Current Fellows
July 2022 – June 2023
First Year Fellows
Clare Cene-Kush, DO, MPH
Dr. Clare Cene-Kush obtained her B.A. in Science, Technology and Society from Vassar College and M.P.H. from Emory University. She worked in the field of partner violence prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and did research on HIV vaccine acceptability prior to pursuing her D.O. from PCOM. She completed her residency training and chief resident year at the University of Pittsburgh. Her academic interests include medical education and women’s health. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, cheering on Pittsburgh sports teams, eating at any restaurant that will put an egg on a burger and building Legos with her nieces.
Kyle Inman, MD
Peter Nauka, MD
Jetina Okereke, MD
Neha Singh, MD, MSc
Catherine Tarantine, MD, MSc
Anne Yang, MD
Muhtadi Alnababteh, MD
Combined NIH / PACCM Fellowship
Dr Alnababteh obtained his MD from the University of Jordan where he was the recipient of the National Scholarship for Higher Education. He then moved to Washington, DC to complete his internal medicine residency and serve as Chief Resident at Georgetown University/Medstar Washington Hospital Center. His research focused on sepsis bundle outcomes and ECMO outcomes for COVID-19 patients. Dr Alnababteh now joins Pittsburgh after a year of critical care training at the National Institutes of Health. He is a proud plant dad, and enjoys hiking, exploring cabins and Jiu-Jitsu.
Second Year Fellows
Kassandra Allbright, MD
Dr. Kassandra Allbright obtained her B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Northeastern University in 2011 and her M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2018, where she was part of the Physician Scientist Training Program and worked on pre-clinical models of stem cell transplantation therapeutics. Dr. Allbright completed residency training in the Osler Medical Residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2021. Most recently, she’s published research in the epidemiology of disparities in COPD and is interested in the application of Health Services research to the ICU. Dr. Allbright spends most her weekends enjoying the outdoors with her family and pup.
Amanda Moale, MD
Dr. Amanda Moale obtained her B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Florida and M.D. from the University of South Florida. She was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) and the Robert A. Good Honor Society. Dr. Moale completed her residency training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her research focused on communication with family members in the ICU and religious values near the end-of-life. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, travel, and yoga.
Hiam Naiditch, MD, MHS
Dr. Hiam Naiditch obtained his B.S. in Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh in 2012. He then went on to obtain his Medical Doctorate at Yale School of Medicine as well as a Master of Health Science in 2017. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital, followed by a year as Ambulatory Chief Resident. While at Yale his research included studying the relationship between invasive medical procedures in the ICU and adverse neurologic outcomes under the guidance of Dr. Margaret Pisani and Dr. Naftali Kaminski. He is a proud husband and father, and enjoys spending time with his family, delving into religious texts, and spending time outdoors.
Maniraj Neupane, MD, PhD
Dr. Maniraj Neupane obtained his MBBS at the Tribhuvan University-Nepal. Prior to completing his residency from the University of Pittsburgh, he studied the health effects of household air pollution in the rural hills of Nepal for his PhD in International Health from the University of Munich, Germany. He now returns to Pittsburgh after a year of critical care training at the National Institutes of Health. In his spare time, Maniraj enjoys cooking and watching soccer and oversees the internationally accredited Diploma in Mountain Medicine course in Nepal which he established in 2011.
Shoaib Fakhri, MD
Dr. Shoaib Fakhri obtained his B.A. in Biochemistry and M.D. at the University of Washington where he was the recipient of the Service Learning Award. He completed Internal Medicine residency at the University of Colorado where he served as the Housestaff Association co-president. During his time at the University of Colorado, Dr. Fakhri worked with Dr. David Badesch looking at the impact of altitude on Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension symptom severity and clinical characteristics. In his spare time Dr. Fakhri enjoys backpacking, football and watching stand up comedy with his wife.
