Past Residents 2021-2022

Chief Residents

Stanton Miller, M.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Undergraduate School: Texas A&M University
Medical School: M.D., University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas

Director's Profile

Stan was born in Cleburne, Texas, and received his B.S. degree summa cum laude in Genetics from Texas A&M University. As an undergraduate researcher, he was involved in several projects relating to bacteriophage genomics and proteomics, yielding a first-author publication of a phage genome. He also worked as a computer systems analyst for the Chemistry Department at Texas A&M with technical support duties. In his first summer after entering medical school at UT Southwestern, Stan volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club and the Health for All free clinic in Bryan, Texas, and the following summer with In-Sync Exotics, a wildlife rescue and education center. He shadowed in the Cytogenetics lab at UTSW and assisted with the STRIVE presentation on Pathology to UTSW medical students. Stan was the 2018 recipient of the Vernie Stembridge Award from UTSW for excellence in Pathology.

Jenny Weon, M.D., Ph.D.

Training Track: AP
Medical School: M.D., UT Southwestern Medical School

Director's Profile

Jenny is originally from Chicago but worked as a summer research intern at MD Anderson and earned a BBA Degree in Business Administration Honors Program and supply chain management from the University of Texas at Austin. She worked as an EMT instructor and as a research assistant looking at keratin expression in Cronkhite-Canada syndrome before entering the Medical Scientist Training Program at UT Southwestern. Jenny performed the doctoral research for her PhD in Integrative Biology in the laboratory of Dr. Ryan Potts, where she elucidated the role of MAGE-F1, which is important in the genetics of lung cancer. Her work led to a first-author publication in Molecular Cell, a co-authored publication in Cell, and a first-author review on the MAGE protein family and cancer for Current Opinions in Cell Biology. Jenny was one of two UT Southwestern graduate students from the Integrative Biology program nominated for the Nominata Award for academic excellence, and she received the Vernie Stembridge Award for outstanding performance by a medical student in Pathology. Jenny has served as a tutor in the School of Health Professional physiology course, participated in local health care screening efforts, and was a science fair judge. She served as representative for fourth-year graduate students on the MSTP Student Executive Committee and co-founded a grand-rounds seminar series for the MSTP program to integrate clinical cases and basic science. Jenny has a special interest in photography and has provided photos for UTSW events and several websites. She also enjoys designing logos, fliers and T-shirts, as well as art gardening and music

PGY-4

Sharon Germans, M.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Undergraduate School: Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
Medical School: M.D., Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
Prior Resident Training: Pathology residency at St. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru, India

Director's Profile

Sharon was born in Chandigarh, India, and did her undergraduate medical training and rotating internship at the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences and Research. There she was vice-president of the student council, runner-up for best graduate, and received the outstanding student award in Pathology. She did volunteer work for homeless children and orphans, and she participated in relief efforts after the 2004 tsunami. Sharon did a year as a junior resident in Dermatology at Pondicherry, followed by three years of Pathology residency at St. John’s Medical College in Bengaluru, India. Her resident research projects included investigations of cervical neoplasia and hypopigmented mycosis fungoides, the latter of which won best oral presentation at an international dermatopathology conference in 2011. Following residency, Sharon worked for 18 months as an anatomic pathologist and hematopathologist in Chennai, India, prior to coming to the United States, where she prepared further for her US residency with a course in probability and statistics at Stanford University and with pathology observerships

Xiaobang Hu, M.D., Ph.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Graduate School: Ph.D., Nanjing Medical University in Pathogen Biology
Medical School: Nanjing Medical University

Director's Profile

Xiaobang is originally from Nanjing, China, where he attended the Nanjing Medical University for his undergraduate medical degree and internship, receiving several awards for academic excellence. He remained at Nanjing Medical University for a Ph.D. in Pathogen Biology, which resulted in co-authorship on 12 papers dealing with mechanisms of pesticide resistance in mosquitoes, as well as additional awards for graduate study including a first prize in natural sciences from the Chinese Ministry of Education. Xiaobang then came to the United States for a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Notre Dame to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms of rhodopsin photoreceptors in the mosquito retina, which yielded four more first-author publications. After additional postdoctoral research at UT Southwestern in the laboratory of Dr. Dean Smith investigating cellular mechanisms of olfaction and pheromone detection, he took a job as Clinical Assistant and then Clinical Research Director at the Texas Back Institute of Texas Health Plano Hospital. In this position, he co-authored 13 papers and three book chapters on aspects of spinal surgery. His transition to pathology residency included observerships at both Plano and UT Southwestern and at the University of California in Irvine.

