Current Residents
PGY-3
Saiyukti Chawla, MD
Medical School: Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland
Personal Interests: I enjoy yoga, exercise, traveling, music and spending time with my friends
and family! Also, if you need someone to taste test your baked goods,
I'm your girl :)
Professional Interests: I am really hoping to specialize in hematology-oncology or endocrinology!
Afroditi Emporelli, MD
Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica
Personal Interest: Jersey girl. I enjoy slow mornings, long walks on the beach, spending
time with family and friends, and spending my summers visiting family in Greece
Professional Interests: Primary care, child advocacy, and behavioral health
Poonam Nayak, MD
Medical School: Maharashtra Institute of Medical Education and Research
Personal Interests: Hiking, running, reading, searching for dogs to pet
Professional Interests: Pediatric hospital medicine, public health, pediatric critical care
Stuti Pathak, MD
Medical School: Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Medical Education Trust Medical College
Personal Interests: I enjoy singing, eating homemade food, going outdoors, doing yoga, and
watching movies
Professional Interests: I am coming in with an open mind. However, I would like to explore Pediatric
Cardiology and Neonatology specifically
Arvind Radhakrishnan, MD
Medical School: St. George’s University School of Medicine
Personal Interests: Family & Friends, Tabletop Games, tinkering with my computer, and
Breakfast foods
Professional Interests: General Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency
Roshan Rijal, MD
Medical School: Kathmandu Medical College
Personal Interests: Traveling, spending time with my wife and family, hanging out with friends,
cooking, watching sci-fi movies, watching Premier League (a big soccer fan here)
Professional Interests: Primary care, community advocacy, serving the underserved communities,
Pediatric cardiology, neonatal and perinatal medicine (However, I still
need to explore more during residency), Mentoring
Isaac Snyder, DO
Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Personal Interests: I am passionate about cooking, especially trying out new recipes and
creating new dishes from leftovers. I love to read, whether it is a research
article or a mythology book. I especially cherish spending time with my
nieces and nephews. Lastly, I enjoy investing in the stock market, which
not only gives me an opportunity to put my affinity for numbers to good
use, but also helps me keep up to date with current affairs.
Professional Interests: Pediatric GI, Weight Management.
Amrita Sunkad, MD
Medical School: Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences
Personal Interests: I love to cook, sketch and enjoy spending time with friends and family;
and have a unparalleled passion for reading fiction novels.
Professional Interests: General Pediatrics, Behavioral Pediatrics, Adolescent medicine.
PGY-2
Safa Abdulhai, DO
Medical School: Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine
Personal Interest: Cooking and photography
Professional Interests: Pediatrics Hematology and Oncology
Fariba Abedi, MD
Medical School: St. George’s University School of Medicine
Personal Interest: I love to bake, crochet and add random, new skills to my repertoire.
I also enjoy travelling and experiencing new adventures with my partner
and our pupper, Jaxon!
Professional Interests: I find myself drawn to the inpatient side of pediatric medicine. Participating
in quality improvement projects while personally improving my skills as
a physician are my primary goals for now.
Suman Dhakal, MD
Medical School: Universal College of Medical Sciences, Nepal
Personal Interest: Hiking and traveling, watching movies and gardening!
Professional Interests: Exploring the world of Pediatrics, not yet decided on what professional
career to choose after residency.
Blakemore Gentner, MD
Medical School: St. George's University School of Medicine
Personal Interest: My dog (Pygmalion, or Pyg for short – 4 year old chocolate lab/best
girl in the whole world), legos, video games, horror movies
Professional Interests: Critical Care (PICU, NICU)
Marie Kaakijian, MD
Medical School: St. George’s University School of Medicine
Personal Interest: I love going to local cafes, farmers markets, museums, outdoor walks
– just to name a few
Professional Interests: I want to become a general pediatrician and to be involved in routine
patient care
Ryan Kirk, MD
Medical School: Morehouse School of Medicine
Personal Interest: hiking, beach, cooking, gym
Professional Interests: primary and preventative care
Shania Leslie, MD
Medical School: Trinity School of Medicine
Personal Interest: I enjoy being outdoors, going to different restaurants with my husband,
going to wineries, hanging out with friends, and taking well deserved naps.
Professional Interests: General/outpatient pediatrics and patient advocacy
Gaurav Mahato, MD
Medical School: Janaki Medical College, Nepal
Personal Interest: I love to travel and visit different places, play sports, and go hiking.
I am very passionate about cars.
Professional Interests: I am more inclined towards fellowship in cardiology and interventional
cardio in long run.
Kyle Prisby, MD
Medical School: St. George's University School of Medicine
Personal Interest: Nights out in Manhattan, cocktails at speakeasy, streaming HBO Max, ordering
takeout, and sleeping until noon.
Professional Interests: General Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine
Mirra Said, MD
Medical School: St. George’s University
Personal Interest: I’m passionate about fitness and wellness and inspiring others
to get moving as well! My other interests include art, traveling, cooking,
shopping, game nights, reading and soaking up sun on the beach.
