Current Residents 2023-2024

Nabeel Ashraf, MD

Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine

Why I chose IU for Residency: Indiana is home and has been for many years. That being said, even with my biases for this region, IU is truly one of the best path programs in the country. From case volume and diversity, to fellowship options, from caring staff and great atmosphere to strong training in both anatomic and clinical pathology, IU has it all. 

Personal Interest: Television, sports, music

Academic interests: Dermatopathology, hematopathology, Surgical Pathology, Cytopathology

Patrick Azar, MD

Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine

Why I Chose IU for Residency: As a medical student at Indiana University, I had the opportunity to spend four months rotating through the IU Pathology Department, where I spent extensive time working with the program's residents and faculty. The first thing that caught my attention during my time with the program was the genuine kindness and enthusiasm for teaching demonstrated by the residents and faculty. It was evident that the residents received ample support from their faculty and that they genuinely enjoyed being part of the program. Another factor that attracted me to the program was the remarkable diversity of cases and the wide range of fellowship opportunities it offers. IU is a wonderful program filled with friendly people in an amazing city which made the decision to choose IU an easy one.

Personal Interests: Playing board games, watching sports, trivia, running, hiking, playing pickleball, and spending time with family and friends

Academic Interests: Surgical Pathology, Cytopathology, Genitourinary Pathology

Melissa Hruby, DO

Medical School: Marian University - College of Osteopathic Medicine

Why I chose IU for Residency: IU was my top choice pathology program after heavy consideration of both my professional and personal goals. During my interview season, I quickly realized there were numerous programs that would be incredible professional opportunities, but they fell short when it came to supporting my personal goals and fitting my personality. IU was one of these strong programs, but they also prioritized the well-being of their residents and fostered a very positive work culture which aligned with what I was looking for. I also love living in Indianapolis and wanted to continue to enjoy the city with my friends!

Personal interests: I like to travel internationally, scuba dive, and propagate plants in my free time. I also enjoy trying new things in Indy and attending concerts, sporting, and social events with my friends.

Academic interests: Undecided

Hannah Hyaduck, MD

Medical School: Central Michigan University School of Medicine

Why I chose IU for Residency: When considering where I wanted to train for residency it was important for me to find a program where I would feel supported as a learner and as a person. I was also looking for a program that would offer me a complete educational experience with a wide variety of cases, a strong AP/CP curriculum, fellowships I was interested in, and opportunities to teach. IU’s program checked every single item on my list. During my interview I felt so welcomed (even over zoom) and could tell that the culture in this program was fantastic. I liked that the residents were happy, and that the faculty genuinely cared about the residents and their success. The program size, in-house fellowships, and integrated curriculum were exactly what I was looking for. I was also very excited by the opportunities to teach and work with medical students. On top of all of that, Indianapolis seemed like such a great place to live with all the restaurants, public outdoor spaces, and reasonable cost-of-living. I am so thankful I matched at IU!

Personal interests: Some of my hobbies include painting, hiking/camping, cooking, gardening, absolutely spoiling my cat, and target archery.

Academic interests: I am currently most interested in Cytopathology, Surgical Pathology, Renal Pathology, and Medical Education.

Josh Kocemba, DO

Medical School: Marian University

Why I chose IU for Residency: I attended medical school in Indianapolis and formed a strong connection with the city. Then, during my fourth-year rotations, I was fortunate to spend two months rotating with this program. Instantly, I felt welcomed by the residents and staff, they included me in case discussions and gave excellent feedback to help develop my skills. The facility is top-notch and each resident gets a roomy space with their own computer and microscope. Also, since this is the main lab for all of IU, there is a great magnitude of cases, yet despite that I felt that the residents were well-supported by PAs, grossing assistants, and histotechs. I am thrilled to have matched here, a city that I am happy to call home at an institution I am proud to be a part of.

Personal Interests: I enjoy trail running at Eagle Creek, biking the Monon Trail, and playing complicated board and card games.

Academic interests: GI Pathology, Breast Pathology, Dermatopathology, and Forensic Pathology

Daisy Maharjan, MBBS 

Medical School: College of Medical Sciences, Bharatpur, Nepal

Why I chose IU: I got an opportunity to do an observership at IU for a month. It was a great experience. I was very much impressed by the culture here. Everyone - residents, fellows, faculty, and staff were helpful and supportive. For my residency training, I was looking for a program with a high volume and diversity of cases, strong academics, a wide range of in-house fellowships, and teaching opportunities. IU has all of these to offer to its trainees. Trainees at IU get to work in different hospitals in both sub-specialized and generalized pathology sign-out settings. Also, Indianapolis is a wonderful city with an affordable cost of living.

Personal Interests: Reading novels, cooking, listening to all kinds of music.

