Junior Faculty Scholars

Dr. Stepan is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hand and upper extremity surgery. He has specific clinical expertise in treating in brachial plexus and complex nerve injuries. For patients with these life altering injuries, he has started a multi-disciplinary brachial plexus and complex nerve injury clinic at the University of Chicago.

His research interests include understanding how social determinants of health affect outcomes in hand surgery and creating a better understanding and treatment pathway for ballistic upper extremity trauma, specifically nerve injury. He also has partnered with Community Health to provide hand care and surgery for uninsured patients.

Prior to arriving in Chicago, Dr. Stepan graduated from St. John’s University where he played Division I soccer. He then earned an MD and Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation while completing his NIH TL1 Pre-doctoral grant at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. After medical school he completed an orthopedic surgery residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York followed by a hand and microvascular surgery fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Amber E. Johnson, MD, MS, MBA, FACC is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine and Section of Cardiology at the University of Chicago. She joins us here at U of C from the University of Pittsburgh where she was also a Staff Cardiologist at the Veterans Administration Pittsburgh Health System and Faculty Affiliate at the Center for Race and Social Problems, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. She completed her undergraduate degree with honors at the University of Pittsburgh. She then completed her medical degree and masters of business administration at Jefferson Medical College/Widener University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition to a year of patient safety and quality improvement training at the Armstrong Institute of Johns Hopkins Hospital, she was an internal medicine resident at Johns Hopkins, Bayview in Baltimore, Maryland. She then returned to Pittsburgh for general cardiology fellowship, a research fellowship, and a masters degree in clinical research.

Dr Johnson’s research at the interface of health equity, social determinants of health, and mobile health technology has resulted in numerous publications and federal grant funding. She is the recipient of local and national clinical and research awards and was recently named one of the National Minority Quality Forum’s 40 Under 40 Leaders in Health and in 2022 was awarded the Women as One Escalator Award for clinical research. Dr. Johnson has served on the Black Equity Coalition-Health Equity Working Group which led equity efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through her work and community engagement, she is committed to addressing racial inequity in cardiovascular care. Her clinical practice here at U of C will include general and preventive cardiology with a focus on women’s health and gender affirming care. She enjoys cooking, running, and spending time with family. She is the mother of two daughters, Leilani and Nia.

Dr. Olórtegui was born in Poland. She grew up in the countryside outside of Chicago, and eventually moved to the big city.  She received her B.S. From the University of Chicago in 2009, followed by her M.D. from the UChicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 2012. She stayed at UChicago for residency and fellowship, and recently joined the Department of Surgery, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery as an Assistant Professor. She completed the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics Fellowship in 2016, and now serves as faculty at the MacLean Center.

Dr. Olórtegui’s clinical interest is in the care of patients with diseases of the colon, rectum, and anus, especially inflammatory bowel disease. She is also passionate about improving the quality of surgical care. Dr. Olórtegui is launching the University of Chicago colorectal surgery clinical outcomes database, and is actively collaborating with researchers at other major academic centers in order to improve our understanding of the intricacies of colorectal diseases, surgeries and their outcomes.

In working with trainees, Dr. Olórtegui developed a special interest in teaching and mentorship. During her training, Dr. Olórtegui was honored with the Hans Frimpong Spirit in Surgery Award, as well as the Golden Apple Teaching Award. She was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society by the graduating Pritzker School of Medicine Class of 2019. In her first year as faculty, she was awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award from the Department of Surgery. Dr. Olórtegui is interested in developing a formal curriculum for teaching professionalism to budding surgeons.

Dr. Jennifer Tseng is a board-certified surgical oncologist and Assistant Professor of Surgery with the University of Chicago Medicine. She earned her medical degree from the University of California, Davis and completed her general surgery residency at Oregon Health and Science University. She received fellowship training in clinical immunotherapy at the National Cancer Institute and complex general surgical oncology at the University of Chicago Medicine. She is a senior fellow with the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics and previously was a theme issue editor for the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics. Her research interests include ethical considerations in clinical trials, the use of surrogate decision makers and prophylactic surgery.

Dr. Tseng integrates the latest research in clinical trials in caring for patients with breast cancer, melanoma and sarcoma. She is a prior national resident representative for the Surgery Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and is an Associate Program Director for the general surgery residency and complex general surgical oncology fellowship. She is an Education Scholar with the American Society of Clinical Oncology and is pursuing a Masters in Health Professions Education with the University of Illinois at Chicago.

As of 2022, Dr. Tseng is a surgeon with City of Hope Cancer Treatment and Research Center in California.

Noa Krugliak Cleveland, MD, is a board-certified physician who specializes in gastroenterology. Dr. Krugliak Cleveland has advanced training in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and sees patient with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. She is interested in the use of novel therapies to treat IBD and use of new technologies for the detection and management of cancer and inflammation in IBD including bedside intestinal ultrasound. 

