AHN Department of General Surgery 2020 Resident Graduation Celebration - Nicholas Bailey, MD Benjamin Cragun, MD Richard Cheek, MD Ashley Hill, MD ...

AHN Department of General Surgery
2020 Resident Graduation Celebration

             Honoring:
       Nicholas Bailey, MD
      Benjamin Cragun, MD
       Richard Cheek, MD
         Ashley Hill, MD
      Matthew Shaheen, MD
      Guirguiss Tadros, MD

           June 26, 2020
         LeMont Restaurant

A Message from the Program Director and
                      Chairman

On behalf of Dr. Thai, Chair of Surgery, Associate Program Directors
Drs. Chen, Nelson and Noorbakhsh and myself, we welcome you to the
2020 Annual General Surgery Residency Graduation and Celebration!

We are proud of our Graduating Chiefs who like everyone has
experienced unique challenges over the past several months. However
it does not distract from the overall experience of growth as a surgeon
for Nick, Rick, Ben, Ashley, Matt and Guirguiss. I have known each them
since I arrived five years ago to Allegheny. We have witnessed
each truly take their own path to becoming surgical leaders, which is
our residency program hallmark. We will continue to build a program
of progressive independence and surgical care excellence upon their
shoulders.

Congratulations to each of you for the years of hard work and devotion
to the Art of Surgery.

Our best,

Ngoc Thai, MD, PhD, FACS
Alan Murdock, MD, FACS
Jennifer Chen MD, FACS
William Nelson MD, FACS
Matthew Noorbakhsh, MD, FACS

Schedule of Events
7:00 pm: Cocktails and Hors d ’Oeuvres

7:45 pm: Dinner

8:00 pm: Graduation Ceremony

       Introduction and Welcome
       Ngoc Thai, MD, PhD – System Chair of Surgery
       Alan Murdock, MD – Program Director

       Recognition of Graduating Interns
       Brian Chen, MD            Sefali Patel, DO
       David Habib, MD           Aaron Price, DO
       Nick Lombardi, MD         Kevin Schulte, DO
       Conor Maxwell, DO         Paige Tannhauser, MD
       Eric McLaine, DO          Tiffany Wilkins, MD

       Recognition of Incoming Interns

       Presentation of Awards: (Please see last pages for award explanations)
       Dee Award
       Lester A. Dunmire MD Award
       John H. Goodworth MD Award
       Joseph C. Young MD Award
       WOW Award
       Crystal Apple Award – By Intern Class
       Arthur I. Murphy Jr. Teaching Award – By Chief Residents
       Surgery League Award – by William Nelson, MD

       Presentation of Chief Residents:
       Nicholas Bailey, MD - By William Nelson, MD
       Richard Cheek, MD – By James McCormick DO, FACS, FASCRS
       Benjamin Cragun, MD – By Matthew Noorbakhsh, MD
       Ashley Hill, MD – By Jennifer Chen, MD & Ari Reichstein, MD
       Matthew Shaheen, MD – By Allan Philp, MD (via Zoom)
       Guirguiss Tadros, MD – By Matthew Noorbakhsh, MD

       Closing Remarks and Thank You

Nicholas Bailey, MD

Bio
Dr. Bailey was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan. After completing
undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at the University of
Michigan, where he worked as an autopsy assistant and a death
scene investigator, he moved to Huntington, West Virginia to
attend medical school. His passion for anatomy and physiology
drove him to pursue a career in the field of General Surgery. He is
excited to be staying here in Pittsburgh to start his surgical career
surrounded by his mentors and co-residents.

He would like to thank Dr. Bill Nelson for being a great educator
and friend, as well as his father Mark, his mother Tina, and his
partner Stefanie for their endless support.

What‘ s Next?
Dr. Bailey is joining the AHN faculty at Western Pennsylvania
Hospital to carry on the tradition of teaching residents.

Richard Cheek, MD

Bio
Born and raised in the South, Rick attended the University of
Georgia for his undergraduate education. He then received his
medical degree from the University of South Carolina School of
Medicine. From there, he completed a preliminary surgery
internship at UCLA, before ultimately landing in Pittsburgh for
residency.

Rick would like to thank his parents, Susan and Dick, his brother
Austin, his sister Allie, and his girlfriend Rebecca for their
continued love and support throughout these many years.

