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Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Otolaryngology
  1. Department of Otolaryngology
  2. Education & Training
  3. Residency Program
  4. Current Residents

Current Head and Neck Surgery Residents

Meet the Team

  • Benjamin Bernard, MD (PGY-6 / Chief)

    Benjamin Bernard, MD (PGY-6 / Chief)

    Hometown: Overland Park, Kansas
    Undergrad: University of Missouri-Kansas City; Liberal Arts, Chemistry
    Medical School: University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
    Outside Interests: playing sports (basketball, tennis, and spikeball), watching sports (Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, now the San Diego Padres!), exploring the outdoors (hiking/cycling/traveling), and discovering new restaurants
    Research Interests: epigenetic drivers of head and neck cancer, implementation of immunotherapy in head and neck cancer, precision medicine and genomic sequencing
  • Tammy Pham, MD (PGY-6 / Chief)

    Tammy Pham, MD (PGY-6 / Chief)

    Hometown: San Diego, California
    Undergrad: Yale University; Cognitive Science
    Medical School: University of California, San Diego
    Outside Interests: rock climbing (both indoor and outdoor), board games, coaching high school robotics, playing with my family's kitten
    Research Interests: genetics of age-related and noise-induced hearing loss, medical and surgical education, robotics and innovations in surgical technology
  • Rohith Voora, MD (PGY-5 / Chief)

    Rohith Voora, MD (PGY-5 / Chief)

    Hometown: Fresno, CA
    Undergrad: UCSD
    Medical School: UCSD
    Outside Interests: basketball, surfing, hip-hop/R&B vinyl and live music, discovering new restaurants and breweries
    Research Interests: head and neck oncology, airway and voice, health disparities
  • Priyanka Bisarya, MD (PGY-5)

    Priyanka Bisarya, MD (PGY-5)

    Hometown: San Diego, CA 
    Undergrad: UC San Diego
    Medical School: Yale University School of Medicine
    Outside Interests: sailing, water sports, skiing,  live music, cycling, running
    Research Interests: surgical innovation, robotic technology, medical devices, global health in otolaryngology, medical education
  • Peter Eskander, MD (PGY-5)

    Peter Eskander, MD (PGY-5)

    Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
    Undergrad: University of Southern California; Health Promotion Disease Prevention and Theater Arts
    Medical School: University of Missouri-Columbia
    Outside Interests: Cooking, gardening, the world champion Los Angeles Lakers, scuba diving, and voice over acting!
    Research Interests: Optimizing outcomes associated with head and neck cancers, health literary and equity in underserved groups, facial reconstruction, and professional voice
  • Madhavi Murali, MD (RSCH/ PGY-4)

    Madhavi Murali, MD (RSCH/ PGY-4)

    Hometown: Lake Zurich, IL
    Undergrad: University of Missouri-Kansas City; Liberal Arts, Chemistry
    Medical School: University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
    Outside Interests: Running, acrylic painting, cooking, traveling (and reviewing airports!)
    Research Interests: Epigenetics in head and neck cancer, healthcare disparities in underserved populations, vestibular schwannoma
  • Archana Podury, MD (RSCH/ PGY-4)

    Archana Podury, MD (RSCH/ PGY-4)

    Hometown: Cupertino, CA
    Undergrad: Cornell University; Neurobiology & Behavior
    Medical School: Harvard Medical School, Harvard-MIT Health Sciences & Technology (HST) Program
    Outside Interests: art, plants, reading, music, fashion, solo travel, exploring nature
    Research Interests: device engineering, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, hearing loss

     
  • Bita Naimi, MD (PGY-3)

    Bita Naimi, MD (PGY-3)

    Hometown: Saratoga, CA
    Undergrad: Boston University
    Medical School: Boston University School of Medicine 
    Outside Interests: spending time outdoors (hiking, swimming, biking), painting, piano, concerts, traveling, baking 
    Research Interests: olfactory dysfunction, platelet rich plasma, novel therapeutics, health disparities, medical education, mentorship
  • Olivia LaMonte, MD (PGY-3)

