Current Residents

Chief Resident
Aaron Burket, DO 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
Mauricio J. Avila, MD, MHPE 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

PGY-6
Aaron R. Burket, DO 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
Andres Monserrate Marrero, MD Resident andresmonserrate@arizona.edu Medical School: University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico Neurosurgery Interests: Brain tumors, endoscopic skull base, open vascular Research Interests: Vascular lesions, traumatic brain injury Hobbies/Free Time: Listening to vinyl records, watching classic movies, gardening/indoor plants, cooking Research: 1. Monserrate A, De Jesus O. Huge chronic subdural haematoma formation in an encephalomalacia stroke cavity. BMJ Case Rep. 2020 Dec 17;13(12). doi: 10.1136/bcr-2020-236928. PubMed PMID: 33334750; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7747609. 2. Monserrate Marrero JA, Monserrate Marrero AE, Pérez Berenguer JL, Álvarez EL, Corona JM, Feliciano C. Cerebellar Arteriovenous Malformation with Coexistent Hemangioblastoma. World Neurosurg. 2020 Feb;134:495-500. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2019.10.197. Epub 2019 Nov 9. PubMed PMID: 31712111. 3. Monserrate A, Zussman B, Ozpinar A, Niranjan A, Flickinger JC, Gerszten PC. Stereotactic radiosurgery for intradural spine tumors using cone-beam CT image guidance. Neurosurg Focus. 2017 Jan;42(1):E11. doi: 10.3171/2016.9.FOCUS16356. PubMed PMID: 28041317. 4. Monserrate AE, Ryman DC, JM, Morris JC, Bateman RJ. Et al. Factors associated with the onset and persistence of post-lumbar puncture headache. JAMA Neurol. 2015 Mar;72(3):325-32. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.3974. PubMed PMID: 25622095; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4364538.

PGY-5
Pedro Aguilar Salinas, MD 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

PGY-4
Neil Joshi, MD 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: 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. 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-3
Ryan Palsma, MD 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-2
Hasan Sumdani, MD 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-1
Breanna Sheldon, MD, MS 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
Leonardo Brasiliense, MD 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