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PGY-4Ryan M. Naylor, M.D., Ph.D.She was fortunate enough to match at her home institution forresidency with one of her med school compatriots, Ryan, withwhom she enjoys discussing the finer points of neurosurgery andstrategic planting of fruit trees.Undergraduate: University ofCalifornia – IrvineGraduate:Medical school: Mayo Clinic AlixSchool of MedicineInterests: Neuro-oncology, neurotrauma, skull base, andcerebrovascular surgeryShe spends a significant part of her time and energy outside thehospital converting oxygen into carbon dioxide, seeking rest,rational soundness, The Shire, a weak spot on the Death Star,safe passage along the King’s Road, and the Elder Wand.PGY-4Panagiotis Kerezoudis,M.D., M.S.Graduate: Mayo Clinic GraduateSchool of Biomedical SciencesMedical school: University ofAthensInterests: epilepsy surgery, spinesurgery, regenerative medicine,patient-reported outcomesresearch, & health servicesresearchBiography: Dr. Panos Kerezoudis, MD, MS was born and raisedin Athens, Greece. He graduated from the National andKapodistrian University in 2015. Shortly after, he joined the MayoClinic Neuro-Informatics Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr.Bydon, while simultaneously being accepted into the MayoGraduate School's Master's program in Clinical and TranslationalScience. The focus of his work has been on comparativeeffectiveness and patient-reported outcomes research in therealm of cranial and spine surgery. He also serves as one of theco-investigators working on regenerative medicine stem celltrials involving people with degenerative spine disease andtraumatic spinal cord injury.Dr. Kerezoudis is currently working on human brain motorelectrophysiology and brain-computer interface studies with Dr.Kai Miller. He will be pursuing an enfolded Ph.D. degree inComputational Neuroscience.In his free time, Panos enjoys cycling, watching movies, salsadancing and traveling with his family.Mayo ClinicBiography: Ryan grew up in SanDiego, California. He attended the University of California - Irvinewhere he played water polo and majored in biology andchemistry. After a two-year hiatus working as a lab tech atUCSF, Ryan completed his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at the MayoClinic College of Medicine and Science. His interests outside ofneurosurgery include spending time with his wife, Missy, andtheir children, Nora and Caleb, as well as exercising andcooking.PGY-3Nitesh P. Patel, M.D.Undergraduate: SouthernNazarene UniversityMedical school: Texas A&MCollege of MedicineInterests: CerebrovascularBiography: Nitesh was born andraised in England and moved toAtlanta, Texas at the age of 11.His parents moved to the smalltown in northeast Texas to operate a small hotel, and throughhelping his parents work in the hotel at a young age, he learnedthe importance of hard work, being of service to others, and howto fix an air conditioner in the middle of the night. He was the firstin his family to attend college and subsequently became the firstphysician in his family after graduating from Texas A&M Collegeof Medicine. Nitesh’s interests outside of neurosurgery includeeating, sleeping, binging TV shows, travelling, hiking, andfootball (soccer).Neurosurgery Resident Bios

PGY-3Pierce A. Peters, M.D.PGY-3Kristen M. Scheitler, M.D.Undergraduate: MacalesterCollegeMedical school: Mayo Clinic AlixSchool of MedicineInterests:Undergraduate: WashingtonUniversity in St. Louis (WashU)Medical School: University ofMissouri School of Medicine (MU)Interests:Biography: Pierce was born inSan Diego, CA but moved toMinnesota when he was youngand has lived there since. Hecompleted an undergraduate degree in chemistry while alsoplaying basketball and golf at Macalester College. Subsequently,he attended medical school at the Mayo Clinic.Biography: Kristen is aclassically trained pianist. Afterobtaining her degree in Financefrom Washington University in St.Louis, she taught piano, music theory, and performedprofessionally, including opening for artists such as Macklemoreand Chuck Berry, and performing at SXSW Music Festival inAustin, Texas.Outside of neurosurgery, he enjoys listening to and playingclassical music, researching the work of Bob Dylan, keeping intouch with friends/family, and playing all sports. Most of all, heenjoys exploring Rochester and the rest of the world with hiswife, Simrit, who is a resident in OB/GYN at Mayo.PGY-3Juliana C. Rotter, M.D.Undergraduate: MassachusettsInstitute of TechnologyMedical school: GeorgetownUniversity School of MedicineInterests:Biography: Several months afterher birth in Lages, Brazil, Julianawas brought to the Mayo Clinic forlife-saving medical treatmentbefore being raised in San Francisco. After studying BiologicalEngineering and Management at MIT, she spent a decade as aSurface Warfare Officer-Nuclear in the United States Navy. Shedeployed throughout the Asian Pacific, Mediterranean, and thePersian Gulf for