MacNeal Transitional Year Residency Faculty
Meet our Program Director and Faculty
Melissa M. Arredondo, MD
Transition Year Program Director
Dr. Melissa Arredondo is a long-time resident of Illinois. She graduated from medical school at the University of Chicago Pritzker School Of Medicine. Dr. Arredondo then went on to complete a combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency at the University of Chicago. In her last year of residency, she served as the Education Chief for the Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency Program.
After residency, Dr. Arredondo joined the Internal Medicine program at MacNeal as a core faculty member in 2016 and also worked as part of MacNeal's pediatric hospitalist group from 2016-2018. As part of the Internal Medicine program faculty, Dr. Arredondo created the program's Journal Club curriculum and worked to develop the resident core lecture noon conference series. She continues to enjoy creating and implementing curriculum and most recently is working to increase the high fidelity simulation opportunities available for residents. Dr. Arredondo regularly cares for patients on the internal medicine inpatient service and precepts outpatient resident clinic.
Dr. Arredondo seeks to encourage residents to maintain a sense of curiosity for new knowledge and to focus on providing patient centered care. She also places an emphasis on encouraging the deliberate practice of self-care to promote growth as an individual. She firmly believes that practicing the art of medicine is a great privilege and being able to sit down, engage and teach patients are the great joys in medicine.
Shannon Connolly, DO
Emergency Medicine
Dr. Shannon Connolly graduated from medical school at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and went on to complete her emergency medicine residency through the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is an active clinician and the MacNeal emergency department resident coordinator.
In her free time, Dr. Connolly is a passionate traveler and loves to experience different cultures. One of her favorite destinations is the Peruvian jungle, where she has learned from the locals, gone survival camping, and canoed down the Amazon River. Back home, she enjoys baking and spending time with her family.
Priyanka Sultania Dudani, MD
Internal Medicine Program Director
Priyanka Sultania Dudani, MD, graduated from medical school at the B P. Koirala Institute of health sciences, Nepal. She went on to complete her residency at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in their Internal Medicine Program in 2012.
For three years after residency, Dr. Dudani worked as clinical assistant professor at Banner University Hospital, Tucson. In January 2020 she joined MacNeal Hospital as an associate program director, and it is here that she found graduate medical education to be her professional calling.
Dr. Dudani strives to encourage resident learning though appreciative inquiry and believes that learning is best achieved through shared contribution. She is passionate about teaching inpatient internal medicine, and has received several teaching awards during her medical career.
Dr. Dudani aims to strike a good balance between work and life. She enjoys cooking and practicing yoga in her free time.
Tonia Gooden, MD
Internal Medicine Associate Program Director
Tonia Gooden, MD graduated from Ross University School of Medicine. After medical school, Dr. Gooden spent a year in Belgium doing research and teaching English as a second language to Chinese students. She then completed her internal medicine residency at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport where she also earned an endorsement as clinical educator and served as the Chief Wellness Resident. During the 2022-23 academic year, she was Transitional Year/Internal Medicine Chief Resident at MacNeal. As the faculty lead for the Wellness Committee, she is committed to resident wellness and enjoys working with the residents to improve the residency experience here at MacNeal.
Her academic interests include understanding how adults learn medicine and applying these practices to the teaching of internal medicine. She loves teaching clinical pearls while on inpatient rounds or in the clinic and has received several teaching awards.
Dr. Gooden enjoys SCUBA diving, world travel, hiking and exploring National Parks with her husband and daughter.
Christopher Gozali, DO
Core Faculty
I was born and raised in the western suburbs of Chicago. I attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for undergrad with a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Loyola University Chicago for graduate school where I earned my M.S. in Physiology. After some time spent working at Hines VA Hospital in clinical research, I attended medical school at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford, Maine. It was there I met my wife, Eleanor, and once we finished our time on the East Coast, we decided to return to the Midwest and were fortunate to couples match at MacNeal Family Medicine Residency program, eventually becoming co-chief residents. After the completion of residency, I continued my time here at MacNeal with the Faculty Development Fellowship run by Dr. Foley. After a great fellowship which included the birth of our daughter, I happily accepted a position as core clinical faculty for the MacNeal FMRP to continue working with the amazing faculty and residents.
