General Surgery Residency

Overview

Thank you for your interest in Cleveland Clinic’s General Surgery residency program. The training offered here provides an unmatched exposure to the entire spectrum of surgical diseases and procedures with abundant opportunities for research and professional development in a supportive environment. Trainees in our program are in the operating room from the beginning of intern year and finish with around 1000 cases. As a high volume international referral center, our residents operate on and care for some of the most challenging and complex patients. However, they also perform a substantial number of operations commonly seen by General Surgeons in community practice. The result is a robust toolbox of skills that prepares our graduates to take on any surgical problem.

Residents have the option to pursue 1-3 years of supplemental professional development time after the 2nd year of clinical training. This is an optional, flexible experience designed to meet the individual goals of the trainee. The Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute has nearly 200 basic science laboratories with whom our residents can train. An accelerated program is available for physicians who wish to obtain a PhD in Molecular Medicine making it possible to complete during these years. A large number of ongoing clinical trials are also available for those interested in clinical research. Mentoring in outcomes, quality and education research is also offered. The available experience outside the clinical training years augments the multitude of opportunities for scholarship that can be pursued during clinical training. Department funding is available.

One of the most important elements of our program is the collegiality and camaraderie between the residents and faculty. Our structured advising program is supplemented by access to mentors who guide trainees towards their chosen fields. While most of our graduates pursue fellowship training after residency, around 15% go directly into academic or community practice.

On this website you will find more details of our program. If you believe our program fits your personal and professional goals, we invite you to apply for one of our 10 categorical positions through ERAS. If you have further questions, though, please feel free to contact us. We believe it will become clear why Cleveland Clinic’s General Surgery residency program is one of the best.

Sincerely,

Ajita Prabhu, MD, FACS
Program Director, General Surgery Residency

Residency program leadership

R. Matthew Walsh, MD, FACS
Chair, Department of General Surgery

Sofya Asfaw, MD, FACS
Associate Program Director for Wellness and Mentorship

Chelsea (Xiaoxi) Feng, MD
Associate Program Director for Simulation

Daniel Joyce, MBBCh
Associate Program Director for Preliminary Residents

Robert Naples, DO
Associate Program Director for Scholarly Activity

Joseph Trunzo, MD, FACS
Associate Program Director for Didactic Curricula
Site Director, Fairview Hospital, General Surgery Residency

Rickesha Wilson, MD
Site Director, Hillcrest Hospital, General Surgery Residency

Judith French, PhD
Surgical Educator

Clinical Training & Conferences

Our residency program is unique because of its diversity, case volume and variety of teaching settings. We are proud to have faculty and residents from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Resident education and research are at the forefront of our department. Our residents rotate in a variety of clinical settings, including a leading quaternary teaching hospital, two regional Level II trauma centers, a Level I trauma and burn center county hospital as well as ambulatory surgery centers. Trainees care for a large volume of patients with extremely complicated and straightforward surgical diseases. All residents are guaranteed to be exposed to a large number of cases across all aspects of general surgery.

Experience

Our training philosophy is to involve the entire team, especially residents, in patient care at all times – pre-operative decision making in the clinic or in consultation, in the operating room, and during post-operative care. Experience is gained by operating on skill-appropriate cases at our high volume quaternary care hospital, regional hospitals, and ambulatory surgery centers. Leadership is developed by conferring a high level of responsibility early in the training program with progressive autonomy and responsibility. The most senior resident on a service is charged with assigning operative cases to residents and fellows, ensuring an optimal experience that is tailored to each resident.

Surgery simulation

The Cleveland Clinic Simulation and Advanced Skills Center is an American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institute equipped with laparoscopy, flexible endoscopy, robotic surgery, and endovascular surgery simulators. The center is a Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) and Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES) training and testing site. Residents have 24-hour access to the sim-lab where they can practice skills. A robust skills curriculum using simulation is integrated into the teaching program with sessions occurring around once per month.

A DaVinci XI training robot is available for practice with 24/7 access to augment our robust simulation and on-console robotics training program.

Night float/call format

The main campus has a night float system, consisting of a team of PGY-1, PGY-2, and PGY-4 residents. This format allows all team members to operate in level-appropriate cases, provide longitudinal care of patients, and dedicate time to research projects, leadership positions, and knowledge development. When not on the night float rotation, junior residents typically take call two weekends per month and senior residents take call about once a month. We adhere to all ACGME work hour regulations, including the 80-hour work week and an average of one day off per week averaged over the month. Regional hospitals have a rotating call schedule with residents taking in house call around 1-2 times per week.

Morbidity and mortality conference

M&M conference is held weekly. Our PhD Education Scientist helps select cases for presentation to assure a diverse curriculum of reviewed patients throughout the year. The conference is designed to foster inter-disciplinary learning and collegial discussions between trainees and faculty.

Grand rounds

Quarterly Grand Rounds by both local experts and internationally recognized Visiting Professors promote surgical learning for faculty and residents. In addition to lecture style seminars, residents have the unique opportunity to interact with these leaders over case presentations and informal lunch discussions. Residents also benefit by meeting with these surgeons in an informal setting to ask questions about research, career trajectory, and general life advice. Topics cover a broad range including modern advances, historical perspectives, world health, and the environmental impact of healthcare to name a few.

Cleveland Clinic conferences

Our residents may attend high-level, multidisciplinary conferences taught by our world-renowned faculty aimed at practicing digestive, vascular, oncologic and endocrine disease specialists. These combine clinical management updates by thought leaders, hands-on skills development, and quality and patient safety developments.

Who makes up the PGY-1 surgery class?

Our PGY-1 class is made up of 10 categorical and 9 non-designated preliminary General Surgery residents. Additionally, designated interns from multiple specialties rotate on our general surgery services facilitating exposure to relevant general surgery cases for our subspecialty colleagues, and creating rapport between residents across departments. Interns from our Integrated Vascular, Cardiovascular, Thoracic, Plastics, Urology, Orthopedic, and Otolaryngology work closely with our general surgery residents.

PGY-1 Fundamentals of Surgery Seminar Series

Residents arrive as PGY-1’s with a range of knowledge and clinical experience. Orientation to the program includes a two week skills training course designed to help all new residents get accustomed to common technical skills, clinical scenarios and our electronic health record. During the first month of training, all new residents participate in a didactic and simulation curriculum to ease the transition to residency. Chair rounds with Dr. Walsh and the PGY1s occur once a month throughout the first year providing an opportunity to discuss cases with the Chair of Surgery.

Weekly learning sessions

Protected educational conferences occur every Wednesday morning from 7-11 am. All residents are excused from their clinical responsibilities during this time. The format varies week-to-week, ranging from lecture based content from leading Cleveland Clinic faculty, research work-shops, simulation activities, and game-based ABSITE review. The curriculum for this conference follows a two-year revolving schedule based on the SCORE curriculum, and is supplemented by access to Scientific American’s Decker online question bank and content.

Service specific conferences

Each service holds its own conference (weekly) and journal clubs (monthly). Journal clubs are usually held at restaurants.

Advising and mentorship programs

Each trainee, upon entrance to our program, is assigned a faculty and resident advisor. The staff-member helps facilitate the trainee’s integration into Cleveland Clinic and assist them throughout their time here. Trainees meet with their faculty advisors at least twice a year to go over their milestones, evaluations, progress and accomplishments.

New trainees are also aligned with a senior resident to help them navigate issues with which residents would be more familiar than staff.

Our program believes that mentorship is an organic relationship that cannot be assigned. All of our faculty participate as mentors to our trainees. Throughout their time here, most residents identify several mentors in a variety of areas such as career, family, work-life integration, research and leadership.

Administrative experience

Residents have the opportunity to participate in administrative roles very early on their path through the program. Two administrative Chiefs Residents are selected by the residents and program administration to assist in the day-to-day oversight, including rotation schedules, call schedules, education improvements and new initiatives. In addition, residents have the opportunity to hold membership in the department’s education committee, residency recruitment committee, research committee, intern orientation and quality improvement committees, serve as the medical student liaison and help organize social events. Faculty also serve as champions to assist trainees in attaining membership and leadership roles in national organizations.

Opportunities for electives both inside and outside Cleveland Clinic

All PGY-3s, 4s and 5s have a designated block of elective time each year. This time may be used for additional exposure to one of the core rotations at the main campus or regional hospitals. Alternatively, this time may be used to pursue other interests including rotation at other institutions if desired.

Global health

Opportunities for international rotations are available to those who are interested with funding available. In the past, residents have rotated at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, Ireland where they learned how surgical training is provided in a nationally centralized system in addition to working on a busy trauma and oncology service. Residents have also rotated at the Rwanda Military Hospital in Kigali, Rwanda, learning about surgical care and training in an under-resourced setting.