ballistic missile defense, anti-submarine warfare,and humanitarian aid/disaster relief missions.Juliana completed the M.D. program at Georgetown UniversitySchool of Medicine while serving as a caregiver for hergrandmother with Parkinson’s Disease, which sparked herinterest in functional neurosurgery. Outside of neurosurgery,Juliana enjoys horseback riding, skiing, hiking, and spendingtime outdoors.Upon deciding to pursue medicine, Kristen completed her postbaccalaureate premedical studies at WashU, where she alsoworked in laboratories investigating cancer epidemiology andgenes involved in metastasis. She matriculated at the Universityof Missouri School of Medicine and was awarded a grant fromthe American Brain Tumor Association as a first-year medicalstudent for her research in stereotactic radiosurgery. She wasalso awarded the Post-Sophomore Fellowship in Pathology atMU, which afforded her the unparalleled opportunity to completean additional year of medical training in neuropathology, surgicalpathology, transfusion medicine, forensic pathology, and otherdisciplines.Kristen’s research in transfusion medicine received nationalrecognition from the American College of Physicians, and shealso assisted in the development and implementation of anaccredited informatics curriculum for pathology residents at MU.Kristen was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor MedicalSociety and received the Samuel P.W. Black Prize forExcellence in Neurosurgery. In her free time, she enjoys playingpiano and accordion, songwriting, rock-climbing, reading asmuch historical literature as possible, and attempting to completeall of the New York Times crossword puzzles.PGY-2Salomon Cohen Cohen, M.D.Medical School: UniversidadAnahuac Escuela de MedicinaInterests: Skull-base oncologyBiography: Salomon CohenCohen is a Mexican boardcertified neurosurgeon withfellowship training in skull baseoncology. Salomon received his medical degree at theUniversidad Anáhuac in Mexico City. He then completed hisMayo ClinicNeurosurgery Resident Bios

neurosurgery residency at the Instituto Nacional de Neurologia yNeurocirugía also in Mexico City.PGY-2Michelle W. McQuinn, M.D.After finishing his training in Mexico, he performed a yearresearch Fellowship in skull base neuroanatomy at University ofPittsburgh Medical Center. Salomon joined Mayo Clinic.Rochester in 2018 were he completed a neurosurgicalinternational clinical Fellowship (2018-2019) and later a skullbase oncology clinical fellowship (2019-2020) under thesupervision of Dr. Link and Dr. Van Gompel. If not the first, thenone of few Mexicans to match here at Mayo Clinic forneurosurgery residency, Dr. Cohen Cohen plans to fulfill his finalrequirements for becoming a practicing neurosurgeon in theUnited States. During his free time, Salomon enjoys traveling,and spending time with his wife, daughter, and two dogs.Undergraduate: University ofNebraska - LincolnMedical School: New YorkUniversity School of MedicineInterests: Neuro-oncology,functional neurosurgery, clinicaloutcomes research, data science“As a resident applicant, I felt there was no otherprogram in the country that offered the degree offlexibility and level of training at Mayo, and myexperience as a resident has only reaffirmed mychoice.”Biography: Michelle split her timegrowing up between Lemont, Illinois - a suburb of Chicago - andEstes Park, Colorado - a small, idyllic tourist town bordering theRocky Mountain National Park. She returned to her Midwesternroots for college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, whereshe majored in Biological Sciences. Michelle then went on tomedical school at New York University School of Medicine.Outside of medicine, she enjoys discovering new music, art, andstories (be it novels, film, or television); puzzles (both jigsaw andcrossword); hiking in and exploring national and state parks; aswell as learning more about each unique environment in whichshe currently lives.Cody Nesvick, M.D.PGY-2Nikita Lakomkin, M.D.PGY-2Ryan (Chase) Ransom, M.D.,Ph.D.Undergraduate: VanderbiltUniversityMedical School: Icahn School ofMedicine at Mount SinaiInterests: Neuro-oncology, trauma,complex spine, translational imagingInterests:Undergraduate: Harding UniversityMedical School: University ofArkansas for Medical Sciences Collegeof MedicineInterests: cerebrovascular and skullbase neurosurgery, spine andperipheral nerve traumaBiography: Nikita was born inRussia and grew up in eastern Connecticut. He attendedVanderbilt University, where he first developed an interest incancer imaging and translational research, graduating Summacum laude with a degree in the Biological Sciences. Nikitasubsequently matriculated at the Icahn School of Medicine atMount Sinai, earning his M.D. degree with distinction in researchas well as the Dr. Morris B. Bender Award in Clinical Neurology.Biography: Chase grew up in Arkansas and attended HardingUniversity, where he studied religion and biology. After studyingarts and