Current Residents
RES-5 | RES-4 | RES-3 | RES-2 | RES-1 | Preliminary Residents | Research Lab Residents - PGY-2
RES-5
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
Andrew Fleming
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.
Lillian Malach
What do you enjoy in your free time? Being outside, painting, and binging the most recent tv shows
What are your career goals? Surgical Critical care, general surgery, ACS
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
Brenden Sheridan
What do you enjoy in your free time? Working out, Video games
What are your career goals? Trauma/Surgical Critical Care
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Academics, research, and fellowship opportunities
Kaushik Varadarajan
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.
Tari-Ann “Tariana” Yates
What do you enjoy in your free time? Church, hanging out with family, friends, and my dog Ms. Yola Baby, dancing , listening to music, and chilling.
What are your career goals? To be a solid, safe, and humble academic surgeon.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? It is a strong operative program lead by great leadership and residents.
RES-4
Samantha Brashier
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.
José González Gutiérrez
What do you enjoy in your free time? I like traveling whenever possible, running and playing soccer, deep cleaning my apartment, and watching new shows and movies.
What are your career goals?
Completion of general surgery and pursuit of a fellowship, become an academic surgeon in a place where I can be teaching and sharing my experience.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency?
Outstanding surgical training with a wide variety of cases and patients, great mentorship opportunities, and involvement in an academic center will provide the foundation for my future career.
Samantha Adrianna Kassner
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.
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!
RES-3
Jenna Davis
Medical School: University of Miami
What do you enjoy in your free time? Anything outdoors!
What are your career goals? Academic surgery, Surgical oncology
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? History of success in fellowship matches while also having a great breadth of experience
in general surgery. My partner is also from Memphis, and we were lucky enough to couples
match here!
Daniel Gehle
What do you enjoy in your free time? Hosting coresidents and friends for meals and games, spending time with my wife and daughter, soccer, tennis, watching basketball, exploring the Memphis restaurant and brewery scene
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.
Calvin Jung
Medical School: Mercer University School of Medicine - Macon Campus
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.
Erin Koffman
Medical School: University of Toledo
What do you enjoy in your free time? finding new walking/ running trails
What are your career goals? For now, to be a teachable resident and a humanistic doctor. Eventually: to be involved
in global surgery.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I was looking for a program with high volume trauma, high complexity, and a group
of residents who genuinely liked to be around each other. Luckily all of that has
come true!
Emma Levine
What do you enjoy in your free time? Baking, cooking, reading dystopias, pelotoning, outdoor activites
What are your career goals? I'm currently leaning towards pediatric surgery, but am keeping an open mind. I know I want to be involved in global surgery! My research interests fall in the cross between our diabetic patients and surgical care
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? The minute I interviewed here I knew this was going to be the right spot. I could feel the support from attendings and within the residents. I felt that life outside the hospital was encouraged and celebrated while being somewhere with top notch pediatric surgery and trauma surgery training.
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
Jordan Pringle
Medical School: Mercer University School of Medicine
What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Working out, running outdoors, watching football and soccer
What are your career goals? Private practice on the gulf coast of Florida
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Good case numbers with early operative experience
Miranda Taggart
Medical School: University of Texas Medical Branch
What do you enjoy in your free time? Long walks, dancing to live music, spicy food, sunshine
What are your career goals? private practice general surgery with academic outreach, global surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? High volume operative trauma, good vibes, culturally rich city with a lot of need
Bennett Thomas
Medical School: LSU Shreveport
What do you enjoy in your free time?I enjoy running, biking, hiking, exploring new national parks, and spending time with
friends and family.
What are your career goals? Still undecided
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I did an away rotation here and really enjoyed how well the residents got along. I
saw that the residents here were able to match into great fellowships or graduate
and go directly into practice.
RES-2
Julia Firnhaber
Medical School: ECU Brody School of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time? Taking my dog Lolly on walks in the park, trying new restaurants, spending time with
family and friends
What are your career goals? I’m currently interested in Plastic Surgery but I’m excited to get to experience
the wide variety of surgical specialties during residencies so still undecided.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? The palpable camaraderie during interviews in addition to the wide breadth of training!
Jonathan "Chance" Fox
Medical School: Washington University in St Louis
What do you enjoy in your free time? Running, soccer, basketball, playing piano, and hanging out with my family
What are your career goals? General surgery, trauma/critical care, and global surgical work
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Fantastic clinical training, diversity of training sites, presence of both academic
and community opportunities, and immense trauma experience.
Andrei Gurau
Medical School: University of Colorado School of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time? Exploring local parks, skiing, and spending time with my significant other.
