School of Medicine

Graduate Students, Residents, Postdocs and Fellows:

Medicine
Several residents and fellows represented the department at the American College of Gastroenterology:

• Dr. Catherine Loehr (IM Resident), Dr. Erika Haviland (IM Resident), Dr. Jeffery Anderson, Dr. Christopher Hayden (ID Fellow), Dr. Allen Byl (ID Fellow) and Dr. Leandre Millet (Nephrology Fellow) had a poster titled “Breaking Down the Abscess: Nocardia farcinica Behind an Abdominal Mystery.”
• Loehr, Dr. Farhan Mohiuddin (IM Resident), Dr. David Beyer (Cardiology Fellow), and Dr. Hayden had a poster titled “Symptoms, Serology, and Surprises of Acute Hepatitis B."

Many rheumatology fellows and residents, along with faculty, attended the American College of Rheumatology Annual Conference - Convergence 2025, where they successfully presented their work through posters and a case presentation:

• Seemal Faisal (Rheumatology Fellow), Dr. Alexandra Anderson (IM Resident), Dr. Luke Sharrock (IM Resident), Dr. James Tran (Rheumatology Fellow) and Dr. Milena Vukelic (Rheumatology): Failure of Steroid and Antimalarial Therapy to Normalize Placental Interferon and Angiogenic Gene Expression in SLE.
• Sharrock, Dr. Anderson, Dr. Stephen Lindsey (Rheumatology) and Dr. Milena Vukelic: Strengthening Rheumatology Workforce Capacity and Impact on Patient Care in Louisiana: Expanding Fellowship Training Opportunities Through Strategic Partnerships.
• Pavana Sakhamuri (Lafayette), Dr. Stephen Lindsey, Cathryn Leggio and Dr. Ellen Mire (IM Resident): Are Minority Populations Truly Vaccine Hesitant? A Provider-Based Approach to RSV Vaccine Uptake Suggests Otherwise.
• Punith Chirumamilla, Dr. Ravi Medarametla, Dr. Anjani Mahesh Kumar Cherukuri, Dr. Sri Laxmi Priya Sunkara, Dr. Pranathi Bandarupalli, Dr. Rithish Nimmagadda, Dr. Greeshma Erasani, Dr. Pavana Sakhamuri and Dr. Stephen Lindsey: Comparative Efficacy and Safety of IL-17 Inhibitors Versus Adalimumab in Biologic-Naive Psoriatic Arthritis Patients: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
• Jennifer Elise Abdalla (Rheumatology), Dr. Yuichiro Okushi, Dr. Zoran Popovic, Dr. Heba Wassif and Dr. Soumya Chatterjee: Global Longitudinal, Circumferential, and Radial Strain in Systemic Sclerosis Patients with Left Ventricular Dysfunction.

Dr. Maren Bell (ID Fellow) presented a case in a panel discussion at ID Week.

Dr. Catherine Loehr (IM Resident) and Dr. Lara Boudreaux (former GI Fellow) and Dr. Nisha Loganantharaj (Gastroenterology) recently published a case report in the Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology. Their research paper received significant positive feedback from the GI community and stimulated discussion and new insights among GI peers. In recognition, Drs. Loehr and Loganantharaj were selected to be Outstanding Authors by the journal and were interviewed about their work.

Dr. Loehr and Dr. Shane Sanne (Hospital Medicine) recently published Presentation, Diagnosis, and Acute Treatment of Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis: A Case Report in Cureus.

Med-Peds Resident Dr. Kayla Rykiel and Dr. Allison Pinner (Hospital Medicine) recently published An Atypical Presentation of Cutaneous Angiosarcoma: A Diagnostic Challenge in an End-Stage Renal Disease Patient in Cureus with dermatology colleagues.

Dr. Swati Sharma, a post-doctoral researcher in Dr. Rajesh Mohandas’ (Nephrology) laboratory, presented a poster titled “Restoring Microglial Homeostasis Decreases Sympathoexcitation in Chronic Kidney Disease” at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions held in New Orleans: Sharma, Swati; Zahra, Walia; McTernan, Patrick; Paloczi, Janos; Biose, Ifechukwude; Mohandas, Rajesh

 

The department’s residents matched well across all three campuses.
New Orleans Campus:

• Dr. Alexandra Anderson – LSU Health New Orleans - Rheumatology
• Dr. Nikki Arceneaux – U South Alabama - Gastroenterology
• Dr. Lily Chen – LSU Health New Orleans - Hematology and Oncology
• Dr. Thomas Deiss – Harbor-UCLA Med Ctr - Pulmonary/Critical Care
• Dr. Catherine Fontenot – George Washington Univ - Infectious Disease
• Dr. Edward Leonard – U Tennessee-Knoxville - Cardiovascular Disease
• Dr. Catherine Loehr – LSU Health New Orleans - Gastroenterology
• Dr. Assad Mussarat – LSU Health New Orleans - Cardiovascular Disease
• Dr. Hannah Porter – Ochsner Clinic Foundation - Endocrinology
• Dr. Sepehr Sadeghi – ECU Health Med Ctr - Cardiovascular Disease
• Dr. Luke Yesbeck – U Miami/Jackson Health System - Pulmonary/Critical Care
• Dr. Ilija Zecevic – U North Carolina Hospitals - Geriatric Medicine