Rotations & Teams

PGY-1 (4 weeks per rotation)

Acute Care
Acute Care Surgery Night Float
Colorectal
Bariatrics/Endoscopy
Endocrine
HPB/Oncology
Liver Transplant
MIS/hernia/General Surgery
Pediatric
Plastic Surgery
Thoracic
Vascular
Fairview Orange (Peds/Breast/MIS/HPB)
Fairview Colorectal
Fairview General Surgery/Trauma
Fairview ICU
Fairview Vascular Surgery
Hillcrest General Surgery

PGY-2 (4 weeks per rotation)

Acute Care Night Float
Bariatric
Breast
Intestinal Transplant
MIS/Hernia/General Surgery
Plastic
Fairview Peds/Breast/MIS/HP
Fairview ICU
Fairview General Surgery/Trauma
Fairview Vascular
Hillcrest General Surgery
Hillcrest HPB/Colorectal
MetroHealth Trauma / ICU 
MetroHealth Burns / ICU

PGY-3 (5 weeks per rotation)

Acute Care
Breast*
Pediatric*
Liver Transplant*
Minimally Invasive/Bariatric Surgery/Surgical Endoscopy*
Fairview General Surgery/Trauma
Fairview Colorectal
Fairview Vascular
Hillcrest General Surgery
Elective

PGY-4 (5 weeks per rotation)

Acute Care Night Float*
Endocrine*
HPB/Surgical Oncology
MIS/Hernia/General Surgery*
Minimally Invasive/Bariatric Surgery/Surgical Endoscopy
Thoracic
Fairview Colorectal*
Fairview General Surgery/Trauma
Metro Health Trauma*
Elective

PGY-5 (5-12 weeks per rotation)

Acute Care*
Colorectal - Acting Fellow*
Fairview Peds/Breast/MIS/HPB*
Fairview Vascular*
Hillcrest General Surgery*
Hillcrest HPB/Colorectal*
HPB/Surgical Oncology*
MIS/Hernia/General Surgery*
Elective

*Chief

Surgical teams

Main Campus

Regional hospital teams

Research

Resident research

A successful career in surgery, both in an academic and a community setting, requires an understanding of research and the ability to critically appraise medical literature. All residents in our program participate in a comprehensive academic curriculum with year-round lectures, individualized mentorship and extensive resources to encourage resident participation in research.

Those who are interested may arrange for additional years of professional development time during residency, typically after the second clinical year. Departmental and other funding sources are available. This time can be used to obtain an advanced degree, participate in basic science research, or become involved in one of many prospective clinical studies conducted at Cleveland Clinic.

We offer a 2-year Surgical Education Research Fellowship that is accredited by the American College of Surgeons. A Master of Health Professions Education is also possible through this position.

Residents routinely present their work at local, regional, national and international meetings. Release from clinical duties and travel support is provided.

Resident Research Day

Our annual resident research day showcases the impressive academic endeavors completed by General Surgery residents in both the clinical and basic sciences.

Research opportunities

Research is one of the main pillars of Cleveland Clinic, as is reflected by the vast resources offered by the institution to continuously innovate and improve patient care. Fueled by the unique case volume and complexity, the surgical divisions and departments are pioneers in clinical and basic science research with multiple ongoing prospective trials and large historical databases readily available. Unique opportunities exist across all surgical specialties for residents interested in academics to work within established groups and excel. In addition, those interested in laboratory research benefit from access to the more than 200 principal investigators at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute.

Clinical research opportunities for general surgery residents

All clinical research groups continuously conducting research projects, and reaching out to any can be a great way for current residents to get involved in research during their clinical surgery time. Some also offer fully-funded research positions for 2 years that allow research fellows to take time off between clinical years 2 and 3 for an immersive experience in clinical research.

Additionally, some general surgery residents choose to pursue a PhD and engage in more translational/bench research in a lab with separate funding. Those opportunities are not included in this list. 

If any current general surgery residents are interested in participating in research with the groups below, they should reach out directly to the Principal Investigator via email.

• Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery.
• Breast Surgery
• Colorectal Surgery
• Endocrine Surgery
• Healthcare Disparities in General Surgery
• Hepatobiliary Surgery
• Hernia Surgery
• Liver Cancer
• Liver Transplant Surgery
• Pediatric Surgery
• Quality Improvement
• Surgical Education
• Minimally Invasive Surgery

PhD in molecular medicine

Residents have the option to attain a PhD in Molecular Medicine through the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. Residents receive academic credit for their medical degree making it possible to complete the program during these years.

Current Residents in Professional Development

John Barron, MD

John is completing his second of three years of clinical research within the Section of General Thoracic Surgery. Two of his current interests pertain to development of an outcomes-based model to inform optimal surgical management of achalasia, as well as use of radiomics to predict chronic rejection following lung transplant. He is completing his Master of Science through the Clinical Research Scholars Program at Case Western Reserve University.

Mentors: Siva Raja, MD, PhD & Eugene Blackstone, MD

Justin Bauzon, MD

Justin is completing his research studies under the endocrine surgery department. His primary focus is on the genetic and biochemical basis of thyroid/parathyroid malignancy as well as clinical outcomes research. Current projects include an analysis of diagnostic molecular markers in thyroid cancer, role of hyperparathyroidism on orthopedic outcomes, relationship of parathyroidectomy with calcific coronary disease, and predictive neural network modeling for thyroid cancer. Justin is also interested in research quality and safety initiatives.

Mentors: Allan Siperstein, MD, Judy Jin, MD, Gustavo Romero-Velez, MD

Fadlullah Ba’th, MD, MA

Fadlullah is conducting outcomes research in the fields of bariatric, metabolic, and general surgery. His primary focus encompasses both prospective and retrospective studies investigating the impact of various factors, both modifiable and non-modifiable, on the overall outcomes of obese populations. As an URiM, he holds a specific interest in the interplay between modifiable risk factors and the mitigation of disparities in bariatric outcomes.

Mentors: Ali Aminian, MD, Xiaoxi Feng, MD, Rickesha Wilson, MD, Ricard Corcelles Codina, MD

William Bennett, MD

Will is the first-year Hernia Surgery and Abdominal Core Health Research Fellow. His primary research interests regard randomized controlled trials and prospective trial design considerations for surgical outcomes research. Surgical topics of interest include clinical and radiographic correlates of abdominal wall tensiometry, parastomal hernia management, postoperative chronic pain in mesh-based repairs, and component separation techniques. He is currently coordinating randomized controlled trials evaluating absorbable synthetic mesh vs pledget repair for large hiatal hernias, inguinal mesh explantation vs observation for chronic groin pain, and a contemporary comparison of suture vs mesh repair of small incisional hernias. He also participates in surgical sustainability research and efforts promoting health career exposure to middle school students in the Cleveland area.

Mentors: Michael Rosen, MD, Ajita Prabhu, MD, Clayton Petro, MD, Benjamin Miller, MD, David Krpata, MD, and Lucas Beffa, MD

Andrew Conner, MD, PhD

Andrew is a general thoracic surgery clinical research fellow. His research interests include benign foregut, esophageal cancer, and lung cancer surgery. Current projects include initiating a randomized clinical trial comparing outcomes of intrapyloric Botox injection to pyloromyotomy during esophagectomy. In addition to using outcomes data to answer questions related to the management of achalasia, Andrew is planning to build a outcomes-based database on lung cancer patients treated at the Cleveland Clinic to answer questions in an effort to guide optimal surgical management of lung cancer.

Mentors: Siva Raja, MD, PhD

Abby Gross, MD

Abby is working as the Quality & Safety Research Fellow for the Digestive Disease Institute (DDI). Current research and quality projects include reducing serious aspiration events among surgical patients, triaging inter-hospital transfers, care path implementation, and integrating quality initiatives into resident education. As the quality fellow, she participates in DDI quality operations, such as reviewing serious safety events and root case analyses. She also works closely with the Surgical Disparities Research Group which aims to identify and mitigate disparities in surgical care among minority and disadvantaged groups.

Mentor: Toms Augustin, MD, MPH

Jared Hendren, MD

Jared is currently completing the James Church, MD-Sheetz Family Endowed Clinical Fellowship in Hereditary Colorectal Cancer Syndromes at Cleveland Clinic. His clinical focus includes management of patients with FAP, Lynch Syndrome, and other hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes, and his research focus is primarily outcomes focused. Current projects include assessing Lynch Syndrome survival outcomes stratified by MMR status, outcomes related to IPAA creation for patients with FAP, and patient barriers to joining a registry.

Mentors: Joshua Sommovilla, MD and David Liska, MD

Janell Holloway, MD

Janell is conducting basic science research under the Physicians Researchers Innovating in Science and Medicine (PRISM) program under Feng Lin, PhD. At the conclusion of this program, she will have a PhD in molecular medicine. She is currently studying the potential role of CDCP1 (a surface protein highly expressed in colon cancer) in regulating gut homeostasis.

Daphne Remulla, MD

Sangeeta Satish, MD

Sangeeta is conducting research with the Liver Transplantation department. Her research interests include viability assessment, machine perfusion and HCC recurrence following liver transplant.

Mentor(s): Andrea Schlegel, MD (Liver Transplant)

Ece Unal, MD

Ece is a clinical research fellow with the department of colorectal surgery. Her types of research include clinical trials, outcomes-focused research and qualitative research. Areas of interest include inflammatory bowel disease and surgical education in colorectal surgery. Current projects include rescue therapy for postoperative ileus after colorectal surgery, impact of GLP1 agonist therapy on functional outcomes after pelvic pouch creation and safety of perianal elective operative intervention in Crohn's disease.