John Markantonis, D.O.

Training Track: CP; Completed Microbiology Fellowship at UTSW
Undergraduate School: University of South Florida
Medical School: D.O. Touro University Nevada School of Osteopathic Medicine

Director's Profile

John was born in Bethpage, New York, but attended college at the University of South Florida in Tampa, where he received dual B.S. degrees in Biomedical Science and in Microbiology, while working as a research assistant on synthesis of organic molecules and as an assistant in the Microbiology Lab at Tampa General Hospital. Volunteer activities at the Moffit Cancer Center earned an award for exemplary service. He remained at USF for a Master’s program in Medical Sciences, which included a summer of amphibian necropsies and parasite identification. He also worked in the Molecular Testing lab at Tampa General Hospital doing epidemiologic surveillance by bacterial genomic fingerprinting. John entered medical school at the Touro University Nevada School of Osteopathic Medicine in Henderson, Nevada, where he earned a number of awards for academic excellence and was inducted into the Sigma Sigma Phi academic honor society for osteopathic students. He spent the summer after his first year as a research assistant at UCLA Orthopedics in Los Angeles, which yielded two publications on joint arthroplasties. Although interested in Pathology and president of the Pathology student interest group, John elected first to do a rotating internship at the Northwell Health Peconic Bay Medical Center on Long Island prior to Pathology residency.

Daniel Welder, M.D.

Training Track: CP - Currently completing Hematopathology Fellowship at UTSW
Undergraduate School: Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi
Medical School: M.D., Texas Tech University in El Paso

Director's Profile

Born in Victoria, Texas, Daniel is a graduate of Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, with a B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology. His undergraduate experience included a month-long investigation of traditional medicines and cultural beliefs of indigent populations in Costa Rica. After obtaining a Master’s in Medical Science from the University of North Texas, Daniel entered medical school at Texas Tech University in El Paso in a joint Master’s of Public Health program with the University of Texas at Houston; and he is certified by the National Board of Public Health Examiners. Daniel’s research projects have included characterization of macrophages in lymph nodes with metastatic breast carcinoma and demographic analysis of cancer incidence and outcomes in areas where ethnic minorities are the predominant population. He served on the Student Curriculum and Evaluation Committee at Texas Tech and was a member of the Student Analysis Leadership Team for the medical school’s LCME accreditation site visit. He was co-president of Seeds of Change, bringing science to elementary school students, and was autopsy shadowing coordinator for the student interest group. He was inducted into the ICPI Pathology Honor Society.

PGY-3

Dakota Deutsch, M.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Medical School: M.D., UT Southwestern Medical School

Director's Profile

Dakota is from the Dallas metroplex and received his B.S. degree in Molecular Biology with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Dallas, where he was in the Honor’s College, on the Dean’s List, and in the Golden Key International Honor Society. As an undergraduate, he worked on the campus newsletter and served on the student advisory group for the library. His undergraduate research was on investigating toxicity and other effects of various types of carbon nanotubes. He had originally planned to be a computer scientist or a marine biologist but eventually chose medical school at UT Southwestern, where after his first year, he was the recipient of the James Harbert Bain Family Memorial Pathology Scholarship, which enabled him to spend part of the summer exploring various aspects of the specialty of pathology, and established his final specialty choice. Dakota still enjoys building computers, as well as gardening, photography, and cooking and nutrition.

Lin “Jonathan” He, M.D., Ph.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Medical School: M.D., Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University
Prior Resident Training: one-year residency in Ophthalmology at the Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University
Graduate School: University of Houston

Director's Profile

Jonathan is originally from Shanghai, China, and received his medical degree from the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University as a recipient of the People’s Scholarship for academic excellence. As a medical student, he researched tumor markers for diagnosis and staging of retinoblastoma. He then did a one-year residency in Ophthalmology at the Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University, after which he came to the United States for a PhD in Vision Science from the University of Houston. His doctoral research was on the pathophysiology and treatment of presbyopia, and he was awarded first place in graduate student seminar presentations. Jonathan then pursued a ten-month ophthalmology fellowship at Legacy Health in Portland, Oregon, generating twelve publications (9 first-author) from these experiences. For the past five years, he has served as Clinical Project Leader for Alcon Laboratories. Jonathan comes to pathology after doing pathology observerships at Jackson Park Hospital in Chicago and Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. His interests include digital image analysis, Matlab, Python, R, and C+. He enjoys soccer and was the 2013 North Texas Premier Soccer Association Division 005 Champion.

