Current Residents

Marcus Alvarez
What do you enjoy in your free time? Cook good food. Eat good food. Lift heavy circles of metal to combat my food habit.
What are your career goals? Thoracic Oncologic Surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? My mentor in medical school told me that a heavy trauma and critical care presence in residency will help make you a better regardless of what field you go

Shravan Chintalapani
What do you enjoy in your free time? Playing basketball, cooking, spending time with my family
What are your career goals? Thoracic Surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Great clinical training with high volumes in a variety of practice settings, resident camaraderie

Nidhi Desai
Medical school: UTHSC
What do you enjoy in your free time? Running, cooking
What are your career goals? To obtain a fellowship and enter private practice

Leah Hendrick
Administrative Chief
What do you enjoy in your free time? Triathlon, travel
What are your career goals? Surgical Oncology
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I chose UTHSC for the people, and the strong clinical training.

Nathan Judge
University of Alabama

Michael Keirsey
What do you enjoy in your free time? Fishing, hiking, swimming, going to all the fantastic places to eat in Memphis with friends. Walks with my dog Winston.
What are your career goals? I am pursuing a Fellowship in Trauma/Critical Care.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Large referral base and huge breadth of cases. High volume Level 1 trauma center, and most importantly, the people. Everyone was very down to earth, and really made it seem like a team sport

Clarisse Muenyi
What do you enjoy in your free time? Hiking, spending time with my family
What are your career goals? Colorectal Surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Family reasons

Jacqueline Stuber
What do you enjoy in your free time? Running, hiking, camping
What are your career goals? Complete a vascular surgery fellowship and join a busy vascular surgery practice
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I wanted to train at a program with multiple training sites and patient populations.

Denise Wong
Administrative Chief
What do you enjoy in your free time? Good food and board games
What are your career goals? Surgical Oncology
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Broad-based general surgery training with opportunities to do research

Jennifer Allison
What do you enjoy in your free time? Home improvement projects
What are your career goals? Minimally invasive
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I knew I would get great experience taking care of a broad range of complicated surgical patients and I also love Elvis.

Angel Dono
What do you enjoy in your free time? Fix random stuff; Sports, especially soccer and tennis; Books, have a humongous pending list that grows every month; TV Shows/Movies have probably watch too many
What are your career goals Interested in Cardiothoracic and Trauma Surgery. I plan to fund a non-profit to bring resources back home and address surgical problems that would otherwise not be fixed.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? UTHSC has such history for longer than 100 years, which is amazing. Much of the attending we interact are reference in the world, Trauma team at Regional One, Surg Onc team creating NCCN guidelines, a big transplant center and LeBonheur recognized team to mention a few.

Allison Falcon
What do you enjoy in your free time? Working out, exploring the many Memphis breweries, hanging out with my chicken, Ginny
What are your career goals? General/acute care surgery in rural or underserved communities
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Great exposure to all surgical fields and great vibes from the current residents (who've become some of my best friends) when I interviewed here.

Emma Kelly
What do you enjoy in your free time? Exploring the Memphis food scene, swimming
What are your career goals? Exploring the Memphis food scene, swimming
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency?
Well-rounded surgery exposure with the best operative trauma experience in the country

Benjamin Lehrman
What do you enjoy in your free time? Running, cooking/baking, watching sports, hanging out with friends
What are your career goals? Fellowship in Trauma/Critical Care
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I wanted a program that served a diverse population and featured multiple hospital systems. I liked that the UTHSC general surgery residency gives its residents appropriate autonomy for their level of training and has excellent opportunities in all areas of general surgery.

What do you enjoy in your free time?Running, yoga, gardening, hiking
What are your career goals?Surgical oncology, hepatobiliary surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Supportive resident community

Ashley Miller
What do you enjoy in your free time? Spending time with my family and friends, traveling the world, trying new restaurants, hiking, gardening, or doing just about any outdoor activity.
What are your career goals? To practice General Surgery in the US Army
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? 3 main reasons:
1) I wanted to train at a program with a very strong trauma experience so that I feel more comfortable managing trauma situations when I’m deployed in the future.
2) I think diversity is important and I wanted to train with a good mix of people which UTHSC provides including a large variety of races, ethnic backgrounds, religions and about a 50/50 split of men and women.
3) I grew up in Florida but my husband's family is in Tennessee and we wanted to be closer to them with a baby on the way. My daughter was born November of my intern year and gets to see her extended family much more often since we are much closer now.

Pushpa Neppala
UC San Diego School of Medicine

Megan Gross
What do you enjoy in your free time? Hiking, Backpacking, Making Pasta, and Sleeping
What are your career goals? Trauma or Transplant
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? For the operative experience and volume.

Maria Knaus
What do you enjoy in your free time? Play with my dogs and eat good food
What are your career goals? To become a pediatric surgeon and also the surgeon that other surgeons send their family to.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? The wide breadth of experience residents get as part of their training and the patient population.