Mentors: Stefan Holubar, MD MS; Arielle Kanters, MD

Pooja Varman, MD

Pooja is the current surgical education research fellow who is applying qualitative and quantitative research methods to study medical student transitions to surgical residency, teaching in the operating room, and simulation- and video-based education for minimally invasive surgery. She is involved in curriculum design for the general surgery program and surgery clerkship, creating content for the surgery podcast Behind the Knife, and obtaining a master’s in education. She has additional interests in socially responsible surgery, surgical palliative care, and breast surgery.

Mentors: Jeremy Lipman, MD, MHPE, Judith French, PhD, Anna Chichura, MD, Stephanie Valente, DO, and Zahraa AlHilli, MD, MBA

Sarah Ziqi Wang, MD

Sarah is a Research Fellow in the Department of Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She is conducting basic science/translational research under the mentorship of pediatric surgeon-scientist Dr. Mark Puder. Her primary interest is the role of lipids and lipid-like bioactive molecules in parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease. Additional research interests include short bowel syndrome, treatments for pulmonary fibrosis, and the effects of anticoagulants on lung growth/development. Sarah is involved in several clinical trials examining potential therapeutics for the treatment of intestinal failure and related complications in the pediatric population.

Mentor: Mark Puder, MD PhD

Chase Wehrle, MD

Chase is conducting research with the departments of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) Surgery and Liver Transplantation. His primary interest is in clinical trials for which he has received both grant and industry funding. Topics of randomized trials include surgical versus endoscopic management of idiopathic pancreatitis, use of amniotic tissue grafting in biliary anastomoses in living- and deceased-donor liver transplantation, the impact of machine perfusion on oncologic risk after transplant, and the impact of routine post-operative ward monitoring on surgical outcomes. He has additional interest in translational research, including genomic predictors of response to adjuvant chemotherapy in pancreas cancer, utility of circulating tumor DNA in liver and pancreas cancer, multi-omics prediction models for hepatocellular carcinoma, and the utility of KRAS-based liquid biopsy for early detection of pancreas cancer in high-risk cohorts.

Mentor(s): R Matthew Walsh, MD (HPB), Robert Simon, MD (HPB), Daniel Joyce, MBBCh (Surgical Oncology), Samer Naffouje, MD (Surgical Oncology), Koji Hashimoto, MD, PhD (Liver Transplant), Andrea Schlegel, MD (Liver Transplant), Federico Aucejo, MD (Liver Transplant), Choon H David Kwon, MD, PhD (Liver Transplant), Masato Fujiki, MD (Liver Transplant), Alejandro Pita, MD (Liver Transplant), & Dan Sessler, MD (Anesthesia, Outcomes)

Melissa Wills, MD

Mélissa works in the minimally invasive, foregut surgery, and surgical endoscopy research lab. Her scholarly output encompasses a range of publications, including randomized controlled trials, retrospective analyses, and academic book chapters. Current projects comprise a comparison in outcomes of PEG and PEG-J tubes, an investigation in endoscopic management strategies of gastroparesis, a study of the effects of standardized limb length in roux-en-y gastric bypass, and a textbook chapter on esophageal emergencies. When she's not working in the lab, she can be found spending time outdoors, in the gym, or at Edgewater Beach with her friends.

Mentors: Matthew Kroh, MD; Salvador Navarrete, MD; Andrew Strong, MD; Jerry Dang, MD, PhD

Kimberly Woo, MD

Kim is investigating surgical outcomes in abdominal wall reconstruction and general surgery. She is particularly interested in postoperative opioid utilization, inguinal hernia repair outcomes and mesh related outcomes, and runs multiple randomized controlled trials in these topics. She has additional interests in disparities in surgical care, such as the use of reusable versus single use operative instruments and life cycle analysis of inguinal hernia repairs.

Mentors: Ajita Prabhu, MD, Michael Rosen, MD, David Krpata, MD, Clayton Petro, MD, Lucas Beffa, MD, and Benjamin Miller, MD

Clinical Research Groups

Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Research Group

Principal Investigator: Ali Aminian, MD

Co-Investigators: Rickesha Wilson, MD, Chelsea Feng, MD, Ricard Corcelles, MD, Matthew Kroh, MD, Kalman Bencsath, MD, Walter Cha, MD, Jesse Gutnick, MD, Toms Augustin, MD, MPH, Salvador Navarrete, MD, Andrew Strong, MD

Funded Opportunities: Potential opportunities may be available upon request

Research Focus:

• Effects of bariatric surgery on health consequences of obesity such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease, cancer, COVID-19, etc.
• Individualized approach in bariatric procedure selection.
• Role of changes in microbiome in health benefits of bariatric surgery.
• Bariatric surgery in patients with specific underlying medical conditions such as heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, cirrhosis, organ transplant candidates, etc.
• Disparities in outcomes after bariatric surgery based on social determinants of health.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Aminian A, Al-Kurd A, Wilson R, Bena J, Fayazzadeh H, Singh T, Albaugh VL, Shariff FU, Rodriguez NA, Jin J, Brethauer SA, Dasarathy S, Alkhouri N, Schauer PR, McCullough AJ, Nissen SE. Association of Bariatric Surgery With Major Adverse Liver and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Biopsy-Proven Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis. JAMA. 2021 Nov 23;326(20):2031-2042. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.19569. PMID: 34762106; PMCID: PMC8587225.
• Aminian A, Wilson R, Al-Kurd A, Tu C, Milinovich A, Kroh M, Rosenthal RJ, Brethauer SA, Schauer PR, Kattan MW, Brown JC, Berger NA, Abraham J, Nissen SE. Association of Bariatric Surgery With Cancer Risk and Mortality in Adults With Obesity. JAMA. 2022 Jun 28;327(24):2423-2433. doi: 10.1001/jama.2022.9009. PMID: 35657620; PMCID: PMC9166218.
• Landreneau JP, Strong AT, Rodriguez JH, Aleassa EM, Aminian A, Brethauer S, Schauer PR, Kroh MD. Conversion of Sleeve Gastrectomy to Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass. Obes Surg. 2018 Dec;28(12):3843-3850. doi: 10.1007/s11695-018-3435-1. PMID: 30094577.

Breast Surgery Research Group

Principal Investigator: Zahraa AlHilli, MD

Co-Investigators: Debra Pratt, MD, Stephanie Valente, DO, Erica Peters, MD, Julie Lang, MD

Funded Opportunities: Potential opportunities may be arranged upon request

Research Focus:

• Exploring healthcare delivery of breast cancer from initial entry point into system to flow between specialties (surgery, radiation oncology, medical oncology, etc) and ultimate treatment.
• Pain control after breast surgery and opioid-reducing options.
• Cost and value of breast oncological care from different perspectives (patient, healthcare system).
• Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathway for post-breast surgery.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• ElSherif A, Armanyous S, Gentle CK, Al-Hilli Z, Valente SA. Trends of Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy at the time of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence. Am J Surg. 2022 Mar;223(3):533-537. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.12.009. Epub 2021 Dec 11. PMID: 34924172.
• Al-Hilli Z, Wilkerson A. Breast Surgery: Management of Postoperative Complications Following Operations for Breast Cancer. Surg Clin North Am. 2021 Oct;101(5):845-863. doi: 10.1016/j.suc.2021.06.014. Epub 2021 Aug 7. PMID: 34537147.
• ElSherif A, Shah C, Downs-Kelly E, Alhareb A, Valente SA, Tu C, Al-Hilli Z. Outcomes of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence after breast conserving surgery: Repeat lumpectomy as an alternative to salvage mastectomy. Surgery. 2022 Mar;171(3):673-681. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2021.10.069. Epub 2021 Dec 12. PMID: 34911644.
• ElSherif A, Armanyous S, Al-Hilli Z, Valente SA. Mastectomy options for the treatment of ipsilateral breast cancer recurrence after lumpectomy. Am J Surg. 2022 Mar;223(3):447-451. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.11.028. Epub 2021 Dec 15. PMID: 34955166.

Colorectal Surgery – Note Several Groups

Principal Investigator: The staff in the colorectal surgery department at main campus are actively engaged in research, and often collaborate with each other. Some of the staff and their specific interests are listed below. The department offers a wind range of research options to include outcomes, prospective trials and quality. Residents are supported to go to regional and national meetings to present their work. In addition, support for statistical analysis and educational conferences is standard with the group.

Co-Investigators: Scott Steele, MD, MBA, Tracy Hull, MD, Stefan Holubar, MD, David Liska, MD, Emre Gorgun, MD, Hermann Kessler, MD, Michael Valente, DO, Anuradha Bhama, MD, Jeremy Lipman, MD, Joshua Sommovilla, MD, Arielle Kanters, MD

Funded Opportunities: Funding for research positions is available for 1-2 years. The source of funding will vary based on the fellow and what projects they will undertake. In general, funding is available from DDSI, the Colorectal Surgery Department, or a specific PI related to a specific project.