What’s Next?
Dr. Cheek will be joining a general surgery practice at Mary
Washington University in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Benjamin Cragun, MD

Bio
Dr. Cragun grew up in northern California, and attended Brigham
Young University where he received a Bachelor of Science in
Chemistry. From there he joined the inaugural class at Virginia
Tech Carilion School of Medicine. He began general surgery
residency at Allegheny General Hospital in 2014, and was lucky to
take a year without clinical duties to conduct clinical research
with the trauma surgery group.

He would like to thank the many surgeons that have shaped who
he has become as a surgeon, for their patience, and for caring
enough to teach. He would like to thank his parents and friends
for their limitless support. Most of all, he would like to thank his
wife, Mary, for helping him survive residency, with daily
decompression sessions, and for helping him achieve the best
work-life balance. She truly is the most amazing person in the
world.

What‘ s Next?
Dr. Cragun will be starting a fellowship in Trauma, Critical Care,
and Acute Care Surgery at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Ashley Hill, MD

Bio
Dr. Hill was proudly born and raised in Punxsutawney, PA. She is
the first member of her family to graduate from college and
earned her MD from Penn State College of Medicine. She joined
the Allegheny Health Network for residency, becoming the
Academic Chief during her final year.

She would like to thank her grandma, mom, and sister for their
unconditional love and support during this journey, and especially
her fiancée, Ola, for her patience, sacrifice, and energy to make
every day better. She would also like to thank all of the
attendings for their commitment to education, mentorship, and
for representing what it means to be a great surgeon. Finally, she
would like to thank her fellow residents for their friendship and
devotion to our program.

What’s Next?
Dr. Hill is heading to Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA for a
Colorectal Surgery fellowship.

Matthew Shaheen, MD

Bio
Matthew K. Shaheen was born the 4th of 6 kids and grew up in
Troy, MI. He was a three sport captain in Cross Country, Wrestling,
and Track in high school and continued his running career with the
running club at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He received
a bachelor’s degree at U of M in Biophysics, and then graduated
alongside his brother at Wayne State University School of Medicine
in Detroit, before ultimately starting General Surgery Residency
with us at Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh.

Dr. Shaheen would like to say to his fellow residents that despite
his many complaints over the years, he found great joy in taking
calls with them. There is something special about receiving a call
about a major patient emergency, one so important that you drop
everything you were doing to focus on fixing that one problem.
These situations force you to utilize and rely on each other and put
life outside of the hospital into perspective. He greatly enjoyed
following the patients that he operated on, and also taking on the
critical care of the sickest patients in the region. “I wanted to do
surgery so I could take people’s problems and fix them, simple as

that. I will miss doing that on a daily basis here with all of you,
these things are what has made all of the struggles worth it.”

Dr. Shaheen would like to thank all the residents, both past and
present, who taught him and worked alongside him these past five
years, the attending physicians who put years of training into him,
his parents, Anita and Ken, who have always been incredibly
supportive, his best friend and girlfriend Gabriella who has been by
his side through the ups and downs, and the days of doubt the past
three years, and God for guiding the way.

What’s Next?
Dr. Shaheen will heading to William Beaumont Hospital System in
Detroit for a Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship.

Guirguiss Tadros, MD

Bio:
I’m originally from Alexandria, Egypt. I graduated from the
University of Alexandria School of Medicine in 2006. I did
Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency there before moving to the
United States. It was a great challenge and I had to face many
obstacles in order to match as a foreign graduate but I did it. I
started off at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center as a
Surgical Critical Care Fellow then did my first three years of General
Surgery at Lincoln Medical Center, the Bronx, NY. I finally joined
AGH as a PGY-4 resident and became the chief of quality care
during my final year at AGH.
I would like to thank all the faculty at AGH for their teaching and
support during the past two years of my training. It was definitely
challenging to join a residency program as a PGY -4 resident,
however I am very thankful for everyone’s welcoming attitude and
eagerness to teach.

What’s Next?
Dr. Tadros will be joining the University of Maryland Medical
Center as a Vascular Surgery Fellow.

THANK YOU!
The graduating chiefs would like to thank all the faculty members
and staff for your dedication to teaching and your mentorship. We
realize that teaching residents is hard and that it would be
considerably easier to just do it yourself. Thank you for your
patience, your time, your knowledge, and sacrifices you have given
to this program.