Sameh Mahsoub, M.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Medical School: M.D., Zagazig University Faculty of Medicine, Egypt

Director's Profile

Sam is from Sharkia, Egypt, and received his medical degree from Zagazig University Faculty of Medicine in Sharkia. He did undergraduate research projects on fatty liver and on tumor invasion and metastasis. He was also elected student representative to the Student-Faculty Council and served as a member of a faculty scout team. A one-year internship followed medical school. He then completed a three-year residency and Master’s Degree program in Anatomic Pathology and Research at Zagazig University, investigating tuberculosis. He then practiced one-and-a-half years as a cytopathologist at a cytopathology laboratory in Egypt, followed by a year as a lecturer at the College of Applied Medical Sciences in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, after which he returned to Zagazig University for six further years in the practice of surgical pathology. Sam is engaged in volunteer activities including working as an editorial assistant for a book, cooking for a homeless shelter, fostering pets, working as a medical volunteer in pathology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital, and the International Society of Oncology and Biomarkers, all in Chicago. His hobbies include cycling workshops and competitions, running, hiking, pets (dogs, cats and fish), reading history, literature and psychology. He enjoys cooking, especially anything spicy and describes himself as a biryani addict.

Hilda Mirbaha, M.D.

Training Track: AP
Medical School: M.D., Tehran University School of Medicine, Iran

Director's Profile

Hilda was born in Esfahan, Iran, and received her MD from Tehran University. She did research on the effect of music instruction on cognitive abilities of preschool children, which was published in 2014. After an 18-month rotating internship, Hilda performed two years of public health service in a medically underserved area of the country. She then worked for three years as a researcher in the Pharmacology Department of Tehran University, investigating neurotransmitters and animal behavior. She came to the United States for a four-year postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Marc Diamond at Washington University on tau proteins, and when Dr. Diamond relocated to UT Southwestern in 2014, Hilda came as well, continuing her work on tau monomers. In 2016, she received her postdoctoral certificate, as well as permanent residency status granted for exceptional ability in science, and she was appointed Assistant Instructor. Her current research has resulted in five publications (3 first-author). Hilda’s professional interests have been reinforced by observer ships in Neurology at Washington University and in Neuropathology at UT Southwestern. Her outside interests include music, especially classical and Iranian, and movies, especially dramas. She enjoys outdoor activities, discovering new restaurants, travel and culture, and spending quality time with family.

Naheed Moghal, M.D.

Training Track: AP
Medical School: M.D., Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Pakistan

Director's Profile

Naheed was born in Karachi, Pakistan and received her MBBS degree from Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan. She went on to a Master’s degree in Pathology from the Basic Medical Sciences Institute, JPMC, Karachi. She began practice as a senior instructor at Aga Khan University in Karachi for 2 years, followed by a position as surgical pathologist at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, where she also taught Pathology and Microbiology at the School of Nursing. Naheed then worked as a Histopathologist at Dubai Hospital in the United Arab Emirates, but she returned to Pakistan for two years to complete her fellowship (FCPS) in histopathology with a dissertation on gestational trophoblastic disease. Upon concluding the fellowship, she moved back to UAE for five further years of practice, where she signed out surgical pathology and cytopathology. Naheed came to the United States in 2010 and worked as adjunct faculty at the National American University in Austin, teaching pathophysiology and anatomy to allied health students. In 2018, she took a position at Inform Diagnostics in Dallas as a pathology imaging specialist. Naheed lists her interests as microphotography, travel and cooking.

David Rosenbaum, M.D.

Training Track: AP
Medical School: M.D., University of Oklahoma College of Medicine

Director's Profile

David is originally from Arizona, where he earned a B.S. degree summa cum laude in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Arizona. After graduation, he remained for five years at the University as a research technologist investigating the functional impact of asthma-associated polymorphisms within the human Th2 locus, and examining regulatory elements within the locus via CRISPR-Cas9-mediated targeted deletions in humanized BAC transgenic mice, work that was presented before the American Association of Immunologists. David then moved on to medical school at the University of Oklahoma on a full-tuition merit scholarship. In medical school, he volunteered on a project investigating signaling pathways in vascular smooth muscle cells in response to injury. He also volunteered as leader of an interdisciplinary team in a pilot program to address health care needs of patients with complex social situations, and he mentored elementary school students in STEM programs and high school students in drafting summer research proposals, projects and poster presentations. David enjoys long-distance running, camping, hiking, skateboarding, college sports and gardening.

