Surgery Residency
Mission & Vision
The mission of our Surgery Residency Program is to provide outstanding education in the craft of general surgery, to prepare our graduates for a wide range of careers from academic surgery to community practice, to inspire and nurture academic inquiry, to cultivate respect for all person, and maintain the highest level of professionalism.
Mission & Vision
The mission of our Surgery Residency Program is to provide outstanding education in the craft of general surgery, to prepare our graduates for a wide range of careers from academic surgery to community practice, to inspire and nurture academic inquiry, to cultivate respect for all person, and maintain the highest level of professionalism.
Program Director’s Welcome
Hello and thank you for your interest in the University of Miami/Jackson Health System Surgery Residency Program! For decades, this program has maintained accreditation with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and has helped to train hundreds of surgeons, many of whom have become leaders in their departments and institutions.
Our program includes training at Jackson Memorial Hospital (one of the largest safety-net hospitals in the U.S.), the University of Miami Health System (an internationally recognized institution for cutting-edge research and clinical care) and the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (a federally funded hospital for treating veterans). At these sites, our residents experience a wide range of medical and surgical pathologies and become skilled in caring for patients of diverse sociodemographic backgrounds.
With the department of surgery performing more than 17,500 surgeries per year, surgical residents will have the opportunity to work alongside nationally and internationally recognized faculty as they train to become future surgeons. With access to the latest technology, our residents will become experts in endoscopic, endovascular, laparoscopic, robotic and traditional open surgical techniques.
Additionally, more than half of our residents pursue a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship that is fully funded by our department. Research laboratories include burns, cardiothoracic, oncologic, trauma, vascular, and other surgical fields, and we have both clinical and basic-science opportunities.
Our residents often purse additional training after residency and typically match for fellowships at leading institutions. We take pride, however, in adequately training our graduates to pursue careers in private practice general surgery, if they so desire, and many of our graduates have successfully pursued this path. We are eager to meet all of our applicants and look forward to getting to know you as we move through the interview process.
-Director Danny Sleeman, MD
-Associate Program Director Patricia M. Byers, MD
-Associate Program Director George D. Garcia, MD
-Associate Program Director Gerd D. Pust, MD
-Associate Program Director Chad M. Thorson, MD
Program Director’s Welcome
Hello and thank you for your interest in the University of Miami/Jackson Health System Surgery Residency Program! For decades, this program has maintained accreditation with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and has helped to train hundreds of surgeons, many of whom have become leaders in their departments and institutions.
Our program includes training at Jackson Memorial Hospital (one of the largest safety-net hospitals in the U.S.), the University of Miami Health System (an internationally recognized institution for cutting-edge research and clinical care) and the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (a federally funded hospital for treating veterans). At these sites, our residents experience a wide range of medical and surgical pathologies and become skilled in caring for patients of diverse sociodemographic backgrounds.
With the department of surgery performing more than 17,500 surgeries per year, surgical residents will have the opportunity to work alongside nationally and internationally recognized faculty as they train to become future surgeons. With access to the latest technology, our residents will become experts in endoscopic, endovascular, laparoscopic, robotic and traditional open surgical techniques.
Additionally, more than half of our residents pursue a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship that is fully funded by our department. Research laboratories include burns, cardiothoracic, oncologic, trauma, vascular, and other surgical fields, and we have both clinical and basic-science opportunities.
Our residents often purse additional training after residency and typically match for fellowships at leading institutions. We take pride, however, in adequately training our graduates to pursue careers in private practice general surgery, if they so desire, and many of our graduates have successfully pursued this path. We are eager to meet all of our applicants and look forward to getting to know you as we move through the interview process.
-Director Danny Sleeman, MD
-Associate Program Director Patricia M. Byers, MD
-Associate Program Director George D. Garcia, MD
-Associate Program Director Gerd D. Pust, MD
-Associate Program Director Chad M. Thorson, MD
Program Directors & Associate Directors
Danny Sleeman, MD
Director
Patricia M. Byers, MD
Associate Program Director
George D. Garcia, MD
Associate Program Director
Gerd D. Pust, MD
Associate Program Director
Chad M. Thorson, MD
Associate Program Director
Danny Sleeman, MD
Director
Patricia M. Byers, MD
Associate Program Director
George D. Garcia, MD
Associate Program Director
Gerd D. Pust, MD
Associate Program Director
Chad M. Thorson, MD
Associate Program Director
Fast Facts
Accreditation
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
Number of Residents per Year?