Research Focus: The colorectal surgery department has several staff who are actively engaged in research in all aspects of colorectal surgery, including colorectal cancer, IBD, hereditary cancers, and endoscopic colorectal surgery techniques. There are a large number of internal or national/international database studies, clinical research trials, and basic science research in various areas of colorectal surgery. Specific interests of different PIs are listed below.

Principal Investigator: Scott Steele, MD, MBA

Specific Research Interests:

• Rectal cancer.
• Retrospective studies in all areas of colorectal surgery.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Short- and Long-term Outcomes of Ileal Pouch Anal Anastomosis Construction in Obese Patients With Ulcerative Colitis. Leeds IL, Holubar SD, Hull TL, Lipman JM, Lightner AL, Sklow B, Steele SR. Dis Colon Rectum. 2022 Aug 1;65(8):e782-e789.
• Advanced age alone should not preclude surveillance colonoscopy in the octogenarian and older population. Sapci I, Guyton K, Church J, Liska D, Gorgun E, Steele SR, Valente MA. Am J Surg. 2022 Mar;223(3):510-512. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.11.033. Epub 2021 Dec 2. PMID: 34916038

Principal Investigator: Tracy Hull, MD

Specific Research Interests:

• Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis (IPAA) related research.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Pouch volvulus-why adhesions are not always the enemy. Dionigi B, Prien C, Lavryk O, Lightner AL, Holubar SD, Hull T. Colorectal Dis. 2022 May 18. doi: 10.1111/codi.16195. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35585780
• Turnbull-Cutait abdominoperineal pull-through operation: The Cleveland Clinic experience in the 21st century. Lavryk OA, Bandi B, Shawki SF, Floruta C, Xue J, Valente MA, Steele SR, Hull TL. Colorectal Dis. 2022 May 1. doi: 10.1111/codi.16163. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35490348 

Principal Investigator: Stefan Holubar, MD

Specific Research Interests:

• Inflammatory bowel disease.
• NSQIP and other database-related research.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• What About Patient Cost? Defining Copay and Out-of-Pocket Costs of Extended Venous Thromboembolism Chemoprophylaxis After Colorectal Surgery. Prien C, Ribakow D, Steele SR, Liska D, Kessler H, Hull TL, Holubar SD. J Gastrointest Surg. 2022 Jul 26. doi: 10.1007/s11605-022-05416-8. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35882761
• Use of Intraoperative Calibration Spheres for Endoluminal Stricture Assessment to Facilitate Heineke-Mikulicz Strictureplasty in Diffuse Stricturing Crohn's Jejunoileitis. Duraes LC, Lee CHA, Holubar SD. Dis Colon Rectum. 2022 Jul 1;65(7):e741-e742. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0000000000002360. Epub 2022 Mar 23. PMID: 35333805

Principal Investigator: David Liska, MD

Specific Research Interests:

• Hereditary cancer and polyposis syndromes.
• Early onset colorectal cancer.
• Healthcare disparities.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Effect of Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy on Surgical Site Infections in High-Risk Reoperative Colorectal Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Sapci I, Camargo M, Duraes L, Jia X, Hull TL, Ashburn J, Valente MA, Holubar SD, Delaney CP, Gorgun E, Steele SR, Liska D. Dis Colon Rectum. 2022 Apr 1. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0000000000002415. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35358097
• Enhanced Recovery Pathway Benefits Patients Undergoing Nonelective Colorectal Surgery. Liska D, Novello M, Cengiz BT, Holubar SD, Aiello A, Gorgun E, Steele SR, Delaney CP.

Ann Surg. 2021 Apr 1;273(4):772-777. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000003438. PMID: 32697898

Principal Investigator: Emre Gorgun, MD

Specific Research Interests:

• Advanced endoscopic techniques in colorectal surgery, including endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).
• Colonoscopy and colorectal cancer screening.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Outcomes and Cost Analysis of Robotic Versus Laparoscopic Abdominoperineal Resection for Rectal Cancer: A Case-Matched Study. Gorgun IE, Cengiz TB, Ozgur I, Dionigi B, Kalady MF, Steele SR. Dis Colon Rectum. 2022 Feb 21. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0000000000002394. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35195554 
• A technical note on the treatment of large perianal condylomata acuminata. Ozgur I, Kanters A, Isakov R, Gorgun E. Colorectal Dis. 2022 Aug 8. doi: 10.1111/codi.16295. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35938233
• Restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis in elderly patients - is advanced age a contraindication? Duraes LC, Liang J, Steele SR, Cengiz B, Delaney CP, Holubar SD, Gorgun E.
• ANZ J Surg. 2022 Apr 18. doi: 10.1111/ans.17728. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35434821

Endocrine Surgery Research Group

Principal Investigator: Eren Berber, MD (Can also reach out to other Co-investigators individually)

Co-Investigators:Allan Siperstein, MD, Joyce Shin, MD, Vikram Krishnamurthy, MD, Judy Jin, MD, Katherine Heiden, MD

Funded Opportunities: Potential opportunities may be arranged upon request

Research Focus:

• Fluorescence in endocrine surgical procedures.
• Adrenalectomy procedures comparing different techniques such as laparoscopic and robotic.
• Liver tumor ablation, laparoscopic liver resection.
• Clinical studies based on existing databases.
• Patient-reported outcomes in thyroid and parathyroid surgery.
• Creating video abstracts of specific surgical techniques.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Broome DT, Naples R, Bailey R, Tekin Z, Hamidi M, Bena JF, Morrison SL, Berber E, Siperstein AE, Scharpf J, Skugor M. Use of Preoperative Imaging in Primary Hyperparathyroidism. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Jan 1;106(1):e328-e337. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa779. PMID: 33119066.
• Zolin SJ, Crawford K, Rudin AV, Harsono H, Krishnamurthy VD, Jin J, Berber E, Siperstein A, Shin JJ. Selective parathyroid venous sampling in reoperative parathyroid surgery: A key localization tool when noninvasive tests are unrevealing. Surgery. 2021 Jan;169(1):126-132. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2020.05.014. Epub 2020 Jul 8. PMID: 32651054.
• Zolin SJ, Crawford K, Rudin AV, Harsono H, Krishnamurthy VD, Jin J, Berber E, Siperstein A, Shin JJ. Selective parathyroid venous sampling in reoperative parathyroid surgery: A key localization tool when noninvasive tests are unrevealing. Surgery. 2021 Jan;169(1):126-132. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2020.05.014. Epub 2020 Jul 8. PMID: 32651054.
• Isiktas G, Nazli Avci S, Ergun O, Krishnamurthy V, Jin J, Siperstein A, Berber E. Laparoscopic versus robotic adrenalectomy in pheochromocytoma patients. J Surg Oncol. 2022 Sep;126(3):460-464. doi: 10.1002/jso.26918. Epub 2022 May 14. PMID: 35567781.

Healthcare Disparities in General Surgery Research Group

Principal Investigator: Sofya Asfaw, MD

Co-Investigators: Rickesha Wilson, MD, David Liska, MD, Claire Konys, PA-C

Funded Opportunities: None currently, however, funded Quality Improvement Research Fellow works closely with this group

Research Focus:

• Identifying disparities in healthcare outcomes based on patient demographics and other social determinants of health (SDOH).
• Evidence-based interventions to mitigate surgical disparities.
• Topics span across general surgery – from trauma to breast surgery to colorectal surgery.
• Educating the healthcare community on causes of disparate care in general surgery.
• Advocacy for collection of SDOH factors for use in research.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

Multiple projects in various stages of development, including under review for publication.

Hepatobiliary Surgery Research Group

Principal Investigator: Matthew Walsh, MD

Co-Investigators: Robert Simon, MD, Toms Augustin, MD MPH, Daniel Joyce, MBBCh

Funded Opportunities: 1-2 fully-funded positions annually for a 2-year research fellowship

Research Focus:

• Clinical research.
• Pancreatic cancer, liquid biopsy.
• Pancreatic cystic lesions such as IPMN and serous cystadenoma.
• Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
• Pancreatic surgery prehabilitation and outcomes.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Perlmutter BC, Ali J, Cengiz TB, Said SA, Tang A, Augustin T, Joyce D, Simon R, Walsh RM. Correlation between physical status measures and frailty score in patients undergoing pancreatic resection. Surgery. 2022 Mar 1;171(3):711-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2021.10.030
• Naples R, Walsh RM, Thomas JD, Perlmutter B, McMichael J, Augustin T, Simon R. Short-and long-term surgical outcomes of total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation: A comparative analysis of surgical technique and intraoperative heparin dosing to optimize outcomes. Pancreatology. 2021 Jan 1;21(1):291-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pan.2020.11.013
• Perlmutter BC, Naples R, Hitawala A, McMichael J, Chadalavada P, Padbidri V, Haddad A, Simon R, Walsh RM, Augustin T. Factors that Minimize Curative Resection for Gallbladder Adenocarcinoma: an Analysis of Clinical Decision-Making and Survival. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. 2021 Sep;25(9):2344-52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-021-04942-1

Hernia Surgery Research Group

Principal Investigator: Michael Rosen, MD

Co-Investigators: Ajita Prabhu, MD, Clayton Petro, MD, Benjamin Miller, MD, David Krpata, MD, Lucas Beffa, MD, Adele Costanzo, RN