Kanupriya Soni, MD
Dr. Kanupriya Soni obtained her B.A. in Economics and Medical Sciences from Boston University and M.D. from Boston University School of Medicine. After completing her internal medicine residency training at Boston University/ Boston Medical Center, she joined the hospitalist group at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Soni has been involved in critical care and COPD outcomes research along with ultrasound teaching. In her spare time, she enjoys honing her baking skills, traveling, and scuba diving.
Hilary Strollo, DO, MS
Dr. Hilary Strollo obtained her B.S. in Biology from Virginia Tech and her D.O. from VCOM where she received the presidential scholarship. She completed her residency training at the University of Pittsburgh and stayed in Pittsburgh on the pulmonary training grant (T32) researching dysregulation of genes associated with COVID-19. Dr. Strollo loves to travel and surf. In her spare time, she enjoys exercising, exploring the outdoors and cooking vegan food.
Rachel Wojcik, MD
Dr. Rachel Wojcik obtained her B.S. in Biology from Mercyhurst University and Master’s in Liberal Studies from the University of Denver in Global Affairs with a focus on Healthcare. Dr. Wojcik completed her MD at the University of Colorado before completing her residency and chief resident year at the University of Pittsburgh. During residency, she was in the Global Health and Underserved Populations track and improved her point of care ultrasound (POCUS) skills while working at the Georgetown Public Hospital in Guyana. Dr. Wojcik’s academic interests include medical education, POCUS, and global health. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring local running trails, gardening, and travel.
Third Year Fellows
Kristopher Clark, MD
Dr. Kristopher Clark completed undergraduate school at New York University where he obtained a B.F.A in Film and Television Production. He then decided to pursue a career in medicine and obtained his M.D. from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, where he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2016. He then moved to Boston to complete his internal medicine residency and serve as Chief Resident at Boston University/Boston Medical Center. Dr. Clark served as co-chair of his House Staff Quality Improvement Council where he participated in numerous quality initiatives at Boston University and the Boston VA. In his spare time, he enjoys travel photography, reading epic sci-fi and fantasy series, and learning to play the banjo.
Tony V. Macedonia, MD
Chief Fellow | macedoniatv@upmc.edu
Dr. Tony Macedonia obtained his B.S in Biology from John Carrol University in 2007 and his M.D. from Georgetown University in 2011. He was then selected to complete a General Medicine Officer tour as a Naval Flight Surgeon where he completed five years of active duty service in the Unites States Navy fulfilling his Health Professions Scholarship Program. After his service, Dr. Macedonia returned to the University of Colorado to complete residency and then serve as Chief Resident. During that time, he worked at National Jewish Health in the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences investigating deployment related lung disease. In his spare time, he enjoys aviation, American history, and watching Steelers and Notre Dame football.
Sridesh Nath, MBBS
Dr. Sridesh Nath obtained his MBBS at the Medical College Thiruvananthapuram in India in 2015. He completed his residency and served as Chief Resident and Ultrasound Instructor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. He was also a member of the SUNY Research Track and Scientific Review committee as well as Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA). Dr. Nath’s research in COPD initiated a quality improvement project which ultimately led to the implementation of institutional policy on oxygen supplementation. He was also awarded a travel grant to augment his research later resulting in a manuscript in the AJRCMB. Dr. Nath fluently speaks English, Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil. During his spare time, he enjoys learning karate, playing table tennis, model building, and riding motorcycles.
Chukwudi Onyemekwu, DO
Dr. Chuk Onyemekwu completed his B.A in Psychology at Vanderbilt and then continued his training at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine where he obtained his D.O. in 2017. Dr. Onyemekwu completed residency at Montefiore Medical Center where he served as co-chair of the Minority House-staff committee. During his training, he was awarded the New York Times Scholar and Posse Foundation Full-Tuition Leadership Scholarship. His research in residency has focused on frailty as a predictor of health care utilization in the critically ill. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, biking, and martial arts (wing tsun).