Devanshi Patel
What do you enjoy in your free time? Playing soccer, running, and being outside. Love to have friends over for dinners or backyard bonfire nights.
What are your career goals? I would like to pursue a path that would involve having a general practice with a focus on upper GI surgery.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? The program at UT provides a lot of diversity in training. I wanted to be in a situation where I was confident leaving as a well rounded surgeon. The residents and faculty are also very supportive and genuinely look out for one another.

Maddison Kane Porter
What do you enjoy in your free time? I enjoy running, wine tasting, and spending time with family and friends
What are your career goals? I wish to become a technically competent surgeon dedicated to serving my community
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I chose UTHSC because I wanted a strong foundation in trauma and academic surgery. I was attracted to the cultural emphasis on work ethic, self-improvement, and dedication to the underserved of Memphis.

Aubrey Schachter
What do you enjoy in your free time? I love to take my dog to Shelby Farms Dog Park, try out new restaurants and bars in Memphis, and spend time with my co-residents! I am also learning to restore my Midtown home, and I always have a few projects going on.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I rotated at UTHSC as a medical student and got a great feel for the resident camaraderie. I also saw the experiences and opportunities residents have to both learn to manage patient care and to get into the operating room. Faculty and senior residents are supportive and eager to teach, and I felt welcome as a student.

Joseph Slaughter
What do you enjoy in your free time? Spending time with my family, working out, and reading.
What are your career goals? Academic Colorectal Surgery or Surgical Oncology.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I wanted to train at an old academic center with a rich history in surgery. UTHSC grants surgery residents access to all the competitive specialties and the appropriate mentorship to ensure a strong fellowship match. More importantly, the high case volumes, unique population, and autonomy in Memphis produces skilled surgeons.

Floyd Wilks, Jr.
What do you enjoy in your free time? I enjoy traveling to different countries, trying new foods, and cooking different recipes.
What are your career goals? Completion of General surgery training and pursuit of a fellowship in surgery, currently choosing which specialty. I have interest in surgical critical care, plastic surgery, and MIS.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? UTHSC provides amazing surgical training with wide variety of cases and patients. Coming from an institution where treating the under resourced was a major part of the mission, UTHSC provides an opportunity to give back to that community during my surgical training.

Michael Wright
What do you enjoy in your free time? Cycling, Tennis, Grilling
What are your career goals? Vascular or Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? For an intense and comprehensive training experience so that I could become a competent surgeon.

Caitlin Black
What do you enjoy in your free time? Woodworking
What are your career goals? General Surgery/MIS/Colorectal
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? High-quality training in diverse populations

Ladd Caballero
What do you enjoy in your free time? Playing piano/keyboard with my band, video games, eating
What are your career goals? Vascular surgery or MIS
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Close to home and family, well rounded residents and faculty who constantly push you to improve, growing/evolving

Linnea Cripe
What do you enjoy in your free time? Cycling, running, visiting breweries, buying too many house plants
What are your career goals? Surgical Oncology, Breast Surgery. Still working it out!
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Great training, good mentorship

Daniel Gehle
What do you enjoy in your free time? Soccer, running, watching basketball, exploring the Memphis restaurant and brewery scene, hosting coresidents and friends for meals, spending time with my wife and dog
What are your career goals? Pediatric surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Large, busy program with early and high-volume operative experience, excellent pediatric surgery exposure, and collegial culture

Lillian Malach
What do you enjoy in your free time? Running and playing with my dogs
What are your career goals? General Surgery practice in Alabama
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? The variety of experiences and excellent training which prepares the residents for any fellowship or general practice they desire

Julia Pedo Freitas
What do you enjoy in your free time? Hiking, rock climbing, going to breweries, playing with my cats, board games with friends
What are your career goals? Currently undecided, considering surgical oncology, breast or trauma
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I wanted a program where I would feel prepared to practice independently as a general surgeon without needing a fellowship if I decided to do so, while also providing an academic setting with the opportunity for research. Also the opportunity to train at one of the busiest trauma centers in the country!

Jessica Pollack
What do you enjoy in your free time? Cooking, indoor cycling, hiking
What are your career goals? Pediatric surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Excellent pediatric surgery department, operative experience

Brenden Sheridan
What do you enjoy in your free time? Working out, Video games
What are your career goals? Thoracic
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Academics, research, and fellowship opportunities

Samantha Brashier
Medical school: UTHSC College of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time? Spending time with my family, running, and listening to true crime podcasts.
What are your career goals? My career goals at this point in my training are simply to learn how to be a good
physician and surgeon.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I chose to stay at UTHSC for residency due to my time here as a medical student. I
wanted a residency with high operative volume with exposure to all surgical fields,
diverse patient population, and residents/attendings I “fit” with – UTHSC checked
all of those boxes for me.

Samantha Adrianna Kassner
Medical school: Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time? Working out, biking, scuba diving
What are your career goals? I am interested in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I was most attracted to the apparent camaraderie between residents during interview
day/social night, as well as the strong emphasis placed on generating well-rounded
surgeons that are comfortable operating independently by the time they are finished
with residency at UTHSC.