Funded Opportunities: 2-5 fully-funded positions annually for a 2-year research fellowship

Research Focus:

• Clinical research, trial design, multiple ongoing randomized control trials.
• Abdominal core health.
• Minimally invasive hernia repair.
• Abdominal wall biomechanics.
• Mesh and biomaterials.
• Benign foregut and anti-reflux surgery.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Rosen MJ, Krpata DM, Petro CC, Carbonell A, Warren J, Poulose BK, Costanzo A, Tu C, Blatnik J, Prabhu AS. Biologic vs synthetic mesh for single-stage repair of contaminated ventral hernias: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA surgery. 2022 Apr 1;157(4):293-301. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2021.6902
• Petro CC, Zolin S, Krpata D, Alkhatib H, Tu C, Rosen MJ, Prabhu AS. Patient-reported outcomes of robotic vs laparoscopic ventral hernia repair with intraperitoneal mesh: the PROVE-IT randomized clinical trial. JAMA surgery. 2021 Jan 1;156(1):22-9. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.4569
• Prabhu AS, Carbonell A, Hope W, Warren J, Higgins R, Jacob B, Blatnik J, Haskins I, Alkhatib H, Tastaldi L, Fafaj A. Robotic inguinal vs transabdominal laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair: the RIVAL randomized clinical trial. JAMA surgery. 2020 May 1;155(5):380-7. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.0034

Liver Cancer Research Group

Principal Investigator: Federico Aucejo, MD

Co-Investigators: Koji Hashimoto, MD PhD, Bijan Eghtesad, MD, Masato Fujiki, MD, Choon Hyuck Kwon, MD, PhD, Charles Miller, MD, Rotating research fellows

Funded Opportunities: None present

Research Focus:

• Translational and clinical research.
• Liver malignancy digital histopathology: Predictive signatures via artificial intelligence.
• Role of liquid biopsy in liver malignancy.
• Salivary metabolomics as biomarkers of liver malignancy.
• Perioperative adjunct therapies for primary and secondary liver cancer.
• Role of liver transplantation in the management of primary and secondary liver malignancy.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Sasaki K, Nair A, Moro A, Augustin T, Quintini C, Berber E, Aucejo FN, Kwon CH. A chronological review of 500 minimally invasive liver resections in a North American institution: overcoming stagnation and toward consolidation. Surgical Endoscopy. 2022 Mar 11:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-022-09182-1
• Barron JO, Orabi D, Moro A, Quintini C, Berber E, Aucejo FN, Sasaki K, Kwon CH. Validation of the IWATE criteria as a laparoscopic liver resection difficulty score in a single North American cohort. Surgical Endoscopy. 2022 May;36(5):3601-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-021-08561-4
• Hershberger CE, Rodarte AI, Siddiqi S, Moro A, Acevedo‐Moreno LA, Brown JM, Allende DS, Aucejo F, Rotroff DM. Salivary metabolites are promising non‐invasive biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma and chronic liver disease. Liver Cancer International. 2021 Aug;2(2):33-44. https://doi.org/10.1002/lci2.25

Liver Transplant Surgery Research Group

Principal Investigator: Koji Hashimoto, MD PhD

Co-Investigators: Federico Aucejo, MD, Bijan Eghtesad, MD, Masato Fujiki, MD, Choon Hyuck Kwon, MD, PhD, Charles Miller, MD, Rotating research fellows

Funded Opportunities: Potential opportunities can be arranged

Research Focus:

• Bariatric Surgery, with specific focus on revisional bariatric surgery.
• GERD.
• Motility disorders.
• MALS.
• Surgical innovation and technology.
• Research fellow is a part of the DDSI Innovations and Technology program, including device development, tech-based endoscopy and surgery labs associated with the program, and the DDSI Innovation Council.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Aminian A, Wilson R, Al-Kurd A, Tu C, Milinovich A, Kroh M, Rosenthal RJ, Brethauer SA, Schauer PR, Kattan MW, Brown JC, Berger NA, Abraham J, Nissen SE. Association of Bariatric Surgery With Cancer Risk and Mortality in Adults With Obesity. JAMA. 2022 Jun 28;327(24):2423-2433. doi: 10.1001/jama.2022.9009. PMID: 35657620
• Schwalbe K, Finelli C, Moon S, Niehaus H, Kondajji A, Tu C, Fathalizadeh A, Kroh M, Allemang M. Endoscopic findings do not predict per-oral pyloromyotomy (POP) response. Surg Endosc. 2022 May 24. doi: 10.1007/s00464-022-09321-8. PMID: 35608698.
• Qudah Y, Abdallah M, Barajas-Gamboa JS, Del Gobbo GD, Pablo Pantoja J, Corcelles R, Rodriguez J, Balci N, Kroh M. Personalized Health Care Technology in Managing Postoperative Gastrointestinal Surgery Complications: Proof of Concept Study. J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A. 2022 Apr 28. doi: 10.1089/lap.2022.0114. PMID: 35483077.
• Majid SF, Husain FA, Choi Y, Gill S, Schirmer B, Kroh M, Kurian M. The SAGES MASTERS program presents the 10 seminal articles for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Surg Endosc. 2022 Jan;36(1):6-15. doi: 10.1007/s00464-021-08861-9. PMID: 34855007

Pediatric Surgery Research Group

Principal Investigator: Jason Robertson, MD

Co-Investigators: Darrell Cass, MD, Anthony DeRoss, MD, John DiFiore, MD, David Magnuson, MD

Funded Opportunities: Potential opportunities can be arranged upon request

Research Focus:

• Endothelial progenitor cell dysfunction relative to development of pulmonary hypoplasia and hypertension in congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
• Pectus excavatum.
• Bracing for pectus carinatum.
• Pediatric VV ECMO cannula choice.
• Appendectomy for RLQ pain.
• Non-standard indications for cholecystitis.
• Pediatric Surgery workforce issues.
• Role for pediatric and adult combined colorectal surgery clinic.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• DiFiore JW, Robertson JO, Chhabada S, DeRoss AL, Hossain MS, Rincon-Cruz L, Sung W. Next day discharge after the Nuss procedure using intercostal nerve cryoablation, intercostal nerve blocks, and a perioperative ERAS pain protocol. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2022 Feb 1;57(2):213-8. PMID: 34823843. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2021.10.034
• Robertson JO, Criss CN, Hsieh LB, Matsuko N, Gish JS, Mon RA, Johnson KN, Hirschl RB, Mychaliska GB, Gadepalli SK. Comparison of early versus delayed strategies for repair of congenital diaphragmatic hernia on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. J Pediatr Surg. 2018 Apr;53(4):629-634. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2017.10.056. Epub 2017 Nov 22. PMID: 29173775
• Sajankila N, DeRoss A, Lipman JM. Approach to the Adult Colorectal Patient with a History of Pediatric Abdominal Surgery. Clin Colon Rectal Surg. 2022 Aug 12;35(3):177-186. doi: 10.1055/s-0042-1742412. PMID: 35966376; PMCID: PMC9374533.

Quality Improvement Research Group

Principal Investigator: Toms Augustin, MD MPH

Co-Investigators: Kelly Nimylowycz, Kelly Walker

Funded Opportunities: One fully-funded position for a 2-year research fellow (cycles every 2 years with only 1 fellow at any given time)

Research Focus:

• Sepsis care and prevention of sepsis-related mortality.
• Optimal transfers of acute surgical patients between hospitals with different surgical capabilities.
• Prevention of serious safety events.
• Predicting and preventing hospital re-admission in general surgical patients.
• Management and monitoring of data to assess the quality and safety of healthcare.
• Harnessing the electronic health record to prevent specific patient-harm events.
• Monitoring quality and patient safety using American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) data.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Nimeri AA, Gamaleldin MM, McKenna KL, Turrin NP, Mustafa BO. Reduction of Venous Thromboembolism in Surgical Patients Using a Mandatory Risk-Scoring System: 5-Year Follow-Up of an American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. 2017 May;23(4):392-396. doi: 10.1177/1076029615614396. Epub 2015 Nov 25. PMID: 26607437.
• Gentle CK, Alkhatib H, Valente SA, Tu C, Pratt DA. Stage IV Non-breast Cancer Patients and Screening Mammography: It is Time to Stop. Ann Surg Oncol. 2022 Jul 18. doi: 10.1245/s10434-022-12132-9. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35849289.

Surgical Education Research Group

Principal Investigator: Jeremy Lipman, MD, MHPE

Co-Investigators: Judith French, PhD, Ajita Prabhu, MD

Funded Opportunities: One fully-funded position for a 2-year research fellowship (cycles every 2 years with only 1 fellow at any given time), as well as full funding for the pursuit of Masters of Education degree (typically MHPE or MEHP degree).

