Surgery News: Fall 2024
Message from the Chair
Greetings from the UND Department of Surgery! As we are now well into our new academic year, I would like to share some news, events, and happenings within the department that I hope will keep you connected. The beginning of each year is such a time of change as each resident moves into a more senior position, one year closer to graduation. And by now, our newest members of the department, our interns, have become if not seasoned, at least comfortable. The department is humming with activity, from academic meetings and the start of the interview season to the everyday hustle and bustle of clinical work. It’s very exciting. Please take a moment to look at the intern profiles below; who knows, someday you may be working with them! Also, please let us know what you, our alumni, are doing and keep us informed of important events in your lives. This department is a living organization whose lifeblood is the activity and connectivity of its members, past and present. Enjoy.
Sincerely,
Cornelius “Mac” Dyke, M.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Surgery
New Residents
As the 2024-2025 academic year is underway, we want to welcome and introduce our new residents.
Preliminary Residents
Jonathan Roberts, M.D.
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Hobbies/Interests: mountain biking, running, and frisbee golf
- Significant other: Michelle McNamee
Abirami Saravanan, M.D.
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Hobbies/Interests: cooking, yoga, strength training, sketching and language learning. My admiration for Bollywood Indian music has sparked my curiosity to learn a new language – Hindi.
Mallory Vesling, M.D.
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Hobbies/Interests: Peloton biking, baking, cooking, listening to music, especially live, learning languages when time permits, spending time outside with family.
- Spouse/Children: Kyle Vesling; Barrett (4) and Ellie (infant)
Categorical Residents
Ashlynn Krieger, M.D.
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Hobbies/Interests: traveling, reading, walking, activities with kids, and hanging out with friends and family!
- Spouse/Children: Branden; Audri (14), Addi (10), Ambri (9,) and Ari (7)
Tatsuma Yanagimoto, M.D.
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Hobbies/Interests: snowboarding (I passed the Japan Snowboarding Association level 3 certification).
Michael Yeradi, M.D.
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Hobbies/Interests: weight lifting, Rubik’s cubes, and lockpicking
- Spouse: Danielle Beckmann-Yeradi
Categorical - Rural Residents
Charlie Barhorst, D.O.
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Hobbies/Interests: golf, football, and mind puzzles
Benjamin Christopher, D.O.
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Hobbies/Interests: hunting, fishing, playing sports, and traveling!
- Significant other: Moira Kleinschmit
Events
Guest speaker Allan Kirk
The Department of Surgery was fortunate to have visiting speaker, Allan Kirk, M.D., the David C. Sabiston, Jr., Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine, present “The Future of Surgery” on Friday, March 29, 2024. The talk was followed by a Q&A session with the surgery residents.
Edwin C. James Lectureship / Colloquium
On June 20, 2024, the Department hosted the annual Edwin C. James Lectureship in Fargo. Our speaker this year was John D. Mellinger, M.D., FACS, who just retired as vice president for the American Board of Surgery (ABS). His presentation on Entrustable Professional Activities was beneficial as this will be a new tool used to evaluate surgical residents’ competency on multiple core general surgery procedures.
Colloquium Awards
- North Dakota Trauma
- 1st place Ryan Beard, D.O.
- 2nd place Riley Moore, M.D.
- North Dakota Cancer
- 1st place Alessandra Spagnolia, M.D.
- 2nd place Dana Nielsen, M.D.
- Rural Surgery Research Presentation Award
- Winner Zachery Staskywicz, M.D.
- Surgical Resident Research Awards
- 1st place Kristen Reede, M.D.
- 2nd place Jonathan Sticca, M.D.
- Best Surgical Resident Research Poster
- Audra King, M.D.
Graduation Banquet
Our annual Graduation Banquet is the event we look forward to the most! It’s the time we get to celebrate our new surgeons and congratulate them on their years of hard work and dedication to the field.
This year, our proud graduates include (left-to-right above):
- Dana Nielsen – Vascular Surgery Fellowship, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y.
