Overview
Cleveland Clinic's Colorectal Surgery educational program offers a 1-year ACGME accredited residency following the completion of a general surgery residency in the US or Canada. Our six ACGME positions are filled through the national residency matching program.
In addition, we offer a 1-year fellowship for international trainees who have completed their general surgery residency. Appointments to the fellowship are made on a competitive basis and can be initiated via communication with our chairman, educational program director, or coordinator. Please email interest to Kathrina Allen, allenk3@ccf.org.
Our educational goal is to improve the knowledge and skills of our trainees in the full spectrum of colorectal surgery. Opportunities include patient evaluation and management, critical decision making, operative skills, clinical research, residency and hospital administration, medical student teaching, and a structured teaching program and conferences.
Our surgical staff includes over 25 surgeons with a range of clinical, research, and administrative expertise and interests. Many are well-known leaders in the field.
Colorectal Surgery continues to change and evolve with increased understanding of pathophysiology, enhanced technologies, and multi-disciplinary approaches to improving treatment outcomes. Our department is at the forefront of these advances, with a commitment to educating our trainees to become leaders in their chosen field.
Staff Physicians
Main Campus
Anuradha Bhama, MD
Haniee Chung, MD
Anthony DeBuck, MD
Leonardo Duraes, MD, PhD
I. Emre Gorgun, MD
Stefan Holubar, MD, MS
Arielle Kanters, MD, MS
Hermann Kessler, MD, PhD
Olga Lavryk, MD, PhD
David Liska, MD
Jonathan Mitchem, MD
Joshua Sommovilla, MD
Anna Spivak, MD
Scott Steele, MD, MBA
Michael A. Valente, DO
Fairview Hospital
Kristen Ban, MD
Bradley Champagne, MD
Ajaratu Keshinro, MD
Michael Klingler, MD, MS
David Rosen, MD
Joseph Trunzo, MD
Hillcrest Hospital
Thomas Garofalo, MD
Rebecca Gunter, MD, MS
Michael Goldenshluger, MD
Alumni Career Pathways
2025
- Roy Apel
- Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson Hospital), Israel
- Reece DeHaan
- Allegheny Health Network, PA
- Maysoon Gamaleldin
- University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
- Jeonyoon ‘Jenny’ Moon
- UT MD Anderson, TX
- Sowmya Narayanan
- Northwestern Medical Center, Chicago, IL
- Granda Pacheco
- Felipe Advocate Health Care, Chicago, IL
- Elchanan Quint
- Private Practice, Israel
- Erik Strungs
- UNC School of Medicine
2024
- Gilad Alon
- Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
- Brian Brajcich
- Northwestern Medical Center, Chicago, IL
- Bhuwan Giri
- UAB Medicine, Birmingham, AL
- Michael Goldenshluger
- Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital, Cleveland, OH
- Sarah Jochum
- Community MD Anderson Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN
- Ayman Khan
- Private Practice, UK
- Michael Klingler
- Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital, Cleveland, OH
- Joseph Lin
- Kaiser Permanente, CA
- Thomas Ward
- University Health Alliance, Athens, GA
2023
- Sudeep Banerjee
- Kaiser Permanente, CA
- Paul Cavallaro
- Tampa General Hospital
- William Chapman
- Washington University School of Medicine
- Katherine Hu
- Medical College of Wisconsin
- Foley Niamh
- University Hospital Waterford, Ireland
- Lucas Sobrado
- Cancer Institute of São Paulo, Brazil
- Adam Truong
- Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, CA
- Jean Wong
- Royal Adelaide Hospital, Australia
2022
- Juyong Cheong
- Cairns Hospital, QLD, Australia
- Cillian Clancy
- Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
- Tara Connelly
- University Hospital Limerick, Ireland
- Julie Flynn
- Royal Melbourne Hospital & Box Hill Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
- Sami Judeeba
- King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
- Carla Justiniano
- University of Cincinnati, OH
- Grace Lee
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
- Tara Russell
- UCLA Health, CA
- Joceline Vu
- Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
- Olga Lavryk
- Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
2021
- Nicholas Berger
- Providence Colon & Rectal Surgery, Spokane, WA
- Jamshid Darabnia
- Circle Health Group @ Ross Hall Hospital, Glasgow, Ireland
- Rebecca Gunter
- Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
- Arielle Kanters
- Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
- Ira Leeds
- Yale School of Medicine
- Gali Westrich
- Tel Aviv University, Israel
- Zhaomin 'Tim' Xu
- University of Rochester, NY
Locations
Training environment
Our residents develop a rich clinical experience across the spectrum of surgical practice: a quaternary care research hospital, high volume community hospitals, the major regional trauma center and safety net hospital, and ambulatory surgical centers. All our locations have excellent nursing, case managers, ancillary staff levels (with physician assistant on each service and physician assistant and general surgery junior support on the high-volume services) allowing fellows to concentrate on their role as surgeons. One rotation per academic year will be spent in our regional service, which is comprised of our Beachwood Surgery Center and Hillcrest Hospital.