We would especially like to thank the residency leadership, Drs.
Murdock, Chen, Nelson, and Noorbakhsh who have been
instrumental in providing an appropriate learning
environment. We recognize the time and stress that is required to
make our residency run smoothly, and thank you for putting up
with us.

We also want to thank Dr. Thai for his dedication to improving the
department. He has been a great example and a wonderful leader.

Chiefs Oral and Poster Presentations and
                     Publications
Richard Cheek
   Publications:
   • Cheek R; Scholz S. Laparoscopic-assisted pull-through for
      Hirschsprung's Disease. The SAGES Manual of Pediatric
      Minimally Invasive Surgery. Walsh D.S. Springer
      International Publishing. Switzerland. February, 2016. pp.
      481 – 497
   •   Yeh A, Conners EM, Ramos-Jimenez RG, et al. Plant-based
       Enteral Nutrition Modifies the Gut Microbiota and Improves
       Outcomes in Murine Models of Colitis. Cell Mol
       Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019;7(4):872-874.e6.
       doi:10.1016/j.jcmgh.2019.01.007
   •   McClanahan D, Yeh A, Firek B, et al. Pilot Study of the Effect
       of Plant-Based Enteral Nutrition on the Gut Microbiota in
       Chronically Ill Tube-Fed Children. JPEN J Parenter Enteral
       Nutr. 2019;43(7):899-911. doi:10.1002/jpen.1504
   •   Determinants and consequences of temporal and spatial
       changes in the microbiota of children with severe traumatic
       brain injury." NIH study (R21HD087802) - submitted for
       publication to Microbiome

Ben Cragun
  Publications:
   •   Cragun BN, Noorbakhsh MR, Hite Philp F, Suydam ES, Ditillo
       MF, Philp AS, Murdock AD. Traumatic parafalcine subdural
       hematoma: a clinically benign finding. J Surg Res. Submitted.
   •   Harmon LA, Haase DJ, Kufera J, et al., including Cragun BN.
       Infection after penetrating brain injury - an EAST
       multicenter study. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. In Review
   •   Robinson LA, Robinson BRH, Corsa JG, et al., including
       Cragun BN. Establishing the limits of aggressive resuscitation

in patients with gunshot wounds to the brain – An EAST
    multicenter study.
•   Noorbakhsh MR and Cragun BN. “Vascular Access.” The
    SCORE Portal. http://www.surgicalcore.org. Published
    January 2019.
•   Cragun BN, Hite Philp F, O’Neill J, Noorbakhsh MR, Tindall
    RP, Philp AS, Ditillo MF. Therapeutic hypothermia and
    targeted temperature management for traumatic arrest and
    surgical patients. Ther Hypothermia Temp Manag. 2018.
    Doi: 10.1089/ther.2018.0022
•   Cragun BN, Chung EL, Philp AS. Operative and interventional
    procedures for complex and poly-trauma. J Emerg Crit Care
    Med 2017;1:42. Doi: 10.21037/jeccm.2017.12.06
     Presentations:
•   Cragun BN, Noorbakhsh MR, Hite Philp F, Philp AS.
    Outcomes and costs of patients admitted with isolated blunt
    intracranial hemorrhage. 14th Annual Academic Surgical
    Congress. Oral presentation. Houston, TX. February 7, 2019
•   Cragun BN, Noorbakhsh MR, Hite Philp F, et al.
    Desmopressin reverses platelet inhibition in the adenosine
    diphosphate pathway in patients with blunt traumatic brain
    injuries. 17th Annual Meeting for the Society for the
    Advancement of Blood Management. Poster Presentation.
    Honorable Mention. Brooklyn, NY. September 14, 2018
•   Cragun BN, Noorbakhsh MR, Murdock AD, et al. Parafalcine
    Subdural Hematoma: A Clinically Benign Finding. Region III
    Committee on Trauma Resident Paper Competition. Oral
    Presentation. Honorable Mention. Baltimore, MD.
    December 2, 2017
•   Cragun BN, Noorbakhsh MR, Murdock et al. Parafalcine
    Subdural Hematoma: A Clinically Insignificant Finding.
    Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation 21st Annual
    Meeting. Harrisburg, PA. Pennsylvania Committee on
    Trauma Resident Paper Competition. Oral Presentation. 1st
    Place. Harrisburg, PA. October 29, 2017