My professional and clinical interests include preventative care, osteopathic manipulative techniques, medical education and all types of clinic procedures from OMT to shave biopsies. I also oversee our didactic curriculum./p>
Outside of medicine, my interests include comic books, video games, fantasy football, being a fan of Chicago sports (a big source of grief), and enjoying and exploring the wonders of parenthood with our baby daughter Lilah.
Baudelio Herrada, MD
Core Faculty
Baudelio Herrada, MD, graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria. He completed his residency training at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles and has been a hospitalist for most of his career. He has worked at MacNeal Hospital since 2009. Having grown up on the southwest side of Chicago, MacNeal Hospital serves many of his family and friends. He joined the residency faculty in 2014.
Dr. Herrada’s main focus is teaching hospital medicine. He emphasizes patient safety, efficiency, and proper documentation. He enjoys one-on-one interactions with residents and medical students during rounds and on the hospital units. He encourages thorough history-taking, broad differentials, and well-thought-out treatment plans. He serves as a resident advisor. He also conducts weekly board review sessions. He provides insight and encouragement to residents interested in a hospitalist career. Dr. Herrada enjoys working with residents that who bring a good attitude and strong work ethic.
Aaron Lee, DO
Director of Sports Medicine Fellowship
Though I was born north of Chicago, I grew up in the Cleveland area. I spent most of my youth playing soccer, and any other sport I could find – all the way through college. After completing a psychology degree with a neuroscience minor at Miami University in Ohio, I spent two years working as a therapist on an adolescent psychiatric unit before finally applying to medical school.
I completed my medical training at the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine, where I met my wife – she was at the cadaver next to mine in anatomy lab, but I still managed to notice her. We both completed our internship year at Illinois Masonic Hospital in Chicago. Though she moved on to Loyola, I continued my training at Illinois Masonic for my family medicine residency, and was chief resident in my final year. Having been a lifelong sports devotee, and finding athletes to be the most interesting and yet somehow maddening patients, I went on to complete my sports medicine fellowship training at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
Upon completion of my training, I accepted a position at the MacNeal Hospital Family Medicine Residency as core faculty and as the Associate Program Director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship. Now in my fifth year at the program, I am in charge of the musculoskeletal curriculum for the residency, and have been the Program Director of the fellowship for the last four years. I was drawn to MacNeal because of its long history of excellence in both family and sports medicine, and because of the quality of the residents that I met here. Since coming here, I have come to truly appreciate the staff at MacNeal and my fellow faculty – their dedication to resident education, and the feeling of family that they foster have really made an impact on me. I love teaching our residents, and they are often the best part of my day.
You’ll find that I am always up for a conversation. About anything. It’s a hobby, or a vice – I’m not sure which. I am an avid reader – both of books and of current events. Don’t tell my patients, but I love TV. And food. Really greasy fast food. I pack my and my wife’s lunch every day – but with nice healthy stuff (you can tell my patients that). When I am not at work you will usually find me spending time with my family – mostly chasing around my two sons, aged 2 and 5 wishing that I had time to get back to playing my guitar.
Mathew Lo, DO
Core Faculty
I was born and raised in the sunny state of California where I attended the University of California, Merced for my BS in Biological Sciences and met my wonderful wife, Cecilia. I have always felt a strong pull to medicine, but took some time after my undergraduate career to explore other aspects of the medical field. While completing the Pre-Health Professionals Post-Baccalaureate program at California State University, East Bay, I worked at a genetic screening company and later as a behavioral technician for children with autism spectrum disorder. Volunteering at a free clinic in my hometown of Tracy really solidified my role in medicine and wanting to pursue my career as a physician. This is also where my passion for service to the medically underserved first started.
That pursuit and curiosity eventually brought me to Chicagoland, where I attended Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. My passion for working with the underserved continued to flourish while rotating through various clinics and hospitals in Chicagoland. I rotated at MacNeal as a student, albeit not with the Family Medicine Team, but fell in love with the patient population. I loved the opportunity to help the Spanish-speaking community while getting to learn more Spanish along the way. I was fortunate to complete my residency here at MacNeal FMRP and served as one of the Chief Residents during my final year of training. I enjoyed my time at MacNeal Family Medicine and working with the amazing patient population so much that I took the opportunity to continue my career with MacNeal by staying on as clinical faculty.