Jing Sun, D.O.

Training Track: AP/CP
Medical School: M.D., Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Director's Profile

Jing was born in China; however, she received her B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Tulsa. She followed this with an M.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Tulsa, while functioning as a research assistant helping to elucidate the toxicity of quantum dot nanoparticles on mammalial cells. Jing worked for four years as a medical technologist at the Regional Medical Laboratory in Tulsa, performing flow cytometry, PCR for infectious disease and genetic mutations, branched DNA tests for hepatitis B virus, DNA extractions, and assisting at bone marrow aspirations. She then went to medical school at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Science College of Osteopathic Medicine in Tulsa, while working part-time as a research assistant on changes in the collagenase activity of C. atrox venom due to protease inhibitor actinonin. Jing was president of the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Student Interest Group. In her spare time, Jing likes Pilates, watching criminal investigation shows, documentaries (especially on wildlife), exploring nature, culture and new cities.

PGY-2

Fatih Canan, M.D.

Training Track: AP
Medical School: M.D., Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Medicine
Prior Resident Training: Psychiatry - Duzce University

Director's Profile

Fatih received his medical degree from Dokuz Eylül University in Turkey, after which he served a five-year residency in Psychiatry at Duzce University. While a resident, he was able to do a two-month clerkship at Case Western Reserve University Bipolar Disorder Research Center. Upon graduation from medical school, Fatih practiced psychiatry and worked as an Assistant and Associate Professor for three years at Akdeniz University in Turkey, where he coordinated all of the teaching programs of his department. In 2016, he returned to the U.S. as a visiting scholar in the Yale University Department of Psychiatry for a year and spent a further year as a visiting researcher at the University of Louisville. While in Louisville, he also worked with the Survivors of Torture Recovery Center. Fatih came to UT Southwestern in 2018 for a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Carol North studying disaster and trauma psychiatry. His CV includes over 60 publications in the psychiatric literature, and he is an editorial board member for the World Journal of Psychiatry. In his free time, Fatih enjoys performing and listening to Turkish folk music, photography, playing and watching soccer, and collecting stamps.

Allen Green, M.D.

Training Track: CP
Undergraduate Schoool: B.A., American Military University; B.S., Biology from Coastal Carolina University
Medical School: M.D., Medical University of South Carolina

Director's Profile

Allen served in the U.S. Air Force as an Airman First Class and Squadron Trainer based in South Korea. He completed a B.A. degree in Business Management through the American Military University, while working in management and as a certified personal trainer and serving in the Army Reserve as an Information Technology Specialist. Prior to entering medical school, he obtained a second baccalaureate degree, a B.S. in Biology from Coastal Carolina University, and then matriculated at the Medical University of South Carolina. Early on, he served as President of the Psychiatry Student Interest Group; however, a summer research fellowship on the neuroscience of drug abuse sparked a desire for a more scientifically grounded specialty. He went on to participate in MUSC’s Team Science in Clinical Research course and served as Student Government Liaison for the Pathology Student Interest Group. He also worked as a research assistant on machine learning with the Pathology Informatics Innovation Group and did research on the accuracy of automated hematology analyzers and pediatric hereditary spherocytosis with Dr. Kathryn Lindsay (a UTSW alumna). Allen enjoys competitive swimming, reading, computer science, and playing Super Mario Brothers with his daughter.

Heather Jones, M.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Undergraduate School: Texas A&M University
Medical School: M.D., Texas Tech University Paul L. Foster School of Medicine

Director's Profile

Heather earned a B.A. in Chemistry summa cum laude from Texas A&M University, where she participated in the Undergraduate MiniPharma in the biological assays group and as the fungal group leader. In medical school at Texas Tech in El Paso, she was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha for her academic achievements. Heather also was a teaching assistant, a student mentor, a food bank volunteer, a health fair coordinator, report reviewer, admissions interviewer, and secretary of the Family Medicine Interest Group. She did summer preceptorships in pediatrics and family medicine, but she found her specialty niche through elective experiences in both anatomic and clinical pathology. Heather also is interested in teaching, and the educational aspect of pathology represents part of its appeal. In addition to her activities within the medical school, she served as editor and mentor through Motivate MD, assisting students in preparing professional school applications and conducting mock interviews. For relaxation, she enjoys hiking and outdoor activities, arts and crafts, cooking, and listening audio books.

