Junior Faculty Scholars

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.

Nicola Orlov is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Residency Training Program, and Co-Clerkship Director for the Pritzker School of Medicine. She is a graduate of the Pritzker School of Medicine and where she stayed to complete her Residency Training and Chief Resident year. She completed an MPH at Columbia University and graduated from The Medical Education Research Innovation Teaching and Scholarship (MERITS) fellowship at the University of Chicago. She currently serves as the Chapter Advisor at the PSOM for the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

Dr. Orlov is a Pediatric Hospitalist. Her recent academic work has been focused on improving the sleep and health of hospitalized children. She has a strong interest in teaching communication skills and was recently award funding from the Bucksbaum Institute to support the development of an innovative curriculum that uses improvisational theatre to hone the communication skills of students. Her work will be the first to objectively measure the impact of improv on student communication, adaptability, and confidence. Whether at the bedside, in the classroom or through her research, Dr. Orlov’s passion is focused on improving medical training with the goal of improving patient experience.

Dr. Neethi Pinto received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Stanford University. She completed the Jane Addams fellowship in Philanthropy and directed an enrichment program for at risk youth before returning to Stanford for medical school. In 2001, she came to The University of Chicago where she completed a pediatric residency, chief residency, critical care fellowship and a Masters of Science in Health Studies and then joined the faculty. Dr. Pinto cares for patients in the pediatric ICU and on the Pediatric Sedation Service. She serves as a resident faculty advisor and directs a monthly journal club. She has established an evidence based medicine curriculum for pediatrics. She leads a cohort of undergraduate students in the Bucksbaum Institute Clinical Excellence Scholars track. Dr. Pinto’s research interests focus on the long-term outcomes of children who survive critical illness.

Dr. Pinto was appointed as a Senior Faculty Scholar in 2018.

In 2019, Dr. Pinto joined the faculty at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.

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.

Dr. Benjamin Shogan is an Assistant Professor of Surgery within the division of colon and rectal surgery. After completing medical school at New Jersey Medical School, he completed general surgery residency at the University of Chicago followed by a colon and rectal fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Shogan treats all colorectal diseases with a particular expertise and interest in colorectal cancer.

In addition to being a busy clinician, Dr. Shogan runs an active NIH funded clinical, translational, and basic research program trying to improve the outcomes in patients with colorectal malignancies. His research focuses on how gut bacteria can be manipulated to decrease the cancer recurrence and the morbidity of surgery. He also has a passion for education and mentorship, mentoring the many medical students, residents, and fellows that rotate through surgical services and the research laboratory.

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. Sarah Sobotka is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Section of Developmental and Behavioral (DBP) Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Medical Director of the Comer Outpatient DBP Program.

Dr. Sobotka received her medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and Master of Science for Clinical Professionals from the Department of Public Health Sciences. She completed residency training in Pediatrics at Northwestern University/Lurie Children’s Hospital and subspecialty DBP Training at the University of Chicago. Since 2017 Dr. Sobotka has served as Associate Director of the IL Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (IL-LEND) Program, which provides long-term, graduate-level interdisciplinary training to improve the health and well-being of individuals with disabilities.

Dr. Sobotka is currently funded by the NICHD for a project utilizing mixed methods to study children with invasive home mechanical ventilator assistance and to describe patient, family, and healthcare system factors which influence long hospitalizations and readmissions. Dr. Sobotka is interested in developing interventions for children at risk for severe neurodevelopmental disabilities, particularly those who have survived critical illness, to reach their developmental potentials.

Dr. Jason Strelzow is an orthopaedic trauma and upper extremity surgeon, who provides comprehensive care for patients with fractures and injuries throughout the body with a special interest in upper limb pathology.

Jason completed medical school and orthopaedic surgery training at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He then completed additional fellowship training in Hand and Upper Extremity at the Hand and Upper Limb Center in London Ontario, Canada and a Trauma fellowship at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in Scotland in the United Kingdom.

Along with being dedicated to his clinical work, Dr. Strelzow is the Associate Residency Program Director for Orthopaedic surgery and is heavily involved in clinical research. He is currently exploring research on patient-reported outcomes related to elbow trauma, shoulder trauma, and total elbow replacements. He has an active interest in evaluating the functional outcomes around urban trauma, PTSD and urban ballistic injuries with the goal of improving patient care and returning patients to normal activity as soon as possible. Dr. Strezlow received a 2019 Bucksbaum Institute Pilot Grant with co-PI Dr. Jennifer Wolf a Senior Faculty Scholar. And, he is an associated editor for the Journal of Hand Surgery.

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.

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.