humanities abroad in Florence, Italy, he attendedmedical school at the University of Arkansas. As a medicalstudent, Chase found a passion for regenerative neuroscienceand translating discoveries to help neurosurgical patients andtheir families. At the University of Arkansas, Chase obtained NIHsupport to complete his PhD research at Stanford Universityunder the guidance of surgeon-scientist Dr. Michael Longaker.Throughout his time in medical school, Nikita was extensivelyinvolved in academic pursuits, obtaining grant funding for hiswork with MR Spectroscopy in brain tumors and leading aproductive clinical outcomes research program for surgicalpatients. Outside of neurosurgery, Nikita’s interests includetennis, skiing, basketball, and playing competitive chess. Mostimportantly, he enjoys spending time with his fiancée, Emily, whois a teacher in Rochester.Mayo ClinicAs a graduate student, Chase sought to understand how nervesorganize tissue regeneration in salamanders, mice, and humans– species with varying degrees of regenerative potential – to helpguide tissue regeneration in actual patients with debilitatinginjuries. His scientific findings were recognized in the form of twoNIH R01 grant awards, and published in journals such as Nature,Science, and Cell.Neurosurgery Resident Bios

Chase’s research interests broadly include novel approaches tohealing the brain and spinal cord after injury. Outside ofneurosurgery, Chase enjoys traveling to new places, skiing andsnowboarding, playing golf, and reading; as well as spendingtime with his wife, Katie, and their two retrievers.PGY-1Rahul Kumar, M.D., Ph.D.,M.S.Alex elected to enlist in the Marine Corps upon graduating highschool. After serving two tours to the Middle East as an infantrymarine, he earned his B.S. from George Mason University inconflict analysis and resolution. During this time, his mother wasdiagnosed with late-stage cancer. Witnessing the tremendousmedical care she received during her long battle with cancerinfluenced Alex to change careers and pursue medicine.He completed both his post-baccalaureate coursework and M.D.from Virginia Commonwealth University. He considers hisexperience of a close loved one’s struggle with a terminal illnessan indispensable component of his medical education. With thismemory, he strives to embody the Mayo Clinic’s primary valuethat the needs of the patient come first.Undergraduate: University ofPennsylvaniaGraduate: St. Jude GraduateSchool of Biomedical Sciences &University of PennsylvaniaMedical School: University ofTennessee Health ScienceCenterBiography: Rahul was raised in the suburbs of Memphis, TN.He majored in biochemistry and biophysics while receiving hisMS in physics from the University of Pennsylvania. Whilesubsequently pursuing his MD at the University of TennesseeHealth Science Center, Rahul completed his PhD at the St. JudeGraduate School of Biomedical Sciences under the mentorshipof Paul Northcott, PhD. During this time, he utilized applied andfunctional genomics to study medulloblastoma and otherpediatric brain tumors. In addition to neurosurgery, his academicinterests span oncology, developmental biology, and genomics.In his free time, Rahul enjoys honing his data science skills,spirited drives in good weather, and flying when the skies areclear.Interesting Fact:The p-values of my interesting facts are likely greater than 0.05(even before multiple testing correction).Why Mayo:Neurosurgery residency training at Mayo combines unparalleledoperative experiences across the gamut of subspecialities withthe infrastructure and flexibility to mold an academic career as asurgeon-scientist.PGY-1Alex Pais, M.D.Undergraduate: GeorgeMason UniversityMedical School: VirginiaCommonwealth UniversityBiography: Alex grew up in amilitary family and movedMayo Clinicfrequently. He has lived in numerous locations in the UnitedStates and graduated high school in Stuttgart, Germany.Outside of neurosurgery, Alex enjoys playing guitar. While hisplaying is mediocre, his taste for expensive guitar gear is superb.Alex also enjoys being physically active and spending time withhis wife, Rachael. She is an exceptionally talented cook whichdirectly competes with Alex’s general enjoyment of exercise.PGY-1Zach Pennington, M.D.Undergraduate: JohnsHopkins UniversityMedical School: JohnsHopkins University School ofMedicineBiography: Zach was bornand raised in Midland,Michigan. He completed hisundergraduate studies in neuroscience at Johns HopkinsUniversity in Baltimore, MD, where he was elected Phi BetaKappa as a junior. He then went on to attend the Johns HopkinsUniversity School of Medicine.During the course of his studies he completed an institutionfunded research year under the mentorship of Dr. DanielSciubba and Dr. Nicholas Theodore in the Department ofNeurosurgery, with focuses on predictive analytics andcomplication avoidance in spinal deformity and spinal tumorsurgery, and on a porcine model of traumatic spinal cord injury.For his work, Zach received the Harvey Cushing Medical StudentResearch Award. Zach’s research interests include spinal tumoroutcomes research and minimally invasive spinal deformitytechniques. Outside of neurosurgery, his interests includeweightlifting and BigTen football.Interesting fact: Attended 7 different schools prior to 10thgrade.Neurosurgery Resident Bios