Timothy Kirtek, M.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Undergraduate School: University of Michigan
Medical School: M.D., American University of the Caribbean

Director's Profile

Tim, who is from Michigan, notes that some of his earliest memories are of his mother’s radiology residency at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. He attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and received a B.S. degree in Brain Behavior and Cognitive Sciences. After graduation, he worked for three years as a psychiatric care worker in the University of Michigan’s adult psychiatric ICU, until entering medical school. As a medical student, he performed at the top of his class and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Phi Honor and Service Society and served as its Vice President, as well as Judge Advocate and Community Service Chair for the Phi Chi International Medical Fraternity. Tim took advantage of the Caribbean environment to pursue research projects on Chikungunya, Zika and Dengue in the local populations. The strong appeal of Pathology as a specialty choice appears to have taken him by surprise, but it was reinforced by working as an anatomy teaching assistant and by an interest in tutoring and teaching. Tim enjoys studying, building and rehabilitating computers to benefit Habitat for Humanity. His sporting activities include golf, basketball, flag football, snowboarding, curling, swimming, and scuba diving.

Soolmaz Laknezhad, M.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Medical School: M.D., Yasuj University of Medical Sciences and Health Services

Director's Profile

Soolmaz is originally from Shiraz in Iran and is a graduate of the Yasuj University in Iran, where she also did a rotating internship, followed by five years as a practicing physician at a rural health center and then five additional years in a practice in the capital city of Tehran. Over her last two years in Tehran, she also did a clinical observership at a pathobiology laboratory, participating in microscopic slide sessions with pathologists. Soolmaz came to the DFW Metroplex area in 2015, where she first engaged in pathology observerships at Baylor Scott and White Health in Temple, TX, at the PathAdvantage practice in Dallas, and most recently with Dr. Travis Vandergriff in Dermatopathology at UT Southwestern. Since early 2019, Soolmaz worked as a research assistant at UT Southwestern in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Wang in Dermatology, studying human papillomavirus and human polyomavirus. In her free time, she enjoys cooking new recipes from different cultures and baking grain-free cookies and cakes, making arts and crafts, watching the Food and Discovery Channels, listening to music, dancing, traveling, photography, jogging, working out, and spending time with her husband and daughter.

Madeleine Opsahl, D.O.

Training Track: AP/CP
Undergraduate School: University of Kansas
Medical School: D.O., Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Director's Profile

Madeleine received her B.A. degree in English Literature from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS, where she won the Helen Rhoda Hoopes Prize for best essay in English literature by a female undergraduate three years in a row. Entering medical school at Kansas City University, she soon developed an interest in Pathology, despite her initial thought that this was miles away from her background in literature. Ultimately this interest led her to take a year out of the standard medical school curriculum to do a year-long post-sophomore fellowship in Pathology at the University of Missouri in Columbia, where she functioned essentially as a first-year Pathology resident. Academically, she ranked first in her class for the clinical years, and also volunteered as a histology tutor and a guest lecturer in pathology for second-year students. She is also first author on a case report published in the Journal of Hematopathology. Madeleine confesses to reading cheap paperbacks in expensive coffee shops (despite her refined undergraduate degree), writing long letters to distant friends, baking increasingly complicated pastries, jogging long distances at slow speeds, hiking, cycling, and exploring the outdoors.

Vandana Panwar, M.D., M.B.B.S.

Training Track: AP
Medical School: M.D., M.B.B.S., Sarojini Naidu Medical College

Director's Profile

Vandana attended medical school in Agra, India, where she received her M.B.B.S. degree, completed a rotating internship, and then earned her M.D. degree through a pathology residency with a thesis on the appearance of primary hyperplasia in FNAs of the thyroid gland, work recognized as the best research thesis by a pathology resident. She also received a Best Poster award at a meeting of the Indian Association of Pathologists and Microbiologists for a study of angiogenesis in uterine cervical lesions. Coming to the U.S., Vandana worked as a research assistant at the UCLA School of Medicine in a lab studying regulation of arterial blood pressure by norepinephrine in an ovine fetus model. After moving to the Dallas area, she initially performed office laboratory tests for a pediatric practice. She then moved on to a research opportunity at UT Southwestern with Dr. Vitaly Margulis and Dr. Payal Kapur, studying renal neoplasms in the Kidney Cancer Program. After two years with Drs. Margulis and Kapur, she took a position as Senior Research Associate and Research Scientist in the Laboratory of Dr. Satwik Rajaram in the Department of Bioinformatics using histopathology and artificial intelligence to study clear cell renal cell carcinoma and hydatidiform moles. Her work has resulted in co-authorship on eight publications in the past three years. In addition to her interest in genitourinary pathology, Vandana makes time for exploring nature, gardening, and spending time with family.

