Meet the Residents

Chief Resident 

Hometown: Prior Lake, MN
Undergraduate School: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Medical School: University of Minnesota
Professional Interests: Sports medicine, musculoskeletal ultrasound, concussion management, stroke rehabilitation
Personal Interests: Tennis, pickleball, cross-country skiing, & trying to keep the plants on my patio alive (aka gardening) 
What I love about the program: What I love most about our program is the supportive culture. Dr. John, Dr. Tonkin, and Olivia are genuinely invested in our success and consistently go above and beyond to help us grow both professionally and personally. Their dedication creates a positive culture that encourages us as residents to support and uplift each other as well.
Fun Fact: At one point I was a Guinness world record holder for playing in the world's longest wiffle ball game. Sadly, the record has been broken. 

Medical Resident 

Hometown: Eagan, MN
Undergrad: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Medical School: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Professional Interests: Inpatient rehabilitation, neurorehab, spasticity management, botulinum toxin injections
Personal Interests: Reading, exploring national/state parks, Netflix, sleeping (that resident life)
What you love most about the program: This program feels like family. I wanted a program that had a strong sense of community, and the U of MN goes above and beyond. We are very close knit and I love the feeling that comes from working in such a supportive environment.
Fun Fact: I've been scuba dive certified since I was 12 years old.

Medical Resident 

Hometown: San Diego, California
Undergraduate School: University of California, Irvine
Medical School: Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
Professional Interests: Pain Medicine, Interventional Spine, Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, Electrodiagnostics, Global Health, Integrative Medicine, Medical Education, Mentorship, Early Career Development
Personal Interests: Running, Cooking and Baking, Traveling, Photography, Bonsais, Golf, Being a Dog Dad, Sports
What you love most about the program: One of the things I value most about my residency program is its strong sense of community. There is genuine support and camaraderie among both residents and faculty, creating an environment that truly feels like a family. The program is also highly supportive of our individual career goals, providing the flexibility and opportunities to explore areas of personal interest and develop expertise in the fields we are most passionate about. Plus, the Twin Cities is a great place to live!
Fun Fact: During college, I won a charity male beauty pageant that raised funds for UNICEF’s global measles vaccination initiative.

Medical Resident

Hometown: Inver Grove Heights, MN
Undergraduate school: Bethel University, St. Paul, MN
Medical School: University of Minnesota
Professional Interests: Amputee rehab, wound care, MSK, ultrasound, general rehab
Personal Interests: Concerts, traveling, being outside, racquet sports, spending time with family/friends
What you love about the program: The people. Each of my coresidents are incredible people to walk alongside through residency with. Faculty are supportive and open to making changes based on our feedback/suggestions.
Fun Fact: My husband and I are raising a service dog through the organization Helping Paws. Ask me about Elliot!

Chief Resident 

Hometown: Middleton, WI
Undergraduate School: Grinnell College
Medical School: Des Moines University
Professional Interests: I am hoping to spend my career practicing cancer rehabilitation. I have a special interest in the neuromuscular complications of cancer and cancer treatment, as well as pediatric survivorship. Beyond cancer rehab, I like general rehab, neuromuscular medicine and inpatient rehabilitation.
Personal Interests: (Trail) running, Nordic skiing, hiking, paddling, biking... anything in the outdoors. Vegging on the couch watching other people do sports. Reading mountaineering books, Sci-Fi books, the NYT and random Reddit threads. Cooking and baking New York Times recipes, and then figuring out which of my friends would like the recipes and sharing it with them. Especially Lauren Topor. She's picky so it feels good to find one she'll like.
What I love the program: Two things: 1. The people are amazing. Everyone says not to choose a program based on vibes, but I'm glad I did. I feel I've made life-long friends, have career-long colleagues, and have found mentors that go above and beyond to support me and my interests. 2. The degree to which we are able to personalize our education to our interests is amazing.
Fun Fact: I have four cacti children. In order of age, they are Erwin (10 years old), Winston (7 years old), Franklin (4 years old) and Regis (3 years old). They are watered every two weeks in the summer and every three weeks in the winter. Regis nearly died shortly after I adopted them because my dog knocked them out of the pot, but they are thriving now. A true rehab miracle.

