UMN Medical Center Residents
- First Year: Class of 2024
- Second Year: Class of 2023
- Third Year: Class of 2022
- Graduates
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First Year: Class of 2024
Christy Atkinson, MD
Medical school: University of Minnesota Medical School
Medical interests: Comprehensive women’s health, LGBTQIA+ care including gender-affirming medicine, Health at Every Size®, addiction medicine, adolescent health, and palliative care.
Personal interests: Decolonizing yoga, hiking, travel, fiddling, rollerblading, and swimming in Minnesota’s many lakes and rivers.
Why the Twin Cities: The rich history of immigration making it an ever-evolving place, the copious verdant parks and hiking paths, and the FOOD!
Why UMN Medical Center: The wonderful people of Smiley’s clinic, the beautiful, diverse Minneapolis community, the program’s activism, inclusivity, opportunities for robust training in trans care, and comprehensive women’s health.
Career goals: I hope to provide inclusive primary care to rural Minnesota that is focused on comprehensive women’s health, gender-affirming care, LGBTQIA+ health, care of underserved minority populations, and is informed by principles of health equity and the Health at Every Size® movement.Emily Feng, MD
Medical school: University of Kansas School of Medicine
Medical interests: Reproductive health, gender-affirming care, prenatal care, contraception, advocacy, continuity, and relationships.
Personal interests: In my free time, I like to bake (both savory and sweet), coo over pictures of dogs, and make papercrafts. I also love to travel and love to eat.
Why UMN Medical Center: When I was applying, I was drawn by the breadth of training opportunities UMMC offers. During my interview, I not only felt the warmth exuded by the people here (despite the cold) but also was so impressed by the dedication to resident education and wellness and by the consistent message of centering our patients both in the exam room and in the community.
Career goals: My career goals and professional interests include: providing patient-centered care in an outpatient setting that is inclusive of full-spectrum reproductive health, vasectomies, and gender-affirming care, working with academic medical centers on medical education curriculums, and spending time in the palliative realm.Rita Ferri-Huerta, MD
Medical school: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Medical interests: Family planning and reproductive justice, behavioral health, perinatal care, gender care, lactation medicine, and preventative health.
Personal interests: Walking/hiking, gardening, cross-country skiing, rock climbing, video games, Dungeons & Dragons, and yoga.
Why UMN Medical Center: I first started looking into UMMC because it is a RHEDI program. It ended up being my top choice because of the incredibly thoughtful people I met during the interview process, the strong gender care integration in the clinic, and the family planning and perinatal training opportunities.Jessica Jordan, DO
Medical school: Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Carolinas Campus
Medical interests: Gender-affirming care, LGBTQIA+ care, hospice, HIV/AIDS, and family planning.
Personal interests: Reading, singing, yoga, kickboxing, hiking, overcommitting, and Dungeons & Dragons.
Why the Twin Cities: I've been away from city life for too long!
Why UMN Medical Center: I did a rotation in Minneapolis in my third year of medical school and spent some time at Smiley's and the Gender Services Clinic. After having spent time with several attendings, residents, and former residents, I had found my people. After a very short time, I knew that this was a place that would value my passions and uniqueness and would allow patients to be themselves.
Career goals: I want to do so much! I hope to be a smalltown full-spectrum family doctor in the Midwest who is a safe and welcoming provider to all sorts of patients. I also want to stay engaged in advocacy and social justice work throughout my career.Deepti Shanbhag, MD
Medical school: Wayne State University School of Medicine
Medical interests: Women’s health, obstetrics, addiction medicine, and preventive medicine.
Personal interests: I love getting outdoors as much as possible, whether it’s hiking, biking, or camping trips with my husband and dog. I also enjoy my nights in, playing board games with friends and family, baking, and embroidering.
Why the Twin Cities: I love that I get to enjoy the food/culture scene of a big city while still having easy access to so many green spaces and parks.
