Meet the Residents

Current Residents & Alumni
The Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedic Residency Program has brought together extraordinary individuals from diverse backgrounds. This group hails from 15 different states, 3 countries (Canada, UK, China), and speaks 13 languages. Many have undertaken advanced degrees and careers prior to medicine. We take great pride in our unique interests and shared passion for orthopaedics.
Here’s what our residents had to say about their choice and experience at Cedars…
“Cedars has a great mix of academic, research, and operative exposure that makes the program very well rounded. Everyone in the residency gets along great and it feels like a big family, which is very welcoming. The hospital is beautiful and all of the hospital staff are incredibly helpful, which in turn makes our residency experience that much better.”
— Zach Rockov, PGY5
“Our program offers a tight-knit and very supportive culture. Faculty genuinely care about residents and promote excellence in both orthopedic training and in developing compassionate and competent physicians. We take pride in working and learning as a team, which contributes to a productive and fun environment.”
— Lee Haruno, class of 2023 graduate
“Cedars is an orthopedic department and residency with unlimited potential. Residents get to work with world-class faculty in all fields of orthopedics with great autonomy. The hospital runs incredibly efficiently as a private hospital but also has all the academic resources I need to achieve my academic goals.”
— Derek Ju, class of 2020 graduate
PGY-1
-
Maveric Abella, MD
Hometown: Honolulu, HI
Undergraduate: Columbia University
Medical school: University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine
Hobbies: Surfing, pickleball, spearfishing, SCUBA, yoga, running, and Netflix docuseries
-
Christian Calderon, MD
Hometown: Maywood, CA
Undergraduate: UC Irvine
Medical school: Stanford University School of Medicine
Hobbies: Weightlifting, cycling, trail running, basketball, video games, trying new restaurants
-
Omar Farah, MD, MBA
Hometown: Monsif, Lebanon
Undergraduate: UC San Diego
Medical school: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Hobbies: Bachata and salsa dancing, running, playing basketball and volleyball
-
Daniel Farivar, MD
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Undergraduate: UC Davis
Medical school: Rush Medical College of Rush University
Hobbies: Basketball, Songwriting, Improv, Drawing
-
Andrew Nakla, MD
Hometown: Huntington Beach, CA
Undergraduate: UC Riverside
Medical school: Meharry Medical College
Hobbies: Basketball, Barbering, Pickleball, Boating, Table Tennis, Watching Laker games
PGY-2
-
Amanda Cao, MD
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Undergraduate: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Medical school: Harvard Medical School
Hobbies: Going to the beach, swimming, tennis, playing the violin, trying out restaurants and bars, and being a St. Louis sports fan
-
Zachery Hong, MD
Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
Undergraduate: Washington University in St. Louis
Medical school: Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Hobbies: Cooking, lifting weights, wakeboarding, soccer, and hiking
-
Jourdan Meltzer, MD
Hometown: Oakland, California
Undergraduate: Brown University
Medical school: Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University
Hobbies: Skiing, climbing, hiking, endlessly trying to learn how to surf, cooking in part as an excuse to explore and make the most of the myriad specialty grocery stores and farmers’ markets in LA
-
Rebisi Owhonda, MD, MS
Hometown: Fort Worth, TX
Undergraduate: University of Florida
Medical school: University of Texas Rio Grande School of Medicine
Hobbies: Cooking, hiking, running, biking, guitar, weightlifting, golf, and martial arts
-
Violette Simon, MD, MS
Hometown: Glendale, California
Undergraduate: University of San Diego
Medical school: University of Colorado School of Medicine
Hobbies: Yoga, reading, live music, traveling, painting, and spending time with my family
PGY-3
-
Jalen Dansby, MD
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Undergraduate: Vanderbilt University
Medical school: Columbia University Vagelos College of Medicine
Hobbies: Football, baseball, tennis, golf, beach volleyball, cooking, hiking, wakeboarding, snowboarding, traveling, playing guitar, community service and trying out new restaurants/bars
-
Alfonso Ocampo, MD
Hometown: Waukesha, WI
Undergraduate: Stanford University
Medical school: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Hobbies: Fishing, gardening, trying new recipes, and art collecting
-
Samuel Raszka, MD
Hometown: Charlotte, VT
Undergraduate: University of Vermont
Medical school: University of Vermont College of Medicine
Hobbies: Soccer, hiking, golf, skiing, cooking, and video games
-
Katherine Sborov, MD
Hometown: Pleasanton, CA
Undergraduate: Vanderbilt University
Medical school: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Hobbies: Golf, trail runs & hikes, cooking & baking
PGY-4
-
Mackenzie Bird, MD
Hometown: Larchmont, NY
Undergraduate: Vanderbilt University
Medical school: Tulane University School of Medicine
Hobbies: Hiking, biking, running, pottery, photography, puzzles, boxing, soccer
-
Christian Blough, MD
Hometown: Ontario, NY
Undergraduate: Ohio State University
Medical school: Ohio State University College of Medicine
Hobbies: Cycling, hiking, backpacking, photography, cooking, volleyball, basketball, football, fitness
-
Carol Lee, MD
Hometown: Glendora, CA
Undergraduate: University of California, Berkeley
Medical school: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Hobbies: Outdoor activities - backpacking, hiking, trail running, running with dogs, playing the viola and cooking.
-
Jawad Najdawi, MD
Hometown: Iowa City, IA
Undergraduate: Creighton University
Medical school: Creighton University School of Medicine
Hobbies: Family time, basketball, soccer, tennis, fantasy football, skiing/snowboarding, hiking, fishing, traveling, concerts
PGY-5
-
Ryan Finkel, MD
Hometown: Oradell, NJ
Undergraduate: Johns Hopkins University
Medical school: New York Medical College
Hobbies: Playing guitar, practicing yoga, golfing, hanging with my dogs, cooking and trying new restaurants.
