Current Residents
Yale Neurology Class of 2022
Yale Neurology Residents
Yale Neurology Residents come from all over the US and the world, and bring a diverse set of talents and interests to their work here at Yale. While we are proud of their diversity, they do have something in common: a strong desire to excel as clinical neurologists and future leaders in the field.Class of 2020
Christian Amlang, MD
Christian has done research on visuo-spatial perception in patients with cervical dystonia and contributed to a study of neurophysiology of deep brain recordings in patients with Parkinson disease who underwent deep brain stimulation. During medical school, he participated in a one-year exchange to do clinical rotations in Paris, including some time at the Salpetriere. He enjoys theater and Aikido, and he speaks 6 languages.
Charite Universistatsmedizin (Berlin) for medical school.
Priyanka Chilakamarri, MD
Priyanka has worked on a longitudinal study investigating neuronal connectivity differences in 201 children with autism. She has also studied the use of digital tablets in undergraduate medicine, and has worked on project to design of an innovative USMLE test prep platform. She was a student representative on a committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners, and enjoys choreography, technology and documentaries.
Univ of Vermont for med school, Brandeis for undergrad.
Vanessa Cooper, MD
Vanessa has compared the cultural difference in Alzheimer disease prevention and willingness to participate in clinical trials among online users of a site called Alzhiemer’s Universe. She has also studied health promotion behavior among health care providers. She was on numerous committees in medical school, has worked as a freelance commercial model, and played flute in the Stony Brook Marching Band.
NY Medical College for med school, Stony Brook for undergrad.
Amanda Hernandez, MD, PhD
As a clinicianscientist, Amanda has researched the role of environmental factors and immune dysregulation in the formation of autoimmune disease and cancer, with a focus on multiple sclerosis and glioblastoma. She served as National President of the Latino Medical Student Association, and worked extensively with Yale College undergraduates as Acting Dean of the Yale Latino Cultural Center and as special advisor to the Dean of Yale College. She serves as co-president of the Minority Housestaff Organization at YNHH, and enjoys fitness and wellness as a spin instructor, crossfit athlete and nutrition enthusiast.
Yale for MD/PhD, Columbia for undergrad.
Colin Klenk, MD
He was involved in a prospective study examining the effects of dose reduction on mitigating bone pain in patients taking the G-CSF medication pefligrastim. He was president of the Bard Hall players, a medical-student run theatre troupe, and has overseen the production of several theatrical shows. He also performs improv comedy.
Columbia for med school, Colgate for undergrad.
John Picard, MD
John has explored the utility of the Flexible Fiberoptic Bronchoscope/Aintree Intubating Catheter technique for the safe exchange of a supraglottic airway for an endotracheal tube. He was the president of the careers in medicine group in medical school, and was the head rugby coach at F&M. He enjoys archaeology, winemaking, travel and soccer.
Penn State for med school, Franklin & Marshall for undergrad.
Chindhuri Selvadurai, MD
Chindhuri has participated in a student-led quality intervention project to improve physician implementation and documentation of health maintenance for mammograms, tetanus and pneumonia vaccines. She also studied gender differences in stroke and coagulation factors, and assisted in the development of a camera for the visually impaired. She enjoys the violin, yoga, jewelry making and travel.
UConn for medical school, Wellesley for undergrad.
Christopher Traner, MD
Originally from Cleveland, he ventured eastward for residency, given Yale’s strong emphasis on development of top educators. In medical school, Chris worked extensively in the University of Toledo Free Clinic, working on projects in both patient care and education. He is proud to be a member of the fabulous family of 2020 Yale Neurons, with whom he enjoys frequent trivia nights, happy hours, downtown New Haven dinners, and the occasional ugly sweater party. He wrote a chapter for an upcoming textbook on lumbar puncture. He enjoys skiing, college hockey (GO REDHAWKS .. and Bulldogs, the Food Network, saxophone and health care economics.
University of Toledo for med school, Miami (Ohio) for undergrad.
Jens Witsch, MD
Jens was involved in a number of projects at Columbia University and Charite. These included one study investigating delayed intraventricular hemorrhage in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage and another developing a clinical tool to prognosticate outcome after SAH. He contributed to the multicenter trial BE FAST 2, testing a novel biomarker for rapid diagnosis of ischemic versus hemorrhagic stroke, and the EARLYDRAIN study evaluating lumbar drainage after aneurysmal SAH. He enjoys cart food, music and traveling.