Research Focus:

• Operative teaching and assessment.
• Operative autonomy.
• Simulation teaching and assessment.
• Curriculum design.
• Residency recruitment.
• Medical student education in surgery.
• Professionalism in surgery.
• Any aspect of surgical education.
• Translational and clinical research.
• Improving transplant outcomes.
• Machine perfusion pump to improve ex-vivo viability of borderline donor livers.
• Novel therapeutics for improvement of allograft function.
• Immunotherapies in the prevention of transplantation rejection.
• Impact of metabolomics on peri-transplant patient outcomes.
• Model development with realistic perfusate for laparoscopic and robotic ex vivo hepatectomy and transplant training.
• Minimally invasive liver surgery.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Quintini C, Del Prete L, Simioni A, Del Angel L, Uso TD, D’Amico G, Hashimoto K, Aucejo F, Fujiki M, Eghtesad B, Sasaki K. Transplantation of declined livers after normothermic perfusion. Surgery. 2022 Mar 1;171(3):747-56. PMID: 35065791 DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2021.10.05
• Matsushima H, Fujiki M, Sasaki K, Cywinski JB, D’Amico G, Uso TD, Aucejo F, Kwon CH, Eghtesad B, Miller C, Quintini C. Can pretransplant TIPS be harmful in liver transplantation? A propensity score matching analysis. Surgery. 2020 Jul 1;168(1):33-9. PMID: 32268937 DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2020.02.01

Minimally Invasive Surgery Research Group

Principal Investigator: Matthew Kroh, MD

Co-Investigators:Salvador Navarrete, MD, Jeffrey Ponsky, MD, Matthew Allemang, MD, Andrew Strong, MD, John Rodriguez, MD (Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi)

Funded Opportunities: Funding is available and provided either by the Department of General Surgery or the DDSI Innovations Program, depending on areas of interest of the research fellow

Research Focus:

• Foregut surgery.
• Surgical endoscopy, including POEM, POP, and enteral access.
  • Currently in enrollment phase of randomized placebo-intervention trial for POP under a NIH RO1 Grant.

Recent/Noteworthy Publications:

• Han AY, Naples R, French JC, Dragomirescu C, Tu C, Lipman JM. Operative teaching takes "GUTS": Impact of Educational Time Out on trainee's cognitive load. Am J Surg. 2022 Apr 4:S0002-9610(22)00215-X. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2022.03.037. PMID: 35414429. 
• Naples R, French JC, Han AY, Lipman JM, Awad MM. The Impact of Simulation Training on Operative Performance in General Surgery: Lessons Learned from a Prospective Randomized Trial. J Surg Res. 2022 Feb;270:513-521. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2021.10.003. PMID: 34801802.
• Han AY, Obiri-Yeboah D, French JC, Lipman JM. The Virtual Recruitment Onion: Peeling Back the Layers of the Interview Season During the COVID-era. J Surg Educ. 2022 Jan-Feb;79(1):77-85. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2021.08.003. PMID: 34446384.
• Naples R, French JC, Thomas JD, Lipman JM. A New Era in Graduate Medical Education: A Novel Role for Surgical Subinternships in the Interview Selection Process. Ann Surg. 2021 Jan 1;273(1):e16-e18. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000004042. PMID: 32773620.

Pipeline Program

The Middle School Healthcare Careers Program (MSHCP) was created in 2022 by our general surgery residents to expand the healthcare pipeline. The mission is to inspire middle school students in our Cleveland community to pursue careers in healthcare by hosting multiple events each academic year. To date, MSHCP has reached several hundreds of students, offering them hands-on experiences and exposure to diverse medical fields.

Program Highlights

Each event features specialty stations with engaging, hands-on activities that provide students with a glimpse into various healthcare careers. For example,

• Surgery: Laparoscopic skills, suturing, knot tying
• Critical Care: Central lines, arterial lines, ultrasound
• Dental: Cavity filling, dental hygiene
• Nutrition: Calorie counting, nutritional counseling
• Physical Therapy: Strengthening exercises
• Pharmacy: Compounding, pill counting
• Podiatry: Saw bones demonstrations
• Nursing: Vitals, IV placement, blood draws
• Operating Room Prep: Donning and doffing, scrubbing, table prep
• Obstetrics/Gynecology: C-section simulations, infant delivery techniques

Our Partners

We collaborate with local area schools and programs that serve socioeconomically under-resourced youth, including

• Boys Hope Girls Hope
• Breakthrough Schools
• Almira Public Schools

Our professional partners include

• Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Youth and College Education (CYCE)
• Cleveland Surgical Society
• Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C)
• Baldwin Wallace University

Funding & Support

Our program is made possible through generous grant funding from

• Catalyst Grant
• Martha Holden Jennings Foundation

We are thankful for the abundance of support and hopeful that programs like this might help to shape the future of healthcare.

1 of 5

Current Residents

PGY-1

Riley Bohan, MD

• Medical School: University of Florida College of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Surgical Oncology, Critical Care.

.

Anagha Deshpande, MD

• Medical School: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Arizona.
• Career Interest: Surgical Oncology, Breast, Endocrine.

Nadia Khan, MD

• Medical School: University of Washington School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Trauma & Critical Care.

Karen Kong, MD

• Medical School: Rutgers NJMS.
• Career Interest: Colorectal, Breast.

Natalia Ochman, MD

• Medical School: University of Maryland Medical School.
• Career Interest: Trauma Surgery, Critical Care.

Hafsa Omer Sulaiman, MBBS

• Medical School: St George's University of London.
• Career Interest: Plastic surgery, transplant.

Vishal Rajesh, MD

• Medical School: Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio.
• Career Interest: Liver transplant, HPB, Colorectal.

Rachel Schneider, MD

• Medical school: UMass Chan School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Trauma surgery, General Surgery, Acute Care Surgery.

Henry Stitzel, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Undecided.

Riley Wilkinson, MD, MPH

• Medical School: University of Louisville.
• Career Interest: Undecided.

Mohammad Hesam Alavi, MD, MPH

• Medical School: Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
• Career Interests: Minimally invasive surgery, Vascular and Cardiothoracic surgery

Faris S. Almadi, MD

• Medical School: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland - Bahrain 
• Career Interests: Cardiothoracic Surgery and Vascular Surgery 

Alessandro Bifolco, MD

• Medical School: Universidad Central de Venezuela
• Career Interests: Trauma Surgery, Critical Care

Rachel Blaisdell, MD

• Medical School: Oakland University
• Career Interests: Emergency Medicine

Sanjay K. Das, MD, MPH

• Medical School: Central Michigan University, College of Medicine 
• Career Interests: Urologic Oncology 

Pooja Dave, MD

• Medical School: University of Miami
• Career Interests: MIS or HPB Surgery

Karl Hage, MD

• Medical School: Université Saint-Joseph Faculté de Médecine, Lebanon
• Career Interests: Colon and Rectal Surgery, MIS, Endocrine Surgery

Zachary Stewart, DO

• Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Career Interests: Emergency Medicine

Mason Tatro DO, MBA

• Medical School: Lincoln Memorial University
• Career Interests: Emergency Medicine/ Critical Care

Logan Worley, MD

• Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
• Career Interests: Interventional Radiology

PGY-2

Elissa Dabaghi, MD

• Medical School: University of Texas Medical Branch.
• Career Interest: Undecided.

Divya Deverakonda, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: General Surgery, Critical Care, HP.

Amanda Graveson, MD

• Medical School: Oregon Health and Science University.
• Career Interest: General Surgery, Critical Care.

Diana Jimenez, MD

• Medical School: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University.
• Career Interest: General Surgery, Colon and Rectal Surgery.

Michaels Littau, MD

• Medical School: Loyola University of Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Trauma, Critical Care.

April Martinez, MD

• Medical School: University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston TX
• Career Interest: Colorectal surgery.

Ion Profirii, MD

• Medical School: Charles University, Czech Republic.
• Career interest: HPB, Transplant, Surgical Oncology.

Anibal La Riva Rincon, MD

• Medical School: Universidad Central de Venezuela Escuela de Medicina José María Vargas.
• Career Interest: Cardiothoracic Surgery, Trauma & Critical Care, Surgical Education.

Erika Schmidt, MD

• Medical School: Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
• Career Interests: Colorectal Surgery, Surgical Education.

Noah Tocci, MD

• Medical School: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
• Career Interest: Undecided.

Mohanad Baroudi, MD

• Medical School: Alfaisal University
• Career Interests: Undecided

Fathi Moustafa, MD

• Medical School: Royal College of Surgeons – Bahrain
• Career Interests: Acute care surgery, critical care, and abdominal wall reconstruction

PGY-3

Juan Aulestia, MD

• Medical School: Universidad Central del Ecuador.
• Career Interest: Minimally Invasive and Robotic General Surgery, Minimally invasive HPB surgery.

Nicole Brooks, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Colorectal Surgery, Surgical Education, Global Surgery.

Jenny Chang, MD

• Medical school: Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Surgical oncology, Breast surgery, Surgical outcomes and public health.

Ryan Ellis, MD

• Medical School: McGovern Medical School.

Yasser Fouda, MD

• Medical School: Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt.
• Career Interest: Liver, Pancreas, Kidney and Multivisceral Transplant, Gut Rehabilitation and HPB surgery.

Oscar Hernandez Dominguez, MD

• Medical School: University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.
• Career/Research Interest: Colorectal Surgery.