Along with her clinical expertise, Dr. Krugliak Cleveland is also a physician-scientist, whose research focuses on disease outcomes and prevention of IBD complications. She investigates the application of new technology for the detection and prevention of progression of IBD. Her work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, including Gastroenterology, The American Journal of Gastroenterology, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Digestive Diseases and Sciences and more.

Yalini Vigneswaran, MD, MS, FACS, is an advanced minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgeon who specializes in esophageal and gastric disorders, including motility disorders, esophageal and gastroesophageal junction cancers, reflux disease and paraesophageal hernias. She has specific clinical expertise in esophageal surgery, including minimally invasive esophagectomy for both benign and malignant disease as well as bariatric surgery and performs various weight loss procedures. Dr. Vigneswaran uses both advanced laparoscopic and robotic-assisted techniques to approach complex gastrointestinal disorders and weight loss surgery. And leads the field in innovative techniques and procedures. Dr. Vigneswaran conducts clinical research and is committed to improving outcomes for patients with gastroesophageal disorders and patients undergoing weight loss surgery. She has been recognized nationally for her research and has received several awards. She continues to advance the field with specific research interests in reflux disease after weight loss surgery and revisional surgery, paraesophageal hernia surgery, esophageal malignancies and health disparities in obesity medicine.

Andrew Fisher, MD, specializes in obstetric and gynecologic medicine and delivers comprehensive care to women, transgender, and gender diverse patients. Dr. Fisher treats a wide range of conditions affecting these individuals, including abnormal uterine bleeding, opioid use disorder in pregnancy, hormone therapy for gender affirming transgender patients and more. He currently serves as the medical director for the Trans CARE Program (Clinic for Affirmation and Reproductive Equity). Dr. Fisher is also an expert in transabdominal cerclage (TAC) for patients who suffer from cervical insufficiency in pregnancy. To elevate his clinical practice, Dr. Fisher evaluates new and improved treatments and techniques to enhance the lives of his patients. His current Bucksbaum-sponsored research examines the intersection of transgender and gender diverse patients with pregnancy, including doula models of care and group prenatal care. Dr. Fisher’s work has been published in several highly respected peer-reviewed journals, including Fertility and Sterility, Neurourology and Urodynamics, and Biophysical Journal.

Ahmeneh Ghavam, MD, MA, attended medical school at the American University of the Caribbean, followed by pediatric residency at the University of Arizona. Following residency, she completed fellowship in pediatric critical care at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin/Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Ghavam subsequently joined the faculty at the University of Chicago where she is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the section of Critical Care Medicine. While in fellowship she developed an academic interest in pediatric bioethics and has completed a Master’s Degree in Bioethics from the Medical College of Wisconsin. Within bioethics, her area of academic focus lies at the intersection of organ donation and death determination, with a special interest in pediatric donation after circulatory death. In addition to her academic work, clinical time spent in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Sedation suite, Dr. Ghavam is also actively involved in medical education serving as the associate program director for the Pediatric Critical Care fellowship program.

Parth Modi is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Section of Urology and is a specialist in the management of urologic cancers, especially bladder and prostate cancer.

Dr. Modi attended medical school at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and received his MD in 2011. He completed Urology residency at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 2017. He subsequently went on to complete Urologic Oncology fellowship training and an MS degree in Health and Health Care Research at the University of Michigan before joining the faculty at the University of Chicago in 2020.

His research is focused on improving the delivery of health care by informing payment and workforce policy. As a Bucksbaum Scholar, he is studying how to optimize the training and utilization of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the context of surgical care. In addition to his clinical practice and research, Dr. Modi is a faculty member of the MacLean Center for clinical medical ethics with interests in financial conflicts of interest, informed consent, and the ethical implications of health care policy.

Dr. Saunders is an Assistant Professor in the Section of General Internal Medicine. Since coming to the University of Chicago, she has completed a combined internal medicine-pediatrics residency, a research fellowship in hospital medicine, clinical medical ethics fellowship at the MacLean Center and medical education (MERITS). In addition to her clinical work in GIM, she serves as the Research Subject Advocate for the Institute of Translational Medicine and the University’s Living Donor Advocate Physician where she works with potential living donors to make sure they have the appropriate medical and psychosocial evaluation as well as a full understanding of the risks of living donation. Dr. Saunders’ research focuses on reducing disparities and improving the quality of care received by patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). She is currently NIH-funded to develop and test an educational module for hospitalized patients with advanced CKD in order to increase their knowledge about and preparation for renal replacement therapy. She is also the Assistant Dean of Multicultural Affairs at the Pritzker School of Medicine.