Our Residents

Fourth Year Residents

Kate Kelly, MD, MS — Chief Resident

How do you like your coffee? Iced mocha
Personal interests/hobbies: Knitting, crochet, riding my peloton, baking, traveling, keeping tiny humans happy
Medical School: Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Four seasons, great food, proximity to nature, lots of things to do with kids (and without!), and no traffic.
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Literally everything

Steven Wheeler, MD — Chief Resident

Favorite Costco Item: Bachan's Japanese BBQ Sauce
Personal interests/hobbies: Bodybuilding, reading, board games, video games
Reason for choosing Rochester: Getting to teach fellow residents and rotating medical students
Medical School: Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Chicago Medical School
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Lots of great food spots that I'm still exploring and almost no commute.

Hunter Carlock, MD

How do you like your coffee? Espresso!
Personal interests/hobbies: Gaming, walking my dog, exploring the city
Reason for choosing Rochester: My co-residents
Medical School: Florida Atlantic University College of Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Hip food scene

Jack Cerne, MD

Favorite Costco item: Bagged salad
Personal interests/hobbies: Mountaineering and traveling
Reason for choosing Rochester: Co-residents
Medical School: Ohio State University College of Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Experience all the seasons

Adam Dykie, MD

How do you like your coffee? Without the coffee
Personal interests/hobbies: Hiking (especially in the Adirondacks), traveling, cooking, going out to eat, karaoke, playing musical instruments, being around cats
Reason for choosing Rochester: Every day is filled with new learning experiences and opportunities to help many patients and providers in one way or another
Medical School: Drexel University College of Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: It’s an interesting mix of city, suburbs, and nature, along with many friendly faces

Russell Johnston, MD

Medical School: Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall

Gregory Matos, MD

Personal interests/hobbies: Reading radiology textbooks, napping, eating food
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Being able to sit in the dark all day
Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: The weather

Brian Nguyen, MD

How do you like your coffee? Darker than a T2 flow void
Personal interests/hobbies: Resident wellness, AYCE sushi, tailgating Bills games, and medical conferences in warm locations
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Dictating 500-word reports just to conclude with "no acute findings"
Medical School: Case Western Reserve University
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Correcting people when they assume Rochester is a borough of NYC

Aaron Shang, MD, MBA, MS, MPH

Personal interests/hobbies: Travel, dining experiences, and personal finance
Favorite restaurant within driving distance of Rochester: Restaurant Pearl Morissette
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Technology and AI advancements, weekends off
Medical School: Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Proximity to the Finger Lakes

Third Year Residents

Quinn Magiera, MD — Chief Resident

Favorite Costco Item: $5 Rotisserie Chicken
Personal interests/hobbies: Tennis, skiing/snowboarding, visiting national parks, and making sourdough bread
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Fascinating pathology, great work-life balance, and excellent moonlighting
Medical School: Jacobs School of Medicine, University at Buffalo
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: All 4 seasons offer a variety of views and activities to take advantage of.

Adrian Rosenberg, MD — Chief Resident

One Thing You Should Know About Me: I used to play Peter Pan for Disney on Ice (green tights and all)
Personal interests/hobbies: Salsa dancing, lifting things up and putting them down
Favorite thing about radiology residency: The immense freedom to sit and stand at work, often both in the same shift, with brief periods of sunlight when behaving
Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Being close to family

Galen Brennan, MD

How do you like your coffee? Instant
Personal interests/hobbies: Lifting weights, playing soccer and basketball, and hiking; also follows/watches basketball and soccer
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Learning new things every day
Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Friendly and supportive people, great outdoor spaces, and low cost of living.