    Olivia LaMonte, MD (PGY-3)

    Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
    Undergrad: University of California, Santa Barbara
    Medical School:  University of California, San Diego
    Outside Interests: Writing comedy, reading psychological thrillers, staying humble through rec sports, sampling every workout class in San Diego, and catering to my Chihuahua mix.
    Research Interests: Vestibular schwannoma, genetics of hearing loss, quality of life analysis, developing shared decision-making tools, and graduate medical education with a focus on resident training.
  • Madeline Matthys, MD (PGY-3)

    Madeline Matthys, MD (PGY-3)

    Hometown: Santa Barbara, CA   
    Undergrad: Duke University
    Medical School: University of California, San Francisco
    Outside Interests: Long days in the mountains (on feet, ropes, or wheels!), farmers market finds, folk music, open water swimming, dog walks, and new recipes!
    Research Interests: OR sustainability, medical education, global otolaryngologic health, advanced endocrine therapies
  • David Ahmadian, MD (PGY-2)

    David Ahmadian, MD (PGY-2)

    Hometown: San Diego, CA
    Undergrad: University of California, San Diego
    Medical School: University of Arizona, College of Medicine - Tucson
    Outside Interests: Fitness, world travel, cooking, live music
    Research Interests: Artificial intelligence, virtual reality in surgical education, patient-reported outcomes, subglottic stenosis, cochlear implantation
  • Christine Liu, MD (PGY-2)

    Christine Liu, MD (PGY-2)

    Hometown: Los Angeles
    Undergrad: University of California, Irvine
    Medical School: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
    Outside Interests: Pilates, yoga, cooking, film photography, movies, visual storytelling
    Research Interests: Cystic Fibrosis chronic rhinosinusitis, endoscopic sinus surgery, olfactory dysfunction, obstructive sleep apnea and sleep surgery, medical education, health disparities
  • Yihuai "Jess" Qu, MD (PGY-2)

    Yihuai "Jess" Qu, MD (PGY-2)

    Hometown: Beijing, China & Toledo, Ohio
    Undergrad: Columbia University
    Medical School: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine - AZ
    Outside Interests: Concerts, art, cooking/baking/eating food, traveling, pilates/fitness classes, obsessing over dogs
    Research Interests: Regenerative medicine, global health, health disparities in H&N, medical and surgical education
  • Ashwini Bandi, MD (PGY-1)

    Ashwini Bandi, MD (PGY-1)

    Hometown: Houston, TX
    Undergrad: Rice University
    Medical School: McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston
    Outside Interests: baking, working out, tennis, art, reading, tennis, neighborhood walks
    Research Interests: outcomes in head and neck cancer, medical education, obstructive sleep apnea and sleep surgery, endoscopic sinus surgery 
  • Sofia Finestone, MD (PGY-1)

    Sofia Finestone, MD (PGY-1)

    Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
    Undergrad: UC Berkeley
    Medical School: The George Washington University School of Medicine
    Outside Interests: International travel, fitness classes, attempting new recipes, anything outdoors (parks, beach, hikes), exploring local cafes and restaurants, audiobooks
    Research Interests: Sustainable global surgery initiatives, social determinants of health, pediatric airway, optimizing postoperative outcomes in head and neck cancer
  • Achilles Kanaris, MD (PGY-1)

    Achilles Kanaris, MD (PGY-1)

    Hometown: San Jose, CA
    Undergrad: University of California, San Diego
    Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
    Outside Interests: Basketball, volleyball, music (EDM, synth-pop, indie/alternative, hip-hop), dogs, anime, cooking
    Research Interests: Social determinants of health/health disparities, temporal bone histopathology/genomics/transcriptomics, cochlear implantation, Meniere's disease, pediatric ENT