Current PGY-3 General Surgery Residents
Our PGY3 Residents
Categorical
Elisabeth Abeles, MD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Elisabeth Belman Abeles will be graduating from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She previously completed her undergraduate studies at Cornell University where she was a College Scholar major, graduated summa cum laude, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Elisabeth has studied Mandarin extensively and completed her honors thesis on practitioner agency and medical plurality in healing. After college graduation, with funding from the 2018 Phi Beta Kappa Scholarship Prize, Elisabeth spent a gap year serving as a health advocate and Mandarin English interpreter for elderly Chinese immigrants with the Chinatown Service Center in Washington, DC. Elisabeth has been a leader in mentorship, serving as a peer advisor in college and engaging as a peer mentor and leader at Hopkins as well. She has served as co-president of the Hopkins’ chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association where she directed the faculty-student AMWA mentorship program. She has also undertaken several research projects in burn surgery and plastics, which have resulted in several publications and presentations. Elisabeth is an endurance athlete, winning age-group awards in both swimming and in distance running. She has run several marathons and has qualified for the Boston marathon!
Sandra Carpenter, MD
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Sandy's hometown is Ridgefield, Connecticut. Sandy majored in molecular biology at Princeton University and also received a certificate (minor) in the visual arts, completing two separate theses. Sandy rowed for Princeton lightweight women's crew team and led the Princeton Special Olympics rowing program. Sandy returned to Connecticut for medical school at the University of Connecticut where she deepened her engagement in disability advocacy, receiving a grant to develop and teach courses on health disparities for people with disabilities. She served as co-director of a national medical student organization advocating for increased disability inclusion and representation, writing disability-focused policy for the American Medical Association and petitioning the Liaison Committee on Medical Education to include disability training as an accreditation standard. Sandy also served on a state task force on accessible medical diagnostic equipment which led to the passage of legislation in Connecticut. Sandy was nominated to the Gold Humanism Honor Society and received a public health award for her work in collaboration with the disability community. Sandy is also a published medical illustrator and creates illustrated patient education materials. Her surgical interests include pediatric surgery and transplant surgery. Sandy's passions outside of surgery are disability advocacy and healthcare accessibility, medical illustration, ultrasound, running/rowing, and petting dogs.
Natalia Chaves, MD
Bryce England, MD
New York University Grossman School of Medicine
Bryce England graduated from New York University Grossman School of Medicine, where he has been the recipient of the Klara and Larry Silverstein Merit Scholarship. He previously earned a BS in Biology and a BA in Spanish at Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA. During college, he was an award-winning member and ultimately captain of his NCAA Division I cross country / track and field teams. He has completed a post-baccalaureate research fellowship at the NIH, completing stem cell research, ultimately developing and completing his own project on the pathophysiology of Smith-Magenis Syndrome. Bryce distinguished himself as a researcher during medical school, where he has been involved in multiple projects, reflecting his interest in tissue regeneration. He has also undertaken clinical research projects exploring the effect of hospital-based violence intervention programs on reinjury and violence perpetration as well as investigating the impact of city budget allocations on public safety outcomes.
These efforts have yielded multiple presentations and publications. In addition, he has been an active member of QMed, supporting the professional development of LGBTQ+ medical students, and as served as a Peer Mentor. He notes that his hobbies include rock climbing, indoor gardening, cooking, and Pokemon Go.
Djanira Fernandes, MD
Boston University School of Medicine
Djanira’s hometowns are Praia, Cape Verde and Boston, Massachusetts. She received her BS in Biochemistry from Boston College. She then matriculated at Boston University School of Medicine where she received her MS and MD, and was elected as an AOA member. As a medical student, she served as a student leader of the Global Surgical Student Association chapter at BUSM and participated in international service trips. She is interested in mentorship and education, serving as educational fellow and anatomy prosector for PA and dental students, and longitudinal peer advisor for medical students. She also served as a co-leader of the Science Teaching Enrichment Program, mentoring underrepresented high school students interested in healthcare careers. Djanira conducted research on chemotherapy-induced inflammation that regulate tumor growth in the Center for Vascular Biology at BIDMC, where she presented at multiple conferences and published. Djanira is interested in surgical oncology and enjoys family trips, swimming, hiking, and baking.
Adriana Montalvan, MD
Universidad de Ciencias Medicas Andrés Vesalio Guzmán (UCIMED) Escuela de Medicina
Adriana Montalvan earned her MD at Universidad de Ciencias Medicas Andrés Vesalio Guzmán (UCIMED) Escuela de Medicina in Costa Rica, where she received multiple Honor Roll Recognitions for Outstanding Academic Excellence. While there, she received a scholarship for a clerkship exchange program in the US, and was thus introduced to Boston Children’s Hospital and to BIDMC through surgical rotations. She then went on to receive her MPH (global health) from T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health. Since coming to the United States, Adriana has worked in Transplant Research at BIDMC in Dr. Eckhoff’s research group. Here, she initiated and led a project to understand the experiences of Hispanic patients throughout their journey from chronic kidney disease diagnosis to transplantation. The information generated through her project aims to guide the creation of a Kidney Transplant Hispanic Clinic at BIDMC. Her work has been productive of multiple presentations and publications. Additionally, Adriana serves as the Director of Social Affairs for International Research Initiative (IRI), through which, she has developed advertising campaigns to attract program candidates and engaged with deans from various medical schools in low and middle-income countries to promote IRI opportunities including the development of a Costa Rican Clinical Research Course. She also participated in a work group for the Global Trauma Surgery Symposium through the Program of Global Surgery and Social Change, under the mentorship of Dr. Nakul Raykar, and was the recipient of the State of Geneva Scholarship, allowing her to participate in the WHO Global Health Course.
