Current Residents, Graduates & Residency Life

PGY-4 – Class of 2024

Alex Balabanov, DO

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Undergrad & Major: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, French & Pyschology

Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Fellowship: Neurophysiology at Rush University Medical Center

Hobbies: cooking, trying new foods, having picnics, reading, music, spending time in coffee shops, hanging out with friends and family

Kenneth Jordan, MD

Hometown: Milwaukee

Undergrad: Mechanical Engineering (B.S/M.S./PhD)

Medical School: Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine

Fellowship: Vascular Neurology at Loyola University Medical Center

Hobbies: Working out, Watching sports

Ashley Raedy, DO

Hometown: Kalamazoo, MI

Undergrad and Major: Michigan State University, Genomics and Molecular Genetics

Medical School: Michigan State Univeristy College of Osteopathic Medicine

Fellowship: Neurophysiology at University of Chicago

Hobbies: Going to concerts, playing the piano, putting together puzzles, and exploring different coffee shops!

Amna Siddiqui, MD

Hometown: Karachi, Pakistan

Medical School: Dow Medical College

Fellowship: Neurocritical Care Fellowship

Hobbies: TV/movies, reading, writing, biking, exploring Chicago and its amazing food scene

Adam Wadina, MD

Hometown: Stevens Point, WI

Undergrad & Major: Marquette University, Biomedical Sciences

Medical School: Loyola Univeristy Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

Fellowship: Vascular Neurology at Loyola University Medical Center

Hobbies: Reading, playing guitar/piano, rock climbing, tae kwon do, games! (board games, video games)

Yuchen Zheng, MD

Hometown: Toronto, CA

Medical School: University of Edinburgh College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine

Fellowship: neurophysiology fellowship at Rush University Medical Center

Hobbies: Running, hiking, travelling, yoga, restaurant hopping, dog spotting

PGY-3 – Class of 2025

Ralf Voshtina, DO

Hometown: Aurora, IL

Undergrad: Loyola University Chicago

Medical School: Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine

Specialty Interests: Vascular, Movement, Cognitive

Hobbies: Camping, going to concerts, antiquing, biking

Victoria Grau Kazmierczk, MD

Hometown: Poznan, Poland

Undergrad: None

Medical School: Poznan University of Medical Sciences

Specialty Interests: Interventional Neurology, Stroke

Hobbies: Painting, Skiing, Tennis, Piano, Cooking

Sergej Stjepic, DO

Hometown: Fort Wayne, IN

Medical School: Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Specialty Interests: Sports Neurology

Hobbies: Intramural sports leagues, Biking, Walking downtown to visit architectural landmarks, Traveling abroad and in the U.S

Alexandria Pecoraro, MD

Hometown: Bolingbrook, IL

Medical School: Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

Specialty Interests: Vascular, Neurocritical Care

Hobbies: playing with my dogs, watching The Great British Baking Show, trying new restaurants

Amena Ahmed, DO

Hometown: St. Louis, MO

Medical School: Kansas City University

Specialty Interests: Considering neurohospitalist or neurophysiology

Hobbies: TV shows, trying new restaurants, crossword puzzles, gardening, cooking, spending time with family and friends

Taylor Stevens

Hometown: Indianapolis

Undergrad: Georgetown University

Medical School: Indiana University

Specialty Interests: Undecided, Considering neuromuscular, movement, and neuroimmunology

Hobbies: Reading, trying new restaurants, spending time with my pet rabbit and dog

PGY-2 – Class of 2026

Sari Grad, DO

Hometown: Highland Park, Illinois

Undergrad: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Medical School: Midwestern CCOM

Specialty Interests: Still unsure and exploring

Hobbies: I live right by the lake and love walking by the lake and playing with my new golden retriever puppy Theo!

Monica Gupta, DO

Hometown: Barrington, IL

Undergrad: Loyola University Chicago

Medical School: Midwestern University

Specialty Interests: Undecided

Hobbies: Cooking, going to the gym, spending time with my family and friends

Ari Vandersluis, DO

Hometown: Dayton, Ohio

Undergrad: The Ohio State University

Medical School: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine

Specialty Interests: Neuro-Critical Care, Stroke

Hobbies: Hiking, Skiing, Snowboarding, Woodworking, Eating, Traveling

Yongsung Kim, MD

Hometown: Seoul, South Korea

Medical School: Chung-Ang University School of Medicine, Seoul

Specialty Interests: Movement Disorders

Hobbies: Hiking and Camping

Melissa McKalip, DO

Hometown: Frankfort, IL

Undergrad: University of Notre Dame

Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Specialty Interests: Undecided but my current interests include Vascular and Behavioral Neurology

Hobbies: Running/hiking/spending time outdoors; attempting to learn instruments

Ariba Raza, MD

Hometown: Glendale Heights, IL

Undergrad: Loyola University Chicago

Medical School: Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Health Sciences

Specialty Interests: Harry Potter!! Free food!!