University of Heidelberg for medical school, Charite University (Berlin) for neurology residency.
Adeel Zubair, MD
Adeel was involved in numerous clinical research projects at Mayo, including investigating imaging findings in zoster-associated plexopathy, and studies of the clinical presentation of Hirayama disease. He is working on a project modeling the clinical progression in ALS. He developed a project to prepare medical students for community engagement. He is interested in the history of medicine, sports, movies and video games.
Mayo for med school, St. John’s for undergrad.
Class of 2021
Mary Barden, MD
Mary has worked on studies of neurological prognostication after cardiac arrest. She has also studied how regulatory signaling pathways of immune cells lead to immune system dysfunction. She is very involved in medical education, and has completed a medical education elective. Her interests include running, basketball, hiking, knitting, card-making and cartooning.
Yale for med school, Providence College for undergrad.
Anna DeForest, MD, MFA
Anna has studied the impact of a wellness curriculum for PGY-2 neurology residents, and has designed and facilitated workshops and lectures in narrative medicine and communication competency in end-of-life care. She is a short-story writer and essayist. Her recent publications cover ICU delirium, hospital communication, and medical interpretation. Before medical school she taught fiction writing and composition at Brooklyn College. Along with reading and writing, she enjoys playing ukulele and hiking with her dog.
Columbia for med school, Eugene Lang College for undergrad.
Tova Gardin, MD, MPP
Tova designed a research project to examine hippocampal subfield volumes using imaging processing software, with a specific focus on psychotic disorders. She completed an MPP at Princeton, and worked with a team that studied the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Tennessee. She has worked as a residence counselor at a group home for women with disabilities and enjoys piano and hiking.
Harvard for med school, Stern College for undergrad.
Rahiwa Gebre, MD
Rahiwa has studied intracranial EEG patterns that correlate with alteration of awareness in patients with frontal lobe epilepsy. She has collected images for the next edition of Neurology Through Clinical Cases. She was a volunteer at the HAVEN free clinic, and was in a leadership role in the Stanford Eritrean and Ethiopian Student Association in college. She enjoys art museums, hiking and travel.
Yale for med school. Stanford for undergrad.
Bogdan Patedakis Litvinov, MD
Bogdan has studied the use of a vision substitution device that could be used by blind people for navigation. He has also investigated the anti-arrhythmic properties of progesterone in rabbit cardiomyocytes. He has lived in Russia, Ukraine and Greece, and enjoys classical and jazz piano, gymnastics, singing and drawing.
Georgetown for med school, Brown for undergrad.
Razaz Mageid, MD
Razaz has compared trabeculoplasty to ab interno trabeculotomy in patients with glaucoma. She has also studied the mGluR theory of Fragile X syndrome. She did a global health study on delays in operative and post-operative care in Sudan. She was founder and chair of the Sudanese American Young Adult Project, and had several other volunteer roles in medical school. She enjoys Zumba, painting, travel and teaching.
Tufts for med school, MIT for undergrad.
Lindsay McAlpine, MD
Lindsay is working on a study of vitamin therapy for post-concussion syndrome, and has studied the relationship between baseline visual processing scores and post-concussion symptom severity and recovery. She was an analyst in the alternative energy industry before med school, and was a member of the US national rowing team.
Jefferson for med school, Brown for undergrad.
Teng Peng Zhao, MD
Teng has studied the relationship between diabetes and hyperglycemia in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage, and has examined the efficacy of dietician/nutritionist consultation on pre-bariatric surgery weight loss. He was the Co-Editor of two journals, including a student-run medical journal and a medical history magazine. He enjoys long walks, reading, travel and the history of medicine.
Boston University for undergrad and med school.
John Peters, MD
John has examined the variability of JC virus antibody index values for patients on disease-modifying therapy for MS. He has also studied patterns of expression of alpha-synuclein by oligodendrocytes in pathological specimens of patients with multiple systems atrophy. He was a course preceptor for the medical education club, and enjoys basketball, running and hiking in the White Mountains.
