Surgery Education
2006-2007 Interns, Residents & Fellows
- General Surgery Residency Program - Categorical | Visit Program Page
- General Surgery Residency Program - Preliminary | Visit Program Page
- Plastic Surgery Residency Program | Visit Program Page
- Cardiothoracic Fellowship Program | Visit Program Page
- Critical Care (Trauma) Fellowship | Visit Program Page
- Minimally Invasive Surgical Fellowship | Visit Program Page
General Surgery Residency Program - Categorical:
Lauren Ashley Buck | Biosketch
UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2006
Dr. Buck graduated Cum Laude from Jacksonville State University;
joined the Air Force and was accepted to medical school; mentors with
Big Brother Big Sister Program of San Antonio.
Gabriel E. Burkhardt | Biosketch
Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, 2006
Dr. Burkhardt trained in the Air Force Command Scout/Sniper course where
he learned to make difficult decisions under pressure and cultivated an
appreciation for precision; a devoted husband and active member in the
church.
Chaitanya Dahagam | Biosketch
University of Alabama, 2006
Before attending medical school, Dr. Dahagam was a counselor at Camp
Bharat where he educated youth about Indian history and culture;
volunteered at First Light Women's Shelter where he served dinner and
offered solace to victims of domestic violence. Dr. Dahagam was the recipient of the
Jane Knight Lowe Medical Scholarship.
Gustavo Guajardo, MD | Biosketch
Escuela de Medicina Ignacio A. Santos, 2005
Dr. Guajardo graduated Head of Class (Honors Award) with a final GPA
94.7/100; received Academic High Performance Award (National Assessment
Center for Higher Education); fluent in Spanish.
Joga Ivatury | Biosketch
Medical College of Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006
Dr. Ivatury is a dual degree student in medicine and health administration
(M.H.A. and M.D.); fluent in Telugu; comes from a family of physicians;
worked in conjunction with The Princeton Review as an MCAT Instructor
where he prepared 16 students in physics for the MCAT.
Meeghan Lautner | Biosketch
Wayne State University Medical School, 2006
Dr. Lautner is a member of the Alpha Chi National Collegiate Honor Society as
well as the Alpha Mu Gamma National Foreign Language Honor Society;
volunteered with the Big Sib/Little Sib program as well as Code Blue,
which is a program in which medical students visit inner city elementary
students in Detroit (discuss issues varying from personal hygeiene to
interpersonal relationships).
Matthew McHale | Biosketch
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2006
Dr. McHale has volunteered with the International Medical Mentoring Program
where he acted as a short-term Medical Missionary in Russia (work
included the final treatment plan and dispensation of appropriate
medications for all patients; also assembled temporary clinics in
severely underserved rural areas of southern Russia); worked in
conjunction with Gospel Team Outreach in Haiti to erect temporary
clinics in severely underserved rural areas of Haiti. During summers
off, worked as a roofing laborer.
Mark Muir | Biosketch
University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, 2006
Dr. Muir received his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from
The University of Texas at Austin; completed a year-long Doris Duke
Clinical Research Fellowship at UT Southwestern Medical School at Dallas
between third and fourth years of medical school.
Christopher Nichols | Biosketch
University of Colorado School of Medicine, 2006
Dr. Nichols was an active paramedic with the Denver Health Paramedic
School where he served as an instructor as well; worked as a Trip Leader
with Moondance Adventures, Inc. where he led a three week outdoor
educational experience for high school students in the United States and
British Virgin Islands; also worked as a Research Assistant at the
Hospital for Special Surgery where he was involved with the study of a
chemical compound as an immunosuppressant for treating SLE.
General Surgery Residency Program - Preliminary Interns:
Malini Balachandran, DMD | Biosketch
University of Pennsylvania, 2003
Dr. Malini C. Balachandran, a native of India, lives with her husband,
Jay and their son Nayan. Dr. Balachandran graduated from Manipal Academy
of Higher Education, Mangalore, India with BDS degree in 1999. After
moving to the United States, she graduated with her DMD degree from the School of
Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia in 2003.
Currently a PGY-3/OMS-1 resident at the University of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonio, Texas, she will graduate from medical school in
May 2006 and is on track to completing her training in June 2009. In her
leisure time, Malini enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with family.
John Michal Drake | Biosketch
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 2006
Dr. Drake was nducted in to Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and the
Mortarboard Honorary Society in 2002; volunteered as a Student
Instructor for Doc Talks where his responsibilities included teaching
children about bicycle and traffic safety; was awarded the Best
Presentation award for researching the role that prolactin plays in the
inhibition of angiogenesis in breast cancer tumors; hobbies include
soccer, weightlifting, canoeing, kayaking and camping.