What are your career goals? To become an academic surgeon specializing in surgical oncology or thoracic surgery,
conduct translational research, and teach future surgeons.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? UTHSC provides exceptional clinical training, strong mentorship, and a supportive
environment that aligns with my goal of becoming an academic surgeon.
Philip Morgan
Medical School: UTHSC
What do you enjoy in your free time? Getting outdoors with my friends and family, grilling in the backyard, and live music.
What are your career goals? I am excited to explore the breadth of general surgery during residency. I am highly
interested in trauma/SCC and thoracic surgery.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? From my clinical experience here in medical school, I knew I would have excellent
training and mentorship. The exposure to trauma and critical care is second to none.
The resident culture is supportive, and it was clear to me that hard work and accountability
are truly valued here.
Mariah Perkins
Medical School: Texas Tech University HSC EP Foster School of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time? Exploring, cooking, traveling, self-caring activities
What are your career goals Pediatric Surgery or Surgical Oncology or wherever my heart takes me.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Great program with wide range of services and hospital experiences. Also helping a
community that is underserved and under resourced.
Imani Sweatt
Medical School: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
What do you enjoy in your free time? Collecting records, reading, yoga
What are your career goals? To become an effective and technically excellent surgeon. In terms of specialty, I
am currently undecided.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? High operative volume, intense trauma/critical care experience, clinical autonomy,
and opportunity to serve a diverse patient population.
John Worthen
Medical School: University of Tennessee HSC
What do you enjoy in your free time? Watching TV and cooking dinner with my fiancée, cycling, weightlifting, computer
programming
What are your career goals? General Surgery/Surgical Critical Care
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I wanted to train at a high-volume program that could prepare me for any career
pathway in general surgery.
Carmen Zaldivar
Medical School: University of Arizona- Tucson
What do you enjoy in your free time? Hot Yoga, thrifting and sewing
What are your career goals? Trauma Surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? For its Trauma center, the population it serves and faculty
RES-1
Benjamin Allen
Medical School: UTHSC
What do you enjoy in your free time? I love rock climbing, fishing, soccer, hiking, video games, and playing with my cat,
Gracie.
What are your career goals? I haven’t decided on a specialty yet, but I know that I want to be a competent physician
and surgeon who my colleagues would trust to take care of a family member.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Since I went to med school here, I knew firsthand how supportive the program is and
how well-trained the residents are. The breadth of trauma and critical care experience
here will allow me to operate on the highest acuity pathologies with confidence, regardless
of specialty. I was also thrilled to see how close residents are with each other and
with attendings—it is an excellent environment for learning.
Alexis Harris
Medical School: University of Louisville School of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time? Hanging out with my friends and family, watching movies and trashy reality TV, reading,
writing, learning piano, traveling, being a hopeless Texas A&M football fan, fishing
with my mom
What are your career goals? Academic trauma surgery is my primary goal; however, I'm keeping an open mind as long
as I'm a safe and competent surgeon who has the capabilities to teach and mentor others
in the future
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? UTHSC had everything I wanted in a program: a wide breadth of clinical experiences
that produces confident surgeons that aren't just competent on paper, a strong academic
trauma foundation, diverse patient populations, and a culture of camaraderie amongst
the residents and faculty with each other as well as the worthwhile community they
serve.
Andrew "AJ" Kerwin
Medical School: Florida International University
What do you enjoy in your free time? Playing golf and pickleball, hanging out with my family and friends, grilling, watching
the Florida Gators, and reading.
What are your career goals? First, I hope to become a technically sound and knowledgeable general surgeon during
residency. After residency, I am interested in pursuing a fellowship in Trauma/ACS,
Colorectal, or Vascular Surgery followed by a career as an academic surgeon.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I believe that UTHSC will provide me with robust general surgery training and a diverse
patient population. I did an away rotation and enjoyed my time in Memphis and the
great learning environment. Additionally, my family lives in Memphis and I wanted
to be close to them during training.
Hason Khan
Medical School: Kansas City University
What do you enjoy in your free time? Working out and watching Boston sports (Go Celtics)
What are your career goals? Trauma/Surgical Critical Care
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Excellent trauma/critical care experience, high operative volume, great faculty,
High operative volume, intense trauma/critical care experience, clinical autonomy,
and opportunity to serve a diverse patient population.
