Congratulations, Class of 2026, General Surgery Residents!
It was a time for reflection and gratitude toward mentors, colleagues, and family members who supported the graduates throughout their training.
As they move forward in their careers, the ceremony marked both an incredible milestone and the end of a remarkable chapter at the University of Minnesota
On behalf of the Department of Surgery, we extend our sincerest congratulations to the Class of 2026. We wish you success and happiness in your future endeavors, and thank you for choosing the University of Minnesota for your residency training.
Congratulations to all!
2026 Fellowship and Residency Graduates
Abdominal Transplant Fellowship
Dr. David Mathews
Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship
Dr. Catherine Beauharnais
Dr. Keegan Guidolin
Dr. Rachel Jensen
Dr. Janet Lee
Dr. Sonja Boatman
Global Breast Cancer Fellowship
Dr. Tarbia Hamid
Plastic Surgery Residencies
Dr. Victor Vakayil
Dr. Pedram Zargari
Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
Dr. Yuki Narumi
Dr. Nzi Jacques Philippe Niamien
Dr. Louis Nelson
Dr. Atli Valgardsson
Thoracic Surgery Fellowship
Dr. Richard Mendez
Dr. Andreas Polycarpou
Vascular Surgery Fellowship
Dr. Alexandra Marrone - Residency
Dr. Aryeneesh Dotiwala - Fellowship
2026 Chief Resident Graduates
Alyssa L. Brandt, M.D., M.B.A., received her undergraduate degree in Biology from DeSales University and her medical degree from the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Utah. Dr. Brandt completed her early general surgery training at the University of Utah before continuing her residency at the University of Minnesota, where she serves as Administrative Chief Resident. During residency, she has received multiple honors, including Critical Care Resident of the Year and the Earl Young Award for Clinical Excellence. Following graduation, Dr. Brandt will remain at the University of Minnesota to complete a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care and plans to work in the Twin Cities as a trauma surgeon.
Rachel Gallimore, M.D., received her undergraduate degree from Tufts University in Medford, MA, where she studied biopsychology and community health. After two years working in research and coaching ice hockey and lacrosse in the Upper Valley of NH and VT, she attended
medical school at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. She is part of the rural surgery track at the University of Minnesota and plans to practice community general surgery after graduation.
Melissa Gunderson, M.D., is originally from West Fargo, North Dakota, and received her undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Hispanic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania
in 2010. Following that, she worked for several years, first at a non-profit organization aimed at supporting research of rare diseases, then at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She matriculated at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, graduating in 2019. During her two-year academic development time, she completed a fellowship in Clinical Informatics at the University of Minnesota. Following graduation, she will be staying at the University of Minnesota for the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship.
Hannah Jessen, M.D., completed her undergraduate degree at Macalester College before going on to earn her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. During her general surgery residency, Dr. Jessen was awarded the Outstanding Clinical Educator Award for her commitment to medical student education. Following graduation, she will be working as an acute care surgeon at Fairview St. John’s and Woodwinds Hospitals.
Julia F. Kohn, M.D., grew up in the Chicago suburbs. She earned a B.S. in Biology at the University of Notre Dame, and graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. At the University of Minnesota, she served as a resident coordinator for the weekly Junior Core curriculum. She spent two years in the research lab, studying the role of the microbiome in colorectal surgery. She also piloted a community- based anal cancer screening protocol; this project, Save the Bottoms!!!, is anticipating its fourth year screening folks at Twin Cities Pride. She was sponsored by the residency to attend the American College of Surgeons Residents as Teachers and Leaders conference in 2024. After graduation, she will begin a fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Lahey Clinic outside of Boston.
David Leishman, M.D., M.S., grew up in Geneva, Ohio, and received his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Psychology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He stayed an additional year, earning his Master of Science degree in Biochemistry, before attending Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, receiving his medical degree in 2019. During his academic development time, he spent two years performing research within the Preclinical Research Center (PCRC) and has written numerous papers and presented at national meetings. Following graduation, Dr. Leishman will begin an Advanced GI/Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship at Stanford University in California.
Shelbi Olson, M.D., is originally from Kansas City, KS. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University, where she studied Human Evolutionary Biology and played softball. Prior to medical school, she spent one year as a high school science teacher in Kosrae, Micronesia with WorldTeach. She graduated with honors from University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine in 2020, where she completed the Global Medicine Program. During medical school, she studied retinopathy of prematurity in Mongolia and helped develop screening criteria for the disease using a web-based system. During residency, she received the Justin Goodhue Memorial Scholarship, which supported her travel to Honduras with OneWorld Surgery to provide surgical care. After graduation, Dr. Olson will begin a fellowship in Clinical Informatics at the University of Minnesota and Hennepin Healthcare.
Kristiana Sather, M.D., grew up in the Twin Cities and received her undergraduate degrees in
Chemistry and Spanish from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. She received her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine. While in residency and during her academic development years, she worked with Dr. Beilman in his lab and completed a fellowship in Burn Surgery at Regions Hospital. During her chief year, she served as an Administrative Chief Resident. Following graduation, Dr. Sather will complete a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care here at the University of Minnesota and then will work as a Burn Surgeon at Regions Hospital in St. Paul starting in the fall of 2027.
Join us in celebrating this year's outstanding award recipients:
Cassius Ellis Resident Teaching Award: Alyssa Brandt, MD, MBA
David Gaviser Award: Sean Nguyen, MD
Earl Young Award: Dr. Alex Troester
Henry Buchwald Award: Dr. Lauren Weaver
Justin Goodhue Humanitarian Scholarship Award: Maria Balajadia, DO
Outstanding Clinical Educator Award: Lauren Weaver, MD
Surgery Intern of the Year Award: Kathryn Lane
Surgical Alumnus of the Year: Dr. Paul Vietzen
Wangensteen Award: Dr. Jorge Granja