Medically, I enjoy the full spectrum of Family Medicine including prenatal care, office-based procedures and osteopathic-manipulative medicine. During my training I developed an interest in medical education and training, POCUS, EMR optimization and home visits.
Outside of medicine, my wife and I enjoy traveling and trying all of the foods. Chicago is a top food city and we have made a point to take advantage of it. We have traveled through many parts of Central and South America, with plans to travel overseas to Europe soon. Our favorite country so far has been Mexico, where we seem to keep going back to. I am an avid soccer fan, particularly Arsenal FC and Chicago Fire FC. I also enjoy dabbling in amateur photography. We like to spend time outdoors with our dog, Peanut, who is heavily featured on our camera reels next to all our culinary adventures.
Yvonne T. Murphy, MD
Associate Program Director
I grew up in Northwest Indiana and then went downstate to Indiana University for my undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in psychology. Subsequently, I headed east to the University of Rochester in upstate New York for medical school, residency, and a two-year fellowship. In medical school, I was taught by George Engel, the physician who wrote the original paper on the biopsychosocial model of care. My residency was community-based at Highland Hospital and my fellowship focused on family therapy and faculty development.
I’ve been part of the MacNeal faculty since 2001. My passions are creating excellent residency education, teaching behavioral medicine & doctor-patient communication skills, and helping residents develop skills in maintaining their own wellbeing. My goal is to teach residents the skills they need to help patients feel better. This includes a mix of both evidence-based medical therapies and interpersonal skills. I have developed an entire curriculum that is used at Family Medicine residency programs throughout the country to teach key communication skills. I also develop and implement curricula in physician wellbeing, patient safety, psychopharmacology, and resident assessment and remediation.
I love working at MacNeal and being part of the residency program. I also love practicing full-spectrum family medicine. I practiced OB for 10 years and still do prenatal care, newborn care, many women’s health and other procedures as well as enjoying my complex geriatric patients and providing end-of-life care. It is my privilege to care for three generations of some families in our practice.
When I’m not at work, I love to walk in the woods, hang out with my teenage son and our dog, or relax with my neurologist husband who also works at MacNeal. We met in the radiology reading room of the hospital! I am also an avid environmentalist. I drive an electric car powered by wind energy, reuse or recycle everything, and am vegetarian.
Davis Yang, MD
Program Director and Department Chair
I’m a Chicago native, having lived near the North Shore of Chicago since I was in first grade. I have always been drawn to health sciences and computers. I studied biomedical engineering at Northwestern University in Evanston and medicine at the University of Illinois in Chicago. In 1994, I made the fateful decision to do my residency training at MacNeal Hospital in family medicine.
Twenty-seven years later, I still love MacNeal and the people here. I have seen this program from many perspectives – as an intern, chief resident, faculty member, Center Director, and currently Program Director for the past 10 years. My admiration and affection for MacNeal and its people continues to grow.
I am fortunate to have had many mentors during my time here, including the opportunity to be influenced by all four previous program directors of MacNeal, starting with Dr. Ken Kessel who founded the program in 1969. The legacy of the MacNeal program is important to me and I am passionate about maintaining the high caliber and tradition of our program.
I love to learn new things and to share that knowledge. I appreciate that my time at MacNeal has allowed and encouraged me to broaden my practice in areas such as leadership, informatics, colposcopy, Medical Acupuncture and most recently POCUS. I strive to provide the same encouragement and opportunities for our faculty and residents to constantly grow and pursue their interests and passions.
I am an unapologetic Apple fanboy and some of my outside interests are audiobooks, GTD, and automation of any kind.
I still live on the North Shore, in Evanston, with my wife and 3 daughters. Two of my kids were delivered at MacNeal by MacNeal FM residents.
Jeffrey Zawacki, MD
General Surgery
Dr. Jeffrey Zawacki graduated from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and then did his surgical residency at the Loyola University Medical School in Chicago. During his residency he did a research fellowship in the Shock Trauma Institute at Loyola for one year. After finishing residency he did his colorectal surgical fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Currently Dr. Zawacki is the Academic Director of Surgery at MacNeal and an Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has served on the American Board of Surgery administering the oral certifying exam in general surgery. Dr. Zawacki has spent his entire professional career in private practice teaching residents and students at MacNeal Hospital. He has received teaching awards at every training and teaching level. He remains committed to teaching residents of all disciplines.