Residents

PGY-5 Residents

Michael Christensen, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Brigham Young University
Medical School: University of Utah School of Medicine 
Research: During my research year I will pursue an MBA at UT Dallas. My research interests include serious illness communication, quality improvement and healthcare analytics.

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Ambrosia Simmons, M.D., Ph.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Michigan
Medical School: Temple University School of Medicine
Research: My research is focused on understanding the effects of radiation on the developing nervous system to improve patient outcomes and safety, as well as medical student education.

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Allen Yen, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Oklahoma
Medical School: UT Southwestern Medical Center
Research: My research focus is on the intersection of radiation oncology and artificial intelligence, as well as carbon ion therapy.

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PGY-4 Residents

Maureen Aliru, M.D., Ph.D.

Undergraduate Education: Rice University
Graduate School: MD Anderson Cancer Center - UT Health Graduate of Biomedical Sciences
Medical School: University of Texas Medical School at Houston

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Steven Montalvo, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Texas A&M University
Medical School: UT Southwestern Medical School
Research: My research interests are in pediatric sarcoma, palliative care, and CNS disease. Late effects of radiation, pediatric survivorship, and hypofractionation in pediatric cancer.

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Mihailo Miljanic, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Boston College
Medical School: Dell Medical School - UT Austin
Research: My research interests center on genitourinary and lung radiation oncology, the impacts of cancer-driven cachexia on cancer survivorship, and advancing the utilization of adaptive and personalized radiotherapy.

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Meng-Lun Hsieh, D.O., Ph.D.

Undergraduate Education: Williams College
Graduate School: Michigan State University
Medical School: Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine

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PGY-3 Residents

Ryan Assadi, D.O.

Undergraduate Education: Towson University
Graduate School: The Johns Hopkins University
Medical School: Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine

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Young Suk "Joseph" Kwon, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: Duke University
Graduate School: Rutgers University
Medical School: Mercer University School of Medicine

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PGY-2 Residents

Yu “Ray” Shao, M.D., Ph.D.

Undergraduate Education: Tsinghua University
Graduate School: Harvard University
Medical School: Harvard University

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Yash Soni, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Miami
Medical School: University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine

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Brett Tortelli, M.D., Ph.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Graduate School: Washington University School of Medicine
Medical School: Washington University School of Medicine

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Fellows

Ahmed Elamir, M.D.

Undergraduate Education: University of Cairo, Egypt
Graduate School: University of Cairo, Egypt
Medical School: University of Cairo, Egypt
Post-Graduate Training: 

With his background and interest focused on GI radiation therapy, clinical trials, and imaging biomarkers, Dr. Elamir joined the Aguilera Lab where he reviewed the neoadjuvant SBRT data and published the oligometastases experience in pancreatic cancer. Dr. Elamir is currently a clinical fellow pursuing the ABR alternate pathway.

Selected publications:

• Elamir AM, Karalis JD, Sanford NN, Polanco PM, Folkert MR, Porembka MR, Kazmi SA, Maddipati R, Zeh HJ, Timmerman RD, Zhang S, Ligorio M, Beg MS, Aguilera TA. Ablative Radiation Therapy in Oligometastatic Pancreatic Cancer to Delay Polyprogression, Limit Chemotherapy, and Improve Outcomes. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2022 Nov 15;114(4):792-802. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2022.07.019. Epub 2022 Jul 24. PMID: 35896145.
• Elamir AM, Hutchinson S, Albaba H, Keshavarzi S, Xu W, Moulton CA, McGilvary I, Cleary S, Wei A, Dodd A, Knox J, O'Kane G, Prince RM, Kalimuthu S, Kim J, Ringash J, Dawson LA, Wong R, Barry A, Brierley J, Gallinger S, Hosni A. A Risk Score Model for Locoregional Recurrence Following Upfront Surgery for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Implications for Adjuvant Therapy. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2021 Aug;33(8):527-535. doi: 10.1016/j.clon.2021.03.007. Epub 2021 Apr 17. PMID: 33875360.
• Elamir AM, Stanescu T, Shessel A, Tadic T, Yeung I, Letourneau D, Kim J, Lukovic J, Dawson LA, Wong R, Barry A, Brierley J, Gallinger S, Knox J, O'Kane G, Dhani N, Hosni A, Taylor E. Simulated dose painting of hypoxic sub-volumes in pancreatic cancer stereotactic body radiotherapy. Phys Med Biol. 2021 Sep 9;66(18). doi: 10.1088/1361-6560/ac215c. PMID: 34438383.
• Olson, R.L., Forner, J.V., Navarro, P., Fernandez-Zapico, M.E. and Elamir, A.M., 2018. Role of tumor-stromal interactions in pancreatic cancer invasion and metastases. In Pancreatic Cancer (pp. 539-552). Springer New York.
• Taylor E, Zhou J, Lindsay P, Foltz W, Cheung M, Siddiqui I, Hosni A, Amir AE, Kim J, Hill RP, Jaffray DA, Hedley DW. Quantifying Reoxygenation in Pancreatic Cancer During Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy. Sci Rep. 2020 Jan 31;10(1):1638. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-57364-0. PMID: 32005829; PMCID: PMC6994660.

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Prashant Yarlagadda, M.D.

Graduate School: Louisiana Tech University
Medical School: Gandhi Medical College – NTR Health University
Residency: Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital, India