Hobbies: I love to travel! Taking my Siamese cats on walks in Little Italy, Chicago. Hanging with my co-residents :)

PGY-1 – Class of 2027

Matthew Brodhead, MD

Hometown: Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin

Undergrad: University of Wisconsin Madison; genetics

Medical School: University of Wisconsin School of medicine and public health

Specialty Interests: :sports neuro, neuro ophthalmology

Hobbies: music and sports

Sthitadhi Chakraborty, BA, MD

Hometown: Naperville, IL

Undergrad: Washington University in St. Louis, Cognitive Neuroscience

Medical School: Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

Specialty Interests: Open to anything but currently interested in cognitive behavioral, sleep neurology, and stroke

Hobbies: : Pop culture, video games, Bollywood, traveling and trying new restaurants with family and friends

Joseph Hilger, MD

Hometown: Chicago IL

Undergrad: Knox College, Biochemistry

Medical School: George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Specialty Interests: Undecided, leaning towards neuromuscular and vascular

Hobbies: Rock climbing and bouldering, spending time with family and friends, and rooting for da bears.

Fidak Khan, MD

Hometown: Skokie, IL

Undergrad: Northwestern University

Medical School: Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

Specialty Interests: Movement Disorders, Neuromuscular

Hobbies: Reading novels, cooking, going to the movies

Yesha Patel, MD

Hometown: Carol Stream, IL

Undergrad: UIUC, Integrative Biology

Medical School: Stritch School of Medicine

Specialty Interests: not sure, everything seems really interesting!

Hobbies: hiking, reading/writing, karaoke

Michelle Seu, MD

Hometown: Columbia, MD

Undergrad: Biology & Interdisciplinary Studies

Medical School: Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

Specialty Interests: interventional neurology, neurointensive care, neuromuscular disease

Hobbies: drawing/painting, singing, visiting museums, retail therapy

Current and Former Fellows

Class of 2023

Neurocritical care at RUSH Chicago	Braden Dasovic, MD
Epilepsy, Oregon Health & Science University	Jacqueline Hirschey, MD
Neuroimmunology - Medical College of Wisconsin	Elise Johnson, MD
Neurophysiology at University of Chicago	Farah Khan, MD
Headache Medicine (Rush/Diamond Headache Medicine Fellowship 2023-2024)	Zachary Pardieck, MD
Clinical Neurophysiology, UC-San Diego	Tahaamin Shokuhfar, MD

Class of 2022

Headache	Evan Ariano, MD
Headache	Amara Sattar, DO
Vascular Neurology	Michael Teitcher, MD

Class of 2021

Headache	Bianca Barcelo, MD
Headache	Perveen Chattha, MD
Neurophysiology	Richard Cough, MD
Neurophysiology	Adeline Schnitz, DO
Vascular Neurology	Will Taylor, DO

Class of 2019

Neurophysiology	Kalea Colleta, DO
Neurophysiology	Shilpa Chaku, DO
Neuro Critical Care	Ravi Garg, MD

Class of 2018

Neurophysiology	Somayyeh Sabet, MD
Headache	Ferhad Bashir, MD
Headache	Michael Doerrler, MD

Class of 2017

Headache	Shathabish Kariyanna, MD
Headache	Anne Damian, MD
Neurophysiology	Natalie Litvinsky, MD
Neurophysiology	Jessica Wilson, MD
Vascular	Jorge Ortiz, MD

Program Graduates

Class of 2022

Diana Andino	Neuro Immunology, UT-Austin
Carlos Lara	Neurophysiology, University of Chicago
Laurent Loganathan	Neurocritical Care, Medical College of Wisconsin
Fady Mousa-Ibrahim	Neurocritical Care, Northwestern University
Jasmine Singh	Neurocritical Care, UC-San Diego
Amara Syed	Neurocritical Care, Rush University

