March 26, 2026 NGMC welcomes new resident physicians with strong ties to Georgia View »

Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) is welcoming more physicians to care for communities across the region with the announcement of its newest class of resident physicians. The organization's eighth residency class includes seven specialties, with 27 medical students who completed clinical rotations at NGMC and more than 60% of the incoming residents having strong ties to Georgia.

The new class increases the total number of residents in each specialty to:

• 34 General Surgery
• 60 Internal Medicine
• 12 Primary Care Track
• 36 Family Medicine
• 36 Emergency Medicine
• 24 Psychiatry
• 12 Transitional Year

NGMC also has 18 Cardiovascular Disease fellows working and training, bringing the total number of physician learners to 232. All new residents and fellows begin work on July 1.

NGMC welcomes:

Emergency Medicine Residents - Medical School and Home State/Country

• Joseph Graham, MD - Mercer University School of Medicine/GA
• Mary Bonham, MD - Medical College of Georgia/SC
• Ansu Edwards, MD - University of Mississippi/MS
• Joseph Blakely, DO - Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine/SC
• Axel Haglind, MD - Karolinska Institutet/Sweden
• Caroline Kajzer, MD - Poznan University of Medical Sciences/GA
• Tessa Palisoc, MD - Drexel University/PA
• Nishi Patel, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA
• Matthew Powell, MD - University of South Carolina School of Medicine/SC
• Camilla Senior, DO - Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine/TX
• Robin White, MD - American University of Antigua College of Medicine/GA
• Nicole Yammine, MD - LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine/Lebanon

Family Medicine Residents - Medical School and Home State/Country

• Marina Attalla, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA
• Inna Cubara, MD - St. George's University School of Medicine/GA
• Francis Ricardo K. Escueta, III, DO - Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine/VA
• Chelsea Green, MD - Morehouse School of Medicine/GA
• Vanita Jayswal, MD - Saint James School of Medicine/N/A
• Jeannot J. Joseph, MD - Trinity School of Medicine/NY
• Diamond Richardson, MD - Ross University School of Medicine/GA
• Bonnie Seo, MD - Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine/GA
• Tasneem M. Shurbjy, MD - American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine/GA
• Felina Thomas, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/N/A
• Sarah E. White, DO - Lincoln Memorial University - DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine/ GA
• Lynsey E. Young, MD - Mercer University School of Medicine/GA

General Surgery Categorical Residents - Medical School and Home State/Country

• Didem Aydin, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA
• Sasha Bennett, MD - Emory University School of Medicine/PA
• Cory Dixon, MD - Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA
• Wyatt Erwin, DO - Lincoln Memorial University, Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA
• Alexis Sandor, MD - Ross University School of Medicine/NY
• Amy Yelton, DO - Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine/FL

General Surgery Preliminary Residents - Medical School and Home State/Country

• William Dunning, MD - American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine/GA
• Brandi Jarvis, MD - Mercer University School of Medicine/GA
• Eliza Kang, MD - Northeast Ohio Medical University/OH
• Lexie Straker, MD - St. George's University School of Medicine/Grenada

Internal Medicine Residents - Medical School and Home State/Country

• Ali Aboud, MD - Al-Baath University Faculty of Medicine - Homs/Syrian Arab Republic
• Emon Alavi, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/FL
• Aribah Ali, D. - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA
• Amna Ali, MB, BS - Al Neelain University Faculty of Medicine/Sudan
• Allen Barbarovich, MD - Trinity School of Medicine/GA
• Pavisankar Biju Seena, MB, BS - Government Medical College Manjeri - Kollam/India
• Tonya Chang, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/NC
• Marjan Farokhyfar, MD - Ross University School of Medicine/GA
• Sapna Kumari, MB, BS - Ziauddin Medical College - Karachi/Pakistan
• Kieulinh Le, MD - Ross University School of Medicine/TX
• Anusha Mittal, MB, BS - Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College, Pune/India
• Collin Morris, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA
• Wajed Mouhanna, MD - University of Damascus Faculty of Medicine - Damascus/Syrian Arab Republic
• Jay Patel, DO - Lincoln Memorial University - DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine/TN
• Sami Refai, DO - Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Auburn Campus/AL
• Nicholas Reynarowych, MD - Trinity School of Medicine/NY
• Steve Selvaraj, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA
• Tewobesta Tesfaye, MD - Arba Minch University College of Medicine and Health Sciences - Addis Ababa/Ethiopia
• Areejah Umar, MD - University of Mississippi School of Medicine/Canada
• Marissa Varghese, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA

Primary Care Track - Medical School and Home State/Country

• Justin Chang, MD - St. George's University School of Medicine/GA
• Damian Ezuma, MD - Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University/GA
• Erica Okoli, MD - Meharry Medical College/GA

• Shraddha Patel, MD - American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine/IL

Psychiatry Residents - Medical School and Home State/Country

• Siri Choragudi, MD - University of Miami/GA
• Ethan Collins, MD - Morehouse University/GA
• Rachel Divack, MD - Mercer University/GA
• Kieffer Hellmeister, MD - Mercer University/GA
• Kafayat Oketade, MD - Medical College of Georgia/GA
• Joe Williams, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA

Transitional Year - Medical School and Home State/Country

• Matthew Campbell, MD - Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University/GA

• Fangzhou Chi, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA
• Phu Dang, MD - University of Oklahoma College of Medicine-Tulsa/OK
• Alex Dos Santos, MD - American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine/GA
• Zion Eberhart, MD - Morehouse School of Medicine/GA
• Arshan Goudarzi, MD - Georgetown University School of Medicine/Washington, DC
• Christopher Henson, DO - Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine/ NC
• Youngsuk Heo, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA
• Samuel Ighodaro, DO - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/GA
• Haden Morton, MD - American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine/GA
• Atithi Patel, MD - University of Illinois College of Medicine/GA
• Simon Young, MD - Morehouse School of Medicine/GA

In the months leading up to Match Day, medical students participating in the National Resident Matching Program applied to residency programs and interviewed at hospitals across the nation. After those interviews, residency programs ranked the students - and students ranked the programs. Both rank lists were plugged into a national database which crunches the numbers to determine which of the students match with NGMC. Those results are released on Match Day, which was Friday, March 20.

"Reaching our eighth Match Day is an incredible milestone for our health system and our community" says Donna Brown, PhD, interim designated institutional official for NGMC. "The sense of excitement never gets old, and it feels just as meaningful today as it did when we celebrated our inaugural class in 2019. I'm especially proud that more than 60% of our incoming residents have strong connections to Georgia, increasing the likelihood they'll build their careers right here in our region. That long-term impact is exactly what our Graduate Medical Education program was designed to achieve, and it's inspiring to see the vision coming to life."

Resident physicians are licensed doctors training in a specialty. They train for three to 10 years after medical school, providing patient care and performing procedures under appropriate supervision. They can write orders and prescribe medication. Residents also have educational, testing and evaluation requirements. Their training is overseen by Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

"NGMC is one of the largest graduate medical education programs in Georgia," said Dr. Brown. "The idea is to train the physician leaders of tomorrow right here in Hall County, so that they will stay to practice in this region and the state."

Learn more about NGMC's residency programs at ngmcgme.org.