Our Fellows

2024-2025 Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellows

3rd Year Fellows

Devin Rigg, MD
Medical School: University of Colorado School of Medicine
Residency: Creighton University

I am originally from Salt Lake City, Utah. My wife and I have 4 awesome kids and have moved around for medical school and residency. I knew the University of Minnesota would be a great place to train because of the people I met here. I felt like family after meeting the surgeons and have not been disappointed. There is great camaraderie amongst the fellow that breeds an excellent learning environment.  The autonomy here is excellent and I feel like the training from Minnesota will give me a great boost in practice. 

Yash Vaidya, MD
Medical School: Maharashtra University of Health Sciences
Residency:  SUNY Upstate Medical University

I was born and raised in Mumbai, India. I love playing tennis, and have played the game professionally. The Cardiothoracic Surgery program at the University of Minnesota has an illustrious history and legacy that speaks for itself. The operative autonomy is excellent, and balanced with training to enable sound decision making. As fellows, we are trusted and constantly pushed to get the best out of us. The work atmosphere is very collegial, and all faculty are whole-heartedly invested in training fellows. We graduate feeling very confident going into practice as independent and excellent surgeons.

2nd 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. 

1st Year Fellows

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.

Atli Valgardsson, MD
Medical School: University of Iceland
Residency: Texas Tech University

I grew up on a beautiful island called Iceland where I attended medical school and met my wife and had my 1st of 3 children. They have since then moved with me first to Texas and now to Minnesota. I chose the University of Minnesota program because it checks all the boxes. They have great volume and variety of cases, the faculty surgeons are world class surgeons and this is the birthplace of cardiothoracic surgery. The camaraderie amongst the fellows and the staff stood out and played a big part of why I chose this program and after starting it has not disappointed.  The fellows work together and help each other to make everything as smooth as possible and the faculty are invested in your training and they will do everything to help you improve. This program gives you all the tools necessary to become a great cardiothoracic surgeon.

Recent Graduates

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