Baton Rouge Campus:

• Dr. Parker Yount – UNC - Pulmonary Critical Care
• Dr. John Johnson – LSU Health New Orleans - Pulmonary Critical Care

Lafayette Campus:

• Dr. Heath Scott – Orlando - Critical Care
• Dr. Ryan Falcone – UAB - Nephrology
• Dr. Jacob Cunningham – LSU Health New Orleans - Nephrology
• Dr. Ahmad Anbar – LSU Health New Orleans – Pulmonary/Critical Care

Previous residents:

• Dr. Joseph Prechter – Ochsner – Palliative Care
• Dr. Keat Ng – Tampa - Critical Care
• Dr. Ben Pickard – Tulane University - Cardiology

Orthopaedic Surgery
PGY-1 resident Dr. Carlos Monroig was awarded a research grant for his project, “Establishing a pre-clinical model of arthrofibrosis.” Dr. Monroig’s research aims to develop an in vivo rat model to study arthrofibrosis, a debilitating condition that causes painful, restricted joint movement. This work has the potential to significantly improve future treatments for patients suffering from this condition.

Postdoctoral fellows Dr. Rachel Matthews and Dr. Matthew Scott were selected from an international pool of applicants to attend the Orthopaedic Research Society’s Young Investigator Initiative (YII). The YII is a multi-disciplinary grant mentoring and career development program that provides young investigators in the musculoskeletal sciences with guidance on constructing well-founded research proposals and securing funding for basic, translational, or clinical research.

Adam L. Haydel, MD was chosen for the Jack Winter Award, given to the graduating resident with the best research.

Nathan J. Redlich, MD received the Orthopaedics In-Training Award, awarded to the graduating resident with the highest in-training score averaged over four years (PGY2-5 years of training).

Daniel Gelvez, MD was selected for the King Award, a teaching award given to a resident and named after Dr. Andrew King (Emeritus Professor and past chairman for the department).

The department announced the following fellowship matches:

• Katherine Dong - Brown University - Spine
• Daniel Gelvez - Vanderbilt University - Spine
• Ravi Rajendra - University of Utah - Pediatric Orthopaedics
• Bronson Fong - Cedars Sinai / Kerlan-Jobe - Sports Medicine

After graduating in 2025:

• Adam Miller, MD  - University of Utah Foot and Ankle Fellowship
• Austin Broussard, MD - American Sports Medicine Institute Sports Fellowship
• Nathan Redlich, MD - Massachusetts General Hospital & Brigham and Women’s Hospital Spine Surgery
• Adam Haydel, MD - Cleveland Clinic Combined Hand Fellowship

2025 residents were also announced:

• Austin Darden from Indiana University School of Medicine
• Faith Darden from Indiana University School of Medicine
• Luke Larochelle from Medical University of South Carolina
• Andrew Pierce from Florida International University
• Ryan Schroeder from LSU Health New Orleans

Pathology
Residents, mentored by department faculty, had the following abstracts accepted for presentation at the upcoming USCAP (United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology) Conference: 

• “Axillary Staging During the Resection for Biopsy-proven Breast High-Grade Ductal Carcinoma in-situ in the Era of De-escalation of Breast Cancer Treatment: An Institutional Experience” - Accepted for presentation at the Moderated Poster Session. Authors: Angelle Jolly, MD; Yaomin Chen, MD; Jonathan Somma, MD; Zhiyan Fu, MD
• “Count On It: An Outcome-Anchored Three-Gland Rule for Extensive Endocervical Gland Involvement (eEGI) in Initial Cervical Biopsies with HSIL” Authors: Yu Liu, MD, PhD; Yaomin Chen, MD; Vishva Mistry, DO; Ridin Balakrishnan, MD 

Dr. Ayesha Younus and Dr. Angelle Jolly assumed the role of Chief Residents beginning January 1^st.  The department thanks outgoing Chief Residents Dr. Asra Feroze, Dr. Julia Rivera, and Dr. Haibo Wang.   

 

 

 

Pathology residents were listed authors on the following publications:
“An unusual case of ovarian high-grade carcinoma and neuroendocrine tumor: Dedifferentiated ovarian carcinoma or mixed adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine carcinoma? Clinicopathologic features and literature review,” Haibo Wang, MD, Yaomin Chen, MD, Ridin Balakrishnan, MD.   

“Incidental Cardiac Metastasis in Breast Carcinoma,” Yaomin Chen, MD, Haibo Wang, MD, Zhiyan Fu, MD, Ellen Connor, MD, PhD.    

“Should we subtype gastric intestinal metaplasia in gastric biopsies, a single institution’s experience,” Haibo Wang, MD, Yu Liu, MD, Asra Feroze, MD, Zengying Wu, MD, Jonathan Somma, MD, Zhiyan Fu, MD. 

“Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors of bladder,” Yu Liu, MD, Chloe Schrader, MS, Ritu Bhalla, MD.   

Pediatrics
The Division of Allergy & Immunology recently attended the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL, where residents, fellows, and faculty presented research and represented the division on a national stage:

• Pediatric resident Dr. Caroline Gueniot received the SPARK award scholarship to attend the meeting
• Fellows Drs. Nadjel Opamen, Meaghan Bank, and David Van each presented posters on challenging clinical cases with faculty mentorship (more about the faculty mentors contributions can be found here).

Third-year fellow Dr. Michael Evers is the winner of the Southern Society for Pediatric Research (SSPR) Trainee Travel Award. He received this honor for his abstract titled: “Standardizing and Improving Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up of Infants with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy in the NICU.” This prestigious recognition is awarded to trainees whose research demonstrates exceptional quality, innovation, and impact in the field of pediatric medicine. 

Peds GI fellow Dr. Scarlett Flaz and pediatric residents Dr. Mariana Acuna, Dr. Natasha Mark-Borno, Dr. Ana Figuereo, and Dr. Amy Urbina Pacheco conceptualized the new Latinos in Medicine Committee, an initiative to support, uplift, and advocate for Latino physicians and trainees within the institution. The committee will be led by attending Dr. Acela Cristina Rosado, Rheumatologist. The first meeting was held in February.

The following current and former residents matched into fellowships:

• Chandler Cissel, MD – Allergy/Immunology, LSU Health New Orleans
• Jantzen Collette, MD – Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Care, Emory University
• Nali Gillespie, MD - Combined Pediatric & Adult Hematology/Oncology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Lexi Glaser, MD - Pediatric Critical Care, Washington University in St. Louis
• Caroline Moreau, MD – Neonatology, LSU Health New Orleans
• Hope Retif, MD – Allergy/Immunology, LSU Health New Orleans
• Leah Smith, DO - Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Duke University
• Maddie Robert Stansberry, MD – Pediatrics Hospital Medicine, LSU Health New Orleans
• Sarah Stobbs, MD – Combined Pediatric Infectious Diseases/Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Tulane/LSU Health New Orleans
• Nick Tadros, DO - Pediatric Critical Care, University of Utah

The following fellowship programs matched fellows for the 26-27 academic year: 

Allergy Immunology:

• Chandler Cissel, MD – LSU Health New Orleans Pediatrics Residency
• Hope Retif, MD – LSU Health New Orleans Pediatrics Residency

Pediatric Cardiology:

• Cassandra Roberts, DO – St. Louis University Pediatrics Residency

Pediatric Emergency Medicine:

• Albert Dionise, DO – Children's Hospital of Michigan Pediatrics Residency
• Taylor Jeansonne, MD – Medical University of South Carolina Pediatrics Residency

Pediatric Gastroenterology:

• Keishla Valentin-Martinez, MD – University of Texas Southwestern Pediatrics Residency

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology:

• Samantha Blair, DO – Our Lady of the Lake Pediatrics Residency

Pediatric Hospital Medicine:

• Marissa Hennelly, MD – Duke University Pediatrics Residency
• Maddie Robert Stansberry, MD – LSU Health New Orleans Pediatrics Residency

Neonatology:

• Caroline Moreau, MD – Neonatology, LSU Health New Orleans Pediatrics Residency
• Manvi Tyagi, MD – Medical College of Georgia Pediatrics Residency 

Physiology
Meagan Donovan secured the 2025 Association for Women in Science-Southern Louisiana (AWIS-SL) Outstanding Young Scientist Travel Award ($1,000).

 

 

 

Dr. Keishla Rodriguez Graciani won first place for her Oral talk titled “Alcohol use impairs mitochondrial function and increases frailty risk in older adults: findings from the epiMAP study” at the National Science Network’s (NHSN) annual meeting in Miami, FL.

 

 

Lei’leh Itayem (Edwards Lab, LSU Health New Orleans Bioinformatics Program) presented her talk titled “Proteomic Analysis of Cingulate Cortex Systems Regulated by Mifepristone in the Context of Alcohol Dependence” at the 2025 Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center of Excellence (ADACE) annual retreat in December.

Stephanie Lee presented a talk titled “Alcohol Cannabinoid System Interactions in the Context of Pain and Alcohol Use Disorder” in the 2025 Department of Physiology Fall Seminar Series. Lee also presented her work at the American Physiological Society (APS) New Trends in Sex Differences and Women’s Health Research conference held at Tulane University.

The School of Graduate Studies, LSUHSC-NO held its 2026 Graduate Research Day. Awards included:

• Kaitlin Couvillion- Junior Division First Place, Oral talk ($1,500 Travel Award)
• Kyle Gallegos - First Place, Poster ($1000 Travel Award)
• Nicolas Harris - Senior Division Second Place, Oral talk ($1500 Travel Award).