Graduate Bios

University of Louisville
Department of Psychiatry Graduates
Year: 2020

2021 Graduates on the front porch of the Nunnlea House, where the graduation took place.

Drew Cameron, M.D.
Dr. Cameron is from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and attended medical school at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He looks back on his training and is grateful for the wonderful friendships he was able to build with his co-residents as well as supporting staff and faculty. Dr. Cameron went on from his training and moved to Aurora, Colorado, where he will held a position in inpatient, outpatient at Behavior Health and Wellness Center with The Medical Center of Aurora. 

Christopher Lombardi, M.D.
Dr. Lombardi was born in New York and raised in a military family. He traveled the world growing up and had the opportunity to experience life in Europe and Asia. He returned to New York for undergraduate school, studying film production at NYU. Afterwards, he had an animation studio for five years in Nashville where he met my wife, a nurse. Looking for a new challenge, he pursued medical school in Louisville and stayed for his psychiatry residency.  Dr. Lombardi went on from his training and returned to the Nashville area where he held a position serving our Veterans at the VA. 

Jensen Potenza, M.D.
Dr. Potenza is from Madisonville, Kentucky, and attended medical school at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Her favorite parts of residency included: running EPS "like a boss", getting an award for laminating things/being an organizational queen (thanks, Dr. Kalayil, for appreciating these fine things), and forming lifelong bonds with her fellow residents, support staff, and faculty. She will forever cherish the countless memories made and will always look back on her time at the University of Louisville fondly. After residency, Dr. Potenza began practicing Consult-Liaison Psychiatry at several Norton Hospitals in the community.

Raven Price, M.D., M.H.A.
Dr. Price was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. She attended medical school at the University of Medicine and Health Sciences, St. Kitts and completed her Master's of Healthcare Administration from Walden University. When looking back on her time at UofL, she will remember the great friendships that were made, the knowledge that she gained, and the year that she was Chief during the COVID pandemic. Following graduation, she went to work at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital in the position of Medical Director for the inpatient setting. 

Audrey Pulitzer, M.D.
Dr. Pulitzer was born in Texas and spent most of her life in North Carolina and in New Orleans, where she attended Tulane University for medical school. She enjoyed many aspects of her psychiatry training at UofL, including her intelligent and witty co-residents, the faculty with diverse approaches to psychiatry, the wonderful hospital and outpatient staff, and all the fascinating patients. Following residency, Dr. Pulitzer went to work at Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida. Her position was inpatient primarily and working on new maternal mental health team. 

Gulay Tegin, M.D.
Dr. Tegin is originally from Turkey and attended Pamukkale University medical school in Turkey. Her favorite part of residency was getting to know lots of beautiful people in the program and learning psychiatry from amazing attendings. Dr. Tegin was also so thankful for the support from my family and friends. She says she could not have done this without their support. Upon graduations, she said that she will miss all the faculty, staff and residents who helped her grow during this journey. Following graduation, she held a position in Telepsychiatry in California. In addition, she volunteers on some global mental health projects to help underserved populations who do not have access to mental health services.

Charita Weathers, D.O.
Dr. Charita Weathers is from Louisville, Kentucky and attended medical school at Lincoln Memorial University-Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine. The most gratifying part of residency for her was the opportunity to continue her education and work as a resident in her hometown. Upon graduation, she was confident that her training at the University of Louisville has prepared her to launch into a fulfilling career in Psychiatry. After training, Dr. Weather was a full time outpatient  position the VA here in Louisville. 

Urooj Yazdani, M.D., Ed.
Dr. Yazdani was born in Karachi, Pakistan and grew up in Columbia, Kentucky. She studied medicine at Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University and obtained a Master’s in Education at The Johns Hopkins University. Her graduate research on the psychosocial barriers to girls' education in the developing world led to the creation of a feature film, titled "A Destruction", that premiered during Dr. Yazdani's residency training. Upon graduation, she was grateful to her peers and mentors at UofL for creating an environment where she could develop her passions as both a clinician and artist. After leaving the general psychiatry residency program, she began working to create a public space where the link between immigration, displacement, and mental health can be studied.  She began this endeavor at the University of Chicago, where she went on for more training as a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

 

University of Louisville
Department of Psychiatry Graduates
Year: 2019

2019 Graduates

Courtney Eaves, D.O.
Dr. Eaves is from Louisville, Kentucky and went to medical school at Lincoln Memorial-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate, Tennessee.  She particularly enjoyed the opportunity to be a chief resident for two years and the lasting relationships she was able to build with other residents, faculty, and staff.  The diverse training that she received as a resident was especially beneficial as she stayed on faculty at UofL after graduation and works in a number of different clinical settings including outpatient, consult, and emergency psychiatry.  