Class of 2021

Erin Fiedler	Epilepsy, University of Chicago
Michael Teitcher	Vascular Neurology, Loyola University
Amara Mian	Headache, Diamond Headache Clinic
Evan Ariano	Headache, Diamond Headache Clinic
Ari Gordin	Neurophysiology, UC-San Diego
Christine Woods	Private Practice, Alaska

Class of 2020

Richard Chough	Neurophysiology, Loyola University
Jeremy Schmitz	Neurophysiology, Rush University
Adam Schnitz	Neurophysiology, Loyola University
Piotr Tekiela	Vascular Neurology, University of Utah
Geeta Verma	Neurophysiology, Rush University
Will Taylor	Vascular Neurology, Loyola University

Class of 2019

Amy Brown	Movement Disorders, Vanderbilt University
Saima Chaudry	Neuroimmunology, Brown University RI
Jay Datar	Neuroimmunology, Northwestern University
Carolyn Goldschmidt	Neuroimmunology, Cleveland Clinic
Jonatan Hornik	Neurocritical Care, University of Chicago
Lauren Ottenhoff	Neurocritical Care, University of Michigan

Class of 2018

Kalea Colleta	Neurophysiology, Loyola University
Preston Douglas	Neurophysiology, Brown University
Chandler Gill	Movement disorders, Rush
Stasia Rouse	Epilepsy, Rush
Shannon Hextrum	Neuro critical care, Northwestern University
Adriana Perilla	Movement disorders, Cedar Sinai

Class of 2017

William Conte	Multiple Sclerosis, University of Chicago
Michael Doerrler	Headache, Loyola University
Ravi Garg	Neurocritical Care, University of Chicago
Adam Kapler	Private Practice, Ohio
Zeina Rabi	Neurophysiology, University of Chicago
Stephen Yeung	Multiple Sclerosis, UC San Diego

Class of 2016

Maria Bruzzone	Neurophysiology, University of Chicago
Rick Gill	Neurocritical Care, University of Pennsylvania
Marisa McGinley	Neuroimmunology, Cleveland Clinic
Jorge Ortiz	Vascular Neurology, Loyola University
Clio Rubinos	Neurophysiology, New York University
Luka Vlahovic	Neuroimmunology, Standford University

Class of 2015

Thomas Ahn	Private Practice, Colorado
Karen Orjuela	Vascular Neurology, Loyola University Medical Center
Chris Robinson	Neurocritical Care, Mayo Clinic
Saulena Shafer	Movement Disorders, Barrow Institute, Arizona
Michael Star	Vascular Neurology, University of Cincinnati
Daniel Vela-Duarte	Vascular Neurology, Cleveland Clinic

Class of 2014

Louann Carnahan	Neurophysiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Esteban Golombievski	Vascular Neurology, Loyola University Medical Center
Lilie Lovera	Movement Disorders, University of Cincinnati
Federico Rodriguez-Porcel	Movement Disorders, University of Cincinnati
Jaswinder Singh	Clinical Neurophysiology, Loyola University Medical Center
Susan Anzalone	Multiple Sclerosis, UC San Francisco

Navigate Like a Local

Downtown Chicago (a.k.a "The Loop") serves as the hub of Chicago's public transit network that extends to surrounding neighborhoods and suburbs and both airports. This network includes Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Metra commuter trail.

These are just some of the transportation options residents and Chicago locals use everyday:

Ride a CTA Train – "Take the 'L'"

The CTA train's offer eight "L" lines - the Blue Line (24 hours), Brown Line, Green Line, Orange Line, Pink Line, Purple Line, Red Line (24 hours) and Yellow Line. The CTA trains serve 145 train stations. Learn about the different CTA lines.

Ride one of the CTA's Buses

With 129 routes in Chicago, the CTA's buses stop every few blocks and have mounted maps within the cab. Several lines operate 24 hours.

Ride a Metra Train

Ride one of the high-speed Metra trains that connect outlying suburbs to downtown. This method of transportation is an easy way to travel into the heart of the city.

Ride a Amtrak Train

Amtrak offers inter-city passenger rail services with over 500 destinations in 46 states and more than 30 US train routes.

Hail a Cab or Order a Rideshare

Taxis are plentiful and easy to hail. Make sure you check individual companies for rates. Chicago is also very Uber and Lyft friendly. CHICABS offers options for taxicab passengers to exlectronicall hail (E-hail) and pay for a taxi cab through mobile apps.

Grab a Rideshare Bike

Chicago's Divvy bike-sharing program is an inexpensice and easy way to get around. Thousands of bikes are available at hundreds of stations across the city.

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