Why UMN Medical Center: I was initially drawn to the UMMC program because of its RHEDI status. As I explored the program further, I found that it aligned closely with my goals as a future family physician, with strong training across the spectrum of reproductive health, addiction medicine, and gender-affirming care. Ultimately, the faculty and residents I met during my interview day and social gatherings solidified my interest in the program. Everyone I met was incredibly warm, welcoming, and fun! I immediately felt at home and knew I would be well supported throughout my training.
Career goals: While my long-term goals are still a work in progress, I am currently interested in pursuing a career in academic family medicine that will allow me to combine my love for teaching with my passion for medicine. I am also interested in providing comprehensive maternal/reproductive care for women and medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction as part of my future practice.Gagandeep Singh, DO
Medical school: Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Medical interests: Gender-affirming medicine, addictions care (not just medicine), primary care psychology and psychiatry, osteopathic practice, osteopathic manual medicine, adolescent medicine, preventative medicine, and HIV care.
Personal interests: Music/beat production, visual/graphic design, horror and sci-fi movies (particularly B-movies), reading psychology and osteopathic texts, cooking (cast iron pizza!), and defending cheesy 80s and 90s fashion.
Why the Twin Cities: The diversity of the community - from its people and its cultures.
Why UMN Medical Center: I wanted to be part of a program that explored truly humanistic areas of medicine. Addiction, gender-affirming care, mental health, and preventative medicine require a desire to understand the patient, not just their chief complaint. The program at UMN Medical Center was pointed out early to me due to my interests. After spending time with the program at the virtual AAFP conference and during my interview, I recognized UMMC as one of the few that weaves and envelops these areas of medicine together in continuity, allowing its residents to engage in storytelling from the first day of their residency to their last.
Career goals: I would like to work in a community-focused health practice (not a clinic) and engage in outreach, education, and health, as well as partner closely with local community organizations (such as youth centers) and other professionals (such as psychologists and social workers) to envelop a focus of mind-body-spirit care around the patient and their community. -
Second Year: Class of 2023
Sarah Copelas, DO
Medical school: University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine
Medical interests: Women's health and family planning, adolescent health, gender-affirming medicine, sexual medicine, primary care psychiatry, and immigrant health.
Personal interests: Outside of medicine, I love all things outdoors – hiking, nordic skiing, and kayaking, to name a few – and I am continually working to brew the perfect batch of kombucha. I also cannot pass up a delicious bowl of ramen or a competitive game of Yahtzee against my partner.
Why UMN Medical Center: I pursued family medicine as a way to combine my curiosities about social justice, science, and cultural humility. Despite my UMMC interview day taking place during a winter blizzard, I loved everything about Smiley’s Clinic; talking over lunch about primary care in local correctional facilities made my heart tingle and I knew these were my people. I was also looking for a program with a strong family planning and LGBTQIA+ curriculum and found that at UMMC.Christian Matthews, MD
Medical school: Boston University School of Medicine
Medical interests: My clinical interests include broad-spectrum primary care, with a focus on sports medicine, lifestyle medicine / healthy living, preventative medicine, point-of-care ultrasound, procedures, and mental health.
Personal interests: Watching, playing, and coaching all sports, but especially hockey and soccer. Boating, water skiing, and fishing. Hiking and camping. Downhill and cross-country skiing.
Why the Twin Cities: I love the people, and I love the connection to the outdoors in a big city. Having grown up in a similar environment, I feel I can relate the people in the Twin Cities. This includes taking advantage of the warm summers, boating, biking, and lounging around the lakes while embracing the cold winters with hockey, cross-country skiing, and making sure you have an extra 15 minutes in the morning to de-ice your car. The combination must have something to do with why the people are so friendly, resilient, and optimistic.
Why UMN Medical Center: I was impressed by the educational resources and opportunities for innovation that Smiley's and the University of Minnesota have to offer. Their commitment to providing comprehensive care to patients with things like in-clinic labs, ultrasound, and procedures, to go along with a world-class hospital system, assured me that I would be ready for anything that I might encounter after residency. They are also leaders in my personal interest in sports medicine, with an excellent fellowship program and opportunities during residency to work with athletes through the University of Minnesota, USA Soccer Cup, and the Twin Cities Marathon. All this together with a wonderfully friendly staff, and what more could I want?
