Meet Our Residents

PGY-5 Residents


Tania Benjamin, MD
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Undergrad: California State University Northridge
Medical School: UCSF School of Medicine
Outside Interests: Traveling, cooking, dancing, scrapbooking, 
Research Interests: Surgical innovation, biomedical devices, facial trauma, reconstructive surgery, hearing loss

 

 


 

Jacqueline Harris, MD
Hometown: Kennesaw, GA
Undergrad: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Medical School: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN
Outside Interests: Social dancing (kizomba!, salsa, bachata), hiking, rock climbing, yoga, board games, travel
Research Interests: global health, pediatric otolaryngology, health disparities

 

 

 


Neil N. Patel, MD, MSc
Hometown: Niles, Ohio
Undergrad: University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School & College of Arts and Sciences)
Medical School: Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Outside Interests: International travel, ceramics (pottery wheel-throwing), hiking, photography
Research Interests: Surgical outcomes of microvascular head and neck reconstruction, facial reanimation, gender-affirming facial surgery, sinonasal inflammation, medical devices  

 

 

 


Karolina Plonowska-Hirschfeld, MD
Hometown: Warsaw, Poland
Undergrad: Cornell University
Medical School: University of California, San Francisco
Outside Interests: baking, travel, spinning, urban hiking with my Samoyed, listening to podcasts
Research Interests: quality of life and oncologic outcomes in head and neck cancer, sialendoscopy, microvascular free tissue reconstruction functional and patient-reported outcomes, head and neck skeletal muscle regeneration

 

 


Sifon Ndon, MD
Hometown: San Jose, CA
Undergrad: Harvard University
Medical School: Yale School of Medicine
Outside Interests: Hiking, Volleyball, Baking (especially if it involves chocolate), Board Games
Research Interests: Health policy, surgical outcomes

 

 

PGY-4 Residents

Jacquelyn K Callander, MD
Hometown: Toms River, New Jersey
Undergrad: University of Pennsylvania
Medical School: University of California San Francisco
Outside Interests: Running, skiing, hiking & backpacking, podcast-listening, exploring SF's dog-friendly restaurants and breweries
Research Interests: Markers of type 2 inflammation in chronic rhinosinusitis, surgical outcomes, sinonasal tumors, olfactory dysfunction, laryngeal sensation in obstructive sleep apnea

 

 


Shayan Fakurnejad, MD
Hometown: Moraga, CA
Undergrad: University of California, Berkeley
Medical School: Stanford University School of Medicine
Outside Interests: Music, cooking, soccer, Bay Area sports
Research Interests: Reconstructive surgery, surgical outcomes of microvascular reconstruction, gender affirming facial surgery

 

 

 


Danielle Gillard, MD, MAS
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Undergrad: Tufts University
Medical School: University of California San Diego
Outside Interests: Yoga, hiking, dogs, dancing, trivia
Research Interests: Cost-effectiveness research, genetics of hearing loss

 

 

 


Michael Lindeborg, MD
Hometown: San Clemente, CA
Undergrad: Harvard University
Medical School: Harvard Medical School
Outside Interests: Traveling, snowboarding, batch cooking, and following famous YouTube chefs.
Research interests: global health, health disparities, craniofacial, oncology

 

 

 


Spenser S. Souza, MD
Hometown: Castaic, CA
Undergrad: Cornell University
Medical School: Tulane University School of Medicine
Outside Interests: Snowboarding, Hiking, Golfing, Mindfulness and Mindful Meditation, Surfing, Reading, Cooking, and all Gustatory Pursuits
Research Interests: Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Healthcare, Surgical Outcomes Research, Head and Neck Oncology, Role of the Oral Cavity Microbiome in Head and Neck Oncology

 

 

PGY-3 Residents

Alyssa Civantos, MD
Hometown: Miami, FL
Undergrad: Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Medical School: Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Outside Interests: travel, yoga, movies/tv, baking and eating dessert, spending time with family and friends 

 


 


Edgar Ochoa, MD
Hometown: Michoacán, Mexico / Sacramento, CA
Undergrad: University of California, Davis
Medical School: University of California, San Francisco
Outside Interests: Live music, listening to podcasts, traveling, documentaries, spending time with friends and family 
Research Interests: Head and neck oncology and reconstruction, health services research, quality of life outcomes

 


 