Sarah Lang
Medical School: UTHSC
What do you enjoy in your free time? Acrylic and watercolor painting, learning new recipes, attempting to bake, and taking
walks (and naps!) with my dog
What are your career goals? Currently, pediatric surgery or surgical oncology, with a focus on serving underserved
populations and participating in global surgical outreach
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? The wonderful clinical teams and the diverse patient population I worked with during
my time here in medical school
Joshua Moore
Medical School: Mercer University School of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time? Play music, hike, read, watch Netflix, cycling
What are your career goals? To become a Pediatric Surgeon
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? Incredible Trauma Surgery training, great program culture, and unique pediatric surgical
and research opportunities.
Matthew Romine
Medical School: Mercer University School of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time? I enjoy staying active and playing just about any team sport - like soccer, basketball,
and ultimate frisbee which are a few of my favorites. I also love reading a good fantasy
book, spending time with friends, playing video games, and watching movies.
What are your career goals? I'm still deciding whether I want to specialize, but as of now, I’m especially interested
in Surgical Oncology, Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS), and Critical Care.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? My favorite thing about UTHSC has got to be the people. Everyone is incredibly kind
and eager to help. It’s clear that the program fosters a supportive learning environment
that will push me to grow and become the best surgeon I can be.
Erika Wilt
Medical School: University of Toledo
What do you enjoy in your free time? Running and hiking with my dogs, reading, trying new coffee shops, and spending time
with family and friends
What are your career goals? I'm currently interested in trauma/critical care but I'm excited to experience all
of the other surgical subspecialties!
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? The trauma/critical care experience, early operative experience with high volume
and complex cases, and the overall resident camaraderie!
Preliminary Residents
Ross Clarke
Medical School: Brown University
What do you enjoy in your free time? I enjoy cooking, going to the gym, and traveling. Currently trying my hand at BBQ.
I am a big sports fan. I competed in track and field throughout college, so a great
trail run is always a highlight.
What are your career goals? I have an interest in pursuing a career in Orthopedic Surgery, specifically sports
medicine and shoulder surgery
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I chose UTHSC for the extensive learning experience and mission to serve the Memphis
community. The program seems very close knit with a strong faculty mentorship. The
diverse learning experiences will provide a strong foundation for my surgical training.
Kaci Cunningham
Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine - Peoria
What do you enjoy in your free time? In my free time, I like to cook vegan food, travel abroad, do yoga, and watch reality
dating TV shows.
What are your career goals? I'm not exactly sure, as I'm a preliminary year intern. Right now, I'm interested
in going into OBGYN, but I'm open to that changing to general surgery or another surgical
specialty.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I chose UTHSC for residency because I really enjoyed my conversation with Dr. Feliz,
the PD, during my interview. It's also located relatively close to my family.
Crystal Dye
Medical School: University of Louisville School of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time? Reading and exercising
What are your career goals? General Surgery in underserved communities
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? UTHSC's reputation precedes itself and I wanted to be well trained in the great city
of Memphis.
Boris Kuyeb
Medical School: University of Mississippi School of Medicine
What do you enjoy in your free time? Physical activities: strength training, pickleball, soccer and cooking/grilling
What are your career goals? To gain experience and be an effective surgeon. Plan on reapplying General Surgery
and ENT
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? UTHSC is an excellent program with high operative case volume while serving a diverse
group of patient population. Memphis is a vibrant city that I had the pleasure of
completing my undergraduate studies and very excited to be coming back.
Virginia Saux
Medical School: LSU – New Orleans
What do you enjoy in your free time? I enjoy getting out in nature and bird watching! I also enjoy baking, crocheting
and reading.
What are your career goals? I’m excited to learn more about fellowships while honing my skills as a general
surgeon.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? I want to learn more about the culture in Memphis and serve the community.
Research Lab Residents - PGY-2
Kevin Lang
Research Lab: UT Health Science Center Pediatric and Adult Trauma Clinical Research Fellowship
Medical School: Creighton University School of Medicine
What do you do for fun: Running, triathlon training, spending time with friends
What are your career goals: Trauma, surgical critical care
Why did you choose UTHSC for residency: Excellent trauma exposure, broad surgical training, opportunity to serve this community
Julia Pedo Freitas
Research Site: UTHSC Cancer Research Building (Dr. Shibata’s Lab)
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!
Michael Spinrad
Research Site: UT Health Science Center Cancer Research Building
(Dr. Glazer’s Lab)
What do you enjoy in your free time? Skiing, hiking, rock climbing, reading, boardgames, video games, oh and skiing.
What are your career goals? My current interest is in surgical oncology and HPB pathologies.
Why did you choose UTHSC for your residency? UTHSC has a great reputation for training skilled surgeons that get tremendous exposure to trauma and critical care, which is an excellent foundation to have for any surgeon. There's also plenty of opportunities for mentorship form surgeons the generally care about your education and will invest in your future.