The Yale Department of Surgery is excited to welcome our new faculty for the 2017-2018 academic year. We are proud to have such a talented and diverse group of individuals joining our team.
Andrew Dhanasopon, MD
Assistant Professor, Thoracic Surgery
Dr. Dhanasopon has joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Section of Thoracic Surgery.
Dr. Dhanasopon received his undergraduate degree in Bioengineering from the University of California and earned his medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California. He completed his general surgery residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Yale University.
Dr. Dhanasopon has 16 peer reviewed publications and has given 10 peer reviewed presentations. Dr. Dhanasopon will support the Section of Thoracic Surgery and will also spend time at the West Haven Veterans Administration (VA).
Cecilia Helwig, MD
Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology
Dr. Helwig has joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor specializing in Pediatric Otolaryngology.
Dr. Helwig received her undergraduate degree in Medical Sciences and her medical degree and she completed her residency all at the University of Chile. She completed her research and clinical fellowships at the Rady Children’s Hospital affiliated with University of California San Diego.
Dr. Helwig is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery and the American Academy of Pediatric Otolaryngology. She also serves as the chair of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology’s Young Members Committee.
Dr. Helwig’s clinical interests include all aspects of pediatric otolaryngology, specifically hearing loss and cochlear implantation.
Danielle Haakinson, MD
Assistant Professor, Transplantation
Dr. Haakinson has joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in Transplantation.
Dr. Haakinson received her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from Colorado State University and earned her medical degree at the University of Colorado. She completed both her general surgery residency and abdominal transplant surgical fellowship at the Mayo Clinic Arizona.
Dr. Haakinson’s clinical interest and expertise is in minimally invasive surgery, performing laparoscopic donor nephrectomies using the instrument only technique. Her research interests include the diabetic management of surgical and transplant patients, marginal organ utilization and surgical education.
Danielle M. Bertoni, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Surgical Oncology
Dr. Bertoni has joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Section of Surgical Oncology, coming to us from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group in California.
Dr. Bertoni received her undergraduate degree from Boston University and her MPH from Boston University School of Public Health. She earned her medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and was the Chief Resident during her residency at Stanford Hospital. She went on to complete her colon, rectal and breast surgery fellowships there.
Dr. Bertoni will work with Dr. Mary Pronovost at the Breast Center in Trumbull, Fairfield, and Bridgeport Hospital.
Douglas Hildrew, MD
Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology
Dr. Hildrew has joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Section of Otolaryngology.
Dr. Hildrew received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Millersville University and his Master of Medical Science from Drexel University College of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from the State University of New York in Syracuse, completing his residency at Tulane University and an otology, neurotology & skull base surgery fellowship at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center.
Dr. Hildrew’s interests are in otology, neurotology and head and neck surgery. He will support the section with a shared appointment at Yale/YNHH and the West Haven Veterans Administration (VA).
Greg Tietjen, PhD
Assistant Professor, Transplantation
Dr. Tietjen joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Section of Transplantation.
Dr. Tietjen received his undergraduate degrees in English from Wake Forest and Physics from University of Oregon. He earned his PhD in Biophysics from the University of Chicago.
Dr. Tietjen’s work focuses on translating a recently established technique in clinical organ transplant (ex vivo isolated organ perfusion) into a platform for the development of targeted nanomedicines. By providing the ability to precisely control where drugs go following administration, this work has the potential to be transformative not only for organ transplant, but also for treating a wide array of diseases from cancer to autoimmunity. Dr. Tietjen’s approach will also be a valuable tool for basic science research in areas of particular strength at Yale (e.g. Immunobiology, Vascular Biology).
Heather Osborn, MD
Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology
Dr. Osborn has joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Section of Otolaryngology.
Dr. Osborn received her undergraduate degree in Political Studies from Queen’s University in Canada and earned her medical degree from the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University, Ontario. She completed her residency in Otolaryngology at the University of Toronto and a head and neck oncology/microvascular reconstruction fellowship from Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Osborn has a shared appointment at Yale and Bridgeport Hospital and will assist in the growth and development of the Otolaryngology Surgery program.
Naiem Nassiri, MD
Associate Professor, Vascular Surgery
Dr. Nassiri has joined the Department of Surgery as an Associate Professor in the Section of Vascular Surgery, coming to us from Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital & Bristol Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital where he was founder and director of the Vascular Anomalies & Malformations Program and co-founder and co-director of the Pelvic Vascular Disease Program.
Dr. Nassiri received his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California. He earned his medical degree from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon, completing his general surgery residency at the University of California, Los Angeles and an integrated vascular surgery residency at the Lenox Hill Heart & Vascular Institute of New York.
Dr. Nassiri has a shared appointment at Yale and the West Haven Veterans Administration (VA). He will assist in the growth and development of the Vascular Surgery program.
Ramesh Batra, MD
Assistant Professor, Transplantation
Dr. Batra has joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Section of Transplantation, coming to us from Loyola University Medical Center in Illinois.
Dr. Batra received his surgical training in NHS based hospitals in the United Kingdom, and was admitted to the membership of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He received additional transplant training at the London based Royal Free Hospital and Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital. He went on to complete the ASTS abdominal transplant fellowship at Mayo Clinic Arizona along with pediatric liver transplantation at Phoenix Children's hospital, where he later became a faculty member of the Loyola University Medical Center in Illinois.Dr. Batra’s clinical and research interests and expertise include living organ donation, shortening organ transplant wait lists by selectively utilizing extended spectrum organs and tackling the ethical and technical challenges of organ donation and transplantation.
Tomer Avraham, MD
Assistant Professor, Plastic Surgery
Dr. Avraham has joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Section of Plastic Surgery, coming to us from Mount Sinai Health System where he was an Assistant Professor for two years.
Dr. Avraham is currently the Acting Director of the Microvascular Breast Reconstruction Program within Yale’s Department of Surgery.
Dr. Avraham received his undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in History from Tufts University. He earned his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed his residency at NYU Langone Medical Center and a research fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Tristen Park, MD
Assistant Professor, Surgical Oncology
Dr. Park has joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Section of Surgical Oncology.
Dr. Park received her undergraduate degree in Cell and Molecular Biology with honors from Cornell University. She earned her medical degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed her general surgery residency at Rutgers University and a three year combined surgical oncology research fellowship and clinical immunotherapy fellowship at the Surgery Branch of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. She subsequently completed a breast surgical oncology fellowship at Duke University.
Dr. Park's clinical/research interests and expertise include the treatment of breast cancer and breast diseases, including triple negative breast cancer, cancer immunotherapy and the potential role of immunotherapy in the treatment of breast cancer.
Yan Ho Lee, MD
Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology
Dr. Lee has joined the Department as an Assistant Professor in the Section of Otolaryngology, coming to us from the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Lee received her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University. She earned her medical degree from Penn State University and completed a clinical fellowship in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery from Mount Sinai in New York.
Dr. Lee’s clinical interest and expertise is in facial plastic surgery and facial reconstructive work in the Section of Otolaryngology.