Career goals: After residency, I hope to continue with my training through a sports medicine fellowship. My ultimate goal is to provide robust primary care service with expertise in sports medicine to all members of the community, including collegiate athletes.Elizabeth Rose McAlister, MD
Medical school: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Medical interests: Harm reduction, sexual health, financial resource mindful healthcare, healthcare access as social justice, trauma-informed and intersectionality-minded care, LGBTQIA+ care and allyship, and autonomy-based advocacy.
Personal interests: Travel, absorbing books and podcasts on non-medical topics, dance, fire breathing and fire dancing, circus arts, and pole dancing.
Why the Twin Cities: The enthusiasm with which Twin Cities residents exercise and defend their civil liberties.
Why UMN Medical Center: Local community connections - and I hope to collaborate to develop the medical practice model I intend to build. The precedent of supporting patient autonomy-based training in the mixed political climate as demonstrated by RHEDI status.
Career goals: I intend to develop a model for a Red Umbrella clinic (in the same way as there is a general understanding of what "LGBT+ friendly" does or does not entail), and then build an intersectionality minded practice utilizing that model. To get as many official medical associations as possible to officially support the decriminalization of sex work as a public health and safety measure.Abi Moeller, DO
Medical school: A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona
Medical interests: Addiction medicine, behavioral health, women's health and reproductive rights, caring for the underserved, healthcare for those unhoused or unsheltered, HIV care and prevention, and LGBTQIA health.
Personal interests: I enjoy many different outdoor activities including hiking, running, and playing soccer. I'm an avid cook and baker. I love hanging out with my rescue pets, dog Sayef and cat Finn.
Why the Twin Cities: Many different outdoor activities year round.
Why UMN Medical Center: I met several of UMMC residents at the AAFP National Conference during my fourth year of medical school. In addition to having several training opportunities I was interested in, I felt an instant connection that "these were my people." I attended a fall event sponsored by the program and it only confirmed my initial feelings. The program had the strengths of being part of a large academic institution with robust family medicine / community health department while still having a strong commitment to the community they serve. Every member of the staff, faculty, and residents that I met were welcoming, supportive and seemed like a fun group.
Career goals: TBDKristina Parthum, MD
Medical school: Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical interests: Women-centered comprehensive reproductive health, gender-affirming care, public health, and health advocacy.
Personal interests: Between residency and a new baby, my time for hobbies has dwindled a bit. When I do find the time, I like to spend it outside. I love hiking, going to parks or beaches, and I recently bought a new (to me) bike that I'm excited to break in! I used to practice yoga fairly regularly, but it's been a minute so I'm hoping to get back to that. I also really love food. We cook a lot at our house, but I love trying new restaurants, going to the farmers market, walking to get a coffee and pastry on a day off . . . really, anything to do with food and I'm pretty happy. I like board games a lot, love musicals, and when time allows I love to travel to new places. More than anything, I'm happiest when I can spend time with my friends and family (human and animals alike!).
Why the Twin Cities: I love how active people are in the Twin Cities. It doesn't matter the weather, you will always see at least a few people out and about, which gives a great energy to the area. We're also lucky to have a large number of lakes and rivers nearby, which I love. There is a great art scene here as well, and a huge variety of what that can look like based on your interests.
Why UMN Medical Center: The UMMC first came on my radar because of its status as a RHEDI program. I knew I wanted to be trained in the full spectrum of women's health, and there are only a handful of programs nationwide that have this designation as a program that prioritizes all reproductive options for women. I then met a few of the current third-year residents at the AAFP National Conference in Kansas City and felt like I could really see myself working with them. They seemed like a great group of people who really enjoyed one another, and that was important to me. Once I had this initial impression I looked into the program further and found a lot of it aligned with my ideals—strong women's health, gender-affirming care, and working with underserved populations, to name a few. Plus, it had the added benefit of being located in Minneapolis, a city where I had previously lived, and love.