Josiah Radder, MD, PhD
Dr. Josiah Radder obtained his B.S in Biology and Biochemistry and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Arizona State in 2007. Dr. Radder completed his M.D./Ph.D from the University of Pittsburgh in 2018 where he pursued the Research Pathway Fellowship Track. His research in Dr. Steven Shapiro’s lab identified novel genes likely contributing to the pathogenesis of COPD which has been published in numerous manuscripts. Dr. Radder has visited 104 countries on every continent except Antarctica and can fluently speak English and Japanese. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his daughter, baseball, and designing home electronics.
Kristen Raffensperger, MD
Dr. Kristen Raffensperger obtained her B.S in Chemistry from McGill University and her M.D. from Drexel University. She was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) and the Pathology Honors Society. Dr. Raffensperger completed her residency training at the University of Pittsburgh where she was a member of the House Staff Council and worked in the Vascular Medicine Institute lab with Dr. Imad Al Ghouleh. Dr. Raffensperger was also awarded the Intramural Research Training Award Fellow and completed two years of training at the Urologic Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute at the NIH. She has spent the last year working as a hospitalist at St. Clair Hospital. In her spare time, she enjoys DIY projects, gardening, and travel.
Blair Stone, MD
Dr. Blair Stone obtained her B.A in Health Policy from the University of Pittsburgh where she later returned for residency, after completing her M.D. at West Virginia University. Dr. Stone is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA), Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS), and Pitt Quality Improvement Committee. Dr. Stone is working with Dr. Jessica Bon studying markers of aging and COPD outcomes. In her spare time, she enjoys baking and hiking with her dog and husband. She is currently teaching herself to play guitar.
Postdoctoral Scholars
Priya Borker, MD
Kimberley DeMerle, MD
Ioannis Konstantinidis, MD
Bowa Lee, MD
Kaveh Moghbeli, MD
Rachel Powell, MD
Niall Prendergast, MD
Daniel Sullivan, MD
Richard Zou, MD
Sleep Medicine Fellows
Ilean Lamboy, MD
Dr. Ilean Lamboy (IM and PCCM board certified) graduated magna cum laude form the University of Puerto Rico in Ponce with a degree in Biomedical Sciences. Later she went to study medicine at Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico and graduated in 2014. Being from the island of Puerto Rico she got back home and finished her Internal Medicine specialty at Hospital Damas in Ponce, Puerto Rico. During this period she was nominated to be an AOA member after her leadership in the community while helping country areas in need from the island affected by Hurricane Maria. Years later she finished her subspecialty in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the VA Caribbean Healthcare System in San Juan, PR, where she also had the chief fellow position. Dr. Lamboy has a special interest in women’s sleep disturbances and in the obesity pandemic and the sleep disorders it carries. In her free time she enjoys going to the beach with friends, reading a good book on a cold rainy day and spending time with family, friends and her pomeranian, Onyx.
Aaron Palmquist, MD
Dr. Aaron Palmquist graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Biology. He then went on to study medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine and graduated in 2018. Dr. Palmquist completed his residency training with Drexel University Family Medicine at Chestnut Hill Hospital. During residency, Dr. Palmquist incorporated sleep medicine education into resident didactics. Outside of work, Dr. Palmquist enjoys cooking, weight lifting, video games, and spending time with friends and family.