Svetlana Famina, M.D.
Dr. Famina was born and raised in Belarus and moved to Toronto, Canada, to pursue a degree in biology and physiology at the University of Toronto. She attended Saba University School of Medicine in the Dutch Caribbean and completed her clinical training in the U.S. While in residency, she enjoyed patient care, research, teaching and making new friends. Following graduation, Dr. Famina began working at the behavioral unit at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky. 

Johnny Lawrence, M.D.
Dr. Lawrence is from York, Pennsylvania and attended medical school at Penn State Hershey College of Medicine. His favorite part of residency was making lifelong friendships with his fellow residents. He will greatly miss all the faculty and support staff who have helped him grow and develop his perspective on life. Following graduation, he moved to Washington D.C. where he pursued an inpatient position and/or work in a correctional facility. 

Joshua Moore, M.D.
Dr. Moore is from Richmond, Kentucky and attended medical school at the University of Louisville. His favorite thing about residency was working in a wide variety of clinical environments and working with fellow residents. Following graduation, he stayed on as faculty at the University of Louisville.

Erik Rotterman, M.D.
Dr. Rotterman is from Cincinnati, Ohio and attended medical school at the University of Toledo in Ohio.  His favorite thing about residency was creating lasting friendships with his fellow residents.  He also greatly appreciated learning psychiatry from the skilled faculty located at UofL's diverse array of training sites.  Following graduation, he began providing telepsychiatry to remote locations in Kentucky.

Melissa Sullivan, M.D.
Dr. Sullivan is from Louisville, Kentucky and she attended the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Her favorite thing about the residency program is the high quality of the attending physicians. Their support and willingness to teach was always evident and appreciated. After graduation, Dr. Sullivan stayed in Louisville and open a private practice.

Parth Brahmbhatt, MBBS
Dr. Brahmbhatt is from Ahmedabad, India and completed his medical school at Smt. NHL Municipal Medical College in Ahmedabad, India. Dr. Brahmbhatt states that he enjoyed learning psychiatry from amazing faculty. He found life as a resident very smooth because of the supportive faculty and staff. He also loved working with his co-residents as they are the best co-residents in the world. He finished a Child and Adolescent Fellowship at the University of Louisville.

Kelly Buchanan, MD
Dr. Buchanan is from Huntsville, Alabama and completed her medical school at University of South Alabama. Dr. Buchanan enjoyed many aspects of her psychiatry training at UofL, most of all the amazing co-residents, faculty, and supporting staff from whom she learned a great deal about psychiatry and putting it into practice. While sad to leave Louisville and her wonderful colleagues, she moved back to Alabama to purse a Child and Adolescent Fellowship at University of Alabama in Birmingham.

Azra Lynn, MD
Dr. Lynn was born in Bosnia, but she’s lived in Louisville since she was eight years old. She went to the University of Kentucky for undergrad and completed medical school at University of Louisville School of Medicine. She has loved her time at our residency program!! She notes that it has been a great experience, and she’s learned so much from the faculty and co-residents. Dr. Lynn completed her Child and Adolescent Fellowship at the University of Louisville.

Faryal Mallick, M.B.B.S.
Dr. Mallick was born in Saudi Arabia and raised between various cities in the U.S. and Lahore, Pakistan; she considers Louisville her home. She completed her medical school at King Edward Medical University in Lahore, Pakistan. Her favorite things about the program is the equal emphasis on psychotherapy and psychopharmacology, the learning in various clinical settings, the vast sea of knowledge from all the attendings, and finding friends for life in her co-residents who have been tremendously supportive throughout the entire three years. She went into a Child and Adolescent fellowship, with plans to complete a Forensic fellowship afterwards, at the University of Florida.