Career goals: I'm still working on my career goals, but I know I want to be able to offer excellent reproductive healthcare to women and their families. I'm also interested in public health, and I hope to get more experience working in the political sphere to address health issues at a broader level. Other areas of medicine where I could see my career taking me include providing quality gender-affirming care, addiction medicine services, and behavioral health services. I also love working with families and their kids on normal development, so I think that will always be part of my practice. What can I say — there's
a reason I was drawn to family medicine!Margo Tomka, DO
Medical school: Des Moines University
Medical interests: Women-centered comprehensive reproductive health, LGBTQI health, children and adolescent health and education.
Personal interests: Biking, swimming, hiking, and cooking.
Why the Twin Cities: Looking forward to having an answer to this one in the near future!
Why UMN Medical Center: The clinic's inclusivity and mission to serve its community. The RHEDI program. The welcoming residents, faculty, and staff during interview day.
Career goals: Provide comprehensive healthcare to underserved communities with respect and dignity. -
Third Year: Class of 2022
Jackie Cameron, MD
Medical school: Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Medical interests: Women's health and reproduction rights, adolescent health, sports medicine, procedures
Personal interests: Ice hockey, intramural sports, Green Bay Packers, hiking, boating, sailing, reading, spending time with family, friends and dog
Why UMN Medical Center: RHEDI program, affiliation with the University, residents and clinic staff on interview day, the mission of the clinic and the community it serves, the incorporation of ultrasound during clinic visits.Anne Gair, MD
Medical school: University of Minnesota Medical School
Medical interests: Childhood literacy, Pediatric well-child checks, Health promotion, Motivational interviewing, Lifestyle modification, Narrative medicine, Oral health
Personal interests: Being active: running, hiking, skiing, kayaking, exploring nature, etc. Being creative: ceramics, card-making, writing, etc. Embracing earth: hauling brush, bailing hay, splitting wood, etc. Watching and photographing beautiful sunsets on the lake. Being with animals and people I love.
Why UMN Medical Center: I think all of the U of M Family Medicine Residency Programs are incredibly strong programs that train their residents to be tremendous family doctors; and I love how UMMC also provides certainty of being well-trained in trans health and reproductive health. Pediatrics is a particular area of family medicine that I am passionate about, and I love how the clinic promotes childhood literacy. I love the energy and vivacity that the residents share. Last, and certainly not least, the name of the clinic is too good to be true. Smiling is one of my favorite things to do, so how could I not be attracted to a program with a clinic named Smiley's?Gina Groshek, MD
Medical school: Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical interests: Comprehensive women's health, addiction medicine, trans medicine
Personal interests: Prefer to stay warm indoors with my knitting, crocheting, or machine sewing projects in winter, and love going on walks with partner and dog, and often go disc golfing when the weather is nice
Why UMN Medical Center: I'm interested in comprehensive women's health, office procedures, transgender medicine, and addiction medicine. When I was told I could do all of those things, and still have elective time to use, I was ecstatic! This is an overall strong program.Amanda Kupris, MD
Medical school: University of Queensland School of Medicine
Medical interests: LGBTQIA health, Palliative care, Woman's health (OB/GYN), Caring for the Underserved, and Adolescent Health
Personal interests: I play bass guitar. I am a drag king when time allows. I love to play video games and board games. I enjoy hiking and being active. I love music and festivals. I play softball, but enjoy playing other sports. I read regular books and comic books.