7
(Categorical, Varies for Preliminary)
Duration of Residency?
5 years
(7 years with Research Track)
Program Curriculum
Accordion
Resident education is a priority for the University of Miami/Jackson Health System. Residents are relieved of all clinical duties in order to attend and participate in weekly educational conferences. In addition, the faculty provides smaller group didactic sessions which occur on a weekly basis depending on the rotation and specialty. Daily one-on-one intraoperative teaching is also highlighted. Our on-campus, fully equipped simulation lab is an incredible asset to the learning and development of our residents’ surgical skills. All categorical residents are provided one month of dedicated time in the skills lab during their intern year.
Please refer to the complete list of Rotations by Year for additional program curriculum information.
Your Faculty
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Dao M. Nguyen, MD
Professor, Surgery
Section Chief
Tomas A. Salerno, MD
Professor
Nestor R. Villamizar, MD
Associate Professor
Juan P. Umaña, MD
Chief and Professor
Ciro Amodio, MD
Associate Professor, Pending Rank
Joao R. Breda, MD
Associate Professor
Hari R. Mallidi, MD
Professor
Diego Avella-Patino, MD
Associate Professor, Pending Rank
Colon and Rectal Surgery
Vanessa Hui, MD
Assistant Professor
Nivedh V. Paluvoi, MD
Assistant Professor
Laurence R. Sands, MD, MBA
Chief and Professor
Austin Dosch, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Shayan Khalafi, MD
Assistant Professor
David D. Zhang, MD
Assistant Professor
Endocrine Surgery
Josefina Farra, MD
Assistant Professor
John I. Lew, MD
Chief and Professor
Alessia Cioci, MD
Assistant Professor
Tanaz Vaghaiwalla, MD
Assistant Professor
General and Bariatric Surgery
Onur C. Kutlu, MD
Assistant Professor, General and Bariatric Surgery
Jose M. Martinez, MD
Chief, General Surgery
Professor, Laparoendoscopic Surgery
Danny Sleeman, MD
Director, Surgery Residency Program
Professor, General, Hepatobiliary and Trauma/Critical Care Surgery
Vice Chairman, Residency Education
Robert J. Bowles, MD
Assistant Professor
Diego M. Castilla, MD
Assistant Professor
Robert F. Cubas, MD
Assistant Professor
Maria Carolina Jimenez, MD
Assistant Professor
Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery
Ann-Christina Brady, MD
Assistant Professor
Henri R. Ford, MD, MHA
Chief Academic Officer and Dean
Anthony R. Hogan, MD
Associate Professor
Eduardo A. Perez, MD
Professor
Juan E. Sola, MD
Chief and Professor
Plastic, Aesthetic, and Reconstructive Surgery
Sara J. Danker, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical
Assistant Program Director
Natalia Fullerton, MD
Assistant Professor
Helen G. Hui-Chou, MD
Assistant Professor
Wrood Kassira, MD
Associate Professor
Associate Program Director
Juan R. Mella-Catinchi, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Clinical
Zubin J. Panthaki, MD
Professor
Devinder Singh, MD
Chief & Program Director, Division of Plastic Surgery Professor of Surgery
Seth R. Thaller, MD, DMD
Professor
Mark Shafarenko, MD
Assistant Professor
Kashyap Tadisina, MD
Assistant Professor
Surgical Oncology and Breast Surgery
Eli Avisar, MD
Professor, Breast Surgery
Jessica S. Crystal, MD
Associate Professor, Breast Surgery
Jashodeep Datta, MD
Assistant Professor, Surgical Oncology
Dido Franceschi, MD
Professor, Surgical Oncology
Susan B. Kesmodel, MD
Associate Professor, Breast Surgery
Alan S. Livingstone, MD
Chairman Emeritus and Professor, Surgical Oncology
Nipun B. Merchant, MD
Professor, Surgical Oncology
Steven E. Rodgers, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Surgical Oncology and Endocrine Surgery
Seth A. Spector, MD
Chief, Surgery, Bruce. W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Professor, Surgical Oncology and Hepatobiliary Surgery
Julie Grossman, MD
Assistant Professor
Caitlin A. Hester, MD
Assistant Professor
Elizabeth Paulus, MD
Assistant Professor
Transplant Surgery – Kidney/Pancreas
George W. Burke, III, MD
Professor
Gaetano Ciancio, MD, MBA
Chief Academic Officer and Chief Medical Officer, Miami Transplant Institute
Professor
Mahmoud Morsi, MD
Assistant Professor
Yuri Kim, MD
Assistant Professor