Mary Foley Finn | Biosketch
UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2006
Dr. Finn currently works as a Firefighter/EMT with the San Antonio
Fire Department Ladder Company Number 9; volunteers with the American
Medical Women's Association as a Public Information Officer where duties
include the organization of the annual Halloween party for occupants of
the San Antonio Battered Women's Shelter, the organization of the Powder
Puff Football game with proceeds benefiting the San Antonio Komen
Foundation as well as helped conduct blood pressure and glucose
screening at Community Health Fairs in addition to helping organize
clothing drives for the Battered Women's Shelter.
Teresa Gallup | Biosketch
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 2006
During the summers, Dr. Gallup has worked as a high school teacher where
she taught Environmental Science; built on the curriculum from previous
years but added work in microbiology; worked in conjunction with The
Princeton Review as a MCAT Instructor in Organic Chemistry where she
instructed approximately 20 students; functioned as the Editor-in-Chief
for the School of Medicine Alumni Office where she worked on the Class
of 2006 Yearbook.
Stephanie Kelley | Biosketch
UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2006
Dr. Kelley worked as a teacher's assistant and tutor for the UTHSCSA
Gross Anatomy Lab where she assisted with model dissections, and helped
students with dissection; volunteered for the City of San Antonio in the
Hurricane Katrina relief where she took histories, performed physical
exams, wrote prescriptions, did simple I&D procedures; also volunteered
as the Vice President of the American Medical Women's Association.
Matthew Largent, DDS | Biosketch
University of Washington
Dr. Matthew C. Largent hails from the San Francisco Bay Area where he
attended Bellarmine College Preparatory, an all-boys Jesuit institution.
He earned both his Bachelors of Science (1998) and Doctoral of Dental
Surgery (2003) from the University of Washington in Seattle. He
recently was conferred his Medical Doctorate from the University of
Texas in May 2006. Dr. Largent is an avid runner, completing his first
marathon in Austin in Feb '04. He continues to play an active role in
the Menís Senior Baseball League of San Antonio as a starting pitcher,
and recently won the league championship in Sept '05. Other interests
include college football and baseball, tailgating, guitar, and listening
to live music at many of the regions classic Texas Dance Halls. Dr.
Largent plans on settling in the Austin area after completing his
residency training in June of 2009.
Nimish Patel | Biosketch
Texas Tech University Health Science Center, 2006
Dr. Patel's volunteer work includes "Hard Hats for Little Heads," where
he served as a committee member working to distribute donated bicycle
helmets and educated children about traffic and bicycle safety at El
Paso elementary schools; also worked as a volunteer with the Texas Tech
Medical Mission group to provide free medical assistance under the
supervision of faculty members and local doctors to underserved
residents of Juarez, Mexico.
Brian Scott Planchard | Biosketch
Tulane University School of Medicine, 2006
Dr. Planchard graduated Magna Cum Laude from Duke University; volunteered
at the Bridgehouse Clinic, which is a substance abuse shelter in New
Orleans that housed a weekly clinic for its residents; worked as a
Student Researcher while at Tulane working of the role of angiotensin II
on the ureteric bud in the developing kidney.
Nathaniel Michael Polnaszek | Biosketch
Medical College of Wisconsin, 2006
Dr. Polnaszek was elected as an officer in 2003 to the American Medical
Association where he helped in the set-up of a Career Day, Residency
Day, Residency Fair and a Lecture Series with guest speakers;
volunteered with the Medical College of Wisconsin where he performed a
medical workshop for inner city youth in Milwaukee; also volunteered at
the Saturday Free Clinic in downtown Milwaukee giving medical attention
to those who could not afford it.
Leigh Romero | Biosketch
UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2006
Dr. Romero worked as a Research Assistant in the UTHSCSA Department of
Orthopaedics assisting in every aspect of the research project from
sawing/plating the fibulas to obtaining background information/research
on the topic of tubular locking plates; was elected President of the
Student Orthopaedic Club from 2004-2005; volunteered as a Mentor for Tar
Wars where she educated elementary students about the dangers of tobacco
use.
Jennifer Savage | Biosketch
UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2006
Dr. Savage worked in conjunction with the Community Outreach Program in
Harlingen, Texas where she helped prepare and instruct an anti-drug,
alcohol, tobacco curriculum for seventh grade students as well as
coordinated special segments of curriculum with the pathology lab
director at the local hospital; participated in various activities from
Toys for Tots, Angel Tree, Race for the Cure as well as local canned
food drives; enjoys traveling, snow skiing, water skiing and
racquetball.