Why UMN Medical Center: I lived in Minnesota as a kid for a while before going back to Iowa and loved it! So when I went AAFP National Conference I immediately went to the University of Minnesota booths. The Smiley's (Medical Center) group was so friendly and inviting right away! They loved my dreams for the future and wanted to make them come true. They also offered many skills I was interested such as the RHEDI program, getting to work with the LGBTQIA community, as well as being a Baby Friendly hospital. I couldn't pass up this great program.Jillian Trieff, MD
Medical school: Boston University School of Medicine
Medical interests: Preventive medicine, addiction medicine, LGBTQ+ health, sports medicine/exercise as medicine, general primary care, diabetes prevention and management
Personal interests: Fun outdoor activities, enjoying local food, taking in some of the great professional sports that make their home in the Twin Cities
Why UMN Medical Center: Many things drew me to the University of MN Medical Center FM Residency, but nothing more than the wonderful faculty and staff I met on interview day and the diverse patient population that Smiley's serves.Avery Tucker, DO
Medical school: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Medical interests: Behavioral health, preventative care and performing in-office procedures
Personal interests: Anything outdoors-camping, hiking, fishing, boating, kayaking. I also love traveling, playing tennis, working out, cats and watching sports-especially the MN Twins
Why UMN Medical Center: While I was drawn to this program for many reasons, it was the welcoming environment, great location and amazing residents, staff and faculty that solidified my decision to pursue residency here. -
Graduates
About our alumni:
- Of all residents who graduate from our program, most enter practice immediately after residency. About one in every 10 graduates will continue their training in a fellowship.
- Our board pass rate has been 100 percent for the past six years (national average is 94.3 percent).
- 67 percent of our graduates work in an outpatient setting, 33 percent work in an inpatient setting, and a small percentage incorporate OB in their practice.
Below are our graduates of the last five years, including (where available) their current city of practice.
2021
Stefania Baccino, MD
Furthering her training in women's health and obstetricsKathryn (Katie) Barta, MD
Allina Family Medicine in Apple Valley, MNMorgan Buda, MD
Providing primary care to her new community in MichiganCharlie Goebel, MD
Health Partners in Inver Grove Heights, MNVivian Liu, MD
Practicing medicine in British Columbia, CanadaKristin Schwacha, DO
Practicing full-spectrum family medicine in the Twin Cities2020
Julie Amaon, MD
Innovating care delivery with a startup organizationAlysse Cruz, MD
Outpatient Practice at Allina Health in Fridley, MNKelsey Finn, DO
Outpatient Practice in Waikiki Health Center in Waikiki, HawaiiDaniel Johnson, DO
Outpatient Practice at HealthPartners in Stillwater, MN, and UMMC Residency Community PreceptorJoseph MacDonald, MD
Practicing family medicine at Stillwater Medical Group in Stillwater, MNJustin Penny, DO
UMN Medical Center Residency faculty in Minneapolis, MN2019
Temur Chowdhury, MBBS
Marshall Clyde, MD
Daniel Johnson, DO
David Peter, MD, MPH
Nicole Sheehan, DO
Sharondeep "Sharon" Toor, MD
2018
Jennifer Brown, MD
Kriti Choudhary, MBBS, MPH
Andrea "Anna" Larson, DO
Nzube "Zube" Okonkwo, MD
Elizabeth Price, MD
Alexandra Tsvilina, MD, PhD
2017
Kemi Ajibade, MD
Denville, NJNaima Ali, MD
Faribault, MNRichard Brown, DO
Minneapolis, MNArlene Rillo, MD, RN
Las Vegas, NVMaui Sayed, MD
Mankato, MNAyman Srajeldin, MD, ND
Hamilton, Ontario - Canada2016
Maleeha Faisal, MBBS
Fridley, MNAmanda Hinrichs, DO
Minneapolis, MNSean Schulz, DO
Sandy, ORSonny Singh, MD
Las Vegas, NVLaurie Townsend, MD
Chaska, MNSufian Zayed, MD
Canada2015
Naveen Kumar Anantha, MBBS
Amory, MSKaren Borchert, MD
Minneapolis, MNDeqa Mohamed, MBBS
Minneapolis, MNNoor Qureshi, MBBS
Sacramento, CAJaskiran Sandhu, MBBS
Milwaukee, WIAdalberto Torres, MD
Houston, TX