Alumni

We are proud of the more than 40 surgeons who have completed our fellowship program. From 2015-2022, we had a third fellowship spot primarily working with the divisional faculty at Memorial Hermann Memorial City. While that separate fellowship position is no longer offered, the faculty continue to play a key role in our fellowship education. Graduates from our fellowship program are well-prepared for private, group, or academic practice. Our fellowship alumni practice around the country, and many of them have leadership roles within their organizations.

Year Graduated Name Current Position
2024 Oscar Olavarria
Luke Craford
Cristina Perez-Viso
2023 Francisco Guerra Surgical Associates (OK)
Andy Harner Alabama Bariatrics and Minimally Invasive Surgery (AL)
2022 Sara Monfared Cleveland Clinic/Akron General Hospital (OH)
Josh Weis UT Southwestern/VA Hospital Dallas (TX)
Kelly Shortridge (Memorial City) Abrazo Health (AZ)
2021 Vishal Kudav Bhatti GI Consultants (MN)
Shaan Akhtar United Surgical Associates of Kansas City (KS)
Eric Rachlin (Memorial City) Kelsey Seybold Clinic (TX)
2020 Michelle Scerbo UTHealth Houston
Julie Holihan UTHealth Houston
Eric Duffy (Memorial City) Treasure Coast Surgical Specialists – St Lucie (FL)
2019 J Cole Cowling  UTHealth Houston
Ekatarina Elliott  UTHealth Houston
Victoria Chang (Memorial City) Turnquest Surgical Solutions (TX)
Pouya Iranmanesh (International) Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (Switzerland)
2018 Kendell Sowards HCA Gulf Coast/Kingwood (TX)
John Hall Singing River Health System (MI)
Jessica Marshall (Memorial City) Memorial Satilla Specialists (GA)
2017 Melissa Felinski UTHealth Houston
Adam Purtell West Texas Bariatrics at SWAT Surgical Associates (TX)
Brandon Fadner (Memorial City) Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Group (TX)
2016 Aarthy Kannappan Loma Linda University Health (CA)
Christian Perez Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (CA)
Tanya Kajese (Memorial City) UTHealth Houston
2015 Cody Starnes Starnes Surgical (Solo Private Practice), Sherman, TX
David Gochnour St Joseph Health Medical Group (Bryan/College Station, TX)
2014 Peter A. Walker UTHealth Houston
Shinil K. Shah UTHealth Houston
2013 Harvey Rainville New York Bariatric Group (NJ)
Hossein Bagshahi Bagshahi Bariatric and General Surgery (Solo Private Practice), Fort Worth, TX
2012 Nicholas Brown Wichita Surgical Specialists (KS)
Nathan Miller Private Practice, Salt Lake City, UT
2011 Kenneth Tieu Health First (FL)
Nathan Allison Health First (FL)
2010 Todd Worley Houston Methodist Hospital
Kanayochukwu Aluka
2009 Benjamin Leong Solo Private Practice, Corona, CA
Todd Wilson UTHealth Houston
2008 Brad Snyder UTHealth Houston
2007 Harvinderpal Singh Private Practice, Tomball, TX
Michael Kia Surgical Specialists of Michigan, Flint, MI
2006 Sherman Yu Texas Laparoscopic Consultants, Houston, TX
Benjamin Clapp El Paso Bariatric Surgery (Solo Private Practice), El Paso, TX
2005 Ajay Chopra Albert Einstein College of Medicine (NY)
Richard Altieri Private Practice, Panama
Donna Francis
2004 Fernando Miranda Private Practice, Houston, TX