Academic interests: Gynecologic Pathology, GU Pathology, GI pathology

Halimat Olaniyan, MD

Medical School: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Why I chose IU: The people! From my interview day experience, it was really clear that IU path is one big family. Everyone I talked to shared the same sentiment about working hard, taking good care of each other, and having fun along the way. I really resonated with those values and felt supported by everyone I interacted with from my interview day to now.

Personal interests: I’m a huge foodie and I love to travel, mainly to explore new food and see the sites. I’m also a big fan of Disney/Marvel, romcoms, musicals, anime, and binge worthy shows. I also really enjoy reading, writing, and taking lots of pictures.

Academic interests: I am really interested in transfusion medicine, learning how to run a blood bank, and working with apheresis patients. I am especially interested in sickle cell disease.

Justin Meier, MD

Medical School: St. Louis University

Why I chose IU: I chose IU because I wanted to go to a program that would provide me with enough diversity and number of cases to become a great diagnostician. I also wanted a large program with enough residents to provide coverage in the case of needed absences and to provide a good support structure for each other. Finally, I wanted a program where all the residents were happy and enjoyed spending time with each other outside of work.

Personal Interests: Fly-fishing, video games, listening to metal, watching Netflix

Academic interests: Cytopathology, Hematopathology, Surgical Pathology

Nicholas Polster, MD

Current position: Wellness Chair

Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine

Why I chose IU for residency: During my third and fourth years of medical school I spent an extensive amount of time working with pathology residents and faculty at IU, and I noticed that on top of being knowledgeable and helpful, everybody here was happy. Faculty genuinely care about the well-being of their residents and are always available to talk and take feedback into account. I was further drawn to IU by the emphasis here on teaching, whether it be driven by attendings during case sign-out or QC conferences, or by residents themselves working directly with medical students. On top of all this, IU has a top-notch facility, a massive volume of cases, and a multitude of fellowships.

Personal Interests: I enjoy birding, running, reading, board games, video games, and spending time with friends and family.

Academic Interests: Surgical Pathology, Dermatopathology, possibly Gastrointestinal Pathology

Obaid Rehman, MBBS

Medical School: Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology

Why I chose IU: IU easily ticked off all the boxes in my criteria for an ideal residency program. The solid curriculum, adequate program size, large volume and diversity of cases (being the primary Pathology residency program in Indiana), teaching and learning opportunities, adequate elective rotations, and the myriad opportunities for fellowships are only some of the factors that pulled me in. Above all, what really stood out for me were the extremely amiable and friendly people who I met during my interview, be it the faculty members, the residents, or the program coordinators: everyone was so kind and welcoming that I instantly knew I would feel at home in this program!

Personal interests: I enjoy making bad puns, listening to music, song-editing, birdwatching, and (casual) PC gaming.

Academic Interests: I am keeping an open mind, but fields that I find particularly interesting include Hematopathology and Medical Kidney.

Reem Youssef, MBBCh

Medical School: Faculty of Medicine Zagazig University

Why I chose IU for residency: I applied to the IU pathology program because it has everything that I am looking for in a residency program. Besides the strong recommendations, I have received from a previous fellow and the current residents, IU has excellent case volume, diversity, faculty expertise, different work settings, and multiple in-house fellowships. The people are extremely friendly and helpful. Also, there are ample opportunities to gain additional experience in teaching since IU is the largest medical school in the US. All these factors made my decision very easy to choose the IU pathology program to help me attain my goal of becoming an excellent pathologist.
After matching, I was impressed even more with the flexibility and support, I have received from the program. Everyone is helpful, which made me confident that I made the right decision. Indianapolis is a nice place to live with lots of activities and restaurants to visit.

Personal Interests: Travelling, watching movies, spending time with family and friends

Academic Interests: Dermatopathology.

Mohamed Bikhet, MBBCh

Medical School: Faculty of Medicine Cairo University

Why I chose IU for residency: I applied to IU because it has a strong reputation with an impressive diversity of cases and knowledgeable faculty. I had an outstanding interview experience with the IU pathology faculty; I perceived an overwhelmingly friendly environment which made me confident that IU would be the perfect place to train and thrive. On the academic level, IU health has six hospitals operating under the same roof, offering a large volume of surgical cases, plenty of strong in-house fellowships, and the opportunity to train in both academic and community settings, ensuring that all trainees are well-rounded and strong pathologist. There is no doubt that any aspiring pathologist will be looking for such a setting to train. The program is well structured that all residents get high-yield and exceptional training while keeping wellness and life balance. I feel very satisfied choosing IU pathology, and I feel fortunate to have matched here.