Naren Vellanki, M.D.
Dr. Vellanki is from Columbus, Ohio and attended University of Toledo college of medicine. His favorite part of the program was the breadth of exposure to various aspects of psychiatry and learning from enthusiastic attendings. He enjoyed working with a diverse, intelligent, and friendly group of residents. Following graduation, he went into a Child Psychiatry fellowship here at the University of Louisville. 

 

University of Louisville
Department of Psychiatry Graduates
Year: 2018

2018 graduates

Juan Pablo Galindo, D.O.
Dr. Galindo is from Sacramento, California and attended medical school at A.T. Still University in Arizona.  His favorite thing about residency was creating lasting friendships with his fellow residents.  Following graduation, he went on to provide telepsychiatry to remote locations across the country. 

Ramona Grewal, M.D.
Dr. Grewal is from Vancouver, Canada and graduated from Xavier University School of Medicine.  Dr. Grewal notes that her favorite thing about residency was working at various clinical sites and learning about telepsychiatry. She also enjoyed working with the amazing faculty, staff and co-residents.  Following graduation, she started serving as a staff psychiatrist at Sea Mar Community Health Centers in Bellingham and Mount Vernon, Washington. 

Hassan Khidr, MBBCh
Dr. Khidr is from Cairo, Egypt. He finished medical school in Ain shams University in Cairo, started his residency also in Ain shams University in Cairo but finished in Louisville. While he trained, he felt indebted not only to the faculty members but also the nursing staff, social workers, and co-residents from all classes for their help and knowledge. After graduation he got a position working for Hutchinson Health in MN in a combined inpatient/outpatient setting.

Ronald McGavic, M.D.
Dr. McGavic is from Louisville, Kentucky and graduated from medical school at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia. Dr. McGavic was very appreciative of the opportunity to return to Louisville for residency. He enjoyed the learning experiences spread across multiple clinical sites with a variety of staff and teaching styles which he felt prepared him well for private practice in any setting. Through the residency program’s support and integration with psychiatrists in the community he was able to moonlight with Louisville Behavioral Health Systems and joined the group full time after graduation. 

Mitesh Patel, M.D.
Dr. Patel is from Anaheim, California and attended Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, West Indies.  Dr. Patel enjoyed training in the variety of clinical settings available in the program and working with enthusiastic faculty and co-residents.   After graduating, he went to work as an inpatient Psychiatrist at St. Vincent's Stress Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Laura Romer, M.D.
Dr. Romer is from Huntsville, Alabama and graduated medical school from University of South Alabama.  Her favorite thing about residency has been the people with whom she has worked, from attendings to co-residents to support staff.  Upson graduation, she was sad to be leaving Louisville, but was excited to be moving to St. George, Utah where she will began working for Intermountain Healthcare in their new Behavioral Health Access Center (similar to EPS).

Cuneyt Tegin, M.D.
Dr. Tegin is from Tarsus, Turkey and graduated from Pamukkale University School of Medicine. His favorite thing during residency was having a variety of inpatient and outpatient clinical sites and very supportive supervisors. He joined the UofL faculty after graduation, but has since moved on.

Aaron Lee, M.D.
Dr. Aaron Lee is from Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated medical school at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. His favorite part of our program was the outstanding teaching from the Attending Psychiatrists. He also loved working in a variety of different clinical settings each with their unique learning opportunities. He had a terrific time playing in the department band "NOS". After graduation he completed a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship in Cincinnati, Ohio.  

Paul Parackal, M.B.B.S.
Dr. Parackal is from Toronto, Canada and completed his medical school at Wuhan University School of Medicine. Dr. Parackal stated that he enjoyed learning Psychiatry in a variety of different clinical settings. He also enjoyed working with amazing faculty and co-residents from whom he learned the nuts and bolts of Psychiatry. After completing his general psychiatry residency, he went on to complete his Child and Adolescent Fellowship at University of Louisville. 

