: Traveling, hiking, watching movies, being a plant mom

PGY 3s

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
  • Medical school: University of Wisconsin
  • Hometown: Kenosha, Wisconsin
  • Clinical Interest: Trauma, surgical critical care, colorectal
  • Research Interest: Clinical outcomes, medical education, health disparities 
  • Hobbies: Hosting dinner parties, baking cakes, running, concerts, Tik Tok, and going to the farmer's market
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: surg onc, transplant
  • Hobbies: Cooking, trying new restaurants, spending time with family and friends, golfing, being outside (when it's warm!), crossword and jigsaw puzzles. 

PGY 2s

Elissa Abou Khalil, MD

Elissa Abou Khalil, MD

  • Medical school: Université Saint-Joseph Faculté de Médecine - Lebanon
  • Graduate School: University of Pittsburgh
  • Clinical interest: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Global Health & Conflict Medicine/trauma
  • 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 
Alyssa Brown, MD, PhD

Alyssa Brown, MD, PhD

  • Undergraduate: Centre College
  • Medical school: University of Louisville
  • PhD: Mayo Clinic in Biomedical Engineering and Physiology
  • Hometown: Chattanooga, TN
  • Clinical interest: pediatric surgery, trauma
  • Hobbies: Baking, embroidering, going to concerts, hanging out with my two cats, reading and finding new restaurants and breweries!
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
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
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

PGY 1s

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  
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 1s Prelim

Sarah Nwia, MD

Sarah Nwia, MD

  • Undergrad: Tulane University School of Medicine
  • Graduate: Tulane University School of Medicine
  • Med school: Tulane University School of Medicine
  • Hometown: Glenview, Illinois
Kaavya Puttagunta, MD

Kaavya Puttagunta, MD

  • Undergradaute: University of Michigan
  • Medical school: University of Michigan
  • Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI / Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)
  • Clinical Interest: Trauma/Critical Care Surgery
  • Research Interest: Medical education, health justice/equity
  • Hobbies: Running, visiting friends/family, traveling, finding the best local blues bars
Rachel Schusteff, MD

Rachel Schusteff, MD

  • Undergraduate: University of Pittsburgh
  • Medical school: University of Illinois College of Medicine
  • Hometown: Deerfield, Illinois
Muhamad Serhal, MD

Muhamad Serhal, MD

  • Medical school: Lebanese University Faculty of Medical Sciences
  • Hometown: Daraya-Mount Lebanon, Lebanon
  • Clinical Interest: Diagnostic/Interventional Radiology
  • Research Interest: Interventional Oncology, Liver Cancer 
  • Hobbies: Soccer, Basketball

Research

Paola Barrios Martinez, MD

Paola Barrios Martinez, MD

  • 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: Ice-cream, Nerds gummy clusters, triathlon x1, recovering from my triathlon injuries, being outdoors (sunshine or snow) with my fiancée and our dog named Nala 
Raheem Bell, MD

Raheem Bell, MD

  • Undergraduate School: Boston College
  • Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
  • Graduate School: Tufts University (Master of Science in Biomedical Science)
  • Hometown: Born and raised in Jamaica before moving to West Orange, New Jersey
  • Clinical Interests: Thoracic Surgery, Global Health
  • Research Interests: Surgical Outcomes, Oncology
  • Hobbies: Basketball, soccer, running, biking
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
  • Research Interests: Health services research, outcomes research, quality improvement
  • Clinical Interests: Thoracic Surgery
  • 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 
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
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
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

John Rode, MD

  • Undergraduate School: Connecticut College
  • Medical School: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
  • Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
  • Clinical Interests: Pediatric Surgery, Trauma/Surgical Critical Care
  • Research Interests: Clinical Outcomes, Quality Improvement, Health Equity
  • Hobbies: Hiking, snorkeling, museums, comedy clubs, die-hard Philly sports fan 
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
Dominic Vitello, MD

Dominic Vitello, MD

  • 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: health services and outcomes, gastrointestinal malignancy, pancreatic cancer, medical education
  • Hobbies: aeronautics and astronautics, cooking, film, no limit Hold 'Em, memetics

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