- Kristen Reede – Surgical Critical Care Fellowship, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
- Alessandra Spagnolia – Plastic Surgery Fellowship, University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky.
- Zach Staskywicz – Fairview Range Medical Center, Hibbing, Minn.
- Conor Roche – Altru Health System, Grand Forks, N.D.
Drs. Ahmeti, Johnson, and Burchill with residents and their certificates of completion
Awards
The Department of Surgery wanted to show appreciation to a long-time faculty member who is dedicated to the teaching of surgical residents. Dr. Randolph Szlabick's dedication and passion for teaching surgical residents shows every time he works with residents. So, we changed the Faculty Teaching Award to the Randolph Szlabick Award. This award will be given annually to a faculty member, voted on by residents, in recognition of and appreciation for their passion, enthusiasm, professionalism, and commitment to teaching general surgery residents.
Other Awards
- Staff Appreciation Award
- Winner – Dana Nielsen, M.D.
- Alpha Omega Alpha
- Ryan Beard, D.O.
- Randolph Szlabick Award (Faculty Teaching Award)
- Winner – Dr. Randolph Szlabick
- David Antonenko Award
- 1st place – Dana Nielsen, M.D.
- 2nd place – Ryan Beard, D.O.
- ABSITE 90 Club
- Wade Hopper, D.O.
- Dana Nielsen, M.D.
- Ryan Beard, D.O.
- Elena Danielson, M.D.
- Tatsuma Yanagimoto, M.D.
- Staff Years of Service: Diane Roney (40 years) and Angie Flesberg (5 years)
Faculty Spotlight
We would like to welcome new faculty to the Department of Surgery who are willing to work with medical students and surgical residents.
Grand Forks Campus
- Conor Roche, M.D. – General Surgery
Minot Campus
- Colin MacColl, M.D. – General / Bariatric Surgery
- Robert Gokey, M.D. – Ophthalmology
- Michael Savitt, M.D. – Cardiothoracic Surgery
Bismarck Campus
- Anthony Kasch, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgery
- Manuel Dibildox, M.D. – Plastic Surgery
- Andrew Mills, M.D. – Plastic Surgery
- Michael Quast, M.D. – Anesthesiology
Fargo Campus
- Herbert Stephen Maguire, M.D. – Plastic Surgery
- Jordan Ernst, M.D. – Anesthesiology
- Breann Owen, MSN, FNP-C – Vascular & Minor Surgery
- Patrick Lamb, M.D. – Plastic Surgery
- Trajan Cuellar, MBBCh – Plastic Surgery
- Kelsey Svare, APRN, CNP – Trauma Surgery
Promotions
October 2023 the CPT Committee met and granted faculty promotions. We would like to congratulate the following faculty on their promotions. Also thank you for all your dedication and time to education of our medical students and surgical residents.
- Hannah Addom-Tetteh – Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery
- Mentor Ahmeti – Associate Professor
- Kayla Burchill – Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery
- Stefan Johnson – Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery
- Kevin Mork – Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery
We also had some faculty members receive awards or named to serve on different committees.
- Outstanding physician teacher award given by med students: Dr. Pansegrau
- Stefan Johnson, M.D. (Surgery Residency Program Director), nominated to serve on the UND SMHS Faculty Council.
- Cornelius Dyke, M.D. (Surgery Department Chair), President of UND SMHS Faculty Council.
- Cornelius Dyke, M.D. (Surgery Department Chair), National Board Member for the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.
We also want to thank Dr. Saba Ganai for her time and efforts as UND Director of Surgical Education. Currently, Dr. Dyke is acting as interim UND Director of Surgical Education, and Dr. Brian Johnson is Assistant Director of Surgical Education.
PYG-1 Orientation
Surgery resident orientation was held on June 24, 2024
Medical student Surgery Interest Group
In September we held a Surgery interest night for medical students. We had a great turnout with over 40 medical students interested in Surgery. Dr. Stefan Johnson, along with three surgery residents, talk with the medical students about surgery.