General Surgery Current Residents

Current Residents

Fifth Year

Marvin Heck, MD
Hometown: Düsseldorf, Germany.

Medical School: Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud (Ces).

Hobbies: Skiing, traveling, and working out.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A football coach for the Dallas Cowboys.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: I matched into a Colorectal Surgery fellowship at UT Houston!

Ben Kensing, MD
Hometown: New Braunfels, Texas.

Medical School: University of Texas Medical branch School of Medicine.

Hobbies: Hunting and fishing.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A Software Engineer.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: I matched into an Endocrine Surgery fellowship at UT Southwestern!

Carolina Orsi, MD

Hometown: I was born in Seattle, Washington, but my true hometown is College Station, Texas.

Medical School: Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

Hobbies: Painting, calligraphy, photography, hiking, weightlifting, running, and spending time with friends, family, and my cats.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A Personal Trainer.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: I matched into a Hepatopancreatobiliary fellowship at Virginia Mason in Seattle!

Fourth Year

Rebekah Bjorklund, MD

Hometown: Joplin, Missouri.

Medical School: St. George's University School of Medicine.

Hobbies: Hiking, baking sourdough bread, traveling, snowboarding, and binge-watching TV shows.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A full-time dog walker and sitter.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: Vascular Surgery.

Paige Moudy, DO

Hometown: Dallas, Texas.

Medical School: University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Hobbies: Hiking, watching college football, and spending time with my dog.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: Running an animal rescue or working as a film/TV critic.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: Breast Surgery.

Brittany Wagner, MD

Hometown: Dallas, Texas (born there, with most of my family still residing in the area).

Medical School: Lousiana State University School of Medicine.

Hobbies: Pickleball, hosting charcuterie nights, watching Bachelor Nation, home-brewing wine with my husband, and spending time with my cat.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: Still figuring that out, but I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: Trauma and Critical Care Surgery.

Third Year

Ala'a Alkhatib, MD

Hometown: Amman, Jordan – home of good hummus and strong coffee.

Medical School: University of Jordan.

Hobbies: Fitness, training for triathlons, and perfecting my shakshoukah recipe.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A Barista (I already live off espresso anyway).

Future career interests / fellowship plans: General and Thoracic Surgery.

Tim Baumgartner, MD
Hometown: Carmel, Indiana.

Medical School: Indiana University.

Hobbies: Golf.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A Mailman.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: Minimally Invasive Surgery.

Cole Joubert, MD

Hometown: Neenah, Wisconsin.

Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin.

Hobbies: Fitness and hunting.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A Mechanic.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: General or Trauma Surgery.

Second Year

Drew Mack, MD
Hometown: Longview, Texas.

Medical School: Louisiana State University.

Hobbies: Fitness, outdoor activities (wakeboarding, surfing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, and fishing), cooking, gardening, DIY projects, and spending time with my family.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A Rancher.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: General Surgery.

Kareem Sadek, MD

Hometown: I was born in Mansoura, Egypt, and raised across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

Medical School: Mansoura University Faculty of Medicine.

Hobbies: Traveling, exploring different cuisines, and baking.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A Pathologist.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: Hepatopancreatobiliary or Transplant Surgery.

Diana Wu, MD

Hometown: Bettendorf, Iowa

Medical School: Carle Illinois College of Medicine.

Hobbies: Knitting, cooking, reading, and hiking.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A Chemical or Process Engineer

Future career interests / fellowship plans: Colorectal Surgery.

First Year

Kamal Abi-Mosleh, MD

Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon – where you can ski in the morning and swim in the afternoon.

Medical School: University of Balamand Faculty of Medicine.

Hobbies: Soccer, Formula 1, cars, gaming, building Lego sets, cooking and baking traditional Lebanese recipes, and road trips.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A Formula 1 Driver.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: Complex General Surgical Oncology.

Caitlin Burns, MD

Hometown: I was born and raised in Girona, Spain but most of my family lives in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

Medical School: University of Girona Faculty of Medicine.

Hobbies: Aerial dance, playing with my cats, petting stray cats, overall appreciating cats, and Mario video games.

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A crazy cat lady running a cat rescue.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: Plastics or Cosmetic Surgery.

Ismail Saleem, MD

Hometown: Khartoum, Sudan.

Medical School: A1 Neelain University Faculty of Medicine.

Hobbies: Tennis, Formula 1 racing, and traveling (mostly to collect souvenirs).

If I weren’t a surgeon, I’d be: A Motivational Speaker.

Future career interests / fellowship plans: Minimally Invasive Surgery.