Namara Haq, MD

Favorite Costco Item: Giant chocolate chip muffins
Personal interests/hobbies: Tennis, binge watching, hanging out with pets/friends/fam, experimenting with an air fryer
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Great faculty/mentors and co/senior residents; always feels comfortable asking questions and learning from seniors, peers, and attendings
Medical School: University of Missouri, Kansas City School of Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Spring in Rochester, outdoor activities, lilac/jazz festival, gorgeous hiking areas

Gabriella Kaddu, MD, MA

Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine

Jason Paek, DO

Favorite Costco Item: Kirkland cold brew or hot dogs
Personal interests/hobbies: Golf, reading, running, trying new restaurants and coffee shops, spending time with friends and family
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Awesome coresidents and learning something new every day
Medical School: Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Pittsford Wegmans

Mitchel Pham, MD

Favorite Costco Item: One Thing You Should Know About Me: I am a well-oiled machine that turns moonlighting money into Costco products.
Personal interests/hobbies: Legos, going to gym, cooking, going to Costco after work
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Making pizzas with a pizza oven (not from Costco) with some co-residents
Medical School: Creighton University School of Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Costco 8 minutes from the hospital.

Varun Taruvai, MD

Favorite Costco Item: Mitchel's $400 pizza oven. It makes really good pizza.
Personal interests/hobbies: Running, reading science fiction, video games
Favorite thing about radiology residency: The chairs here are extremely comfortable
Medical School: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Finger Lakes, nice ski slopes nearby, and a pretty good Costco

Second Year Residents

Neslihan Ari, MD, MS

Favorite Book: "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse" by Charlie Mackesy
Personal interests/hobbies: Exploring new restaurants and coffee shops in Rochester, planning/shopping for trips, and spending time with family, friends, and fur babies Moose, Bunny, and Cow
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Every day feels like solving a mystery—images and clues that tell a story
Medical School: Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Close-knit community, short commute, strong coffee, and winters that build resilience

Sean Gibson, MD

How do you like your coffee? Iced oat milk latte when it’s above 45 degrees, hot oat milk latte when it’s below 45 degrees
Personal interests/hobbies: Golf, music, fitness, cooking, coffee, watching sports
Favorite thing about radiology residency: My colleagues
Medical School: Jacobs School of Medicine, University at Buffalo
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Fairport farmers market, being close to home, the Pittsford Dairy

Dejan Jakimovski, MD, PhD

Favorite Book: Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges
Personal interests/hobbies: Spending time with family, racing simulator enthusiast
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Love being the silent force behind patient care, interpreting images that shape diagnoses and treatments
Medical School: Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje Faculty of Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Western NY always feels like home

Samuel Kulifay, MD

How do you like your coffee? Whatever is free or cheap
Personal interests/hobbies: Hiking, technology, socializing
Favorite thing about radiology residency: The people—feels incredibly fortunate to have joined URMC residency
Medical School: Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Also the people

Daniel Liu, MD

Medical School: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine

Laurence Stolzenberg, DO, MS

Favorite Costco Item: 40 pack of Kirkland premade cold green tea bottles
Personal interests/hobbies: Skiing, programming, cinema
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Love the puzzle-solving nature of radiology that blends tech with clinical problem-solving

Leana Wang, DO, MS

My Favorite Tea: Chinese Longjing with Kyoto Uji matcha coming in at a close second.
Personal interests/hobbies: Shaolin kungfu, badminton, art, video games.
Favorite thing about radiology residency: The breadth of cases we are fortunate to see.
Medical School: New York College of Osteopathic Medicine of NYIT
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: How everything is within 15 minutes of each other. And no traffic.

Jordan Turetsky, MD, MS

Something you should know about me: I can balance objects on my face!
Personal interests/hobbies: Cycling, house plants, snowboarding
Favorite thing about radiology residency: Camaraderie amongst colleagues
Medical School: University of Florida College of Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Experiencing the seasons and ease of commute

Hannah Zazulak, DO

Favorite Book: East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Personal interests/hobbies: Chasing waterfalls, roller blading, skiing, cooking
Favorite thing about radiology residency: The friendly and casual environment
Medical School: University of New England, College of Osteopathic Medicine
Favorite thing about living in Rochester: Being with family and close to the Adirondacks