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by George Crile Sr., a general and endocrine surgeon; Frank Bunts, a neurosurgeon; William Lower, a urologist; and John Phillips, an internist. It was a new kind of medical center: a physician-lead, not-for-profit, integrated hospital and group practice, equally dedicated to patient care, research, and education. Cleveland Clinic quickly became a world-renowned training hospital, medical school and research institute, known for offering the most advanced medical care. Cleveland Clinic's main campus consists of 41 buildings and more than 85 operating rooms, with constant expansion and renovation. Cleveland Clinic’s subspecialty surgeons are at the forefront of surgical care and are behind its reputation as a top-ranked, quaternary care hospital with an international referral base, and high-volume critical care transfer service, that cares for the most complex patients.
Cleveland Clinic is immediately adjacent to the University Circle Neighborhood, home of the Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Clinic is centrally located and accessible from the downtown, east, and west side residential neighborhoods.
Fairview Hospital
Fairview Hospital is a 488-bed hospital located at the western edge of Cleveland, overlooking the Cleveland Metroparks. Fairview Hospital has served the community for more than 110 years, offering a full range of services and physicians skilled in providing that care.
Fairview Hospital's strong clinical Centers of Excellence include Heart, Cancer, Birthing, Surgery and Emergency and Trauma services.
Fairview Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission.
The hospital conducts residency-training programs in family medicine, general surgery and internal medicine and also has institutional affiliation with two medical schools to provide clerkship opportunities for medical students in several specialties.
Fairview serves as a participating hospital for the anesthesiology, internal medicine, pediatric, radiology and sports medicine programs sponsored by the Cleveland Clinic. As a teaching hospital, Fairview continues to maintain one of the highest board passing rates in the area.
The hospital is quickly developing a national reputation in blood conservation, education and research through its Center for Blood Conservation. The Center is an innovative response to skyrocketing blood costs, severe national blood shortages, a growing concern regarding some harmful effects of blood transfusion and the increased demand for an organized educational approach to blood management. Hemo Concepts, a world-renowned leader in the development of blood conservation programs, selected Fairview Hospital to be the first hospital in the world to host the Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Institute (BMSI).
Fairview Hospital will teach physicians and nurses from around the world the principles of blood management, as well as how to manage their own blood conservation programs. The hospital was chosen based on the reputation its bloodless program has established in the medical community and because of its nationally recognized results.
The quality of care provided by Fairview Hospital continues to be measured by others – including insurance providers; the Joint Commission and other external organizations; physicians who refer here; as well as patients and their family members.
Hillcrest Hospital
Hillcrest Hospital is a busy community hospital and Level 2 Trauma Center on Cleveland’s east side. Located on Cleveland’s east side, Hillcrest is easily accessed via freeway and is close to the Beachwood Place, and Legacy Village malls. Fellows perform colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy, management of benign anorectal pathology, outpatient CORS surgical procedures, hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy in a fast track surgery environment.
Cleveland Clinic Foundation-Strongsville Family Health and Surgery Center
Cleveland Clinic Strongsville Family Health & Surgery Center offers medical care close to home or work for routine or urgent health problems.
Our staff includes Strongsville primary care doctors and specialists who see patients at our offices in Strongsville, Ohio. Outpatient surgery also is offered on site at our new, fully accredited facility. If you need additional specialists or services, the Strongsville staff can facilitate your referral to a staff member at Cleveland Clinic's main campus, located two miles east of downtown Cleveland.
Patient-Centered Medical Home
The patient-centered medical home is a model of care where patients have a direct relationship with a provider who coordinates a cooperative team of healthcare professionals. The team always includes caregivers and the patient. Your medical team is invested in your care. Caregivers on your medical team include Primary Care or Specialty Physicians, Community Based Providers, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Medical Assistants, Registered Nurses, Care Coordinators and Pharmacists. To learn more about the patient-centered medical home, please visit us at www.clevelandclinic.org/pcmh.
Contact Us
Colorectal Surgery Clinical Training Program (Fellowship)
Kathrina Allen
Colorectal Surgery Education Coordinator
216.445.3832
Fax: 216.445.1079
allenk3@ccf.org
Graduate Medical Education
Main Office
1.800.323.9259
216.444.5690
Fax: 216.444.6112
Center for International Medical Education
(International Visiting Physician Programs)
216.445.1711
Visit the Center for International Medicine (CIME) website