Elizabeth Michelle Thomas | Biosketch
Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Midwestern University, 2006
Dr. Thomas worked as a STEP Coordinator and participant for the
American Medical Association where she helped organize the Midwestern
University AMA chapter of Stop Tobacco Education Program at local
elementary schools; also volunteered as a coordinator for the
Undergraduate American Academy of Osteopathy where she was involved in
organizing an auction that would benefit a children's hospital in San
Diego, California; finally, she volunteered as an Examiner for TOPS
Sports Physical Program where she helped conduct sports physical for
teens who couldn't otherwise afford it.
Cristiane Ueno, MD | Biosketch
University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1998
Dr. Ueno volunteered as a doctor in the Tissue Bank of the Hospital
das Clinicas where her activities included lectures on tissue transplant
and removal of skin from tissue donors in a variety of hospitals in Sao
Paulo; also volunteered as a boy scout leader and medical doctor for the
Brazilian Boy Scouts Association where she provided basic knowledge in
first aide safety and health issues like tobacco and alcohol
malfeasance.
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Residency Program:
Patrick John Schaner, MD | Biosketch
Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia PA, 1998
Dr. Schancer will begin his Plastic Surgery Residency on July 1, 2006. He attended Jefferson Medical School; completed six years of General Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University and devoted one year to research in Tissue Engineering. He will complete a Hand Fellowship at the Kleinert Institute in Louisville, Kentucky prior to beginning his Plastic Surgery Residency at UTHSCSA.
Michael Aaron Baumholtz, MD | Biosketch
Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia PA, 2000
Dr. Baumholtz will begin his Plastic Surgery Residency on July 1, 2006. He attended Jefferson Medical School; completed five years of General Surgery at York Hospital in Pennsylvania. He will complete a Hand Fellowship at Baylor Medical School in Houston prior to beginning his Plastic Surgery Residency at UTHSCSA.
Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship:
Ajay Gupta, MD | Biosketch
Wayne State University School of Medicine, 2000
Dr. Gupta attended medical school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, followed by an internship and General
Surgery residency at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI.
Critical Care (Trauma) Fellowship:
Claudio Fernandes Nunes, MD | Biosketch
MD from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil, 1999
Dr. Nunes was born in Campos, Brazil; he moved to Niteroi at age of 3. He was
accepted into medical school at age 17 and moved to Rio de Janeiro.
During medical school he worked in several different Hospitals in the city
of Rio in the areas of Emergency Medicine, Cardiothoracic Surgery, and
Surgical Critical Care. During his last year of medical school, he participated
in the Latin American Training Program at the University of Miami.
Shortly after finishing medical school, he did 4 months of clinical
research at the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery - University of
Miami. In 2000, he started his surgical training as a preliminary surgery
resident at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Maimi Beach. In 2001, Dr. Nunes
enrolled at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
as a categorical surgery resident. After 6 years of training, he will be
finishing his general surgery residency in June of 2006.
Leopoldo C. Cancio, M.D., FACS | Biosketch
Colonel, MC, U.S. Army, BAMC
MD, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC
Dr. Cancio completed a Residency in General Surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center,
and is board-certified in Surgery. He served as a Regimental Surgeon during combat operations with the 82d
Airborne Division in Panama (1989) and during Operation Desert Storm in
Iraq (1990-91). He has been assigned to the Institute of Surgical Research since 1995,
serving under Drs. Basil A. Pruitt, Jr., Cleon W. Goodwin, and John B.
Holcomb. During the war in Iraq in 2003 he was assigned to the Special Operations
Command as the Principal Investigator in theater for the hemostatic
dressing human trial, the first wartime combat casualty care research
protocol. He was the Director of the U.S. Army Burn Center from January 2003 until
July 2004, and is the senior active duty burn surgeon in the U.S.
Department of Defense. During 2005, Col. Cancio was Deputy Commander for Clinical Services and a
Trauma Surgeon at the 86th Combat Support Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq.
Evan M. Renz, MD | Biosketch
U.S. Army, BAMC
MD, University of South Dakota School of Medicine, Sioux Falls, SD
Dr. Renz is a board certified general surgeon and career Army officer.
Previously, he served as the Assistant Director at the U.S. Army
Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center and as Chief of the U.S. Army
Burn Flight Team. Dr. Renz recently returned from Iraq where he served
as a trauma surgeon at the 10th Combat Support Hospital stationed in
Baghdad and as the theater consultant for burn surgery. His research
interests are focused on combat casualty care, including long-range
transport of the burn and trauma patient.
Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) Fellowship:
Arup K. Saha, MD | Biosketch
Calcutta National Medical College, 1987
An honors graduate of the Calcutta National Medical College with his
MBBS, Dr. Saha continued his education at the All India Institute of
Medical Sciences receiving his MD. Dr. Saha completed his residency at
Pinnacle Health Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in May 2006. Dr.
Saha is a member of the American College of Surgeons. He has worked as a
volunteer for the Indian Red Cross and his hobbies include soccer and
cooking.
