Current Residents
PGY1 Class of 2029
Melissa Dong, M.D.
- Home Town: Middletown, NJ
- Undergraduate School: Tufts University
- Medical School: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
- Career Interests: General Medicine; Healthcare Disparities; Hospice and Palliative Medicine; Primary Care, Collaborative Care
- Personal Interests: Cooking Korean cuisine, hiking, running, golfing and traveling
Juan Carlos Zarate, M.D.
- Home Town: Sanger, CA
- Undergraduate School: University of California, Davis
- Medical School: UC Davis School of Medicine
- Career Interests: Gastroenterology; Cardiovascular Disease; Healthcare Disparities; Health Equity
- Personal Interests: Cooking, Sports, Fitness, Movies, Music, Traveling, New Experiences
PGY2 Class of 2028
Stephanie Byun, M.D.
- Undergraduate School: University of California, Berkeley
- Medical School: Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University
- Personal Interests: Cooking Korean cuisine, hiking, running, golfing and traveling
Ashley Ernst, M.D.
- Hometown: Ellicott City, Maryland
- Undergraduate School: James Madison University
- Medical School: McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston
- Personal Interests: Reading, watching scary movies, knitting, hiking/backpacking/camping, painting/drawing/graphic art, collecting minerals
PGY3 Class of 2027
Layne Jordan, M.D.
- Hometown: Surprise, Arizona
- Undergraduate School: Northern Arizona Univeristy
- Medical School: University of Arizona College of Medicine
- Career Interests: Integrated outpatient care, transplant, working with rural and Native American populations
- Personal Interests: Latin dancing, journaling, writing short stories, and outdoors
Kayla Murphy, M.D.
- Hometown: Marshall, Minnesota
- Undergraduate School: Baylor University
- Medical School: University of Minnesota Medical School
- Career Interests: Geriatrics
- Personal Interests: Dog sitter/walker, cycling, and visiting State Parks
PGY4 Class of 2026
Areej Ali, M.D., M.P.H.
- Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Undergraduate Degree: Biology, Psychology
- Medical School: University of Pittsburgh
- Interests: Reading, writing, yoga, podcasts, and @Dglaucomflecken videos
Nathalie Abenoza, M.D.
- Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Undergraduate Degree: Linguistics, Anthropology
- Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin
- Interests: Homebrewing, a healthy plant obsession, and hiking with my doggo
PGY5 Class of 2025
Samir Abu-Hamad, M.D.
- Hometown: Beit Meri, Lebanon
- Undergraduate Degree: Science, Technology and International Affairs
- Medical School: Eastern Virginia
- Interests: Global Health, DJing house music, photography, meditation, reading, soccer, traveling, and hiking
Sudad Kazzaz, M.D.
- Hometown: Baghdad, Iraq
- Undergraduate Degree: Biochemistry
- Medical School: Baylor College of Medicine
- Interests: Motorcycling, video gaming, reading, cooking, and trying to pick up new interests
Giovani Zelada, M.D.
- Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
- Undergraduate Degree: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies, Biological Sciences
- Medical School: University of California-Davis
- Interests: Cooking, baking, culinary adventures, running, Latin dance, college football, traveling, hiking, and long walks by the beach