Allergy & Immunology Fellows
Megan McCarty, MD
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH – RESIDENCY
Kathryn Schloss, MD
INDIANA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE – MD
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH – RESIDENCY
Graduates: June 2022
| Fellow | Position Upon Graduation |
| Jason Green, MD | Pulmonary and Critical Care physician at The Baptist Memorial Hospital System / affiliation with University of Tennessee Pulmonary and Critical Care Program |
| Bowa Lee, MD | University of Pittsburgh Post-Doctoral Scholar & UPMC Clinical Instructor |
| Matt Gorgone, MD | Assistant Professor, UPMC Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine |
| Rachel Powell, MD | University of Pittsburgh Post-Doctoral Scholar & UPMC Clinical Instructor |
| PJ Tiberio, MD |
Physician in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Heritage Valley Health System |
| Georgios Triantafyllou, MD | Associate Physician at Brigham and Women’s hospital & Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School |
| Richard Zou, MD | UPMC Clinical Instructor & Post Doctoral Scholar |
Graduates: June 2021
| Fellow | Position Upon Graduation |
| Priya Borker, MD | UPMC Clinical Instructor & Post Doctoral Scholar |
| Christopher Franz, MD | Hospital Based Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician UPMC Pinnacle |
| Ioannis Konstantinidis, MD | UPMC Clinical Instructor & Post Doctoral Scholar |
| Taylor Lincoln, MD | Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC with a dual appointment in the Department of Critical Care Medicine and the Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics |
| Kevin Misner, MD, MS | Hospital Based Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician UPMC Pinnacle |
| Kaveh Moghbeli, MD | UPMC Clinical Instructor & Post Doctoral Scholar |
| Niall Prendergast, MD | UPMC Clinical Instructor & Post Doctoral Scholar |
Graduates: June 2020
Dr. Megan Acho is completing the Sleep Fellowship at UPMC.
Dr. Kimberley DeMerle is a Clinical Instructor at UPMC and Post-doctoral scholar at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focus is on sepsis endotyping using clinical and biological data.
Dr. Sarah Kiel is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. She specializes in lung transplant and cystic fibrosis.
Dr. Brian Rosborough is a Clinical Instructor at UPMC and Post-doctoral scholar at the University of Pittsburgh. He has an NIH NRSA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32) and his research focuses on ARDS.
Dr. Deepti Singhvi works for a private practice in Ann Arbor, MI. She practices both pulmonary and critical care medicine.
Dr. Daniel Sullivan is a Clinical Instructor at UPMC and Post-doctoral scholar at the University of Pittsburgh. He has an NIH NRSA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32) and his research focuses on the role of epithelial-derived chemokines in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Dr. Jill Zupetic is a Clinical Instructor at UPMC and Post-doctoral scholar at the University of Pittsburgh. She has an NIH NRSA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32) and her research focuses on elastolytic activity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Graduates: June 2019
Dr. Joseph Bednash is a Clinical Instructor at the Ohio State University. He is a physician scientist that studies basic mechanisms of acute lung injury.
Dr. Daniel Dunlap is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. He completed his subspecialty fellowship training in Interventional Pulmonology at the University of Pennsylvania and has expertise in advanced bronchoscopic techniques to treat pulmonary diseases.
Dr. Matthew Camiolo is a Clinical Instructor at UPMC and Post-doctoral scholar at the University of Pittsburgh. He has an NIH NRSA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32) and his research focus is on the host response of asthma phenotypes.
Dr. Jennifer Newitt is a Clinical Instructor at UPMC and Post-doctoral scholar at the University of Pittsburgh. She completed her subspecialty fellowship training in Sleep Medicine at UPMC and both her clinical and research efforts focus on the use of non-invasive ventilation in patients with neuromuscular disease.
Dr. Erin Nuzzo is a Clinical Instructor at UPMC Shadyside. She is Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit.
Dr. Craig Riley practices critical care at Chester County Hospital in the University of Pennsylvania Health System. He has a specific focus on quality improvement initiatives to decrease readmission rates for COPD patients.
Dr. Eleanor Valenzi is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. She is a physician-scientist with funding from the Scleroderma Foundation. Her research focuses on basic mechanisms of scleroderma-associated interstitial lung disease.
Graduates: June 2018
Dr. William Bain is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. He is a physician scientist with a Veteran’s Affairs Career Development Award and studies host defense during pneumonia.
Dr. Andrea Levine is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland. She is the associate program director of the Critical Care Medicine fellowship. She specializes in critical care medicine and running ICU clinical trials.
Dr. Eric Nolley is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University and specializes in Lung Transplant.
Dr. Emmet O’Brien practices respiratory medicine at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. He specializes in lung cancer and COPD/emphysema.
Dr. Spencer Winters practices critical care medicine at Bronson Methodist Health System in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Dr. Stephen Strock works for a private practice in Asheville, NC. He practices both pulmonary and critical care medicine.