Suzanne Tintle, M.D., M.P.H.

Training Track: AP
Undergraduate School: Syracuse University
Medical School: M.D., M.P.H., Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Director's Profile

Suzanne attended the Syracuse University, S.J. Newhouse School of Public Communications for her B.S. degree in Biology and Health Policy, where she tutored and directed a summer Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program for minority women. She then enrolled in a combined M.D./M.P.H. program at Columbia University through the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Mailman School of Public Health, where she studied biostatistics and epidemiology. She spent much of her final year of medical school as a research assistant in the Department of Pathology studying the role of CD200 in a mouse model of squamous cell carcinoma, after which an NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award enabled her to spend five months as a visiting student in the Laboratory of Investigative Dermatology at Rockefeller University. After a preliminary Internal Medicine residency year at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, she entered the Dermatology residency program at Penn State Hershey Medical Center but had to step out of the program for a medical leave after 18 months. During this time, she did a four-month observership in Dermatopathology at the University of Mississippi and decided that her return to residency would be in Pathology. Suzanne’s scholarly activities during training have generated 15 publications. She enjoys yoga and is a certified Yoga Alliance instructor. She also plays classical piano and relaxes with jogging, walking her dog and spending time on her father’s boat.

Limin Yang, M.D., Ph.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Medical School: M.D., Henan Medical University
Graduate School: Ph.D., Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Director's Profile

After receiving her medical degree from Henan Medical University in China, Limin obtained a Master’s in Physiology and a PhD in Pathology from Huazhong University of Science and Technology with a thesis on overexpression of inflammatory proteins in atherosclerosis. After two additional years there as a lecturer in Pathology, she spent three years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany studying the regulation of sodium channels in the distal nephron of the kidney; and in 2007, she came to UT Southwestern as a Research Assistant Professor, working with Dr. Paul Blount on mechanosensitive channels of large conductance in a bacterial system as well as in the human brain. Her work on disease mechanisms and theranostic nano-devices has led to 16 publications. While at Southwestern, Limin found time for observerships with our Hematopathology and Pediatric Pathology groups. Limin enjoys jogging and walking with her family, cooking, and listening to favorite radio programs such as Insight for Living and the PBS News Hour. She is active with the Boy Scouts and has served as an Assistant Scoutmaster and Advancement Chair.

Hua Wang, M.D., Ph.D.

Training Track: AP/CP (transfer)
Medical School: M.D., Yanbian University Health Science Center, China
Graduate School: Ph.D., Kansas State University
PGY-1: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Director's Profile

Hua received her medical degree with honors from Yanbian University in Yanji, China, where she ranked in the top 10% of her class and served as her medical school student body president. After three years working the Ob-Gyn Department at Jilin University Hospital, Hua obtained a Master’s degree in Immunology from Norman Bethune Health Science Center of Jilin University. She then came to the U.S. for a doctoral research program at Kansas State University, where she received her Ph.D. for research on the function of apoptosis in protecting mosquitoes from the viruses they carry, resulting in three first-author publications. She then pivoted back to human physiology, coming to UT Southwestern for a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Zhijian (James) Chen, where she identified cGAMP to be an activator of adaptive immunity and activation of the cGAS pathway to be important for intrinsic antitumor activity. Additional research showed the immune stimulatory activity of nanoparticle PC7A, also a potential adjuvant for boosting anti-tumor immunity. This work has generated a patent and publications in Nature Nanotechnology, PNAS, and Science. After confirming her interest in Pathology through an observership at Parkland with Dr. Yisheng Fang, she began Pathology residency at UT Houston, but is transferring back to UT Southwestern to reunite her family in Dallas. Hua volunteers her time outside of work, and she enjoys swimming, biking, tennis, and jogging for recreation.

PGY-1

Sajjad Afraz, M.D., Ph.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Medical School: M.D., Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Director's Profile

Sajjad actually spent most of his childhood and youth in Japan but returned to Iran for medical school and a rotating internship at Tehran University, where he also participated in research on pharmacologic preconditioning in ischemic-reperfusion injury. During medical school and again during the period of his national service practice, he participated in Iranian earthquake emergency relief efforts. In 2013, he relocated to McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, for a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. With the encouragement of his faculty advisors, he subsequently entered the doctoral program at McMaster, working with Dr. Anthony K. C. Chan in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. His research with a mouse model of hemophilia A focused on management of the immune response against infused Factor VIII through co-injection therapy with IVIG as well as oral delivery of proteins using nanoparticles. His work, which earned a young investigator travel award in 2018, has been presented at national and international conferences on thrombosis and hemostasis and has resulted to date in four publications, in two of which he is first author. In addition to his research, Sajjad worked part-time as a medical assistant and as a scientific advisor for a consulting company active in digital transformation and artificial intelligence. He confirmed his interest in pathology through observerships at the University of Miami and at a private pathology laboratory in Georgia. His hobbies include soccer, photography, mountain climbing, and reading Japanese novels (in the original language).

