Current Residents

Chief Resident
Resident
paguilar@arizona.edu

Medical School: Universidad de Guanajuato - León, Mexico
Neurosurgery Interests: General neurosurgery, vascular neurosurgery, oncology
Research Interests: Patient outcomes in general neurosurgery, vascular neurosurgery, neuroendovascular technology
Hobbies/Free Time: Travel, swimming, family

Google Scholar
PubMed

Resident
aburket@arizona.edu

Medical School: University of North Texas Health Sciences Center - Fort Worth, TX
Neurosurgery and Research Interests: Trauma, Oncology, PLastics, Spine and Critical Care
Hobbies/Free Time: Outdoors, cycling, brewing, marksmanship, travel

 

 

 

PGY-7
Resident
aburket@arizona.edu

Medical School: University of North Texas Health Science Center - Fort Worth, TX
Neurosurgical & Research Interests: Trauma, oncology, plastics, spine, critical care
Hobbies/Free Time: Outdoors, cycling, brewing, marksmanship, travel

PubMed
Google Scholar

PGY-5
Resident
neiljoshi@arizona.edu

Medical School: Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
Neurosurgery interests: tumor, skull base, endovascular, vascular, complex spine, spine deformity, spine revision, scoliosis, spine trauma, spine oncology, functional spine, pediatric neurosurgery, neurotrauma
Research interests: social media, education, cerebrovascular, spine, glioblastoma, pediatric neuroimaging
Hobbies/free-time: Music & poetry, hikes, film & TV, desert sports, motorcycles, kettle bell & weight training, traveling

Research:

  1.  In Reply to "No Article an Island: Letter in Response to 'Social Media in Neurosurgery: Using ResearchGate'". Joshi ND, Lieber B, Wong K, Al-Alam E, Agarwal N, Diaz V. World Neurosurg. 2019 Aug;128:633. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2019.05.118. No abstract available.
  2.  Social Media in Neurosurgery: Using ResearchGate. Joshi ND, Lieber B, Wong K, Al-Alam E, Agarwal N, Diaz V. World Neurosurg. 2019 Jul;127:e950-e956. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2019.04.007. Epub 2019 Apr 6.
PGY-4
Resident
rppalsma@arizona.edu

Medical School: University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson

Neurosurgery Interests: Brain tumor, skull base, open/endo Vascular neurosurgery, and complex spine

Research Interests: Tumor, skull base anatomy, vascular, functional neurosurgery

Hobbies/Free-time: Hiking/exploring Arizona, Ironman triathlon, biking, golfing, spending time with my wife and our Belgian Malinois Topher

Research:

1.         Bina, R.W., et al., Peripheral Nerve Stimulation for Refractory Trigeminal Pain: Recent Single-Institution Case Series With Long-Term Follow-Up and Review of the Literature. Neuromodulation, 2020.

2.         Nisson, P.L., et al., Revascularization of the Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery Using the Occipital Artery: A Cadaveric Study Comparing the p3 and p1 Recipient Sites. Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown), 2020.

3.         Palsma, R., et al., Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery for Essential Tremor in a Patient with Type A Hemophilia. World Neurosurg, 2020. 139: p. 158-162.

4.         Premyodhin, N., et al., 3D printed mitral valve models: affordable simulation for robotic mitral valve repair. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg, 2018. 26(1): p. 71-76.

5.         Schipper, D.A., et al., Chronic Myocardial Ischemia Leads to Loss of Maximal Oxygen Consumption and Complex I Dysfunction. Ann Thorac Surg, 2017. 104(4): p. 1298-1304.

 

PGY-3
Resident
hsumdani@arizona.edu

Medical School:  Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Round Rock, Texas

Neurosurgery Interests:  Oncology, pediatrics, trauma, ethics, neuroradiology

Research Interests:  Cancer, stroke, surgical technology

Hobbies/Free Time:  Music, live music, literature, movies and television, art, pop culture, comedy, philosophy, exotic birds

 

PGY-2
Resident
bsheldon@arizona.edu

Medical School:  Albany Medical College, Albany, NY

Neurosurgery Interests: Skull Base Tumors, Spinal Tumors, Global Neurosurgery

Research Interests:  Pain Reduction and Management, Neurotrauma, Optimization of Neurosurgical Outcomes, Neurosurgical Operative Guidelines

Hobbies/Free Time: International Travel, Swimming and Water Polo, Dance, Cooking and Fine Dining, Marsupials

 

Alumni
Resident
mavilag@arizona.edu

Medical School: Pontificia Universidad Javeriana - Bogota, Colombia
Neurosurgery Interests: Spine surgery, neurosurgical trauma, oncology, and general neurosurgery
Research Interests: Patient outcomes in spine surgery, anatomical studies, medical education
Hobbies/Free Time: Golf, tennis, travel

Google Scholar
PubMed

Resident/Fellow

Medical School: Marilia Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Neurosurgery Interests: Cerebrovascular/Endovascular, Complex Skull Base Surgery, Neuro-oncology
Research Interests: Discovering novel treatment modalities for aneurysms, AVM's, and dural AV fistulas.  Translational stroke research.  Long-term outcomes of benign and malignant intracranial neoplasms.
Hobbies/Free Time: Surfing, mountain biking, jazz, classical music and traveling