Medical Resident

Hometown: Spearfish, SD
Undergrad: University of Montana
Medical School: Pacific Northwest University
Professional Interests: Sports medicine, MSK
Personal Interests: Running, biking, hiking, camping, gardening
What you love most about the program: I love the people and I enjoy the opportunity to rotate in numerous hospital systems.
Fun Fact: I have a dog named Finn

Medical Resident

Hometown: Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Undergraduate: University of Minnesota

Medical School: University of Minnesota

Professional Interests: General musculoskeletal medicine, neurorehabilitation, sports medicine, pain medicine, EMG, musculoskeletal ultrasound, medical education, medical technology

Personal Interests: Minnesota sports, men's league basketball, piano, guitar, my wife's baking

What you love most about the program: Broad exposure to different areas of PM&R and hospital systems, extra-curricular tracks, early ultrasound exposure, camaraderie among residents and faculty
Fun Fact: I have 2 cats (Kobe and Karma)! 

Medical Resident 

Hometown: Eagan, MN

Undergrad: University of Minnesota: Twin Cities

Medical School: Rush Medical College

Professional Interests: Amputation medicine, spasticity, MSK ultrasound, motion analysis
Personal Interests: Camping, fishing, boating, archery, video games, tinkering 

What you love most about the program: How close the residents are, we see each other every Wednesday morning for didactics and frequently spend time together outside of residency.
Fun Fact: I was born with 9 toes!

Medical Resident
 

Hometown: Deerfield, IL
Undergrad: University of Iowa
Medical School: University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
Professional Interests: Sports medicine, musculoskeletal ultrasound, ultrasound guided procedures, adaptive sports
Personal Interests: Walking our dog around the all the Minnesota lakes, playing volleyball, skiing, exploring new restaurants
What you love most about the program: The people and the culture! From co-residents to staff to program leadership, everyone is welcoming and kind-hearted. Makes for a wonderful close-knit community! 
Fun Fact: As an undergrad, I used to volunteer to do magic tricks for the kiddos at the children's hospital!

Medical Resident

Hometown: Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Medical School: Florida Atlantic University
Professional Interests: Pediatric Rehabilitation
Personal Interests: Reading, baking, walking/hiking, spending time with family/friends and my dog
What you love most about the program: The community of supportive residents, faculty, and staff who make training both rewarding and enjoyable. I also love the many unique learning opportunities that we have that allow foster our personal interests.
Fun Fact: In college I had my own baking business!

Medical Resident

Hometown: Cushing, MN
Medical School: Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine 
Professional Interests: Pain management, MSK, spasticity, EMG
Personal Interests: Golf, hockey, hunting, fishing, snowboarding, spending time with my family and friends
What you love most about the program: The people in this program are wonderful to interact with. Also, MUSCLE ultrasound has been a fantastic opportunity to develop hands on skills throughout the year.
Fun Fact: I’m ambidextrous at bowling and racket sports

Medical Resident

Hometown: Elk Grove Village, IL
Medical School: Penn State College of Medicine
Professional Interests: Cancer, women's health, pain, general rehab, spasticity, palliative
Personal Interests: Reading audiobooks, visiting restaurants as a foodie, listening to music, watching rom-coms, spending time with my family, and vacationing as much as feasible
What you love most about the program: I absolutely love the people I have met. I don't know that you will find a more supportive group of kind-hearted individuals who help each other. I love getting early exposure to rehab by being involved in didactics and other tracts (like MUSCLE) as a PGY1. I would not change a thing! And honestly, I love a cozy wintertime snowfall, and you cannot beat the long summer by the lakes.
Fun Fact: I like to perform Bollywood dances, coming to a wedding near you soon.

Medical Resident

Hometown: Stoughton, Wisconsin
Medical School: University of Minnesota Medical School - Twin Cities
Professional interests: Sports Medicine, Cancer Rehab, MSK Ultrasound, Adaptive Sports, Spinal Cord Injury, Neurotoxin injections, Spasticity Management
Personal interests: Running, playing piano, being outside in nature, spending time with my husband and daughter.
What you love most about the program: The people are so wonderful and welcoming. I am able to receive excellent training in all aspects of PM&R and gain experience at diverse clinical training sites. Supportive environment that cares about me as a unique individual while also helping me reach professional goals.
Fun Fact: I love exploring new libraries and have a goal of visiting all the Minnesota libraries. So far I’ve visited 40 of them.

