Our Fellows

2025-2026 Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellows

3rd Year Fellows

Richard Mendez, MD
Medical School: University of Vermont College of Medicine
Residency: University of Vermont Medical Center

I grew up in Orlando, FL before joining the Army.  After 4 years, I was honorably discharged and chose to pursue a career in medicine.   I attended the University of Vermont College of Medicine and then stayed to complete my general surgery residency.  I chose the University of Minnesota to complete my fellowship due to the friendly, supportive staff and diversity of patient pathology. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, skiing, camping, and traveling.  

Andreas Polycarpou, MD
Medical School: Semmelweis University Faculty of Medicine
Residency: Mayo Clinic - Rochester, MN

I grew up in beautiful Limassol, Cyprus. I attended medical school at the Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, and then worked as a cardiac surgery resident at the LMU University in Munich, Germany. I completed my general surgery residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, before continuing my training as a cardiothoracic surgery fellow at the University of Minnesota. I chose the University of Minnesota program for my cardiothoracic surgery training because it is a traditional powerhouse in this field, with an impressive history and contribution in cardiothoracic surgery, great early operative autonomy to trainees, diversity, and exposure to complex cardiothoracic pathology, such as heart failure and transplantation. In my free time I am dedicated to my family. 

2nd Year Fellow

Rachel Schenkel, MD
Medical School: University of Iowa
Residency: Creighton University

I am originally from Iowa City, IA. I attended medical school at the University of Iowa and completed my general surgery residency at Creighton University in Omaha. As a fourth year resident I was able to do a visiting rotation up here at the University of Minnesota and loved it - I was so impressed by the surgeons here and the training that the fellows received. I was thrilled to match here. The operative autonomy and support from faculty and co-fellows here has been incredible; I have found such a wealth of good role models here.

1st Year Fellows

Chesney Siems, MD 
Medical School: University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
Residency: University of Minnesota

I completed my general surgery residency here and witnessed the excellent experience and training the fellows get in this program. The fellows feel very comfortable in the operating room and know how to handle complex situations and pathologies. We see it all and the people who graduate from this program are well rounded surgeons who can handle anything. The faculty are also excellent to work with and truly care about us. Among the faculty, amazing APPs, and administrators, the division of CT surgery feels like a family. Finally, Minneapolis is a great place to live and although fellowship is busy, there's plenty to see and do when we have time off. I am very happy to be training at the University of Minnesota!

Jared Cappelli, MD
Medical School: Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Residency: UTHSC-Nashville

I was born near Hershey, PA and attended medical school at Penn State University eventually ending up at the University of Tennessee in Nashville for general surgery training. I was a prior cardiac nurse and always suspected I'd end up working with the heart in some way. The U of M is one of the most important institutions in the development of open heart surgery. This, combined with the early operative autonomy and amazing mentor/fellow relationship is the reason I chose to do my cardiothoracic surgery training here.

Recent Graduates

Class of 2025
Devin Rigg, MD - Intermountain Health's Ogden Cardiovascular Associates, Ogden, UT
Yash Vaidya, MD - University of Louisville, Louisville, KY

Class of 2024
Aitua Salami, MBBS, MPH - Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX
Ankit Verma, MD - Medical City Fort Worth, TX

Class of 2023
Ranjan Gupta, MD - Bronx Care Health System    

Class of 2022
Emily Rapstine, MD - East Tennessee Cardiovascular Surgery Group, Oak Ridge, TN 
Joshua Wong, MD - University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Class of 2021
Rachel Heneghan, MD - Community Physician Network, Heart & Vascular Care, Indianapolis, IN 
Azmath Mohammed, MD -Sutter Health, Sacramento, CA

Class of 2020
Junaid Haroon, MBBS - Mercy Hospital, Joplin, MO 
Aaron H. Healy, MD - Sutter Health, Sacramento, CA