Congratulations Class of 2022, General Surgery Residents!
Congratulations to our graduating General Surgery Residency Program graduates! On Tuesday, June 28, the Department of Surgery hosted this year’s graduation ceremony at the Weisman Art Museum and via Zoom to thank our graduating chiefs and wish them the best as they begin their surgical careers.
2022 Fellowship & Residency Graduates
Abdominal Transplant Fellowship
Anant Dinesh, MBBS, MS
Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship
Calista Harbaugh, MD, MS
Taryn Hassinger, MD, MS
Tanya Kuper, MD
Robert Tessler, MD, MPH
Lai Xue, MD
Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency
Bill B. Liu, MD
Sergey G. Toshinskiy, MD
Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
Ahmad Abutaka, MBBS
Joseph M. Brandt, DO
Arnes Huskić, MD
Lukas Mueller, MD
Jared Tomlinson, MD
Thoracic Surgery Fellowship
Emily Rapstine, MD
Joshua Wong, MD
Vascular Surgery Fellowship
Sai Saneet Konda, MD
2022 Chief Resident Graduates
MATTHEW C. BOBEL, MD, grew up in Plymouth, MN. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he majored in Biology and Spanish. He completed a year teaching first grade in Minneapolis, MN with Teach for America prior to returning to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his medical degree. During medical school, he explored his passion for ethics as a medical ethics fellow through the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE). During residency, he completed a Surgical Education Research Fellowship through the Association for Surgical Education and the American College of Surgeons-MacLean Center Surgical Ethics Fellowship at the University of Chicago. He was a member of the University of Minnesota Medical Center's Hospital Ethics Committee and was extensively involved in the diversity, equity, and inclusion work both within the Department as well as in the Medical School. He was awarded the Justin W. Goodhue, M.D. Humanitarian Scholarship in 2019 and has traveled to One World Surgery in Honduras on three occasions for surgical mission trips. Following graduation, he will begin a colorectal surgery fellowship at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI.
SELMA EL HAG, MD, MBBS, is originally from Sudan. She received her medical degree at the University of Medical Sciences and Technology, in Sudan. During medical school, she volunteered to educate the locals in rural Sudan on the prevention of HIV and schistosomiasis. She started her residency at the University of Minnesota in 2013. Following graduation. Dr. El Hag will begin a Thoracic Surgery fellowship at Henry Ford.
BRANDON LYLE, MD, is originally from Keota, Iowa. He received his undergraduate degrees in Spanish and Public Health from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee where he also spent time as a Spanish interpreter in an underserved clinic and lived abroad in Spain. During his time in medical school at the University of Iowa, he continued global health work spending several months in Lima, Peru as well as the Himalayas. In residency, he received the Gold Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award as well as Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He will continue his training next year in the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Minnesota.
MATTHEW ROBERTSON, MD, grew up in the Houston area. He received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah where he majored in biophysics. He received his medical degree from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. During residency he spent two years in the lab primarily performing basic and translational research in the field of oncolytic viruses. He spent the last year serving as an administrative chief. After graduation, Matthew and his family will be staying in the Twin cities where he has accepted a General Surgery position at St John's Hospital in Maplewood.
ADAM C. SHEKA, MD, is originally from Green Bay, WI. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his undergraduate degree, where he studied medical microbiology and immunology. He stayed in Madison for his medical degree at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. While a resident at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Sheka spent two years studying the surgical treatment of obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and cancer outcomes, with multiple presentations and publications. He served as an administrative chief resident during his PGY-5 year. Dr. Sheka will start Surgical Critical Care fellowship at the University of Michigan in August. He will return to the Twin Cities in September 2023 to start his practice as a trauma and acute care surgeon at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. Outside the hospital, he enjoys cooking elaborate meals and spending time with his partner Adam and dog Zeus.
BENJAMIN ZHANG, MD, was originally born in Tianjin, China and immigrated to Oklahoma at the age of 5. He received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University where he studied Biomedical Engineering. He received his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. During his residency he worked in the Experimental Surgical Services lab participating in cardiovascular device development in large animal models. He additionally participated in research in thoracic tissue engineering research. Following graduation he will begin a Thoracic Fellowship at Weill Cornell New York Presbyterian Hospital.