Anays Murillo, MD, MPH
Tufts University School of Medicine
Anays grew up in a Spanish-speaking home in South Florida, proud of her Mexican roots. She received her BA in French Studies from Duke University. After her undergraduate studies, she conducted global health work in Central America, received her MS/MPH from Boston University, and researched the impact of frailty and end-of-life discussions on clinical outcomes at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute leading to multiple presentations and publications. As a medical student at Tufts University School of Medicine, she was a member of the Health Justice Scholars Program, Latino Medical Student Association, a hotline volunteer for The Network/La Red supporting survivors of partner abuse, and part of a team developing and implementing the use of inpatient pediatric screening tools for social determinants of health. During her free time, she enjoys running, playing soccer, hiking, canoeing, and caving. You can always find her trying something new with her husband; they recently are learning how to kiteboard.
Prabh Pannu, MD
Vanitha Raguveer, MD
University of Illinois College of Medicine
Vanitha Raguveer will be graduated from University of Illinois College of Medicine having been elected to both AOA and Gold Humanism Honor Society and completing the Innovation Medicine track. She previously earned a BSE in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. Through college and a post-baccalaureate fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, she conducted clinical and translational research in cancer immunotherapies. As part of the Innovation track, she completed a multi- disciplinary design course with Intuitive Surgical and a capstone project on developing a digital health passport. She completed an internship with Vayu Global Health, focusing on low-cost device development and implementation in low-resource settings. She conducted research in surgical health through transplant surgery practices and surgical education in trauma and global health and completed a Paul Farmer fellowship at the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), where she developed an interest in ethical innovation and sustainability in surgical practices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she received a Clinton Global Initiative University Action Fund Grant for organizing teams of medical student volunteers and facilitating PPE distribution across Chicagoland. She has been involved with Chicago Street Medicine, providing care to the homeless community, and advocating for ethical practice models for vulnerable populations. She served as the Illinois State Medical Society COVID-19 Student Committee Vice Chair and she has served as the National Vice President of Research for the Global Surgery Student Association.
Martina Rama, MD
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Martina Rama will be graduating from Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University as a member of AOA and the Hobart Amory Hare Honor Society. She has completed the Scholarly Inquiry Design Research Tract with distinction. She previously received a BS in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She worked for a year in the Ruggero Lab at UCSF prior to medical school. Martina's commitment to improving healthcare access for immigrant populations is exemplified by her active role with Refugee Health Partners (RHP) and the Mobile Vaccine Clinic. With RHP, a student-run organization that provides medical care to refugees and immigrants, Martina piloted the first Women's Health Fair, bringing free mammograms to African immigrants. Martina has worked at Jefferson’s Health Design Lab, where she created the first 3D-printed orbital fracture model to teach orbital anatomy to ophthalmology residents. This work resulted in an international conference presentation and a manuscript currently under review, and her work is now part of the Wills Eye resident curriculum. She has also undertaken clinical research on outcomes after paraesophageal hernia repair in the geriatric population, outcomes after inguinal hernia repair in female patients, and on the learning phases for robotic distal pancreatectomy, yielding presentations and publications. Martina has served as a mentor to junior medical students at Jefferson. She organized journal clubs and suturing events with multiple organizations, mentored international students interested in pursuing medical school in the United States, was elected as Vice President of her school’s AOA chapter, and tutored preclinical students in anatomy.
Gabriela Rangel Brandao, MD
Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA) Faculdade de Medicina
Gabriela Rangel Brandao graduated from the Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA) Faculdade de Medicina in Brazil where she was a student leader and innovator. She was selected as a Research Fellow through a competitive process by the International Research Initiative (IRI). Currently, she works at BIDMC in Dr. Kent’s research group, studying educational materials about the Whipple procedure and completing an in-depth analysis of biopsied patients with locally advanced or borderline pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Her work to date, has yielded multiple publications and she has received several travel awards to present her more recent research. She has also collaborated with the Global Surgery Team Brazil, affiliated with PGSSC, where she has participated in a gender equity group. Dr. Brandao has been involved in the Association of Women Surgeons for many years, first as the founding President for the AWS Brazil Chapter. Her chapter subsequently won the AWS Chapter of the Year award. She also organized the inaugural Latin American AWS Conference and has been on the organizing committee for the AWS Conferences.
Aminah Sallam, MD
Yale School of Medicine
Aminah's hometowns are Houston, Texas and New York, New York. As a high school student, Aminah was awarded 1st place and Grand Prize at the Intel NY Science Contest and 3rd place at the Intel International Science Contest. Aminah subsequently graduated from the University of Chicago with a BA in Biology and matriculated to Yale School of Medicine. Aminah has conducted research in animal models of congenital disease and large-scale genomics research, studied bioethics, and conducted qualitative research, yielding multiple publications in the fields of breast and head and neck cancer.
She served as Co-Leader of the Yale Chapter of the Association of Women Surgeons and developed a mentorship program connecting over 50 students with female mentors. She also served as a co-developer for the workforce development track in the Yale Surgical Hackathon and won the Hackathon competition. As Co-Vice President of SNMA/LMSA at Yale, she directed a pipeline program for local minority high school students and served as a student navigator for the Yale Refugee Patient Navigator Program. Aminah's interests include painting, pottery and all things coffee - making coffee, learning about coffee, and, of course, indulging in coffee with friends and family