-
Lukas Foster, MD
Hometown: Valencia, CA
Undergraduate: Colorado State University
Medical school: Creighton University School of Medicine
Hobbies: Golf, dirt bike trail riding, fishing, watching Angels baseball
-
Harin Parikh, MD
Hometown: Elk Grove, CA
Undergraduate: UCLA
Medical school: University of Colorado School of Medicine
Hobbies: Golfing, basketball, Hiking, cooking, traveling
-
Adam Wright-Chisem, MD
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Undergraduate: Morehouse College
Medical school: University of Illinois College of Medicine
Hobbies: Writing, running, pick up basketball, playing with my family dogs.
Graduating Class of 2024
Zachary Rockov, MD
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Undergraduate: University of Arizona
Medical school: University of Arizona College of Medicine
Fellowship: Trauma Harborview Medical Center
Evan Nigh, MD
Hometown: Billings, Montana
Undergraduate: Claremont McKenna College
Medical school: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Fellowship: Spine Surgery, University of Maryland
Connor Byrne, MD
Hometown: Orinda, California
Undergraduate: University of California, Berkeley
Medical School: University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
Fellowship: Adult Reconstruction, University of Pennsylvania
Cedars-Sinai Alumni
Class of 2023
Michael Eng, MD (left)
Fellowship: Spine Surgery - University of Southern California
Job: Academic- Private practice Newport Orthopaedic Institute, Newport Beach, CA
Lee Haruno, MD
Fellowship: Pediatric Surgery - The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Job: Academic- Academic faculty Kapiolani Children’s Hospital/University of Hawaii , Honolulu, Hawaii
Ian Schroeder, MD
Serving in Army as a General Orthopaedist at Landstuhl, Germany until 2026
Johnny Wang, MD
Fellowship: Trauma - Allegheny Hospital
Job: Academic faculty UCSF Fresno, Fresno, CA
Class of 2022
Landon Polakof, MD (left)
Fellowship: Adult Reconstruction - Stanford Medicine
Job: Academic-Kerlan Jobe/Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Stephen Stephan, MD
Fellowship: Spine Surgery - Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Job: Private/Academic Scripps Medical Group, La Jolla, CA
Michael Sun, MD
Fellowship: Hand - Tufts Medical Center
Job: Private practice, California Orthopaedic Institute, Mission Valley, CA
Ali Noorzad, MD
Fellowship: Sports - Steadman Philippon Research Institute
2nd Fellowship: Hip Preservation - Steadman Philippon Research Institute
Job: Academic faculty, Steadman Philippon Clinic, Vail, CO
Christopher Johnson, MD
Fellowship: Spine Surgery - Stanford Medicine
Job: Colorado Spine Partners, Denver, CO
Class of 2021
Phillip Behrens, MD (left)
Fellowship: Spine Surgery - Washington University in St. Louis
Job: Private practice, Masson Spine Institute, Orlando, FL
Tonya An, MD, MA
Fellowship: Foot and Ankle - Hospital for Special Surgery
Job: Academic faculty, Redwood City, CA Stanford Health Care
Samuel Stephenson, MD, PhD
Fellowship: Trauma - University of California San Diego
Job: Private practice, Medical City Plano & Dallas, Texas
Class of 2020
Derek Ju, MD (left)
Fellowship: Spine Surgery - Rothman Orthopaedic Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Job: Private practice, Long Island, NY
John Garlich, MD, MHDS
Fellowship: Trauma - University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Job: Academic faculty, Cedars-Sinai
Naudereh Noori, MD
Fellowship: Foot and Ankle - Medstar Union Memorial Hospital
Job: Academic faculty, University of California, Irvine
Dheeraj “Raj” Yalamanchili, MD
Fellowship: Sports - Kerlan-Jobe Institute
Job: Academic faculty, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA
Eytan Debbi, MD, PhD
Fellowship: Adult Reconstruction - Hospital for Special Surgery
Job: Academic faculty, Hospital for Special Surgery
Class of 2019
Class of 2018
Class of 2017
John Garlich, MD, MHDS (left)
research resident 2018-19, see graduating class of 2020
Max Michalski, MD
Fellowship: Foot and Ankle - Harvard / Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Job: Academic faculty, Cedars-Sinai
Erin Haggerty, MD
Fellowship: Sports - Brown University, Foot and Ankle
Fellowship 2: Foot and Ankle- UC Davis / Reno Orthopaedic Clinic
Job: Private practice, Santa Barbara, CA
Zach Napier, MD
Fellowship: Spine Surgery- Harvard / Massachusetts General Hospital
Job: Private practice, Roseville, CA
Sean Rajaee, MD (left)
Fellowship: Arthroplasty - Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Job: Academic faculty, Cedars-Sinai
Danielle Thomas, MD
Fellowship: Foot and Ankle - Baylor University Medical Center
Job: Private practice, Santa Barbara, CA
Ron Roiz, MD
Fellowship: Pediatric Surgery - Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego
Job: Academic faculty, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA
Alisa Alayan, MD
Fellowship: Spine Surgery, 2nd minimally invasive fellowship- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Job: Private practice, Los Angeles, CA
Matt Zapf, MD (left)
Fellowship: Sports - Taos Orthopaedic Institute
Job: Private practice, Palm Springs, CA
Sanjum Samagh, MD
Fellowship: Sports - Northwestern University
Job: Private practice, San Diego, CA
Josh Campbell, MD
Fellowship: Arthroplasty - University of Minnesota
Job: Academic faculty, George Washington University, Washington DC.
Neil Bhamb, MD, MBA
Fellowship: Spine Surgery - University of California, San Francisco
Job: Private practice, Milwaukee, WI and Chicago, IL