Medical Resident

Medical School: Universidad de Monterrey (UDEM)
Professional Interests: Sports medicine, MSK, ultrasound guided procedures
Personal Interests: Hybrid training, foodie, music/concerts
What you love most about the program: leadership, diverse exposure in training (different settings) and the camaraderie
Fun Fact: fantasy football (wannabe) expert

Medical Resident 

Hometown: Alamo, CA
Undergraduate School: UC San Diego
Medical School: WesternU COMP
Professional Interests: Women’s rehab, DEI in PM&R, cancer rehab, pain management, SCI, TBI, and neuromuscular medicine
Personal Interests: Reading ( romance, fantasy, self improvement, memoirs), ballet barre, gaming ( legend of Zelda, pokemon, the sims, animal crossing, and more!)
What you love most about the program: The people! The residents, faculty, and admin role model the type of physician I am striving to become. The environment of compassion, resilience, accountability, and camaraderie is priceless. I appreciate how our curiosity as learners is encouraged. I also am grateful for the lessons I continue to learn from our patients themselves. The scope of PM&R taught in the twin cities is incredibly diverse and well rounded. It is incredibly fulfilling and motivating to be surrounded by such a supportive team as we continue to advocate for our patients. 
Fun Fact: I try to learn one new thing a year, and most recently, it was line dancing. Im ready to be influenced for what it’ll be this year :)

Medical Resident

Hometown: Guatemala City, Guatemala
Undergraduate School: In Guatemala we do not have undergraduate school before Med School
Medical School: Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Professional Interests: MSK conditions, pain medicine, amputee rehabilitation, assistive technology, teaching and mentoring.
Personal Interests: Nature photography, spotting a wild animal and capturing a photo truly makes my day! I also love traveling, especially to hidden gems and authentic places, as well as camping and walking outdoors with my husband.
Why you chose the UofM: I chose UMN because of the people. During my interview, I felt a genuine sense of kindness, support, and community among the residents and faculty. I was also excited by the program’s broad PM&R training across diverse clinical settings, strong exposure to my areas of interest, and the opportunity to live in Minneapolis with its lakes, parks, and vibrant community.
Fun Fact: I once ate pizza cooked with volcanic lava.

Medical Resident

Hometown: St. Paul, MN
Undergraduate School: Carleton College
Medical School: Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University
Professional Interests: Sports medicine, cancer rehab, MSK ultrasound, general PM&R
Personal Interests: Running, soccer, tennis, golf, exploring new restaurants, board games, cheering on MN sports teams with my wife
and our cat
Why you chose the UofM: I felt at home with the residents and faculty during my audition rotation. I valued a strong MSK ultrasound curriculum and felt confident that the MUSCLE track here would support my career goals. I was also thrilled to return home to the Twin Cities!
Fun Fact: In high school, I started a club called Word Nerds. We met weekly to play games like Boggle, Scrabble, and Bananagrams.

Medical Resident

Hometown: Wichita, Kansas
Undergraduate School: University of Kansas
Medical School: Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University
Professional Interests: Sports Medicine, Interventional Pain, Spasticity
Personal Interests: Tennis, Golf, Hiking, Action Movies, Coffee Shops
Why you chose the UofM: The U is such an incredible program. The faculty and residents make the program genuinely feel like the perfect place to train. I could tell everyone is truly so happy to be here and it made me very excited to also be here. The training is exceptional and very well rounded.
Fun Fact: I have done a half-marathon on a whim with no training (prior to that, the most I had ever ran was 3 miles).

Medical Resident

Hometown: Houston, TX
Undergraduate School: Trinity University
Medical School: Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine
Professional Interests: General PM&R and MSK Medicine, Sports Medicine, Spasticity
Personal Interests: Strength training, Running, exploring new coffee shops and restaurants, music festivals/concerts
Why you chose the UofM: I chose the University of Minnesota because it felt like a place where I could truly thrive both as a resident and as a person. From before my interview, I was drawn to the program’s strong sense of community and the emphasis on mentorship. It was clear that this is an environment where residents are genuinely supported, challenged, and guided by faculty who are invested in their growth and well-being.  I was also excited by the breadth of clinical exposure within PM&R and the opportunity to work with a diverse patient population. I value training in a setting that will push me to become a well-rounded physiatrist while exposing me to a wide range of conditions, patient backgrounds, and subspecialties within the field. What ultimately solidified my decision, though, was my interview experience. Everyone I met was incredibly authentic and down-to-earth. I found it easy to connect with both residents and faculty. That sense of belonging stood out to me and made it so now I'm part of the UofM family!
Fun Fact: Every time I'm in a new place, whether international or local, I go for a run to explore it!