Residents

Research

Research

Michael A. Dryden, MD, MS

Hometown: Petoskey, MI
Undergrad: Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
Medical Interests: Transplantation, Immunology, Surgical Critical Care, and Surgical Education
Hobbies/Interests: Anything outdoors - cycling, hiking, camping. Spending time with my wife, Ciera, - we love cooking, gardening/yardening, and exploring the Minneapolis food scene.
Why I chose Minnesota: The rich history of surgical education and boundary pushing research here at UMN initially attracted me to the program, but it was the people, and the community here that sealed the deal. I sought a supportive and collegial environment for my training and I found that in spades. Minnesota is also a year-round outdoors state; there is always something fun to do.

Cheyenna Espinoza, MD

Hometown: Grand Rapids MI
Undergrad: Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Medical Interests: Surgical oncology, bariatric interventions, inflammation, health disparities
Hobbies/Interests: Houseplants, walking at the many lakes and rivers in MN, kickboxing
Why I chose Minnesota: I chose Minnesota for several reasons. First, the residents and faculty I met on the interview day felt genuine and kind. I felt like this was a group of people that I could go through the difficulties of residency with and have fun with it. Additionally the clinical and research experience at UMN were another huge factor in my decision. We have experiences of all varieties -- from our complex patients at our tertiary referral university hospital setting to a more typical patients at our community hospital experience which allows us to learn about the same disease processes at different acuities and with different resources. We see a diverse patient population and provide surgical care to many of our communities most vulnerable. Additionally with the different sites that we operate at, you get to see an array of practice patterns which will help you determine how you'd like to practice surgery in the future. The research years were a large appeal to me to be able to explore how I might incorporate this into my career as an academic surgeon.

Megaly Michael, MD

Hometown: Sterling Hts, MI
Undergrad: Central Michigan University College or Medicine
Medical Interests: Transplant research, including Cryopreservation and machine perfusion
Hobbies/Interests: Working out, going on walks, hanging out with my wife
Why I chose Minnesota: Beautiful outdoors, tons of places to go hike, the culture, the people

Sergio Navarro, MD

Sean Nguyen, MD

Hometown: Huntington Beach
Undergrad: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Medical Interests: Cardiothoracic surgery, surgical outcomes, and medical education
Hobbies/Interests: Concerts, cooking, finding new restaurants/food, and movies!
Why I chose Minnesota: I wanted to be in a city with access to endless activities outside of work at a historic institution that provides opportunity to become every type of surgeon.

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Bethel Ozed-Williams, MD

Hometown: Nigeria
Undergrad: SUNY Downstate Medical School, Brooklyn, NY
Medical Interests: Surgical oncology, Global Surgery, Surgical Education
Hobbies/Interests: Music (Guitar/choir vocals/symphony), Writing, Interior decor, Natural hair care/braiding, philosophizing/intellectual discourse
Why I chose Minnesota: Unique culture and approach to diversity, both Socially and in Surgical practice/Specialty

Residents

PGY-1

Nargiz Agayeva, MD

Ashlyn Elftmann, MD

Benjamin Linden, MD

Brett Norling, MD

Meeli Patel, MD

Marcelo Salan Gomez, MD

Solveig Svendsen, MD

Peter Wallace, MD

Mitchell Rawson, MD

PGY-2

Maria Salas Balajadia, MD

Jonathan "Jam" Jenkins, MD

Serra Brandes Huberty, MD

Marah Kays, MD

Isabela Lorenzo, MD

Rozz Rybakowicz, MD

Swati Sonal, MD

Mohammad Al Zoubi, MD

Brady Son, MD

PGY-3

Myriam Benchiba-Charron, MD

Miranda Considine, MD

Theodore Hagmann, MD

Niveditha Jagadesh, MD

Anmol Nigam, MD

Chidiebere Onongaya, MD

Michelle Rayne, MD, PharmD

Sruthi Shankar, MD

PGY-4

Alyssa Brandt, MD, MBA

Rachel Gallimore, MD

Melissa Gunderson, MD

Hannah Jessen, MD

Julia Kohn, MD

David Leishman, MD

Shelbi Olson, MD

Ana Sather, MD

PGY-5

Rishav Aggarwal, MD

Sonja Boatman, MD

Marta Engelking, MD

Robyn Marks, MD

Emily Popma, MD

Saranya Prathibha, MD

Chesney Burgweger Siems, MD

McKenzie White, MD