Professional Interests: I find working with a younger population very gratifying and rewarding.
The resilience of children is inspiring. I enjoy acute and intensive care
and would like to pursue fellowship in Emergency Medicine. I also hope
to incorporate my love of fitness and wellness into my career in the future!
Kesha Shah, DO
Medical School: Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine
Personal Interest: Reading, Writing, and going on long walks
Professional Interests: Outpatient Pediatrics, Preventative Care, and Advocacy
Shereen Tajalli, MD
Medical School: St. George's University School of Medicine
Personal Interest: I enjoy exercising, reading, watching movies, exploring new restaurants,
and food blogging
Professional Interests: Pediatric Allergy & Immunology
PGY-1
Pankti Bhavsar, MD
Medical School: St. George’s University School of Medicine
Personal Interest: I love to travel and hope to check off different countries from my bucket
list. Trying different cuisines and trying to recreate them at home. I
love to binge watch tv-shows, painting, reading and spending time with
family and friends.
Professional Interests: I am interested in General Pediatrics, Neonatology-Perinatology, and
Pulmonology. But I am keeping an open mind and explore different specialties
during residency.
Manasee Vyas, MD
Medical School: MGM Institute of Health Sciences, Navi Mumbai
Personal Interest: Spending time with my family and friends, watching sports games, and
exploring new music.
Professional Interests: I enjoy working with children and I hope to pursue a future in cardiology.
Abeera Naeem, DO
Medical School: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
Personal Interest: I love arts & crafts – anything from drawing, painting, DIY.
Recently I took on crochet and have been making crochet flowers, hope
to make enough to maybe start an Etsy one day. Other than spending my
time on arts & crafts, I enjoy devoting my life to drinking bubble
tea – yes, it is an obsession. I say "Boba everyday, all day,
anytime, anywhere."
Professional Interests: I have always wanted to be a pediatrician and have a special interest
in developmental pediatrics and would love to care for patients with developmental
disabilities, ADHD, autism, etc in the near future. However, I also am
highly interested in pediatric rheumatology and am waiting to rotate through
both fields before deciding on a fellowship route.
Nicole Flaherty, MD
Medical School: St. George's University School of Medicine
Personal Interest: Yoga, swimming, eating, laughing :)
Professional Interests: Pediatric cardiology & teaching
Maritza Lino-Grover, DO
Medical School: Rowan- Virtua SOM
Personal Interest: Journaling, Prayer, Cooking authentic Mexican food, Making YouTube vlogs
for my channel (like & subscribe), volunteering with our nonprofit
Christian organization, spend time with my husband, shop for clean beauty:
makeup and skincare, road trip, hit the gym or long walks
Professional Interests: Child Advocacy, Global Health, Medical Missions, Pediatric Nutrition,
Food is Medicine, Diabetes Prevention, Hispanic/ Latino
Ilham Farhat, MD
Medical School: University of Tripoli
Personal Interest: I have enriched my love for traveling and exploring new cultures, which
I often capture through photography. I am passionate about cooking diverse
recipes and experimenting with different culinary techniques.
Professional Interests: I am passionate about advancing treatments for pediatric endocrine and
hospital medicine.
Lajja Gadhavi, MD
Medical School: GCS Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Personal Interest: I like singing, painting, dancing, etc.
Professional Interests: Go into fellowship. like PICU/ Peds ED currently
Jennifer Dally, MD
Medical School: George Washington University
Personal Interest: Hiking, Backpacking, Music Writing, Poetry
Professional Interests: Pediatric Behavioral Health and Psychiatry, Neonatology
Shivani Patel, MD
Medical School: AMC MET Medical College
Personal Interest: Listening to podcasts, traveling, meditation
Professional Interests: Hematology and Oncology/ Primary Care
Ayodele Ajayi, MD
Medical School: University of Lagos
Personal Interest: Cooking, reading books and spending time with family
Professional Interests: Primary care pediatrician, public health and research
Jennifer Christensen, DO
Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Personal Interest: Spending time with my step kids and husband. Taking my chocolate lab
on long hikes
Professional Interests: Open to all specialties. Interested in procedures
Shiva Lal Bhattarai, MD
Medical School: Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University
Personal Interest: I like nature, walking, and hiking. I like volleyball.
Professional Interests: General Pediatrics
Child Neurology
Harshita Kandarpa, DO, PGY-2
Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Professional Interest: I enjoy reading, cooking, baking, being outside,
and buying houseplants or gardening!
Personal Interests: Pediatric Neurology, either general or developmental/
neuromuscular
Jacklyn Johnson, MD, PGY-2
Medical school: NJMS
Professional interest: pediatric neurology, particularly epilepsy
Personal Interests: reading (fiction), social justice, trying different
foods, hanging out at the beach
Sheidel Ifrah Goldfeiz, DO, PGY-1
Medical School: Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine – Harlem
Personal Interest: Empowering and mentoring women in STEMM, health advocacy, finding new
recipes, and spending time with my husband and kiddies!
Professional Interests: Neurology, Public health, Preventative health education