The Surgical Pathology Fellowship draws trainees from across the U.S. and around the world. While all our trainees have a love of learning and a compassionate approach to patient care, they come from diverse backgrounds, family status, and professional and personal interests. Meet our current fellow and learn about their experience in the program.

Mohammed Abdelwahed, M.B., B.Ch.

Medical school: Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt 
Residency: Northshore/Long Island Jewish Hospital, Northwell Health, NY

Background: I grew up in Egypt where I did my undergrad and medical school. I later moved to the United States to start a postdoc research fellow position at Harvard University and Boston University followed by AP/CP residency at Long Island Jewish Hospital in New York.  I recently completed a fellowship in Cytopathology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN this last June 2025.  Outside of medicine, I have enjoyed working as a journalist in cinema and literature in the past, and really enjoy spending time with family and friends!

Why did you chose Mayo Clinic for your fellowship? I chose the Surgical Pathology Fellowship at Mayo Clinic because of the strong training, complexity of cases, and the great opportunities. During the interview, I really enjoyed the conversation, and felt it was the right place to increase my knowledge in surgical pathology. I also admire the cultural diversity, and the family-friendly atmosphere that Mayo Clinic and the city of Rochester provides.

Navdeep Kaur, M.B.B.S.

Medical school: Mata Gujri Memorial Medical College, Kishanganj, India
Residency: University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

Background: Dr. Navdeep Kaur is originally from India, where she earned her M.B.B.S. from the MGM Medical College. She completed her Anatomic and Clinical Pathology residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where she received the Surgical Pathology Resident Award in 2023 and the Cytopathology Resident Award in 2024. During her training, she was also inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and has a special interest in gynecologic and breast pathology. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies and taking her daughter on long drives.

Why did you chose Mayo Clinic for your fellowship? Mayo Clinic’s Surgical Pathology Fellowship offers unparalleled learning opportunities, particularly exposure to complex consults with one of the largest consult services. The combination of high case volume, diverse in-house specimens, expert mentorship from renowned faculty, and successful alumni network makes it an ideal foundation for the next stage of my career. 

I am most excited about the subspecialty consult electives, the high-volume frozen section service, and the opportunity to engage in research. These experiences will strengthen my diagnostic skills, support academic growth, and allow close collaboration with expert faculty.

Allison Kerper, M.D.

Medical school: University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
Residency: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Background: Dr. Allison Kerper is from central Illinois and attended medical school at University of Illinois at Chicago. She then completed Anatomic and Clinical Pathology residency here at Mayo Clinic. Following surgical pathology fellowship, she will be staying at Mayo to complete the cytopathology fellowship. In her spare time, Allison enjoys ice skating in the winter and bike riding in the summer.

Why did you chose Mayo Clinic for your fellowship? I chose to continue my training through fellowship at Mayo Clinic due to the unique exposure to both complex consult cases and more common bread-and-butter entities that I have experienced here. In addition, Mayo Clinic has a wealth of resources which allow trainees to focus on the cases, rather than administrative tasks. Throughout my residency, I enjoyed interacting with pathologists who are experts in their field, yet still approachable and willing to teach trainees to further their education, and I wanted the opportunity to continue to learn from them throughout fellowship. 

Andreas Kontosis, M.D.

Medical school: Aristotle University School of Medicine, Thessaloniki, Greece
Residency: Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL

Background: Dr. Andreas Kontosis is originally from Kavala, Greece, and received his medical degree from the Aristotle University School of Medicine in Thessaloniki. Following medical school, he completed a Master of Science in Translational Research in Biomedicine at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Democritus University of Thrace in Alexandroupolis, and pursued two years of Anatomic Pathology residency training at the Aristotle University School of Medicine. He later moved to the United States, where he completed his Anatomic and Clinical Pathology (AP/CP) residency at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, serving as Chief Resident during his final year. Dr. Kontosis has a strong interest in diagnostic surgical pathology and is currently a Surgical Pathology Fellow at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Why did you chose Mayo Clinic for your fellowship? I chose the Mayo Clinic Surgical Pathology Fellowship due to the outstanding volume and diversity of cases, the world-renowned training in frozen section service, the opportunity to work with exceptional mentors and leaders in the field, and the flexibility to pursue elective months in the subspecialties of my choice. The program also came highly recommended by several trusted colleagues who were former graduates.

David Kumpula, M.D., M.S.

Medical school: Saba University School of Medicine, The Bottom, Caribbean Netherlands
Residency: SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY

Background: Dr. Kumpula grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. He completed a Master of Science in Neurochemistry at the University of Alberta before earning his M.D. at Saba University School of Medicine. He then finished AP/CP residency at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. His professional interests include surgical pathology and gastrointestinal pathology. Outside of work, he enjoys downhill skiing and reading science-fiction novels.

Why did you chose Mayo Clinic for your fellowship? I chose Mayo Clinic’s Surgical Pathology Fellowship because it offers exceptional frozen section training, and exposure to a diverse range of cases that will be invaluable in practice. I appreciated the flexibility to arrange multiple subspecialty electives in fields of interest. Additionally, the program’s strong mentorship and research opportunities that will support my development as a surgical pathologist. 

Michael McCarthy, M.D.

Medical school: Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA
Residency: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

What drew you to our program? I thoroughly enjoyed my previous training at Mayo Clinic (AP/CP residency), particularly the frozen section practice. The latter allows for near instantaneous macroscopic-microscopic correlation, close communication with our clinical colleagues, a wide variety of cases, and provides insight into lab operations. I consider my time here to be invaluable and have no doubt in my mind that I will be a competent pathologist.   

What are you most excited about experiencing during your fellowship? Aside from the frozen section practice, I have found the elective consult rotations to be particularly enlightening. As a consult practice, we see all the “zebras” and “unicorns” on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Additionally, research opportunities abound and there is no lack of mentorship. 

Huy Vuong, M.D.

Medical school: University of Medicine & Pharmacy, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Residency: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Background: Dr. Vuong is originally from Vietnam where he obtained his M.D. from the University of Medicine & Pharmacy in Hồ Chí Minh City. Following his four year pathology training in Vietnam, he spent three years in Japan to obtain his Ph.D. in Pathology and then stayed in Japan for an additional two years as an assistant professor. Following his Surgical Pathology fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Vuong currently intends on completing a Dermatopathology fellowship at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, NY.

Why did you chose Mayo Clinic for your fellowship? One of my main interests is head and neck pathology. Mayo Clinic has a very high volume of cases, and they also have a great reputation for frozen section service which will be very helpful for developing my skills and future work. I am certain I will learn a lot from the excellent mentors and leaders in the field and will find multiple research opportunities during my fellowship time here at Mayo Clinic.

Josh Peterson, M.D.

Medical school: University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI
Residency: University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX

What drew you to our program? As a surgical pathologist, one of my most challenging responsibilities will be accurate interpretation of frozen sections.  Mayo Clinic offers, by far, the best frozen section training experience available.  Additionally, we spend half of our fellowship in subspecialty consult electives, evaluating the nation's most challenging cases together with world experts.  Mayo is the perfect place for fellowship training.

What are you most excited about experiencing during your fellowship? I am most excited about becoming capable and confident in the evaluation of frozen sections, and working side-by-side with pathologists who practice Mayo's creed, "the needs of the patient come first".