Residents

PGY-1

PGY-1 Residents
Preliminary

PGY-1 Residents

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Samantha Bale, MD

Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Email: [email protected]
Medical School: University of Missouri- Columbia
Medical Interests: Global surgery, abdominal wall reconstruction
Hobbies/Interests: Baking, hiking, swimming, dogs :)
Why I chose Minnesota: The people! The training opportunities! And the gorgeous state of MN.
Awards: AOA, Global Health Scholars Program, Sexual Assault Response Team Advocate (SART)

Hui (Eli) Chen, MD

Hometown: Hockessin, Delaware
Email: [email protected]
Medical School: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Medical Interests: Surgical oncology, colorectal
Hobbies/Interests: Weightlifting, running, cooking/baking
Why I chose Minnesota: I picked University of Minnesota for the people and the culture. I had a great time connecting with the residents and faculty during my interview, and since arriving here, everyone has given me along with all of the interns overwhelming support and patience. I appreciate the junior and senior residents who help me get time in the OR as early as my first rotation. I also love the emphasis on teaching from the chiefs to the juniors and even as an intern towards our medical students. There are also lots of research opportunities, especially in surgical oncology and colorectal which are some of my interests. This program was the best fit for me, and I'm glad to have matched here!
Awards: Outstanding Community Service and Advocacy Organization of the Year - Culinary Arts Society 2024, served as President
George McClellan Surgical Honor Society 2023 - awarded based on clinical and academic excellence in surgical clerkship
Gibbon Surgical Society executive board member - committee leader for medical students' surgical education

Kaya Mernitz, MD

Hometown: Carmel, IN
Email: [email protected]
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine
Medical Interests: Pediatric surgery, social determinants of health, medical Spanish
Hobbies/Interests: SCUBA diving, crochet, baking, running
Why I chose Minnesota: A combination of an excellent academic training program with strong access to research with a tight-knit community of residents.
Awards: 1. Zhang A,Mernitz K, Wu C, Xiong W, He Y,Wang G, Wang X. 2021. ATP Drives Efficient Terpene Biosynthesis in Marine Thraustochytrids.
a. mBio 12:10.1128/mbio.00881-21.
2. Mernitz, K, Frank, M, Sevilla, J. Establishing Expectations for Student Leaders of a Multidisciplinary Free Clinic, 2023.
a. Poster Presentation: was accepted at the Society for Student-Run Free Clinics National Conference
3. Gold Humanism/AOA

Residents

PGY-1

Samantha Bale, MD

Hui (Eli) Chen, MD

Kaya Mernitz, MD

Ryan Monjazeb, MD

Sydney Moore, MD

Alyssa M. Pereslete, MD

Megan G. Pino, MD, PhD

Alexander Wu, MD

Kathryn Lane, DO

Casey Deneen, MD

Melissa Quintanilla Anfinson, MD, PhD

Alyssa Salamanca Ghajarieh, MD

Nicholas Weissman, MD

Karim Nathani, MBBS

PGY-2

Nargiz Agayeva, MD

Ashlyn Elftmann, MD

Benjamin Linden, MD

Brett Norling, MD

Meeli Patel, MD

Marcelo Salan Gomez, MD

Walter Smith, MD

Peter Wallace, MD

Solveig Svendsen, MD

PGY-3

Serra Huberty, MD

Jonathan Jenkins, MD

Marah Kays, DO

Isabela Lorenzo, MD

Eileen Peterson, MD

Ross Rybakowicz, MD

Swati Sonal, MBBS

Maria Balajadia, DO

PGY-4

Theodore Hagmann, MD

Julia Harrison, MD

Evan Johnson, MD

Sean Nguyen, MD

Michelle Rayne, MD

Alexander Troester, MD

Lauren Weaver, MD

Myriam Benchiba Charron, MD

PGY-5

Alyssa Brandt, MD, MBA

Melissa Gunderson, MD

Hannah Jessen, MD

Julia Kohn, MD

David Leishman, MD

Shelbi Olson, MD

Kristiana Sather, MD

Rachel Gallimore, MD

Lab

Miranda Considine, DO

Michael A. Dryden, MD, MS

Cheyenna Espinoza, MD

Niveditha Jagadesh, MD

Michael Megaly, MD

Sergio Navarro, MD

Anmol Nigam, MD

Chidiebere Onongaya, MD

Bethel Ozed-Williams, MD

Emma Schaffer, MD

Sruthi Shankar, MD

Lindsay Welton, MD

General Surgery