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Meet Our Residents

From the chief residents

Two chief residents in the Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine Residency program in Rochester, Minnesota.Welcome to Mayo Clinic Pediatrics! We're the Pediatrics Chief Residents. We fell in love with the Mayo Clinic Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine Residency on our interview day because of the size of the program, easy living in Rochester, and the resources that Mayo has to offer to trainees. We love spending time with residents in our office, on hospital service, and during morning teaching. Our residents are the best part of our job, and it is so lovely to watch them grow as people and as clinicians. When we're not in the hospital, you can catch us at a local coffee shop or find us hiking in one of Rochester’s many parks. We're thrilled you are interested in our residency program, and we cannot wait to share more with you during your interview day.

Our best,
Fatima Quddusi, M.D. and Kayla Munger, M.D.

Fatima Quddusi, M.D.

Fatima Quddusi, M.D.

Chief resident

Hometown: Lahore, Pakistan
Medical school: Nishtar Medical College, Multan Pakistan
About me: I was born and raised in Pakistan and came to United States to attain medical education and training. My passion is pediatrics with a focus on pediatric dermatologic disorders, medical education, and health equity. I am mother to a beautiful daughter and feel blessed to learn simple joyful aspects of life every day. In my free time, I find immense pleasure in reading fiction, listening to international music, volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House of Rochester, and exploring outdoors with my family and friends. I am always excited to learn new languages and am currently learning Spanish.

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Kayla Munger, M.D.

Kayla Munger, M.D.

Chief resident

Hometown: Vermillion, SD
Medical school: University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine
About me: My significant other, Kenzie, and I love hanging out at the local breweries with our friends we’ve made in residency, especially on trivia and karaoke nights. I’m a Husker and Vikings football fanatic. I enjoy playing tennis and biking in my free time as well.

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Meet our residents

The Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine Residency has a total of 41 residents in training at any point in time. Learn more about our residents and where they come from.

Class of 2024

Asma Ali, M.B.B.S.

Asma Ali, M.B.B.S.

Hometown: Karachi, Pakistan
Medical school: Dow Medical College
About me: I love taking walks, especially by the beautiful scenery and water (readily available in Rochester). I really enjoy spending time with the lovely community I have found in Rochester. I always look forward to exploring places with my family.

Kara V. Anderson, M.D.

Kara Anderson, M.D.

Hometown: Huntington, WV
Medical school: Joan C. Edward School of Medicine
About me: I am only passionate about three things — Kelly Clarkson, West Virginia, and kittens. In my spare time, I listen to Kelly Clarkson with my three cats while planning my next trip back to West Virginia.

Scott Anjewierden, M.D.

Scott Anjewierden, M.D.

Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
Medical school: Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
About me: Outside of medicine I enjoy spending time with my family (wife, two kids, and a dog). I love college football, movies, running, and learning to code on my computer. My favorite things in Rochester are the farmers market and Quarry Hill Nature Center.

Fatima Ansari, M.D.

Fatima Ansari, M.D.

Hometown: Lafayette, LA
Medical school: The Ohio State University College of Medicine
About me: I grew up in Louisiana, and have since gradually made my way North during my training. In my spare time, I love to hang out with friends, travel, try new food spots in Rochester, go shopping in the Twin Cities, and go on walks at our wonderful parks and trails!

Camila Cardenas Fernandez, M.D.

Camila Cardenas Fernandez, M.D.

Hometown: Popayan, Colombia 
Medical school: Pontifical Xavierian University, Bogota, Colombia
About me: I love to travel the world, and I have done it since I was only one year old with my family! I also love to dance, especially with my father who taught me how to dance Salsa, merengue, and all the fun Latin rhythms after school every afternoon. In my spare time, I like to read literature and I also enjoy hosting parties, especially theme parties!

Tony Chuang, M.D., M.S.

Tony Chuang, M.D., M.S.

Hometown: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Medical school: UC Irvine
About me: I enjoy building/re-building my barrel meat smoker, going to dog parks with my dog Calliope, and exploring the outdoors!

Benjamin Hamel, M.D.

Benjamin Hamel, M.D.

Hometown: St. Paul, MN
Medical school: Medical College of Wisconsin 
About me: I have been playing the piano since the second grade and still like to play when I have time. My favorite place to grab food and drinks in Rochester for happy hour is Hefe Rojo. My favorite movies are The Lord of the Rings series extended versions (can’t choose between them) and have rewatched them more times than I can count! 

Rachel King, M.D.

Rachel King, M.D.

Hometown: Albuquerque, NM
Medical school: University of New Mexico School of Medicine
About me: I enjoy spending time with family and friends, fly fishing, cooking, bringing baked goods to unsuspecting residents and consultants, hiking, and exploring seasonal events such as Thursday’s on 1st, BERNE Wood Fired Pizza and Summer Concert series in the park, and berry and apple picking at local orchards.