Dr. Daniel Zank is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado. He specializes in taking care of patients with sarcoid and has an interest in clinical trials in the ICU.
Graduates: June 2017
Dr. Elizabeth Baker (Boulos) is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at NYU who specializes in general pulmonary and critical care medicine.
Dr. John Evankovich is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. He has an NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Award (K08) and to study basic mechanisms of acute lung injury.
Dr. Georgios Kitsios is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. He has an NIH Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Award (K23) and studies the microbiome in ARDS. Additionally, he is the Director of the Research Pathway of the UPMC Internal Medicine residency program.
Dr. Alison Lennox is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at New York Medical College. She is Director of the Adult Pulmonology Transitional Care Program and Associate Director of the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program.
Dr. Stephanie Maximous is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. She is a clinician educator and directs multiple educational programs including the PACCM Ventilator Course and the Internal Medicine Residency Subspecialty education for Pulmonary/CCM.
Dr. Tomeka Suber is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. She is a physician-scientist with an NIH/Pitt Clinical and Translational Science Scholars Program award (KL2). Her research focuses on mechanisms of host defense and the role of immunometabolism in acute lung injury.
Dr. Joo Yoon is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. He will soon begin an NIH Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Award (K23) and studies the analysis of physiologic parameters (‘features’) from bedside monitor and electronic health record to identify hidden patterns that could contribute to the development of deterioration in ICU patients.
Graduates: June 2016
Dr. Roger Alvarez is a clinical researcher at the University of Miami Health System who specializes in pulmonary vascular diseases.
Dr. Ian Barbash is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. He has an NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Award (K08) and studies how to use the medical record to evaluate sepsis policies. Additionally, he is the medical director of the TeleICU at UPMC.
Dr. Marc Gauthier is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. He has an award from the Parker B. Francis Foundation to study immune responses that contribute to steroid-refractory severe asthma and he takes care of patients with severe asthma.
Dr. Nguyen Quyen is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. She is a physician scientist who studies mitochondrial dysfunction in pulmonary hypertension and she takes care of patients with pulmonary hypertension.
Dr. Hannah Otepka (Mannem) is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UVA. She specializes in lung transplant and interstitial lung disease.
Dr. Jason Rose is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. He has an NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Award (K08) and studies scavenger agents for the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning. As a fellow and faculty at UPMC, he worked to obtain his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and is the President and CEO of Globin Solutions, Inc.
Graduates: June 2015
Dr. Cynthia Baffi works for a private practice in San Diego, CA. She practices both pulmonary and critical care medicine.
Dr. Jared Chiarchiaro is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine. He is the Associate Fellowship Director for Clinical Education and creator of the fellowship Medical Educator Track. He is a medical educator with a focus in serious illness communication skills training. He is senior faculty for VitalTalk, a nonprofit that teaches serious illness communication to clinicians from all over the world. Clinically, Dr. Chiarchiaro attends frequently in the medical ICU, is the director for the pulmonary consult service at UPMC Presbyterian and Montefiore Hospitals, and has a clinic in the Simmon Center for Interstitial Lung disease.
Dr. Seung Han is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. She has an NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Award (K08) and studies metabolic regulation of lung development and repair after lung injury
Dr. Carl Koch is a Clinical Instructor at UPMC. He studies the role of the microbiome in nitric oxide metabolism as it pertains to the development of pulmonary hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Roy Semaan is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. He completed his subspecialty fellowship training in Interventional Pulmonology at John Hopkins University and has expertise in advanced bronchoscopic techniques to treat diseases such as lung cancer, COPD, and pleural disease.
Dr. Faraaz Shah is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPMC. He has an NIH Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Award (K23) and studies the metabolic effects of nutritional support during sepsis.
Division of PACCM
Academic Offices
NW 628 UPMC Montefiore
3459 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-692-2210
Patient Care and Referral
Comprehensive Lung Center (CLC)
Falk Medical Building, 4th Floor
3601 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-648-6161