Rochester favorites: Unfortunately have never been because ofCOVID, so I’ll promise to have one for the next time it’s updated.PGY-1Jenny Perez, M.D., Ph.D.Why Mayo: Too many reasons really and I have a tendency togo off on tangents, but to keep them short:Undergraduate: OaklandUniversityGraduate: Wayne StateUniversity School of MedicineMedical School: Universityof Pittsburgh School ofMedicine1. The patient comes first. Period. Full stop. Love this philosophyand wanted to train at a place where this was true.2. The people. Everybody goes out of their way to be genuinelynice to you. Had multiple faculty residents reach out to see if Ihad questions throughout the interview process. Everyoneseemed genuinely interested in trying to give me helpful adviceversus just talking up the program, and it made me feel like itwas place I’d like to call home for the next 7 years.3. The residency program is designed to let you accomplish yourcareer goals. You have the flexibility to do funded, externalrotations if there are surgical skills/experiences that you think willadvance your future career that are not available at Mayo. Andyou get the opportunity to take advantage of learning fromsurgeons at all Mayo campuses (Rochester, Scottsdale,Jacksonville, Eau Claire, WI).Biography: I was born andraised in Houston, TX andhave now lived in 6 different states. Prior to medical school Ipursued a traditional PhD with research focusing on changes inmolecular pathways during neuron degeneration and subsequentregeneration. I went on to complete a two-yearpostdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington incollaboration with the Allen Brain Institute with research aimed atdeveloping functional neuronal circuits from stem cells in vitroand implanting them in vivo.Similarly, Mayo offers whatever resources you need to advanceyour research, including unparalleled clinical records linkedacross all sites and access to national datasets for clinicalresearch, extensive internal funding, plentiful lab resources forbasic science research, and multiple externally-funded facultymembers willing to assist you in obtaining NIH funding to helpstart your academic neurosurgery career.During medical school I served four years as Class Presidentand mentored premedical students from underrepresentedminorities. I gained an interest in personalized treatmentstrategies for brain tumors and earned a Copeland Fellowship formy research in pediatric high grade gliomas. I spend my freetime playing guitar and me and my husband travel around takingscenic photos with our drone.4. Fantastic surgical experience. The combination of thementorship model, the presence of experts in every domain ofneurosurgery, and the fact that the Rochester, MN campus isrunning 14-15 first starts ORs/day. Few, if any, other programsmatch that volume, which means that you are filling ACGME“Lead Resident” requirements starting PGY-2.Fun Fact: I have traveled to all but 3 of the states (Alaska,Maine, New Jersey) and visited 17 different baseball stadiums.The case complexity is also unparalleled – people come fromaround the world to Mayo to get treated. There is also a skullbase/anatomy lab for you to hone your skills outside the OR tomake sure that you can be the best at whatever part ofneurosurgery interests you.5. Chief year – you function as a junior attending as a PGY6,booking your own cases, and running your own clinic. Truly thebest preparation for functioning as an independentneurosurgeon.6. CAST accredited PGY-7 year with opportunities in spine, skullbase, peripheral nerve, endovascular, critical care, andneurosurgical oncology, which allows you to avoid a postgraduate fellowship.Mayo ClinicWhy Mayo: I was excited about Mayo because they wereexcellent in all aspects of training including large resident cohort,operative volume, patient care, research opportunities,mentorship, fellowship opportunities, and transition to practice.Also, because my puppy really loves the snow.Favorite restaurant: So far it's definitely Forager; we went 3times during our house hunting trip!“Everyone seemed genuinely interested in tryingto give me helpful advice versus just talking upthe program, and it made me feel like it was placeI’d like to call home for the next 7 years.”Zach Pennington, M.D.Neurosurgery Resident Bios

Kapodistrian University in 2015. Shortly after, he joined the Mayo Clinic Neuro-Informatics Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Bydon, while simultaneously being accepted into the Mayo Graduate School's Master's program in Clinical and Translational Science. The focus of his work has been on comparative