Penn for med school, UConn for undergrad.
Amy Yu, MD
Amy has worked on the evaluation of FLAIR* MRI of parenchymal intralesional vessels for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. She has had numerous volunteer positions, including vice-president of the UVM chapter of the American Medical Association and co-founder of the UVM chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program. She enjoys hiking, rock climbing, running, and describes herself as an “amateur mycophile.”
University of Vermont for med school, UC Berkeley for undergrad.
Class of 2022
Safa Abdelhakim, MD
Safa has participated in curriculum reform by designing a course for fourth-year medical students to learn about high-value care and its clinical applications. She was public relations representative in the medical student senate, has been a peer advisor, and enjoys yoga, poetry, cooking, travel and running.
College: Stony Brook University
Med School: Stony Brook University
Yee Kuang Cheng, MD
Yee Kuang has studied the use of vascular medications in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. He has worked as an academic tutor in medical school, and has had numerous volunteering activities, including work in the student-run free clinic. He enjoys table tennis, badminton and squash, and both international and Chinese chess.
College: Taylor's College (Malaysia)
Med School: University of Miami
Gabriella Garcia, MD
Gabriella has investigated the use of virtual reality for the assessment and rehabilitation of unilateral spatial neglect following stroke. She has extensive volunteering and leadership experience, including serving as Chair of her local chapter of the LMSA, and serving on several LCME review committees. She enjoys running, hiking, biking and debate.
College: Penn
Med School: Temple
Gbambele Kone, MD
Gbambele has done research on a murine model of intracerebral hemorrhage, including the role of commensal gut microbiota on the inflammatory response following ICH. He was chapter vice-president of the SNMA at his school, has had multiple leadership roles, and tutored high school students. He enjoys basketball, squash, music and reading.
Undergrad: Cornell
Med School: Cornell
Sarah Mancone, MD
Sarah has participated in a retrospective study assessing the incidence, associated outcomes, and management of neurologic adverse events associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor cancer therapy. She earned an award for extensive volunteering in Wake Forest’s student-run free clinic, where she was instrumental in developing a smoking cessation program. She is an avid reader, and collects unique and rare editions of novels.
College: Brown
Med School: Wake Forest
Rita Okumu, MD
Rita has investigated the interactions between water and solute particles that were confined in micro-spaces, using computer simulations. She has worked in several tutoring and teaching roles, and has volunteered extensively, including in student-run free clinics and the community health clinic affiliated with her medical school. She runs 30-40 miles every week, and enjoys reading and cooking Kenyan dishes for her friends.
Undergrad: Westminster College
Med School: Chicago Medical School ad Rosalind Franklin University
Melissa Rethana, MD
Melissa has studied racial disparities in Parkinson's disease, with a specific focus on referral patterns and rates of diagnosis. She has also worked on a video library of classic and interesting neurological physical exam findings with a plan to incorporate these into the third-year medical school curriculum. She has had multiple teaching and peer advisory roles throughout medical school, and enjoys spinning, reading and exploring new places.
Undergrad: New York University
Med School: Boston University
Shreya Shah, MD
Shreya has investigated the incidence of plexopathy, facial palsy and myasthenia following vaccination using a national database. She has been a major contributor to her school’s student-run free clinic, and worked on an intervention to improve health outcomes in school children in Newark. She enjoys reading, baking, painting, meditation and mindfulness, yoga and learning Spanish.
Undergrad: College of New Jersey
Med School: Rutgers
Shobhit Singla, MD, PhD
Shobhit studied sensory processing in awake mice using single unit extracellular recordings. He also studied transcription factor expression in mouse spinal cord interneurons. He was on the Columbia cricket team, and was co-president of the Bard Hall Players, the Columbia P&S student-run theater troupe. He has also been active in tutoring and mentorship. He enjoys soccer, cycling, cricket and music.
College: Cornell
Med School: Columbia
Kevin Wilson, MD
Kevin has studied patient characteristics associated with readmission within 30 days after hospitalization for stroke. He also developed a neuroimaging curriculum for 3rd year medical students. He worked as a high school math teacher before matriculating to medical school, and continues to service his community by providing education and mentorship in several forms. He enjoys distance running and cooking.
College: Michigan
Med School: Boston University