Benjamin Kramer, DO, MS

• Medical School: New York Institute of Technology College of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Cardiothoracic Surgery, Surgical Education.

Sara Maskal, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• Career/Research Interest: Minimally Invasive Surgery, Abdominal Wall Reconstruction.

Megan Obi, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Colorectal Surgery, Surgical Education, Global Surgery.
  Research Interest and Institution: Colorectal Cancer, Benign Abdominal Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease - Cleveland Clinic.

Sadia Tasnim, MD

• Medical School: University of Texas Medical Branch.
• Career/Research Interests: Thoracic, Genetics, Healthcare disparities, Surgical education. Sadia is currently in clinical research studying both benign and malignant non-cardiac thoracic diseases.

PGY-4

Jordan Apfeld, MD

• Medical School: Stanford University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Thoracic Surgery.
• Research Interest: Surgical Outcomes Research Fellow, specializing in large database analysis.

Doua Elamin, MD

• Medical School: University of Medical Sciences and Technology, Khartoum (Sudan).
• Career Interest: MIS, Colorectal.

Corey Gentle, MD

• Medical School: UT Southwest Medical School.
• Career Interest: Endocrine Surgery, Breast Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Global Health.

Mir Shanaz Hossain, MD

• Medical School: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Pavel Lenkov, MD

• Medical School: University of Oklahoma.
• Career Interest: General Surgery, Thoracic Surgery.

Gilman Plitt, MD

• Medical School: Creighton University School of Medicine.
• Career Interests: Endocrine Surgery, Surgical Oncology, Cancer Genetics.

Lorena Rincon-Cruz, MD

• Medical school: University of Colorado School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Pediatric Surgery.

Nitin Sajankila, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Pediatric Surgery and Surgeon Scientist.

Brian Tang, MD

• Medical School: McGovern Medical School at UTHealth.

Noah Weingarten, MD, MA

• Medical School: Northwestern University.
• Career Interest: Pediatric and Cardiothoracic Surgery; Device Innovation and Global Surgery

Avia Wilkerson, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Surgical oncology, immunotherapies for solid cancers

PGY-5

Raha Almarzooqi, MD

• Medical School: United Arab Emirates University - College of Medicine and Health Sciences.
• Career Interest: Colorectal Surgery.

Amy Han, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: General Surgery, Endocrine Surgery.
• Research Interest and Institution: Surgical Education, Cleveland Clinic.

Matthew Johnson, MD

• Medical School: University of Toledo College of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Congenital Heart Surgery.

George Kereselidze, MD

• Medical School: David Tvildiani Medical University (Georgia).
• Career Interest: Colorectal Surgery, MIS and Surgical Education.

Katherine Montelione, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• Career interest: Abdominal wall reconstruction.
• Research interest and institution: Abdominal wall hernias and reconstruction - Comprehensive Hernia Center, Cleveland Clinic

Moustafa Moussally, MD

• Medical School: American University of Beirut.
• Career Interest: Breast Oncology, Colorectal Surgery.

Andres Narvaez, MD

• Medical School: Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
• Career Interest: Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery.

Caleb Seavey, MD

• Medical School: George Washington University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Surgical Oncology.
• Research Interest and Institution: Basic science sarcoma research - Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.

Shahed Tish, MD

• Medical School: University of Damascus Faculty of Medicine.
• Career/Research Interest: Minimally invasive surgery/ Outcomes research.

Emily Verbus, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Liver transplant, HPB.

Research

John Barron, MD

• Medical School: Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Transplant/HPB surgery, Colorectal surgery.

Justin Bauzon, MD

• Medical School: Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV.
• Career Interest: Colorectal, MIS, or Pediatric Surgery.

Fadlullah Ba’th, MD

• Medical School: University of Minnesota Medical School.
• Career Interests: Pediatric Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, MIS.

William Bennett, MD

• Medical School: University of North Carolina.
• Career Interests: Critical Care, MIS, Surgical Education.

Andrew Conner, MD

• Medical School: Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University.
• Career Interest: Thoracic surgery, HPB surgery.

Abby Gross, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Critical Care, Pediatric Surgery, Colorectal Surgery.

Jared Hendren, MD

• Medical School: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Colorectal surgery.

Jannell Holloway, MD

• Medical School: University of California, Los Angeles.
• Career Interest: Trauma, Colorectal, MIS.

Daphne Remulla, MD

• Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of USC.
• Career Interest: Surgical Education, Undecided.

Sangeeta Satish, MD

• Medical School: Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Abdominal transplant surgery.

Ece Unal, MD

• Medical School: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Jefferson, Philadelphia, PA.
• Career Interest: Surgical Education, undecided.

Pooja Varman, MD

• Medical School: Creighton University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Pediatric Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Surgical Palliative Care, Surgical Education.

Sarah Wang, MD, MPH

• Medical School: Virginia Commonwealth University.
• Career Interest: Surgical Oncology, Endocrine, MIS.

Chase Wehrle, MD

• Medical School: Medical College of Georgia.
• Career Interest: HPB Surgery, Surgical Oncology.

Melissa Wills, MD

• Medical School: Wayne State University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Surgical Education, Critical Care, and undecided!

Kimberly Woo, MD

• Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
• Career Interest: Surgical Oncology.

Alumni

Staff Surgeons

Abdominal Wall Reconstruction and General Surgery

• Lucas Beffa, MD
• David Krpata, MD
• Benjamin Miller, MD
• Clayton Petro, MD
• Ajita Prabhu, MD

Breast Surgery

Main Campus

• Zahraa AlHilli, MD
• Paula Escobar, MD
• Vincent Wu, MD

Hillcrest Hospital

• Alicia Fanning, MD

Fairview Hospital

• Lauren Kopicky, DO
• Erica Peters, MD
• Stephanie Valente, DO

Colorectal Surgery

Main Campus

• Anuradha Bhama, MD
• Leonardo Duraes, MD, PhD
• I. Emre Gorgun, MD, MBA
• Stefan Holubar, MD
• Arielle Kanters, MD, MS
• Hermann Kessler, MD, PhD
• Olga Lavryk, MD, PhD
• David Liska, MD
• Jeremy Lipman, MD
• Johnathan Mitchem, MD
• Joshua Sommovilla, MD
• Anna Spivak, DO
• Scott Steele, MD, MBA
• Michael A. Valente, DO

Fairview Hospital

• Kristen Ban, MD
• Bradley Champagne, MD
• Ajaratu Keshinro, MD
• David Rosen, MD
• Joseph Trunzo, MD

Hillcrest Hospital

• Rebecca Gunter, MD, MS
• Thomas Garofalo, MD

Endocrine Surgery

• Allan Siperstein, MD, Chair, Department of Endocrine Surgery
• Eren Berber, MD
• Judy Jin, MD
• Vikram Krishnamurthy, MD
• Joyce Shin, MD
• Katherine Heiden, MD

Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery and Surgical Oncology

Main Campus

• R. Matthew Walsh, MD, Chair, Department of General Surgery
• Daniel Joyce, MBBCh
• Robert Naples, DO
• Robert Simon, MD

Fairview Hospital

• Toms Augustin, MD
• Samer Naffouje, MD

Hillcrest Hospital

• Christopher Siegel, MD

Liver and Multivisceral Transplant Surgery

• Masato Fujiki, MD, Director, Intestinal Transplant Program
• Koji Hashimoto, MD, PhD, Director, Liver Transplant Program
• Kareem Abu-Elmagd, MD, PhD
• Federico Aucejo, MD
• Mazhar Khalil, MD
• Jaekeun Kim, MD
• Choon Hyuck David Kwon, MD, PhD
• Charles Miller, MD
• Mohammed Osman, MD
• Alejandro Pita, MD
• Andrea Schlegel, MD

Metabolic and Minimally Invasive Surgery

Main Campus

• Ali Aminian, MD
• Ricard Corcelles, MD
• Jerry Dang, MD
• Chelsea (Xiaoxi) Feng, MD
• Andrew Strong, MD

Fairview Hospital

• Toms Augustin, MD
• Jesse Gutnick, MD

Hillcrest Hospital

• Walter Cha, MD
• Kalman Bencsath, MD
• Rickesha Wilson, MD

Minimally Invasive and General Surgery

Main Campus

• Matthew Kroh, MD
• Salvador Navarrete, MD
• Steven Rosenblatt, MD

Fairview Hospital

• Diya Alaedeen, MD, Division Chief, General Surgery
• Toms Augustin, MD
• Kevin Baier, MD
• Cathleen Khandelwal, MD
• David Rosen, MD
• Andrew Smith, MD

Hillcrest Hospital

• Kalman Bencsath, MD
• Walter Cha, MD
• James Malgieri, MD
• William O’Brien, MD

Surgical Critical Care

• Sofya Asfaw, MD
• Megan Beems, MD
• Tony Capizzani, MD
• Brett Elo, MD
• James Harrington, MD
• Jia Liu, MD
• John Medrick, DO

Surgical Endoscopy

Main Campus

• Matthew Allemang, MD

Fairview Hospital

• Diya Alaedeen, MD, Division Chief, General Surgery

Pediatric Surgery

• Darrell Cass, MD, Director, Fetal Surgery
• Miguel Guelfand, MD, Director, Pediatric General Surgery
• Anthony DeRoss, MD
• John DiFiore, MD
• David Magnuson, MD
• Jason Robertson, MD

Thoracic Surgery

Main Campus

• Sudish Murthy, MD, PhD, Section Head, General Thoracic Surgery
• Siva Raja, MD, PhD, Associate Program Director, Thoracic Fellowship
• Daniel Raymond, MD
• Monisha Sudarshan, MD

Vascular Surgery

Main Campus

• Sean Lyden, MD, Chair, Department of Vascular Surgery
• Francis Caputo, MD, Program Director
• Jon Quatromoni, MD, Associate Program Director, Vascular Surgery Integrated
• Ravi Ambani, MD
• Courtney Hanak, MD
• Ali Khalifeh, MD
• Lee Kirksey, MD

Fairview Hospital

• Eduardo Corso, MD
• Gayan De Silva, MD
• Roy Miler, MD
• Christopher Smith, MD
• Sean Steenberge, MD

Hillcrest Hospital

• David Laczynski, MD

Locations

Physicians at all locations are part of the Cleveland Clinic General Surgery, Vascular Surgery, or Colorectal Surgery Departments except for the MetroHealth Medical Center where the Level I trauma rotations are done.

