Chief Residents and PGY3 Residents
Kristina Gifft
Bio
- Hometown: Ithaca, NY Medical school: A.T. Still University – Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Bio: I am excited to be taking on the role as Chief resident this year. I have 2 dogs at home (a white husky and a miniature Australian shepherd) and a long-haired orange cat. I was a college track runner and enjoy competing in local triathlons now. My other hobbies include watching documentaries on Netflix and pour painting. I plan on entering cardiology fellowship next year with a focus in Interventional Cardiology or Advanced Heart Failure.
Jacob Zembles
Bio
- Hometown: Blue Springs, MO
- Medical School: University of Missouri School of Medicine
- Bio: I’ve been living in Columbia ever since coming here for medical school in 2013 and have loved every moment. So much so, I stayed for residency and now I’m thrilled to serve as chief! My plans are to apply to Rheumatology fellowship and my goal is to practice in the Midwest for my career. I have professional interests in nutrition, fitness, weight loss, smoking cessation, mental health, vasculitis, arthritis, and other autoimmune disorders.
For my free time I enjoy a combination of weightlifting, running, biking, cooking, gardening, PC gaming, and spending time with my wonderful wife, Sally. Whenever I get a little more time I love getting to catch up with friends and family doing things like paint balling, board games, soccer, football, traveling to fun places, or just relaxing!
PGY3 Residents
Suha Abu Khalaf
- Hometown: Amman, Jordan
- Medical school: University of Jordan Faculty of Medicine
- Hobbies: Watching tennis, writing short stories and cooking
Trent Bailey
- Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
- Medical school: University of Minnesota Medical School
- Hobbies: Ice hockey, running, outdoors and yardwork
Deepa Baswaraj
- Hometown: Hyderabad, India
- Medical school: MediCiti Institute of Medical Sciences
- Hobbies: Hiking, biking, traveling, yoga and Zumba
John Carr
- Hometown: Joplin, MO
- Medical school: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
- Hobbies: fly fishing and photography
Harry Dang
- Hometown: Saigon, Vietnam
- Medical school: Meharry Medical College
- Hobbies: Food, video games, salt water aquarium and gardening
Nicholas Epstein
- Hometown: Owensville, MO
- Medical school: University of Missouri School of Medicine-Columbia
- Hobbies: Hiking, skiing, fishing, traveling, cooking and photography
Meenakshi Giri
- Hometown: Kansas City, KS
- Medical school: M.S. Ramaiah Medical College
- Hobbies: I love food and trying new restaurants, movies and tv shows, and travel…Does Netflix count as a hobby?
Tamar Gubeladze
- Hometown: Tbilisi, Georgia
- Medical school: David Tvildiani Medical University
- Hobbies: Experimenting with cooking, eating Georgian food, hiking, and staring at cloud formations.
Kayci Huslig
- Hometown: Great Bend, KS
- Medical school: University of Kansas School of Medicine
- Hobbies: Soccer, photography and traveling
Faddy Khamis
- Hometown: Manhattan, KS
- Medical School: University of Kansas School of Medicine
- Hobbies: International travel, freestyle cooking, cycling, buying more coffee devices than one person needs
David Lee
- Hometown: Chesterfield, MO
- Medical school: University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine
- Hobbies: Food, sports, piano, violin, news/current events and travel
Adam Letvin
- Hometown: Newton, MS
- Medical school: Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
- Hobbies: Cello and Boston sports
Ian Lynch
- Hometown: Evansville, IN
- Medical school: Indiana University School of Medicine
- Hobbies: Gardening, playing piano, writing music and video games
Alexander Markov
- Hometown: Sofia, Bulgaria
- Medical school: Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
- Hobbies: Video games, board games and fantasy novels
Tyler Maxey
- Hometown: Greeley, CO
- Medical school: Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine
- Hobbies: Sports, ping pong, running, disc golf, shooting, hiking, camping, board games and reading
Syed Bilal Pasha
- Hometown: Karachi, Pakistan
- Medical school: DOW Medical college, Pakistan
- Hobbies: Cricket, history, classical music, soccer and hiking
Hao Thanh Phung
- Hometown: Fort Smith, AR
- Medical school: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine
- Hobbies: Board games, golf and competitive Mario Kart
Richard Swaney
- Hometown: Lee’s Summit, MO
- Medical school: Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Hobbies: Fishing, cooking and music
Ali Syed
- Hometown: Barrington, IL
- Medical school: University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine
- Hobbies: Cooking, gym, traveling and bingeing moves on Netflix
Aleksander Tartakovsky
- Hometown: Vernon Hills, IL
- Medical school: A.T. Still University – Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Hobbies: Playing sports, watching movies and fishing
Marcus Thiemann
- Hometown: Pocatello, ID
- Medical school: Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Hobbies: Spending time with my wife and three kids, music, sports and being outdoors
Lawrence Zhang
- Hometown: Columbia, MO
- Medical school: University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
- Hobbies: Self-taught novice artist in multiple mediums and longtime motorsports enthusiast
Ahmad Ziadeh
- Hometown: Amman, Jordan
- Medical School: Mu’tah University Faculty of Medicine
- Hobbies: Tech savvy, home DIY projects, spending time with my kids.