Tymberly Seim, M.D.
Dr. Seim grew up in Salem/Portland, Oregon and graduated from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. She was excited to move from the West Coast and experience a different life in Kentucky. She is thankful for the perspective she has gained during her years here and completed the next chapter of training in Child/Adolescent Psychiatry at U of L. At graduation, she stated that she will miss her co-residents and was very appreciative of the teachings and support from her colleagues and the attendings over the past three years.

Addiction Fellow:

Eugene Owsley, MD
Dr. Owsley is from former Soviet Union, born in a small military town between Russia and Ukraine. He spent all childhood years by traveling with his father, who was military test pilot, from one country to another. Finally, he settled down in St Petersburg, Russia where he finished Military Medical Academy and got his medical degree. Professional life was very exciting: 18 years in Navy from chief of medical services of nuclear submarine to the practicing surgeon. Education: Residencies in Surgery, Ob/Gyn and Psychiatry; 4 fellowships in Surgery, Ob/Gyn, Urology in Russia, and Addiction Psychiatry at  UofL. Dr. Owsley liked emergency psychiatry as well as inpatient and outpatient settings. Addiction psychiatry was very attractive to him, considering the high volume of the patients in each settings and growing opportunities to provide help to the patients in any region of United States. Even Dr. Owsley was considering returning back to Tennessee after he finishes his fellowship, but he realized that his heart belongs to Kentucky and he sought a job opportunity in South-West Kentucky.

 

University of Louisville
Department of Psychiatry Graduates
Year: 2017

Graduates of 2017

Timothy Balkaran, M.D.
Dr. Balkaran is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada and graduated medical school from Ross University. He is thankful for his time in Louisville, to grow both as a professional and as a person. Upon graduation, he said he would miss the are the friends and colleagues who made every day more joyous and colorful. Following graduation, he moved to Chicago to complete a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Northwestern University.

Eugenia Brikker, M.D.
Dr. Brikker was born in Moscow, Russia but has called Louisville, Kentucky home since she was 8 years old. She graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Dr. Brikker has enjoys working with and learning from various faculty, staff, and other residents at multiple clinical sites - but most of all on 3N (formally known as 5E). Dr. Brikker enjoys teaching and joined the faculty at the University of Louisville Department of Psychiatry and works in Consult/Liaison at the University of Louisville hospital.

Kara Curry, D.O.
Dr. Curry grew up just across the river in Clarksville, Indiana. She graduated from Kansas City University of Medicine in Missouri and was eager to return to Louisville, KY in order to complete the adult portion of her psychiatric training. After completing her general psychiatry residency, Dr. Curry began Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship in Boston, MA at Tufts Medical Center. During her time at the University of Louisville, she was inspired by, and grateful for, her fellow residents and attending physician mentors on a daily basis since beginning residency in Louisville. 

Anjali Dhanda, M.D.
Dr. Dhanda is  from Germantown, Maryland and attended Windsor University School of Medicine in St. Kitts, West Indies. She thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to work in EPS, as it provided an invaluable experience. She also had the ability to moonlight, which added to the various clinical sites from which to learn and grow. In addition, working alongside amazing residents only added to her fun! Following graduation, she moved to NY for an Addiction fellowship at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

Ario Hosseini, M.D.
Dr. Hosseini is from Lexington, KY and graduated from medical school at the University of Louisville. Upon graduation, he left to complete a year of independent contract work and business research in Philadelphia, PA with a former medical school colleague and current anesthesia fellow.  At graduation, Dr. Hosseini had plans to return to Louisville to form an integrative private practice. 

Catherine Mier, M.D.
Dr. Mier was raised in Lexington, Kentucky, where she attended medical school following a brief stint living in Japan and working in cognitive neuroscience labs in Kentucky and California. Her favorite thing about residency was exploring a wide variety of clinical experiences under the supervision of supportive faculty. After graduation she began a one year fellowship in forensic psychiatry at NYU.

Jessica Reis, M.D.
Dr. Reis is from Northern Kentucky and graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine. She remained in Louisville after graduation and joined the faculty at U of L. She works in the outpatient clinic, student mental health and serves as the Associate Training Director for the residency program.