•   Cragun BN, Ditillo MF, et al. Targeted Temperature
      Management for Traumatic Arrest. American College of
      Surgeons Clinical Congress. Oral Presentation. October 25,
      2017. San Diego, CA
  •   Cragun BN, Ditillo MF, et al. Targeted Temperature
      Management for Traumatic Arrest. 76th Annual Meeting of
      the American Associate for the Surgery of Trauma. Poster
      Presentation. Baltimore, MD. September 16, 2017
  •   Cragun BN, Ditillo MF, et al. Targeted Temperature
      Management for Trauma, Surgical, Asphyxiation, and ECMO
      Patients. Society of Critical Care Medicine 46th Clinical
      Congress. Oral Presentation. Honolulu, HI. January 22, 2017
  •   Cragun BN, Woolley AT. Making Circuits from DNA. 23rd
      Annual Student Research Conference. Oral Presentation.
      Provo, UT. March 11, 2009

Ashley Hill
  Publications
  •   Hill, A., Philp, F., Schwab, R., Kosoglow, M., Suydam, E.
      Assessment of Intensive Care Unit Nursing Knowledge and
      Practices Regarding Patient Blood Management. Anesthesia
      & Analgesia. Vol. 127. Sup. 2 35. September 14, 2018.
  •   Hill, A., Philp, F., Schwab, R., Kosoglow, M., Suydam, E. Time
      for a Check-Up! Assessment of Our Patient Blood
      Management Program. Anesthesia & Analgesia. Vol. 127.
      Sup 2 35. p. 60. September 14, 2018.
  •   Hill, A., McCormick, J. Colonic interposition graft after
      previous right hemicolectomy for esophageal
      reconstruction. March 22, 2018
  •   Cui J, Gonzalez MD, Blaha C, Hill A, Sinoway LI. Sympathetic
      responses induced by radiofrequency catheter ablation of
      atrial fibrillation. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol.
      2019;316(3):H476-H484. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00470.2018
       Presentations

•   Hill, A. Time for a Check-Up! Assessment of Our Patient
    Blood Management Program. Allegheny Health Network
    General Surgery Resident Research Day. Pittsburgh, PA.
    April 24, 2018.
•   Hill, A. In Experienced Hands, Does the Robotic Platform
    Impact Operative Efficiency? Comparison of the daVinci Si
    versus Xi Robot in Colorectal Surgery. Pennsylvania Society
    of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. Philadelphia, PA. May 10,
    2012.
•   Hill, A. Colorectal Cancer with Lung and Synchronous
    Elsewhere Metasta2018.ses Treated with Definitive Lung
    Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy: A Case Series. American
    Society of Colorectal Surgeons Annual Meeting. Nashville,
    TN. May 22, 2018.
•   Hill, A. Locally Advanced, Metastatic Adenocarcinoma of the
    Rectum Treated with Definitive Radiotherapy in a Patient
    Medically Unfit for Radical Surgery or Chemotherapy.
    American Society of Colorectal Surgeons Annual Meeting.
    Nashville, TN. May 21, 2018.
•   Hill, A. Time for a Check-Up! Assessment of Our Patient
    Blood Management Program Society for the Advancement
    of Patient Blood Management Annual Meeting. Brooklyn,
    NY. September 14, 2018.
•   Hill, A. Standardizing Robotic-Assisted Colorectal Training:
    Assessment of the Resident Experience. American Society of
    Colorectal Surgeons Annual Meeting. June 3, 2019.
•   Hill, A. Assessment of Intensive Care Unit Nursing
    Knowledge and Practices Regarding Patient Blood
    Management. Society for the Advancement of Patient Blood
    Management Annual Meeting. Brooklyn, NY. September 14,
    2018.
•   Hill, A. Mimicking Acute Appendicitis: Review of CT
    Characteristics with Primary Appendix Neoplasm versus
    Controls. Mimicking Acute Appendicitis: Review of CT
    Characteristics with Primary Appendix Neoplasm versus

Controls. American Society of Colorectal Surgeons Annual
      Meeting. Boston, MA. June 8, 2020

  •   Hill, A., McCormick, J. In Experienced Hands, Does the
      Robotic Platform Impact Operative Efficiency? Comparison
      of the daVinci Si versus Xi Robot in Colorectal Surgery.
      Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic
      Surgeons Annual Meeting. Cleveland, OH. April 1, 2020.

