Meet Our Neurosurgery Residents
Postgraduate Year 7
Alice Hung, M.D.
Medical School: Johns Hopkins (2018)
Kurt Lehner, M.D.
Medical School: Hofstra University (2018)
Clinical Focus: Pediatric neurosurgery, functional neurosurgery
Awards/Grants:
- SNS Neurosurgeon-Scientist Training Program Recipient investigating cerebellar and basal ganglia function
- Physician Scientist Training Program Scholar, Johns Hopkins Hospital
- House Staff Council Neurosurgery Representative
- AANS Vesalius Award (2018)
Andrew Luksik, M.D.
Medical School: Johns Hopkins (2018)
Postgraduate Year 6
Tej Azad, M.D., M.S.
Medical School: Stanford (2019)
Research Areas: Molecular diagnostics; health policy; cranial and spinal trauma
Profiles: ResearchGate | PubMed | Google Scholar | Twitter
Awards and Grants:
- Walter Dandy Award for Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University (2023)
- Kuntz Scholar, AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerve (2023)
- Young Investigator Translational Research Grant Award, North American Spine Society (2022)
- Chairman’s Award for Improving Patient Safety, Johns Hopkins University (2022)
- Physician Scientist Training Program Scholar, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2020)
- CNS Julius Goodman Resident Award, Congress of Neurological Surgeons (2019)
- Socioeconomic Research Fellow, Council of State Neurosurgical Societies (2017)
- Clinical Research Mentorship Fellow, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (2016)
- NIH TL1 Clinical Training Scholar, Stanford University (2015)
Lydia Bernhardt, M.D.
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University (2019)
Landon Hansen, M.D., Ph.D.
Medical School: Duke University (2019)
Yuanxuan Xia, M.D.
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University (2019)
Research Areas: Cancer immunotherapy, spine oncology, trigeminal neuralgia
Profiles: PubMed | Google Scholar
Award and Grants:
- Harvey Cushing Hunterian Research Award, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2024)
- Physician Scientist Training Program Research Grant, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2024)
- Physician Scientist Training Program Scholar, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2022)
- HHMI Medical Research Fellow (2018)
Postgraduate Year 5
Karim Ahmed, M.D.
Undergraduate Education: University of Notre Dame (2014)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University (2020)
Profiles: Google Scholar | ResearchGate
Awards and Grants:
- The Spine Journal and North American Spine Society (NASS) 2020 Outstanding Paper Award
- CNS 2021 Tumor Paper of the Year
Wataru Ishida, M.D.
Medical School: University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine (2012)
Jawad Khalifeh, M.D.
Undergraduate Education: American University of Beirut (2015)
Medical School: Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine (2020)
Clinical Focus/Clinical Interests: Spine and Peripheral Nerve Surgery
Clinical Track: Spine and Peripheral Nerve Surgery
Research Areas: ultrasound applications in peripheral nerve and spinal cord injury, clinical outcomes and health services research in spinal surgery, neuro-regeneration and neuromodulation, robotic spine surgery
Profiles: Google Scholar | PubMed | Twitter
Awards and Grants:
- Chairman’s Award for Improving Patient Safety, Johns Hopkins University (2024)
- House Staff Council Resident Appreciation Award (2022)
- Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (2020)
Postgraduate Year 4
Cory Chang, M.D.
Medical School: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (2021)
Joe Dardick, M.D.
Medical School: Albert Einstein College of Medicine (2021)
Awards and Grants:
- Johns Hopkins Discovery Award: Continuous and Active Surveillance of Shunt Infections using Clip-on Device (2023)
- Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation Research Grant (2023)
- Physician Scientist Training Program Scholar, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2022)
- AAN Futures in Neurological Research Award (2020)
- Medical Research Fellow, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2016-2018)
James Feghali, M.D.
Connor Liu, M.D.
Medical School: Washington University in St. Louis (2021)
Awards and Grants:
- Physician Scientist Training Program Scholar, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2022)
- Program Evaluation Committee neurosurgery representative
- CNS Tumor Neuro-Oncology Trainee Award (2019)
- Medical Research Fellow, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2016-2018)
Postgraduate Year 3
Timour Al-Khindi, M.D., Ph.D.
Graduate Education: Johns Hopkins University (2022)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University (2022)
Liam Hughes, M.D.
Medical School: Thomas Jefferson University - Sidney Kimmel Medical College (2022)
Profiles: Twitter | Google Scholar
Emily Johnson, M.D., M.S.
Graduate Education: Tufts University (2017)
Medical School: Washington University in St. Louis (2022)
Ethan Srinivasan, M.D.
Medical School: Duke University (2022)
Profiles: LinkedIn | Google Scholar
Postgraduate Year 2
Safwan Alomari, M.B.B.S.
Medical School: Medical School: Jordan University of Science and Technology Faculty of Medicine (2017)
Profiles: PubMed | ResearchGate | Twitter
Awards and Grants:
- Charles Tator Award, AANS (2021)
- Robert Florin Award for Research on Socioeconomics, AANS (2021)
- Charles Kuntz Scholar, AANS/CNS Section on Spine and Peripheral Nerves Disorders (2021)
- A. Earl Walker Award for Research, Johns Hopkins University (2022)
Steckl, A., Han, D., Tyler, B.M., Brem, H. and Alomari, S., University of Cincinnati and The Johns Hopkins University, 2024. NanoMesh Drug Delivery for Treatment of Brain Tumors. U.S. Patent Pending; Application 18/380,984. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20240122918A1/en
Joshua Materi, M.D.
Undergraduate Education: University of Wyoming (2015)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2023)
Profiles: Twitter | ResearchGate | PubMed | LinkedIn
Aaron Rusheen, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Education: University of Rochester (2014)
Medical School: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine (2023)
Graduate Education: Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (2023)
Profiles: Google Scholar | Twitter | PubMed
Awards and Grants:
- Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31)
- NIH Leadership Development Program Fellowship
- Society for Neuroscience Uihlein Neurosurgery Research Scholarship, Mayo Clinic
Patricia Yee, M.D., Ph.D.
Undergraduate Education: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (2011)
Graduate Education: Penn State College of Medicine (2021)
Medical School: Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine (2023)
Profiles: PubMed | Google Scholar | Twitter
Postgraduate Year 1
Andrew Hersh, M.D.
Undergraduate Education: Princeton University (2018)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2024)
Profiles: Google Scholar | ResearchGate | PubMed | Twitter
Bridget Nolan, M.D.
Undergraduate Education: Lehigh University (2015)
Medical School: New York Medical College (2024)
Jacob Jo, M.D.
Undergraduate Education: Dartmouth College (2017)
Medical School: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (2024)
Profiles: Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Twitter
Michelle Odonkor, M.D., M.P.H.
Undergraduate Education: Harvard University (2018)
Graduate Education: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2023)
Medical School: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2024)
Research Areas: Global neurosurgery, neurosurgery capacity building
Profiles: LinkedIn | PubMed | Google Scholar