Armando S. Munoz Abraham, MD
Assistant Professor
Transplant Surgery – Gastrointestinal and Cardiopulmonary
Matthias Loebe, MD, PhD
Chief and Professor, Heart and Lung Transplant
Rafael Miyashiro Nunes Dos Santos, MD
Assistant Professor, Liver/Intestine/Multivisceral Surgeon
Camillo Ricordi, MD
Chief and Professor, Cellular Transplantation
Akin Tekin, MD
Associate Professor, Liver/Intestine/Multivisceral Surgeon
Rodrigo M. Vianna, MD, PhD
Chief and Professor, Liver/Intestinal/Multivisceral Transplant
Osama Haddad, MD
Assistant Professor
Hari R. Mallidi, MD
Chief and Professor
Vighnesh V. Venkatasamy, MD
Assistant Professor
Mariana Gil, MD
Assistant Professor
Mauricio Pipkin, MD
Associate Professor
Trauma, Burns, Surgical Critical Care and Surgical Nutrition
George D. Garcia, MD
Associate Professor
Associate Program Director, Surgery Residency Program
Chair, Clinical Competency Committee, Surgery Residency Program
Enrique Ginzburg, MD
Chair, Surgery, Jackson South Medical Center
Trauma Medical Director, Jackson South Medical Center
Professor
Valerie J. Hart, MD
Assistant Professor
Joyce I. Kaufman, MD
Assistant Professor
Howard M. Lieberman, MD
Assistant Professor
Edward B. Lineen, MD
Assistant Professor
Mauricio Lynn, MD
Director, Surgical Intensive Care Unit, UHealth Tower
Professor
Antonio C. Marttos Jr, MD
Associate Professor
Nicholas Namias, MD, MBA
Chief, Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
Professor
Brandon Parker, DO
Assistant Professor
Louis R. Pizano, MD, MBA
Chief, Burns Surgery
Professor
Kenneth G. Proctor, PhD
Director, Trauma Research Laboratory, Ryder Trauma Center
Professor
Gerd D. Pust, MD
Associate Professor
Associate Program Director, Surgery Residency Program
Chair, Program Evaluation Committee, Surgery Residency Program
Director, Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Jackson Memorial Hospital
Gabriel Ruiz, MD
Assistant Professor
Shevonne Satahoo, MD
Assistant Professor
Liran R. Barda, MD
Assistant Professor
Mark Buzzelli, MD
Assistant Professor
Nicholas H. Carter, MD
Assistant Professor
Jonathan P. Meizoso, MD
Assistant Professor
Brandon M. Parker, D.O.
Assistant Professor
Emily L. Ryon, MD
Assistant Professor
Carl Schulman, MD, PhD
Professor
Julie Valenzuela, MD
Assistant Professor
Vascular and Endovascular Surgery
Arash Bornak, MD
Associate Professor
Naixin Kang, MD
Assistant Professor
Stefan C. Kenel-Pierre, MD
Assistant Professor
Jorge Rey, MD
Associate Professor and Chief
Handel R. Robinson, MD
Associate Professor
Marwan R. Tabbara, MD
Associate Professor
Omaida C. Velazquez, MD
Professor
Kimmelman Endowed Chair, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery
Jean M. Panneton, MD
Professor, Pending Rank
Kathy Gonzalez, MD
Assistant Professor
Matthew S. Sussman, MD
Assistant Professor
Alumni Placements Include
Accordion
Northwestern University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of California, Davis
Johns Hopkins University
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital
New York University
University of Chicago
University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital
University of South Florida
Washington Hospital Center
University of Chicago
University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital
Weil Cornell Medicine
Cleveland Clinic
University of California, Davis
University of California, San Diego
University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital
Vanderbilt University
Yale University
Children’s National Hospital
St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children
Stanford University
University of Chicago
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
University of Tennessee
Washington University
Duke University
Lahey Clinic
Temple University
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
University of Texas at San Antonio
Surgical Critical Care
Jackson Memorial Hospital
UHealth Tower
University of Colorado
University of Nevada, Reno
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Emory University
Georgetown University
Medical College of Virginia
North Shore Jewish Center
University of Colorado
University of Pittsburgh
Georgia
Key West
Jordan, Western Asia
Montana
South Carolina