First Year Residents

Anmol Almast, MD

Hometown: Rochester, NY
Medical School: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Why Radiology: It's fascinating to see the parallels between clinical care and imaging
Why Rochester: I wanted to train at a high-volume center and be close to friends and family
Personal interests/hobbies: Pilates, baking, hiking, and traveling
How do you like your coffee? Strawberry matcha
Favorite Costco Item: Coconut water

Cici Burke, MD

Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Medical School: Penn State College of Medicine
Why Radiology: Opportunity to impact many lives and never stop learning, plus innovation and technology in diagnostics and procedures
Why Rochester: My in-laws bought a farm in Ithaca, and we wanted to be nearby, but at a large academic medical center with strong emphasis on excellence in oncology. U of R was perfect!
Personal interests/hobbies: Cooking, chasing my toddler, working on my 125 year old house.
How do you like your coffee? Drip with sugar free coffee creamer
Favorite TV show: Sopranos
Favorite place outside of work: Cabana on a tropical beach
Favorite book: Anything by Patrick Radden O'Keefe
Favorite Costco Item: The food court ice cream

James Iheke, MD, MS, MBA

Hometown: Dallas, TX
Medical School: UAB Heersink School of Medicine
Why Radiology: Radiologists make huge impacts in patient care through diagnostic reads and procedures, with ample opportunity to help patients locally and abroad through global health
Why Rochester: My main priority was to find a place where I would be welcomed and supported by faculty, as well as have opportunities to connect with mentors with similar passions.
Personal interests/hobbies: Traveling and photography

Alex Lander, MD

Hometown: Narrowsburg, NY
Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Why Radiology: I chose radiology for its blend of problem-solving, technology, and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on patient care across every specialty.
Why Rochester: Proximity to family, the supportive and welcoming community, and the collegial radiology department.
Personal interests/hobbies: Hockey, 3D printing, legos, fishing
How do you like your coffee? Milk and 2 sugars
Favorite TV show: The Office
Favorite place outside of work: When it’s warm: being outside, grilling, and hanging out with friends and family. When it’s cold: the same, but inside (minus the grilling).
Favorite book: Dungeon Crawler Carl
Favorite Costco Item: Chicken bake
One thing we should know about you: I have an almost 2 year old daughter

Henry Li, MD

Hometown: Queens, NY
Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Why Radiology: I enjoy working through difficult diagnostic cases and seeing how imaging puts the whole clinical picture together
Why Rochester: The people here made a strong impression on me during medical school, and I knew it was an environment where I would be supported
Personal interests/hobbies: Cooking, wildlife photography, boxing
Favorite Costco Item: Aussie bites

Tannaz Rajabi, MD

Hometown: Seattle, WA
Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Why Radiology: The focus on diagnosis, attention to detail, and collaboration with every field of medicine
Why Rochester: Very supportive and passionate faculty/residents, and beautiful nature across all seasons
Personal interests/hobbies: Traveling, hiking, scuba diving, anything in nature, global health, Spanish
Favorite TV show: Friends

Aashir Siddique, DO

Hometown: Niagara Falls, Canada
Medical School: Michigan State University of Osteopathic Medicine
Why Radiology: The ability to just look at something without other information and determine a diagnosis is so cool.
Why Rochester: Close to home, top tier program, great cost of living
Personal interests/hobbies: Hiking, soccer, gaming, travel, and family!
How do you like your coffee? Tim Hortons Double Double
Favorite TV show: Game of Thrones
Favorite place outside of work: Next to family!

Jenna Smith, MD

Hometown: Owendale, MI
Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Why Radiology: Anatomy heavy, numerous career paths, and great community
Why Rochester: Great volleyball scene, welcoming and warm community, no commute
Personal interests/hobbies: Beach volleyball, reading fantasy novels, game nights
Favorite book: The Radium Girls

Wasim Zatar, MD, MBA

Hometown: Manlius, NY
Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Why Radiology: I want to be able to read an image and put together the complete clinical picture to guide further management
Why Rochester: There is lots to do, and there is a mix of the city and nature vibes
Personal interests/hobbies: Gym, video games, sports
Favorite Costco Item: Rotisserie chicken

Joshua Zhu, MD

Medical School: Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University

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