Yoo Min Ahn, D.O.

Training Track: AP/CP (transfer)
Medical School: M.D., Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences

Director's Profile

Yoo Min received her B.S. degree with Honors in Neuroscience, Biology and Chemistry from Brandeis University. During college, she worked part-time in a neuroscience research lab and spent a summer at Dongguk University International Hospital in Korea as a volunteer in a molecular imaging and neurovascular research lab. She spent a year after college teaching English in Korea to elementary and middle-school students and participated in two medical volunteer missions to East Timor. Returning to the U.S., Yoo Min obtained a Master’s degree in Forensic Science in the Center for Health and the Environment at the University of California at Davis, where she studied the induction of adult-onset asthma using a mouse model. Her work was presented at the American Thoracic Society and resulted in two publications, including one as first author. She was also selected to conduct death and fire death investigation courses to train police, firefighters and coroners using staged scenes with donated cadavers. As a medical student, she was active in her school’s COVID-19 response. She ranked in the top 15% of her class and was inducted into the Psi Sigma Alpha Osteopathic Honor Society. Yoo Min plays the cello and enjoys listening to music as well. She likes the social culture of brewing and drinking coffee and is a practitioner of latté art. She swims, rows and hikes for exercise and is a lover of animals, especially cats.

Emrah Gumusgoz, M.D., Ph.D.

Training Track: AP
Medical School: M.D., Marmara University School of Medicine, Turkey

Director's Profile

Originally from Horasan in eastern Turkey, Emrah got his medical degree from Marmara University School of Medicine in Istanbul, followed by a rotating internship at the affiliated Pendik Education and Research Hospital. Despite limited prior research experience, he followed his dream of an academic career, coming to the U.S. for a postdoctoral research fellowship in the lab of Dr. Richard Sutton in the Infectious Disease Division at Yale University studying HIV-host interaction and gene regulatory elements (enhancers). In 2018, he moved to Dallas for a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Berge Minassian in the UT Southwestern Division of Child Neurology, where he worked on developing gene therapies for several storage diseases and engineering DNA constructs to enhance the efficiency of gene replacement therapies in the CNS. During his postdoc, he also explored pathology through observerships in the Division of Neuropathology at UT Southwestern and virtually with the University of Miami, confirming his specialty choice. Emrah enjoys hiking spring and fall trails, reading history, psychiatry and philosophy, and watching documentaries on natural history and ancient Middle Eastern civilizations.

Hanan Hamdan, M.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Medical School: M.D.,Lebanese American University, Lebanon

Director's Profile

Hanan attended college at the Lebanese American University, earning her B.S. in Biology. She continued for her medical degree at the LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie School of Medicine in Byblos, where she was also active in the Lebanese Medical Students International Committee through service on LeMSIC standing committees on Public Health, Reproductive Health, and Human Rights and Peace, which included educating children in Syrian refugee camps on hygiene measures. Her final year of medical school included an international visiting student rotation in geriatric medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Upon graduation, she did a preliminary year of Internal Medicine residency at the Rizk Hospital of the LAU Medical Center in Beirut, before moving on to a four-year Clinical Pathology residency at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, where she was named “Resident of the Year” in her first year. The final year of her residency allowed her a selective focus on hematopathology and flow cytometry, and she pursued a project on distinguishing hematogones from lymphoblasts in B lymphoblastic leukemia by MF1 antigen expression ratio. She served in the Resident Staff Organization and as president of the Student Counseling Committee, and she was active in the COVID-19 response and in the disaster response after the Beirut port explosion of 2020. Hanan enjoys drawing and painting, running and hiking, cooking, reading, and spending time with her African grey parrot.

Evelyn Ilori, M.D., Ph.D.