Matthew Shaheen
  Presentations
  •   6/2/2020 – Allegheny Health Network, Resident Research
      Day, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Shaheen, MK,
      Chen, JY. “Case report of thyroid cartilage injury from airbag
      shrapnel”

Guirguiss Tadros
  Publications
  •   C Wilson, L Qiu, Y Hong, et al., including G Tadros. The
      histone demethylase KDM4B regulates peritoneal seeding of
      ovarian cancer. Oncogene. 2017;36 (18):2565‐2576.
      doi:10.1038/onc.2016.412
  •   Estimating the prevalence of long term cognitive
      impairment after critical illness (published)
  •   Effect of elevated troponin in non-cardiac trauma patient
      (submitted for publication)

2020 Annual General Surgery
               Resident Research Day Awards
                        June 2, 2020

 Clinical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Category
First Place $500
Hillary Simon, DO (Research PGY3) Frailty in Older Adult Patients
Undergoing Emergency Colorectal Surgery: Results From a National
Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Analysis.

Second Place $200
James Babowice, DO (PGY3) Dysphagia in patients with cervical spine
injury.

Third Place $100
Kelly Krupa, MD (PGY3) A National Cancer Database Analysis of Women
with Breast Cancer Under Age 40.

Honorable Mentions
Sarah Assali, DO (PGY2) Endoscopic Gastrojejunostomy Revision and
Gastric Pouch Plication after Gastric Bypass for Severe
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.

Ashley Hill, MD (PGY5) Mimicking Acute Appendicitis: Review of CT
characteristics with Primary Appendix Neoplasm versus Controls.

Zachary Spigel, MD (Research PGY2) Pulmonary Artery Interventions
following Norwood.

Shinichiro Yokota, MD (PGY2) Utilization of High Kidney Donor Profile
Index Kidneys (≥85%) for Transplantation with Improved Outcomes: A
Single Center Experience.

2020 Annual General Surgery
       Resident Research Day Awards (continued)
                     June 2, 2020

                    Basic Sciences Category
First Place $500
Steven Ballesteros, MD (Research PGY3) The effect of a drag-reducing
polymer on experimental colitis.

Second Place $200
Pavan Rao, MD (Research PGY2) Acute Pancreatitis Results in a
Transient Hypercoagulable State.

Third Place $100
Brendan Hagerty, MD (Research PGY2) Characterization and utilization
of a novel murine model of pancreatic cancer.

Special thank you to AHN and outside Faculty for their mentoring of
our residents and Hannah Aberra, MPH, Senior Research Associate, for
her invaluable assistance and expertise in guiding the residents
through the process of producing high quality scholastic activities.

AHN Surgery Residency Awards

Dee Award
This award, first presented in 1999, was designed in memory of Mrs.
Dolores Pechar, a patient of Dr. Joseph Young. Throughout her illness,
she encouraged active participation of residents in her care. With the
blessing of Dolores’ husband, Jim, this award is presented each year by
the faculty and residents to the general surgery intern demonstrating
exemplary knowledge and compassion in the care of the surgical
patient.

Lester A. Dunmire, MD Award
Presented to the Senior Surgical Resident whose performance for the
academic year best exemplifies excellence in clinical and scholarly
achievement.

John H Goodworth, MD Award
Presented to the Senior Surgical Resident whose performance during
the academic year demonstrates the highest level of commitment to
the art and science of surgery.

Joseph C. Young, MD Excellence in Patient Care Award
First awarded in 1999, this award is presented by the faculty annually to
the general surgery junior resident who most exhibits excellence in
patient care.

WOW Award
Presented to the Intern or Resident who demonstrates the best
qualities of a physician outside the Operating Room. Whose bedside
manner and attention to his/her patients makes observers say "WOW!
What a great doctor!

AHN Surgery Residency Awards (continued)

Crystal Apple Award

This award originated in 2014, presented by the intern class, honors the
General Surgery senior who most owned the respect of the intern staff
through his or her exemplary leadership, clinical skills, work ethic and
dedication to patient care.

Arthur I. Murphy Jr. Teaching Award

This award originated in 1989 in recognition of outstanding
commitment and dedication to the education of the surgical house staff
demonstrated by Dr. Murphy while he was a general surgery attending
at Allegheny General Hospital. Each year, the general surgery chief
residents vote and present this award to the attending who best
exemplifies the gold standard set by Dr. Murphy.

Surgery Residency League Award

The Surgery Resident League is an annual team based competition
focusing on academic, scholarly, and administrative duties within the
General Surgery Residency.