Evan Patel, MD
Hometown: Longmeadow, MA
Undergrad: Yale University
Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Outside Interests: Snowboarding, basketball, watching stand-up comedy, exploring the outdoors
Research Interests: Tumor immunology, cochlear implants, facial reconstruction, medical devices

 


 


Ana Marija Sola, MD
Hometown:  Saratoga, CA
Undergrad: University of California, Davis
Medical School: University of California, San Francisco
Outside Interests: All things soccer, reading, gardening, watching Food Network
Research Interests: Pediatric hearing loss, automated speech processing, head and neck cancer outcomes, quality of life 

 


 


Taylor Standiford, MD
Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI
Undergrad: Cornell University
Medical School: University of Michigan Medical School
Outside Interests: Running, biking, skiing, Peloton, international travel, podcast-listening
Research Interests: Health services research, surgical outcomes, improving the continuum between undergraduate and graduate medical education

 


 


PGY-2 Residents

Nikhil Arora, MDNikhil Arora, MD
Hometown: Arlington, Texas
Undergrad: Dartmouth College
Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of USC
Outside Interests: singing, violin, skiing, soccer, cooking, eating new foods, anything fitness related to counteract the previous interest
Research Interests: social determinants of health, surgical management and outcomes, professional voice

 


 Shaghauyegh Azar, MDShaghauyegh Azar, MD
Hometown: Irvine, CA
Undergrad: UCLA
Medical School: UCLA
Outside Interests: tennis, traveling, hiking, live music, skiing, boba, Trader Joe’s
Research Interests: head and neck cancer prevention, health disparities, quality of life outcomes, voice physiology and quality

 

 


Alexandra Bourdillon, MDAlexandra Bourdillon, MD
Hometown: Cupertino, CA
Undergrad: Stanford University
Medical School: Yale University
Outside Interests: Soccer, hiking, listening to audiobooks, hackathons, soap carving
Research Interests: Bioinformatics, machine learning models, radiographic biomarkers

 

 


Emma Djabali, MDEmma Djabali, MD, MS
Hometown: Marseille, France
Undergrad: Fordham University
Master of Science: Georgetown University 
Medical School: University of Florida College of Medicine
Outside Interests: pasta making, skiing, traveling, yoga, exploring the San Francisco food scene 
Research Interests: patient-reported outcomes and patient-centered care in Head and Neck Oncology, aesthetic and patient-centered outcomes in Head and Neck reconstructive surgery, noise-induced hearing loss

 


Michelle Florentine, MD
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Undergrad: Cornell University 
Medical School: Sackler School of Medicine
Outside Interests: Music, martial arts, bouldering, volleyball, camping 
Research Interests: Health inequities, pediatric hearing loss

 

 

 

 

PGY-1 Residents

Maimuna Ahmad, MD
Hometown: Westford, Massachusetts
Undergrad: Tufts University
Medical School: University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School 
Outside Interests: Traveling, hiking, exploring, eating (also cooking), spending time with friends and family 
Research Interests: Medical education, patient-reported outcomes, quality of life outcomes

 

 


Patrick Barba, MD
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Undergrad: Princeton University
Medical School: UC San Diego
Outside Interests: Anything outdoors, hiking, skiing, travel, pickleball
Research Interests: global health, surgical education, pediatric otolaryngology 

 

 

 


Arushi Gulati, MD
Hometown: Pasadena, California
Undergrad: University of Southern California
Medical School: University of California, San Francisco
Outside Interests: cooking, embroidery, collecting houseplants, finding new cafes, reading in the park
Research Interests: surgical decision-making, patient-reported outcomes, surgical innovation, sleep surgery, reconstructive outcomes

 

 


Eric Kidong Kim, MD
Hometown: Daegu, South Korea / Monterey, CA
Undergrad: Northwestern University
Medical School: University of California, San Francisco
Outside Interests: Singing and playing music, traveling, playing with dogs, California beaches
Research Interests: Otology and neurotology, global health, medical education

 

 


Rex Lee, MD
Hometown: Long Beach, California
Undergrad: University of California, Los Angeles 
Medical School: University of California, San Francisco
Outside Interests: jogging, singing, scuba diving, cooking, spending time with friends and family
Research Interests: preclinical models of head and neck cancer, precision medicine, targeted therapy, serious illness communication, functional outcomes and quality of life after ablative/reconstructive surgery