Justin McKone, M.D., M.P.H.

Justin McKone, M.D., M.P.H.

Hometown: Albany, CA
Medical school: LSU Health, New Orleans
About me: On my days off, I enjoy going to the farmers market, ROCA (our local climbing gym), and ice skating during the winter. I love baking all things sourdough; my favorites are flavored breads, bagels, chocolate chip cookies, and making sourdough pizzas for dinners with friends. 

Tiffany Ngo, M.D.

Tiffany Ngo, M.D.

Hometown: Dallas, TX
Medical school: The University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine
About me: In my free time, I love to bake and eat delicious foods. My favorite drink is bubble tea, and to offset that my unhealthy consumption of bubble tea, I try to work out with weight lifting and Pilates. I love to go to Bitter and Pour in Rochester with my co-residents when we have time to catch up and hang out.

Joe Novak, M.D.

Joe Novak, M.D.

Hometown: Antigo, WI
Medical school: Medical College of Wisconsin - Central Wisconsin
About me: I collect antique comic books, and read them too! I go to our local comic book store, Nerdin’ Out, weekly! I’m still working on my Master’s Certification in SCUBA diving. We have a SCUBA shop here too. I love working on and fixing vintage cars. Ask me about my ‘88 Mustang, which was a father-son project!

Leslie Saba, M.B., B.Ch.

Leslie Saba, M.B., B.Ch.

Hometown: Batroun, Lebanon; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Medical school: University College Dublin
About me: In my spare time, I love to read, bake, travel, and explore nearby trails. One thing that amazed me about Rochester is how diverse the food scene is, and I have really enjoyed dining out with my co-residents at local restaurants, coffee shops, and breweries!

Sushmitha Srinivasan, M.B.B.S.

Sushmitha Srinivasan, M.B.B.S.

Hometown: Bangalore, India
Medical school: Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences
About me: Outside of work, I like hiking in parks, eating good food, and spending time with my husband and 3-month-old daughter

Noelle Torrance, M.D.

Noelle Torrance, M.D.

Hometown: Sartell, MN
Medical school: University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences 
About me: I enjoy spending time outdoors going hiking, camping, backpacking, fishing, skiing, and taking my golden retriever, Kona, for walks. I also really enjoy traveling with my fiancé and trying new restaurants.

Class of 2025

Afia Adu-Gyamfi, M.D.

Afia Adu-Gyamfi, M.D.

Hometown: Asuom, Ghana
Medical school: Medical College of Wisconsin
About me: I love board games, hosting people and exploring! I've really enjoyed hanging out with my co-residents at the end of each block and finding beautiful trails and spots for introspection in Rochester.

Benjamin Ashby, M.D.

Benjamin Ashby, M.D.

Hometown: Omaha, NE
Medical school: UNC Chapel Hill
About me: My wife Timber and I have loved our move to Rochester! Our neighbors are friendly, the interconnected park system around town is wonderful for spending time outside, and we’ve both enjoyed our work environment (my wife teaches at Kellogg Middle School)! In our spare time, we enjoy attending Calvary Evangelical Free Church, helping with the youth group, and exploring the international grocery stores peppered around Rochester!

Tyler Benning, M.D., M.S.

Tyler Benning, M.D., M.S.

Hometown: St. Cloud, MN
Medical school: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
About me: I love Minnesota summers, and during the summer I like to grill and play Spikeball and pickleball. When winter inevitably comes, I make the best of it with holiday baking and parks & rec broomball. After a long day in the hospital, I enjoy things like watching West Wing, getting takeout BBQ, and going to Bible study with my friends.

Marissa Cepress, M.D.

Marissa Cepress, M.D.

Hometown: Stratford, WI
Medical school: Medical College of Wisconsin, Green Bay
About me: I recently got engaged and am excited to start this new chapter of my life with my fiance! We love to travel and explore new places. We have a puppy, Maya, who we also love taking on our adventures.

Aaron Downs, M.D.

Aaron Downs, M.D.

Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Medical school: California Northstate University COM
About me: I like hiking, playing music, spending time with my cat, Harold, and reading science fiction! I’m looking forward to getting to know Minnesota and doing some camping when the weather permits.

Tomini Fashina, M.B., Ch.B., M.P.H.

Tomini Fashina, M.B., Ch.B., M.P.H.

Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa and Lagos, Nigeria 
Medical school: Leicester Medical School, UK 
About me: In terms of my hobbies, I'm very Jack of all trades, a master of fun! I love cycling, running, rock climbing and squash. I'll try anything new at least once — this year I want to learn to sail and scuba dive in the summer and ski and snowboard in the winter. I also love baking doughnuts and cupcakes and traveling to every nook and cranny of this world. And as a classic resident, I also enjoy watching inaccurate but entertaining medical dramas in my free time.

Callie Fischer, M.D.

Callie Fischer, M.D.

Hometown: Green Bay, WI
Medical school: Baylor College of Medicine
About me: I am a HUGE Packers fan, cat person, coffee aficionado/addict, and aspiring wine connoisseur. I love spending time outdoors running, biking, and hiking — especially in the fall! I come from a very musical and artsy family, and I enjoy painting, singing, playing piano, and writing music in my free time.

Tomas Leng, M.D.

Tomas Leng, M.D.

Hometown: Rožňavské Bystré, Slovakia
Medical school: Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia
About me: In my free time I enjoy painting, playing soccer, working out, and long-distance running. I also like cliff jumping, traveling, and foreign languages, especially Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Fundraising is a big part of my life as I run my own NGO. 

Sydney Loy, M.D.

Sydney Loy, M.D.

Hometown: I’m a military kid so it’s hard; my family is currently located in Port Washington, WI.Medical school: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock TXAbout me: I love cooking, hiking, traveling, photography, watching movies and space documentaries, and hanging with my pup Asher! have enjoyed going to the breweries around town as well!

Michaela Mills-Rudy, M.D.

Michaela Mills-Rudy, M.D.

Hometown: Hastings, MN
Medical school: Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
About me: In our spare time, my husband and I like to take our dog, Luna, to state parks and explore Minnesota. Our favorite spot is Whitewater State Park, just 30 minutes from downtown Rochester.

Klara Milojkovic, M.D.

Klara Milojkovic, M.D.

Hometown: Fort Mill, SC
Medical school: Medical University of South Carolina
About me: In my spare time, I enjoy cooking, hiking (my favorite hike so far is the Art Loeb Trail in North Carolina!), and spending time with my family and friends. 

Sheri Pariha, M.B.B.S.

Sheri Pariha, M.B.B.S.

Hometown: Karachi, Pakistan
Medical school: Sindh Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan
About me: Mom to an opinionated toddler and married my husband for his cooking skills. New to Rochester, we enjoy going for walks. An ideal evening is a good cup of chai, some Abida Parveen in the background, and some tuberose/jasmine in the air. Aspiring to get back to stargazing and to finally pick up a telescope.

Erin Triplet, M.D., Ph.D.

Erin Triplet, M.D., Ph.D.

Hometown: Watertown, SD
Medical school: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota
About me: I spend as much of the year as possible outdoors: gardening, biking, and hiking with my dog (Gary). When I can’t do those things, I also love to bake, play piano, and am always down for a new board game or trivia night.

Grant VanNess, M.D.

Grant VanNess, M.D.

Hometown: Anderson, IN
Medical school: Indiana University School of Medicine
About me: I am an avid golfer with a love for fine wine (controversial opinion: Rosé does not count). You can find me spending time with my tuxedo cat named Draco, grabbing a bite at my favorite restaurant (Fat Willy’s), or exploring downtown Rochester with my amazing co-residents. As much as I miss the great Hoosier state, I am loving my new home in Minnesota!

Chandler Yost, M.D.

Chandler Yost, M.D.

Hometown: Pocatello, ID
Medical school: University of Utah 
About me: I love biking, climbing, skiing, running, and anything that gets me outside. My fiancé and I also love taking our new puppy to breweries and drinking beer. We have really enjoyed the beer scene in the Midwest thus far! 

Class of 2026

Maheen Bangash, M.D.

Maheen Bangash, M.D.

Hometown: Kansas City, KS
Medical school: University of Kansas School of Medicine
About me: In my spare time, I love to cook, play piano, sing, crochet, and play video games with my family! I'm also a proud cat mom of a very fluffy and sweet cat, Belle, and a cat aunt of two more wonderful fur babies.

Ellie Baugher, D.O.

Ellie Baugher, D.O.

Hometown: Nashville, TN
Medical school: Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine
About me: I enjoy trips to Trader Joe's, taking care of my cat and houseplants, going to farmers markets, hiking, and eating vegan food. I also love traveling the world, and I am excited to plan a few trips during my residency.

Summer Bernard, M.D.

Summer Bernard, M.D.

Hometown: Grand Forks, ND
Medical school: University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences
About me: I have a 6-year-old Corgi named Leia who is always up for cuddles or tug-of-war. I'm also very lucky that my family does not live too far from Rochester, so I anticipate lots of visits, especially from my mom who is my best friend. In my spare time, I like to crochet and bake (I have a carrot cake recipe that is to die for).