Kevin Lang
Medical School: Creighton University School of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time: Running, being outdoors, spending time with friends.
What are your career goals? Undecided - enjoy trauma and the full breadth of general surgery.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Breadth of clinical experience, strong trauma exposure, and emphasis on serving this
community.

Morgan Lynch
What do you enjoy in your free time: Reading, writing, films, fitness, and midnight snacks.
What are your career goals? Undecided! Interested in general, trauma, and colorectal surgery.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Excellent scope of training, great trauma exposure, and cool people.

Logan Meyer
What do you enjoy in your free time? Cross stitch, crossword puzzles, finding new restaurants, finding good banana pudding
What are your career goals? Don’t quite know yet
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Depth and breadth of experiences. Amazing faculty and fellow residents

Meredith Perkins
What do you enjoy in your free time?Boating, cooking, trying new restaurants/breweries, exercising
What are your career goals?interested in trauma
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I’m a born and raised Memphian and I want to continue to serve my city throughout my surgical training

Jennifer Schadt
What do you enjoy in your free time? : I enjoy being active- running, rock climbing, hiking, & slacklining- and creative- knitting, painting, & embroidery- and just relaxing with a good book or tv show
What are your career goals? : I am undecided on a subspecialty, but I would like to be involved in global surgery, and would like to integrate narrative medicine and bioethics work throughout my career
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? : Mostly because it was the interview day I enjoyed the most, I felt really great vibes from everyone I met!

Renae Wollman
What do you enjoy in your free time?Hiking, Scuba Diving, Reading
What are your career goals?Pediatric Trauma Surgery/Global Surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? UTHSC's general surgery residency programprovides the opportunity for early autonomy, small cohort benefits, and aligns with all of my career goals.

Andrew Fleming
Research Site: St. Jude
What do you enjoy in your free time? In my free time, I enjoy rock climbing, music composition, reading history, cooking, running, and spending time with my wife, Hannah, and our son, Irvin. We have one cat, Hoshino.
What are your career goals? My first career goal is to be a safe and effective surgeon. After completing residency, I plan to pursue fellowship training in complex general surgical oncology in support of my second career goal of academic surgical oncology.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I chose UTHSC for my surgical training given the high operative volume, the emphasis on surgical critical care, and the high acuity of the pathologies we treat in Memphis. The UTHSC department of surgery offered the clinical autonomy and academic resources I need to support my career goals, and the comradery and confidence of the UTHSC surgery residents are something I looked up to during my medical school years.

Seyed “Soroosh” Noorbakhsh
Research Site: T32 at Emory University
What do you enjoy in your free time? Seeing family and friends
What are your career goals? Trauma/critical care
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Good trauma experience

Nikia Toomey
Research Site: University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
What do you enjoy in your free time? Spending time at the Space Coast, baking, soccer, running, fishing in Florida, sewing, spending time with my family and close friends
What are your career goals? Cardiothoracic surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Critical care experience

Kaushik Varadarajan
Research Site: MD Anderson
What do you enjoy in your free time? Cooking, Watching and playing basketball, Video games
What are your career goals? Career goal is to be a surgical oncologist at an academic institution and to work with medical students and residents
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I chose UTHSC because of the chance to work in a new environment but with a similar patient population and diverse pathology and strong support for residents to pursue any career avenue.

William Hammond
What do you enjoy in your free time? Playing soccer, working on music production, watching movies
What are your career goals? Radiology
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Strength of program and clinical experience

Nia Alexis James
Medical School: The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time? Spending time with loved ones (including pets), traveling, playing soccer, watching
movies, painting, trying new foods/natural hairstyles/etc.
What are your career goals? Becoming a clinically competent, highly skilled surgeon, advocate, and mentor who
positively impacts those I serve and work with.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Its diverse patient population, abundant opportunities, the people who represented
the program, and my connection to the city!

Calvin Jung
What do you enjoy in your free time?Spending time with my fiancée and our orange tabby. Cheering for the Georgia Bulldogs.
What are your career goals?General surgery or Cardiac surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Broad exposure and excellent training.

Zachary David McCoy
Medical school: UTHSC
What do you enjoy in your free time? Piano, composing music, repairing electronics, and woodworking
What are your career goals? I want to be a good surgeon.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Memphis is home!

Austin Shanks
What do you enjoy in your free time? Average chef, above average BBQ chef, World’s Best husband three consecutive years, basketball nerd, avid gardener, history buff, and personal assistant to my dog Gemma.
What are your career goals?Still considering the many amazing options available in the medical field.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I am a proud Tennessean and appreciative recipient of my state’s superb higher education system. I obtained my Baccalaureate degree from UT, Knoxville, and my Doctorate of Medicine from UTHSC in Memphis. It is my dream complete my training as a physician here and give back to the people of Tennessee. I love living in Memphis and working with the incredible patients and colleagues here. UTHSC Memphis offers world-class depth of training, faculty, and trauma experience.

Sheev Zaver
What do you enjoy in your free time? Traveling, Cooking, Weightlifting, Spending time with my friends and family
What are your career goals? Pursue a surgical subspecialty after General Surgery training
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? UTHSC provides a robust learning environment due to several attributes.