Training Track: AP/CP
Medical School: M.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Director's Profile

Evelyn earned her B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, where she also tutored, volunteered, and sang with the college gospel choir. In medical school at Case Western Reserve University, Evelyn entered the Cancer Biology Program of the Medical Scientist Training Program. Her Ph.D. in Pathology in the laboratory of Dr. David Wald of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center involved the development of methods to expand and activate NK cells and enhance their anti-tumor effectiveness in a mouse model of colon cancer, work which resulted in three publications, two of them with Evelyn as a first author. An additional year as a Melvin Markey Clinical Research Scholar resulted in another first-author publication with the Department of Dermatology on scalp dermatitis due to sensitization to components of hair products. While in medical school, Evelyn volunteered at a food pantry and, as a Gelfand Fellow, served as a resource for K-12 students and teachers promoting science-related activities. She was a graduate student representative on Case Western’s Provost Office Strategic Committee and the Faculty Senate Research Committee, and she was responsible for organizing a student-selected invited lectureship. She served as vice-president of the local chapter of the American Medical Student Association and as secretary and co-president of the SNMA/LMSA chapter, supporting and advocating for minority students at Case Western. Evelyn has been chosen as one of the Society of ’67 Kinney Scholars for 2021 by the Association of Pathology Chairs. Her hobbies include singing, songwriting and creative writing.

Andrew Nelson, M.D., Ph.D.

Training Track: CP
Medical School: M.D., University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Director's Profile

After receiving his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Andrew entered the UTMB Medical Scientist Training Program, which combined clinical training at the Galveston campus with Organic Chemistry research through the University of Texas at Austin. Andrew’s doctoral research was performed in the laboratory of Dr. Dionicio Siegel, beginning at UT Austin and moving to the University of California at San Diego, when Dr. Siegel’s lab relocated. Andrew’s initial work focused on natural neuroprotective compounds, but when the lab moved, he shifted to the determination of structure-activity relationships and biosynthesis of anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory fatty acid esters of hydroxy-stearic acid. He has been the recipient of the NIH Ruth L. Kirchstein National Research Service Award, a UTMB Dean’s Prestigious Fellowship Supplement, and an AMA Foundation Seed Grant. Upon completion of his Ph.D., a Chateaubriand Fellowship allowed him to continue his research at the University of Montpellier in France for 6 months in the lab of Dr. Thierry Durand. His work has resulted in 11 publications, including two as first author. Andrew used the summer breaks in his pre-clinical years for Spanish-immersion experiences in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Peru; and he received the UTMB Hispanic Center of Excellence Rosetta Stone Award after his first year. While in San Diego, he was an adult literacy volunteer. He is a running, cycling and swimming enthusiast; plays and composes piano music; and sings and performs on the guitar.

Evan Sica, D.O.

Training Track: AP/CP
Medical School: M.D., William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Director's Profile

Evan is from Covington, Louisiana, and received his B.S. degree summa cum laude in Biology from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. Experiences as a plastic surgery office assistant, an emergency room scribe and a hospital volunteer confirmed his interest in medicine, and he entered medical school at the William Carey School of Osteopathic Medicine in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He began medical school with broad interests and in his second year served as an officer of both the American College of Obstetricians Club and the American Osteopathic College of Anesthesiologists Club. However, his ultimate choice of pathology was cemented with a four-week experience in the clinical laboratory of North Oaks Hospital in Hammond, Louisiana, where he had previously volunteered and where he was exposed to a variety of pathology activities, including slide preparation and review, frozen sections, fine-needle aspirations and bone marrow biopsies. Evan enjoys exercise, sports, and weightlifting for fun and the challenge of setting and meeting goals. He likes fantasy and science fiction through reading and audio books. He also likes to travel, and he enjoys exploring both the urban culture of restaurants and coffee spots as well as the natural world of hiking trails.

John Stack, D.O.

Training Track: AP/CP
Medical School: M.D., Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Director's Profile

John is originally from Buffalo, New York, but he earned his B.S. degree in Biology from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He went directly from college to medical school at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, following the school’s problem-based learning track at its Bradenton, Florida, campus. His experiences in medical school included a summer research opportunity through the 1Voice Foundation, which enabled him to work with Dr. Cameron Tebbi, former Chief of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at the University of South Florida, on a project investigating the role that plasma proteins induced by a mycovirus-containing fungus may have in the recognition of lymphoblastic leukemia. His experiences in Pathology also included a rotation at Tampa General Hospital, which is affiliated with the University of South Florida, and another at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he participated in the preparation of a case presentation of giant cell myocarditis in an allograft heart biopsy for an upcoming ISHLT meeting. John’s activities outside of medicine include weightlifting, running, house and techno music, kayaking, and craft breweries.