Griffin Coghill, M.D.

Griffin Coghill, M.D.

Hometown: Birmingham, AL
Medical school: New York Medical College
About me: I like exploring the trails of Rochester via running, walking, or biking with my wife Kristin and our new puppy, Mari. My favorite things about living in Rochester are enjoying Thursdays on First in the summer and the ample amounts of snow in the winter.

Alisa Erck, M.D.

Alisa Erck, M.D.

Hometown: Hartland, WI
Medical school: University of Virginia
About me: In my spare time I enjoy cooking, baking, embroidery, crochet, exercising, caring for my plants, traveling to find the best foods, and watching sitcoms with my cat. Here in Rochester, I’ve enjoyed finding the best restaurants and spending time with my amazing co-interns!

Chase Habben, M.D.

Chase E. Habben, M.D.

Hometown: Hartford, SD
Medical school: Sanford School of Medicine at the University of South Dakota
About me: When I’m outside the hospital or clinic, I enjoy spending time with my wonderful fiancé, Sarah, and exploring our new home in Rochester. I also enjoy movies, board games, video games, watching and playing baseball, and trying out new restaurants, coffee shops, and breweries.

Cody Hall, M.D., M.S.

Cody Hall, M.D., M.S.

Hometown: Winn, MI
Medical school: Master of Science in Cancer Chemical Biology, University of Michigan
About me: Being from Michigan, I really enjoy being outside hiking, kayaking, and swimming. I also enjoy photography, traveling, hanging out with friends and family, and playing board games. Since moving to Rochester, I have liked exploring cafes and restaurants as well as exploring more of Minnesota with my friends. In my spare time, I like cooking and baking.

Amanda Hargett-Granato, D.O.

Amanda Hargett-Granato, D.O.

Hometown: Fort Worth, TX
Medical school: Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
About me: I am an avid gardener and love to cook with what I am growing in my garden. I enjoy reading and have an ever-growing To-Be-Read pile. I have a husband, a dog and a cat, and an embarrassingly large pile of half-finished craft projects at home.

Laura Hernandez-Diaz, M.D.

Laura Hernandez-Diaz, M.D.

Hometown: Carolina, Puerto Rico
Medical school: UPR School of Medicine
About me: I love painting (especially with watercolors), going to the beach, spending time with my family and friends, traveling, and playing with my kitten, Lilo!

Alexa S. Jensen, M.D.

Alexa S. Jensen, M.D.

Hometown: Medford, MA
Medical school: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
About me: I'm happiest when I'm by a body of water of any kind – beaches, lakes, and new more recent love, rivers (river tubing is a new passion I discovered here in the Midwest). Swimming is my favorite activity, but I also love weightlifting, and all things food-related (cooking, baking, and obviously, eating). But my number one, most favorite thing in the world, is traveling with my husband and family!

Rebecca Kruc, M.D., M.P.H.

Rebecca Kruc, M.D., M.P.H.

Hometown: Fridley, MN
Medical school: University of Minnesota
About me: I love to travel and hope to continue to do global health medical work during and after residency. I like to crochet, bike, spend time with family and friends and my cats, bake and cook, and read.

Sean O'Donnell, M.D.

Sean O'Donnell, M.D.

Hometown: Halifax, MA
Medical school: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
About me: In my spare time, I enjoy reading science fiction and fantasy, cooking recipes far outside of my skillset, and spending quality time with friends. My life goal is to have two Corgi friends!

Emmanuella Salia, M.B., Ch.B., M.P.H.

Emmanuella Salia, M.B., Ch.B., M.P.H.

Hometown: Chapuri, Upper West Region of Ghana
Medical school: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
About me: I love catching up with family and friends on video calls, listening to music and Christian fiction audiobooks, and planning and coordinating events. So far, I’ve enjoyed taking walks in my neighborhood and going to the Rochester Farmer’s Market on Saturdays. I’m looking forward to trying indoor rock climbing at Roca.

Haley Sherburne, M.D.

Haley Sherburne, M.D.

Hometown: Mission Viejo, CA
Medical school: Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis
About me: In my spare time, I enjoy rock climbing, baking cookies, reading, hiking, puzzles, and origami. Since moving to Rochester, I have loved exploring the Quarry Hill Nature Preserve, trying new boba tea shops, and watching lightning storms from my porch!

Mary Sohn, M.D.

Mary Sohn, M.D.

Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Medical school: University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
About me: Rochester is a city that seems simple and small but has things that I love! Before or after work, you can find me running around the lakes, going to cross fit gym, hanging out with my friends, cooking, grocery shopping for fresh produce, trying new coffee shops, at church community groups, or simply on the couch watching cute guinea pig videos.