Personal Interests: Photography is my favorite hobby, especially astrophotography, stargazing, and cosmology. I also enjoy watching anime, playing tennis, and video games 

Fellowship plans: Transfusion Medicine at Stanford (2025-2026)

Guohua Liang, MB, PhD

Medical School: Yanbian University Health Science Center

Why I chose IU: IU was the best choice for me because I wanted to train at a medium-sized residency program with a solid curriculum (i.e., strong in both AP and CP training). As the only pathology residency training program in Indiana, I believe IU can provide not only a large volume, but also a variety of cases. In addition, during the interview, I had a strong feeling that the faculty truly take care of trainees. For instance, even though I was just one of the hundreds of applicants, the interviewers took the time to give me useful suggestions about future career development. When I submitted the rank order list, I also considered my family. Many suburbs around Indianapolis are nationally top-ranked as family-friendly cities (for example: safe, good public-school system and relatively low living cost).

Personal interests: I love cooking (Korean and Chinese cuisine) and I enjoy inline skating.

Fellowship plans: Gastrointestinal Pathology at Vanderbilt University (2025-2026) 

Azadeh Samiei, MD

Current Position: CAP Resident Forum Delegate

Medical School: Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Why I chose IU for residency? IU is one of the most reputable academic medical centers with a robust pathology program. It offers everything that I was looking for in a residency program. An integrated AP/CP curriculum, large volume and diversity of specimens, excellent faculty in diverse subspecialty areas, and a well-organized department were among the key factors why I chose IU. The friendly and collegial environment in this department is proof that this department values resident wellness as well as education.
As a pathology resident, I will work at different hospitals that provide diagnostic services to much of Indiana. This experience will expose me to a wide range of specimens and broaden my knowledge and skills.

Personal interests: My favorite hobbies are hiking, travelling, photography and painting. I also enjoy spending time with my family and friends and attending concerts, sports and social events.

Academic interests: Dermatopathology, Cytopathology, Surgical Pathology

Alex Shacklette, MD

Medical School: University of Louisville School of Medicine

Why I chose IU: In a year where student exposure to residency programs was entirely virtual, IU really went the extra mile to highlight the impressive quality of their facilities, program, and staff. I was fortunate to work with several pathologists who had ties to IU during medical school, and I was confident that I would receive excellent training that would prepare me to be a great pathologist. IU also provides diverse fellowship opportunities, and the cost of living in Indianapolis is very affordable, which made it an easy choice to rank as my top program.

Current positions: Resident Curriculum Committee

Personal Interests: Tabletop games, painting miniatures, fantasy football, and game nights with friends

Academic Interests: Surgical Pathology and Transfusion Medicine

Muhammad Shaheen, MBBCh

Medical School: Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine.

Why I chose IU for Residency: It all goes back to the observership that I was lucky enough to get right before the COVID pandemic. The program had been recommended by a previous fellow as one of the top programs in pathology, and he was right about it. People here work very hard and have fun at the same time. The great jump in knowledge and skills of residents going from PGY1 to PGY4 is a testimony to the strength of the program. I learned a lot just by listening to the case presentations at the 4 pm daily surgical pathology QC conference. There is also ample opportunity for research. The residents are all very motivated and very well equipped with a wide range of resources to help them reach the expected level of competency. I knew during my observership that If I had a dream of becoming a good pathologist one day, IU was going to support me by all means. That is why I chose IU.

Personal interests: Languages and foreign cultures, books, cooking, and of course, cats.

Fellowship plans: Pediatric Pathology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital (2025-2026)

Adeyinka Akinsanya, MBBS

Medical School: University of Ilorin College of Health Sciences Current positions: Associate Chief Resident, CAP Resident Forum Delegate, ASCP Pathology Ambassador, IUSM Curriculum Steering Committee member, Association of Pathology Chairs GME Committee member.

Why I chose IU for residency: My interest in IU started during my one-month observership here. The environment was amicable, with a great rapport between the residents and attendings, who were all helpful and willing to teach. In addition, the excellent volume of surgical cases, strong in-house fellowships, and the opportunity to train in multiple settings (University, Community hospital, VA hospital, etc.) meant that IU was an excellent fit for me. As a resident, IU has provided me with many opportunities to pursue my passion for undergraduate and graduate medical education. Between the medical school and residency program, there are ample opportunities to develop as an educator, with willing mentors to guide and support you. Finally, the icing on the cake is the beautiful city of Indianapolis with its diverse, multicultural community, great food, fun indoor and outdoor activities, and reasonable cost of living.

Personal Interests: I enjoy watching anime, sports (soccer, tennis & Formula 1, to mention a few), reading fantasy novels, blogging, taking long walks, and looking at pathology cases on Twitter.

Academic Interests: Cytopathology, Gastrointestinal Pathology, and Teaching.