Zachary Sager, M.D.
Dr. Sager is from Fairfax Station, Virginia and completed medical school at the University of Louisville. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts with his partner, Kimberly to start a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. He appreciated the years of mentoring he received while at UofL and was grateful for having such wonderful co-residents. 

Derek Smith, M.D.
Dr. Smith is from Louisville, KY. He attended Trinity High School and graduated with a Bachelors in Psychobiology from Centre College in Danville, KY. He attended medical school at the University of Louisville.  Dr. Smith’s favorite part about residency was building relationships with all of the wonderful staff, faculty, and residents in the program and serving a diverse patient population. After completing his general psychiatry residency, Dr. Smith went on to complete a fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati. 

 

University of Louisville
Department of Psychiatry Graduates
Year: 2016

 

Sufian Ahmad, M.D.
Dr. Ahmad is from Multan, Pakistan and attended Quaid-e-Azam Medical College in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.  Dr. Ahmad states that his favorite thing learned during residency has been how to manage acute psychiatric emergencies while working in EPS.  After graduating, he began to work for Lincoln Trail Hospital in Radcliff, Kentucky and Astra Behavioral Health in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Jin Shi Amon, M.D.
Dr. Amon is from Nashville, Tennessee and graduated from medical school at the University of Louisville.  Dr. Amon notes that the favorite thing during residency was having a variety of clinical sites from which to learn. She also enjoyed working with the outstanding faculty and staff and bonding with her co-residents at work and outside of work. Following graduation, she started serving as a staff psychiatrist at One Health in Owensboro, KY.

Kari Dubosque, M.D.
Dr. DuBosque is from Park Rapids, Minnesota and graduated from medical school at the Medical University of the Americas.  She appreciated all the people in our program, not only the faculty and staff who have been open and easy to work with, but also her fellow residents who are always very supportive and find a way to make her laugh on a daily basis.  Each person made coming to work a joy.

Dr. DuBosque entered the world of telemedicine when she graduated and enjoys practicing psychiatry “on the go.” She began working for a community mental health center out of her home state of Minnesota.  Dr. DuBosque and her family have enjoyed living in Louisville and will continue to make Kentucky their home base.

Brian Garrett, M.D., O.D.
Dr. Garrett is from Ogden, Utah and graduated from medical school at the University of Texas in San Antonio.  Upon graduation, Dr. Garrett began working in an Outpatient Clinic in Folsom, CA (between Sacramento and Tahoe).

 

Previous Graduates

John McCurdy, M.D.
Dr. McCurdy is from Louisville, Kentucky and graduated from medical school at the University of Louisville.  He also completed his residency and Addiction fellowship at the University of Louisville. He learned that you will never hurt for work. Aside from that, he liked knowing that there is so much more to know.  After completing his fellowship, Dr. McCurdy worked as an addiction psychiatrist and Medical Director of Addiction Services at CenterStone Kentucky.

Caroline Amanda McDonald, DO
Dr. McDonald is from Prestonsburg, Kentucky and received her medical degree from Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine.  She completed her fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry here at the University of Louisville.

Dr. McDonald loved working in EPS and at the VA Residential Treatment Program.  She was grateful for the learning environment afforded to her in the past five years. Each attending offered an opportunity to learn something unique. She recalled interactions and continued to learn from their supervision long after it has formally ended.

After completing her fellowship, she began working as a locum tenens physician before joining Comprehensive MedPsych Services in September. CMPS is a private, multidisciplinary behavioral health care group headquartered in Sarasota, Florida. She works in the Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch offices, and practices both general and addiction psychiatry.

Mohamedlatif Saiyad, M.B.B.S
Dr. Saiyad is from India and graduated from SMT NHL Municipal Medical College in India. His favorite thing about his residency experience was the great mentors- “I can’t thank them enough!”  Upon graduation, Dr. Saiyad began doing outpatient work in Ohio at a community clinic.

Lee Schuhmann, M.D.
Dr. Schuhmann is from Louisville, Kentucky and graduated from medical school at the University of Louisville.  Upon graduation, Dr. Schuhmann began working for a community mental health center in Minnesota, via telemedicine.