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Resident Perspectives

RahmaniRedi Rahmani, MD

Why did you select URMC for your residency?

I had experience in college working as a paramedic in Ithaca ,New York. We would transfer the most unstable and most medically complicated patients to Strong Memorial Hospital and this was my first introduction to URMC. Since that time,  my perception of the strength of UR Medicine only grew.

What is the best feature of your residency program?

We are a family. Whether it is dinners at our residency program directors house or program picnics, baby showers, weddings, etc we treat each other like family. For that reason the neurosurgery program here is completely committed to seeing us succeed and supports us in whatever endeavor we choose. The department welcomes any form of professional development and they go above and beyond to help you obtain it.

What is the favorite thing(s) about Rochester?

Rochester is a big town rather than a city. It is peaceful, it has the right mix of outdoor and urban experiences and people are genuinely happy to live here.

Can you identify a favorite or most impactful faculty member/mentor and why?

I have been lucky to call several of the faculty my mentors. Dr. Vates has been the most instrumental to my development. He has taught me the importance of staying curious and pursing science as a surgeon. He teaches the appropriateness of surgical intervention and enforces my moral/ethical development as young surgeon. He is deeply and genuinely committed to my success and I owe a great deal of my success so far to him.

Where would you like to end up/career goals/aspirations?

I would like to be a cerebrovascular/skull base neurosurgeon at a large academic center.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Rochester and URMC may be located in upstate NY, which sees it’s fair share of winter however this is not at all related to the quality of the medicine and training here. Having seen some of the top medical institutions in the world, we are lucky to have world class medicine and a medical center in our small city.

Jonathan J. Stone

Jonathan Stone, MD, MSe

Jonathan J. Stone, MD, MSe, is not new to the upstate New York region, having received his Doctor of Medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2010, and having completed his Neurosurgery residency at the University of Rochester.

As a resident, Jon demonstrated a penchant for the full range of cranial and spinal procedures as well as open and endovascular surgery. He also developed a passion for translational technology innovation beginning with the identification of a medical problem, developing an understanding of the root cause, envisioning device focused solutions, prototyping medical devices and bringing them to market.

His interest in biomedical engineering and medical device development led to a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. His research interests led to peer reviewed publications addressing the surgical management of traumatic brain injury, carotid stenosis, trigeminal neuralgia and hydrocephalus and led him to develop a novel method of internal CSF diversion. Later in residency, Jon worked within the university’s Center for Medical Technology Innovation (CTI), focusing his work on surgical simulation and 3-D printing of replicated organs, using hydrogels casted in anatomically correct 3D printed molds. His innovative work in 3-D printing and surgical simulation as tools to advance resident education resulted in numerous peer reviewed publications and national platform presentations.

Following residency Dr. Stone entered the Peripheral Nerve Surgery Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic under the direction of Dr. Robert Spinner the Chair of Neurosurgery and an internationally recognized peripheral nerve surgeon.

Returning to Rochester in August, 2018, Dr. Stone has already established a busy practice of complex peripheral nerve surgery including repair of traumatic injury, resection of benign and malignant nerve tumors, in addition to a busy practice of general Neurosurgery. His vision of developing a multi – disciplinary peripheral nerve program in collaboration with Orthopaedic Surgery and Plastic Surgery is already taking shape. His vision of advancing 3 – D printing and surgical simulation as a tool not only to educate Neurosurgery residents but as a vehicle to simulate novel surgical approaches tailored to individual patients is taking shape in the form of a large laboratory outfitted with a state of the art 3-D printer and technical staff.

It is a pleasure to welcome Jon Stone, his wife Lindsey and his children Judah and Levi to the University of Rochester Neurosurgery family.