Fellowship plans: Cytopathology at Indiana University (2024-2025); Gastrointestinal Pathology at Indiana University (2025-2026)

Ahmad Alkashash, MBBCh

Current position: AP Scheduling Chief 

Medical School: Faculty of Medicine Cairo University

Why I chose IU for residency: I am truly fortunate to be doing my training at IU! From the first early moment I arrived in this department, I realized that it stands out and possesses all the qualities that I was searching for in a pathology residency program. I perceived a friendly environment, approachable faculty, and organized support staff. It was also very clear that this program is resident-centered rather than reputation-centered, and it is one of the few programs that has excellent training and a healthy working environment for its trainees. The program is designed to ensure residents secure competitive fellowship positions and jobs in both private practice and academic settings. I admired that the program offers sign-out experience in both sub-specialty and general pathology environments. In addition to the availability of in-house fellowships in ten sub-specialties, the program has a surgical case volume that exceeds 100,000, which makes the learning experience at IU challenging, but highly rewarding. I have no doubt that training at IU will allow me to thrive both professionally and personally. I am so excited and honored to be here and I look forward to what lies ahead over the next four years. Besides, Indianapolis has an amazing downtown, a very affordable cost of living, and amazing outdoors. 

Personal Interests: I enjoy Calligraphy, reading and cooking.

Academic Interests: Gastrointestinal pathology

Fellowship plans: Gastrointestinal pathology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, 2024-2025

Jaffar Khan, MD

Medical School: Bolan Medical College

Why I chose IU for Residency: I chose the IU Pathology Residency Program given its state of the art academic training and program structure. This program has the resources to prepare trainees in community practice as well as an academic environment given the diverse and abundant pathology cases residents are exposed to. Additionally, the faculty are supportive, love to teach, and are easily accessible. The residents are an enthusiastic and close-knit group who obtain a good work-life balance. During my interview at IU, I perceived a friendly environment, dedicated faculty, and organized staff. I knew that this would be a program where I would thrive both professionally and personally. I'm very excited to have matched here.

Personal Interests: I like spending time with family and friends, cooking, traveling, and exploring new places!

Academic Interests: General Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology.

Yukiko Kitagawa, MD, PhD

Current position: CP Scheduling Chief 

Medical School: Tokyo Women’s Medical University

Why I chose IU for residency: When I started working as a visiting scholar in the IU Pathology Department, the residents, fellows and faculties welcomed me and supported my career pathway. Given my favorable experiences in this department as a scholar, I was confident that this is the best place for me to achieve my goals during residency. Also, Indiana is my home away from home, and I am very happy to work and live here.

Personal Interests: I enjoy singing as a cantor in English, Spanish and Japanese, and studying Japanese-styled flower arrangement.

Fellowship plans: Hematopathology (2024-26) - National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute.

Jessica Muldoon, MD

Current positions: Executive Chief Resident, IU Housestaff Forum Chair, IU Dean's Council Representative, IU Graduate Medical Education Committee Representative, IU Pathology Social Chair

Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine

Why I chose IU for Residency: Four years can seem like a lot of time, but looking back on medical school I realized that four years will fly by in the blink of an eye. Therefore when looking at residency programs I wanted to find somewhere where I would be able to fully utilize my time and have a supportive staff and resident cohort to grow and learn with. At IU, we have not only an impressive case volume with a mix of the ordinary and extraordinary, but also faculty members with open doors. Our faculty enjoy sharing their knowledge and taking the time to teach, as do our senior residents. We have a wonderful resident group of friendly and outgoing individuals. We also have a unique daily learning conference where interesting cases are shown to allow all residents the opportunity to see cases with our senior pathologists. Having this beautiful building and resident workroom doesn't hurt either!

Personal Interests: Taking my dogs to the park, going to concerts, adventuring with my co-residents, crafting, and home improvement projects.

Academic Interests: Teaching and advocacy.

Fellowship plans: Transfusion Medicine (2024-2025) at Indiana University School of Medicine

Ani Toklu, MD

Current position: Education Chief 

Medical School: Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine

Why I chose IU for residency: I was impressed by the IU Pathology residency program even before my interview day. The academic strength of the department, the outstanding faculty, the size of the program, and the variety, complexity and large number of cases that are received here are some of the countless qualities that this program offers. I chose IU to pursue my residency training because I thought that if I were to design a pathology residency program, it would be very similar to this program.

Personal Interests: I like traveling around the world, sketching and painting, architecture and home decoration, cooking Turkish cuisine

Academic Interests: Dermatopathology, Surgical Pathology, Soft Tissue Pathology, GU Pathology

Fellowship plans: Surgical Pathology, Indiana University 2024-25