Current PGY-5 General Surgery Residents
Our PGY5 Residents
Categorical
Benjamin Allar, MD
Tufts University School of Medicine
Ben's hometown is Newton, Massachusetts. Ben received his BA summa cum laude at Connecticut College, majoring in Biological Sciences and Religious Studies. He received multiple awards for academic and leadership excellence, including the Unsung Hero Award and the Judy Bailen Kateman '65 Outstanding Senior Prize. As a student at Tufts University School of Medicine, Ben was elected to AOA, served on the Admissions Committee, the Curriculum Committee, and was an active student delegate to the Massachusetts Medical Society. Ben also served as President of the Team Cathedral Project, mentoring and teaching local students and was engaged in a number of clinical research projects. During residency, he spent his academic development time obtaining a Master in Public Health from Harvard TH Chan School of Public health and performing sociodemographic surgical disparities research at Brigham and Women’s Center for Surgery and Public Health, where he was the lead fellow in his final year. His surgical interests are colorectal surgery and surgical education. He enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, and cooking.
Nicholas DeStefino, MD, PhD
Harvard Medical School
Nick's hometown is Scottsdale, Arizona. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude, with degrees in both neuroscience and history. He then matriculated to the MD/PhD program at Harvard Medical School, earning his PhD in Neurobiology and serving as an Editor of the Journal of Emerging Investigators. Nick is interested in education, participating as both an undergraduate and graduate teaching assistant, and volunteered as a junior clinician in the Crimson Care Collaborative, an interdisciplinary student-faculty run medical clinic. Nick co-led the pediatric clinic as a staffing director, senior director, and program-wide medical education chair and volunteered to provide patient outreach for patients discharged after hospitalization for COVID-19. Nick is interested in surgical oncology and GI surgery and enjoys running and reading.
Scott Fligor, MD
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Scott’s hometown is Marblehead, Massachusetts. He received his BS from Georgetown University, cum laude, majoring in Biology of Global Health. He received his MD from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, where he was elected to AOA. He pursued three research years in Dr. Mark Puder’s lab at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he focused on preclinical drug development and clinical trials for pediatric liver disease and intestinal failure. He received multiple grants and awards for his research, including a T32 fellowship, the Chairman’s Fellowship (Boston Children’s Hospital), the Sandra and Richard Cummings Research Fellowship (BIDMC), and the Harry M. Vars Award from the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. His clinical interests include surgical oncology and hepatopancreatobiliary surgery. Outside of the hospital, he enjoys running, snowboarding, scuba diving, and adventure travel.
Camila Guetter, MD
Universidade Federal do Paraná Faculdade de Medicina
Camila's hometown is Curitiba, Brazil. She received her MD from the Universidade Federal do Paraná in Brazil. As a medical student, Camila received the Brazilian Scientific Mobility Program Scholarship enabling her to pursue research at UCLA and BIDMC, leading to multiple publications. Camila has held multiple leadership positions in the Association of Women Surgeons, including serving as National Vice Chair for the Medical Student Committee, on the AWS Publications Committee, and medical student liaison for the Resident and Fellow Committee. In 2019, Camila received the Patricia Numann Medical Student Award from the AWS Foundation. Camila also served as Medical Student Community Administrator for the American College of Surgeons Virtual Community and Scientific Director of the Simupack Medical Simulation App, a resource for trauma surgeons. Camila is interested in trauma surgery and enjoys tennis, playing piano, traveling, and rescue dogs.
Betty Liu, MD
Tufts University School of Medicine
Betty is an aspiring endocrine and general surgeon. She grew up in the bay area in California. She received her BA in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, graduating summa cum laude prior to switching careers to pursue medicine, matriculating to Tufts University School of Medicine. She pursued research in Dr. Mentzer's lab at BWH investigating the mesothelium of the lung. For this, she was awarded the Thoracic Surgery Foundation Resident Research Fellowship Award as well as an NIH T-32 training grant. Her clinical interests include endocrine surgery and surgical education. Betty's hobbies include cooking and photography, and she has published two critically acclaimed cookbooks (My Shanghai, The Chinese Way).
Josephine Nwokedi, MD, MBA
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Josephine's hometowns are Los Angeles, California and Arlington, Virginia. Josephine received her BS in Psychobiology, with honors, from the University of California, Los Angeles. She matriculated at the MD/MBA program at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, participating in multiple international social entrepreneurial projects impacting health and quality of life. While at Keck, Josephine served as Community Service Co-Chair of the Student National Medical Association, Program Chair of the Tom Bradley Outreach Program, a teaching and mentoring program for underserved communities, and a Care-Team Coordinator in Keck's Student-Run Clinic. Josephine also pursued several clinical research projects in the field of trauma surgery. Her interests include cooking, especially Sierra Leonean and Italian cuisines, cycling, and travel.
Jemin Park, MD
University of Michigan Medical School
Jemin's hometown is Knoxville, Tennessee. He received his BA in Neuroscience from Dartmouth College and his MD from the University of Michigan Medical School, with election to AOA. He was engaged in various research projects throughout college and medical school, resulting in multiple publications. As a medical student, Jemin served as a Surgery Clerkship Curriculum Developer and Social Services Coordinator for the University of Michigan Student-Run Free Clinic, where he assisted patients applying for Medicaid. Jemin's interests include violin, orchestra, volleyball, and soccer. He is an accomplished violinist and was a member of both the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra and the Life Sciences Orchestra at the University of Michigan.