Cleveland Clinic Main Campus

• Founded in 1921 by George Crile Sr., a general and endocrine surgeon; Frank Bunts, a neurosurgeon; William Lower, an urologist; and John Phillips, an internist.
• 44 buildings, over 85 operating rooms, more than 1,400 beds.
• Quaternary care center with an international referral base.
• Over 200,000 surgery cases each year.
• Program site director: Ajita Prabhu, MD.

Fairview Hospital

• Fairview Hospital is a busy community hospital and Level 2 Trauma Center on Cleveland’s west side. General Surgery Residents operate on all General, Colorectal, Breast, Endovascular, and Vascular Surgery cases and run the SICU and Trauma team.
• 488 beds.
• $83 million dollar expansion of emergency department and ICU in 2013.
• Site director: Joseph Trunzo, MD.

Hillcrest Hospital

• Hillcrest Hospital is a busy community hospital and Level 2 Trauma Center on Cleveland’s east side.
• 496 beds.
• $163 million dollar expansion and renovation in 2010.
• Site director: Kalman Bencsath, MD.

Lutheran Hospital

• Founded 1896; Joined CCHS 1997
• Beds: 203 licensed; 196 immediate availability
• Centers of Excellence: Spine, Orthopaedics, Behavioral Health, Wound Healing Center, Center for Spine Health
• Branded CC Services: Spine Health, Spine Research Lab, Behavioral Health (Alcohol and Drug Recovery Center, Adult Program and Mood Disorders Program)
• Renovations: Emergency Department, Operating Room and Cafeteria renovations
• Awards: Pathway to Excellence® Designation, ranked No. 34 in the nation for Patient Engagement by Becker’s Hospital Review, ranked No. 3 in the nation for Patient Safety by Consumer Reports, Press Ganey Commitment to Excellence Award
• The patient population is at a lower level of medical acuity than those often encountered at Main campus.

Metro Health Medical Center

• MetroHealth Medical Center is an academic health system, the regional Level 1 Trauma and Burn Center, and the regional safety net hospital on Cleveland’s south side.
• MetroHealth Medical Center’s staff surgeons are all professors at Case Western Reserve University Medical School.
• The Trauma Service has two teams, one run by a Cleveland Clinic General Surgery PGY-4 resident and the other run by a University Hospitals Case Medical Center General Surgery PGY-4 resident. The Trauma ICU is run by one PGY-2 resident from the Cleveland Clinic and one PGY-2 from University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

Beachwood, Strongsville, Twinsburg Family Health and Surgery Centers

• Beachwood, Strongsville, Twinsburg Family Health and Surgery Centers are ambulatory surgery centers staffed by Cleveland Clinic main campus, Hillcrest and Fairview surgeons. Residents perform endoscopy and operate on General and Breast Surgery cases in a fast track surgery environment.

Applications & FAQs

Categorical Program

The General Surgery residency program at Cleveland Clinic is approved for 11 categorical residents per year for five clinical years. A varying number of our categorical residents take advantage of optional research and professional development years, typically after PGY-2.

We seek trainees interested in a program with high clinical volume, scientifically-advanced care and robust opportunities for innovation. Our graduates become leaders as clinicians, researchers and educators. We recruit those whose backgrounds will further enhance the incredible culture of collaboration and camaraderie that exists in our program.

How to apply

Application deadline is Sept. 27, 2024.

NRMP program code Categorical General Surgery 1968440C0

Applications are only accepted through ERAS. Our application requirements are the same as the standard ERAS application.

• Three letters of recommendation.
• Must not have failed any portion of the USMLE and/or COMLEX exam.
• Must report USMLE Step 2 score.
• Institutionally, Cleveland Clinic has minimum requirements for all residents.
• Our program sponsors J1 visas for international medical graduates.

Preliminary program

The General Surgery residency at Cleveland Clinic is approved for 13 undesignated preliminary PGY 1 residents per year.

We seek trainees from around the world looking to gain additional experience prior to transitioning to a categorical residency. We also welcome those who have matched into an advanced training program and are looking for a robust General Surgery experience before beginning their specialty training.

Residents in the Preliminary program are fully integrated with residents in the Categorical program. They complete the same rotations, participate in all learning and social activities and function in the same role as Categorical residents.

A designated Associate Program Director for Preliminary Residents works to assure the best possible chance of attaining a Categorical position. However, all Categorical positions in our program are filled through the Match with no reserved spots for our Preliminary residents.

How to apply

Application deadline is Sept. 27, 2024.

NRMP program code: Non-Designated Preliminary Surgery 1968440P0

Applications are only accepted through ERAS. Our application requirements are the same as the standard ERAS application.

• Three letters of recommendation.
• Must not have failed any portion of the USMLE and/or COMLEX exams.
• Must report USMLE Step 2 score.
• U.S. clinical experience is preferred.
• Institutionally, Cleveland Clinic has minimum requirements for all residents.
• Our program sponsors J1 visas for international medical graduates.

Interviews

Invitations for interviews will be sent on or before Friday, November 8, 2024. Those not selected for interviews will be notified if they qualify for our waitlist or not. We do not invite more candidates than we have interview spots available. The program will hold virtual interviews using the Thalamus platform.

Categorical program interviews will be held on the following dates:

• November 22, 2024
• December 4,2024
• December 6, 2024
• December 11, 2024
• December 18, 2024

Preliminary program interviews will be held on the following dates:

• January 8, 2025
• January 22, 2025
• January 24, 2025

The program will certify the rank list by the first week in February.

Cleveland Clinic site visit dates for categorical applicants will be listed at a later time.

FAQs

Where do the residents live?
Fortunately, Cleveland is very affordable on a resident’s salary. About half of the residents own a house or condo. Most live on the East side, in nearby neighborhoods such as Cleveland Heights, University Heights, Shaker Heights, or Beachwood. The downtown area is also popular for apartment living. There are also beautiful and affordable neighborhoods on the West side, such as Westlake, Ohio City and Tremont. Please visit the GME website for more information about living in Cleveland.

How is life outside of work in Cleveland?
Cleveland has wonderful food, sports, arts and culture. Learn more about the city. If you’re looking for something to do during a visit, check out ThisIsCleveland for some ideas. The program and institution also sponsor a number of social activities throughout the year. These include our welcome picnic, holiday party and graduation. The House Staff Association and House Staff Spouse Association organize several events throughout the year to promote well-being and camaraderie among residents of different specialties.

What is the operative volume for residents?
By the end of their first year, most residents have logged around 100 operations. Our Chiefs graduate with an average of 1,000-1,200 cases and around 120 upper and lower endoscopies. There are no areas of clinical deficiency.

Are residents able to do elective rotations?
Yes. All residents have 1 elective block in the PGY 3, 4 and 5 years to do a rotation that interests them. Additionally, PGY 1 residents have a 1 week elective that can either be used for a supplementary operative experience, or to work in another discipline such as radiology, pathology or with the emergency response team.

Visiting Residents & Students

Visiting resident application

For residents interested in rotating with the Department of General Surgery at Cleveland Clinic, all applications must be submitted by April 15 to be considered for the upcoming academic year.

The GME office requires applications to be submitted no less than 10 weeks prior to the start date of the requested rotation for NEW visiting residents and 4 weeks prior for RETURNING residents.

• General Surgery Visiting Resident application

Please direct any questions to Rebecca Loew (loewr@ccf.org).

For additional GME information, please visit our Graduate Medical Information website.

Visiting students

We welcome students from other institutions to do an elective on one of our clinical teams.

• Please find details on how to apply here.

Contact

General Surgery Residency

Lisa Paciorek
Program Manager
216.444.1754
paciorl@ccf.org

Rebecca Loew
Program Manager
216.444.8362
loewr@ccf.org

Graduate Medical Education

Main Office
216.444.5690
1.800.323.9259
Fax: 216.444.6112

Cleveland Clinic Main Line

216.444.2200