Pamela (Nina) Scalise, MD
University of Illinois College of Medicine
Nina's hometown is Chicago, Illinois. She graduated cum laude from Northwestern University with a BS in Biomedical Engineering. She received a number of design awards for her work related to assistive devices for the disabled and a mobile surgical training application. Nina matriculated to the University of Illinois College of Medicine, where she participated in the Innovation in Medicine program, allowing her to continue to engage in medical device development. Her clinical interest is pediatric surgery, and she completed a 2-year research fellowship in surgical innovation and outcomes at Boston Children's Hospital under the mentorship of Drs. Heung Bae Kim and Farokh Demehri. Nina enjoys dance, interior decorating, trying new restaurants, and exploring New England.
Savas Tsikis, MD
University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences, The Pritzker School of Medicine
Savas's hometown is Rhodes, Greece. Savas received his BS summa cum laude at the University of Connecticut, majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology and served as President of Habitat for Humanity. He received his MD from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, pursued a number of clinical research projects, and was elected to the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Savas is passionate about teaching and served as a peer educator for undergraduate and medical courses and developed basic science curriculum. He also served as Co-President of the Health Professions Exposure Program. His surgical interests include pediatric surgery. Savas enjoys sailing, spending time with his family, and traveling to new places.
Integrated Vascular Surgery
Jeremy Darling, MD
Tufts University School of Medicine
Jeremy's hometown is Albany, New York. He received his BA in Psychology from Boston University and his MD from Tufts University. Between college and medical school, Jeremy spent several years working as a research assistant in the Division of Vascular Surgery at BIDMC. His outstanding work led to over 30 peer-reviewed publications (including six first author publications) and eleven presentations at national meetings. Deciding on a career in medicine, Jeremy obtained his MS in Medical Sciences from Boston University before matriculating at Tufts University School of Medicine. During this time, the focus of his research work at BIDMC was maintaining and evaluating institutional databases on patients undergoing lower extremity revascularization. He utilized this data for his master's thesis, which focused on mid- and long-term outcomes in patients with diabetes who underwent both open and minimally invasive lower extremity procedures. Jeremy's interests include film and film criticism, ultimate Frisbee, disc golf, the Beatles, squash, and spending time with his wife and their Shetland sheepdog named Butter.
Preliminary
Fatemeh Adiliaghdam, MD
Tehran University of Medical Sciences School of Medicine
Fatemeh's hometowns are Tabriz, Iran, Tehran, Iran and Boston, Massachusetts. She received her MD from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. While in medical school, she pursued several international summer research programs. She was one of twenty medical students worldwide to participate in the Lower Saxony Summer Academy in Germany. Prior to joining BIDMC, Fatemeh served as a Research Fellow at MGH, where she studied the accuracy of clinical staging of early-stage rectal cancer among different facilities, the proportion of under-staged patients who do not receive recommended neoadjuvant therapy, and how this would affect their longer-term oncological outcomes such as recurrence and survival. She also investigated the role of IBD related susceptibility genes in innate immunity, identifying the anti-viral therapeutic role of RNA interference (RNAi) and distinguishing immunomodulatory capacity of intestinal viruses in healthy and IBD. Fatemeh's interests include dancing in Aftab, a Persian dance group run by young professionals in New England, basketball (she was invited to the Iran women's national team), art films and international cinema, and live music.
Jaime Pardo Palau, MD
Universidad de Los Andes Facultad de Medicina
Jaime's hometown is Cali, Colombia. He received his MD from the Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia. As a medical student, he volunteered at the Gustavo Escallon Cayzedo Outpatient Center, which provides medical services to low-income patients in remote areas of Bogota. After graduating medical school, Jaime pursued a research fellowship at BIDMC with Dr. Dhruv Singhal in Plastic Surgery and Dr. Ted James in Breast Surgery. His research studies included axillary staging in breast cancer patients, lymphatic immediate reconstruction, lymphedema prevention and treatment, patient decision-making tools for mastectomies and breast reconstruction options, and ethnic disparities in breast surgery. He also worked with Dr. Fred Shapiro from Anesthesiology on a study of digital decision aid tools to help patients undergoing breast surgery to better understand their anesthesia options. Jaime is currently pursuing a MPH at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His interests include robotic and laparoscopic surgery, virtual reality for surgical planning, and integrative care in surgery. His hobbies include horseback riding, water skiing, soccer, and salsa dancing.
J. Christopher Polanco Santana, MD, MSc, MPH
Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud
Chris' hometown is Cabarete, Dominican Republic. He received his MD from Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic. After medical school, Chris pursued a research fellowship with Dr. Tara Kent at BIDMC. He went on to receive a Master's of Science degree from Dresden International University in Germany and a Master's of Public Health degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. As a MPH student, Chris continued to work as a research fellow with Dr. Tara Kent at BIDMC. He participated in a series of studies related to clinical and pathophysiological HPB surgery problems, as well as a project elucidating whether letters of recommendation writer characteristics, including gender, age, professorial rank, and leadership positions, predict language bias and the Provider Awareness and Cultural Dexterity Toolkit for Surgeons (PACTS) Trial. Chris' interests include kitesurfing and hiking. He is also a self-taught computer programmer since the age of 12.
Mariana Rodriguez, MD
Universidad de Los Andes Facultad de Medicina
Mariana's hometown is Bogota, Colombia. She received her MD from the Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia. While in medical school, Mariana was awarded the Best Classmate Award - Class of 2018. After graduation, Mariana pursued a research fellowship with Dr. A. James Moser at BIDMC, where she worked on research projects related to postoperative outcomes after minimally invasive surgery in patients with pancreatic and gastric cancer. She is also pursuing a MPH at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Mariana's interests include music, dancing, soccer, hiking and camping. Since 2016, Mariana has participated in 5k, 10k, and 21k races as well as sprint triathlons.