Team Members
;)
Gary Sutkin
Hometown: Richardson, Texas, although I lived in Pittsburgh for many years.
College/University Attended: Northwestern University.
Graduate/Professional Institution: also Northwestern University – I am a die-hard Northwestern fan.
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is spend time with my wife and our two boys, who envision one day when cool lasers will be used in the OR to keep surgeons from making errors. I also am an avid music listener.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is loud noises, like the garbage cart that rolls right by our lab door every morning.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is.. I once had the kitchen staff in a restaurant throw an egg at our table for staying too late.
;)
Austin Bachar
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is reading/learning as much as possible about everything and anything, any outdoor activity, music, cooking, drawing.
Needle unprotected:
Most things either illogical or inefficient, run-on sentences and comma splices.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is Chinese was my first language.
;)
Shiva Balasubramian
Hometown: Somerset, New Jersey
College/University Attended: University of Missouri–Kansas City
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Missouri–Kansas City
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is spending time with my family and friends.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is forgetting where I’ve parked!
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is that I am actively involved in mentoring middle and high school robotics teams.
;)
Bhojane Ashlesha
Hometown: Nashua, NH
College/University Attended: University of Missouri-Kansas City
A cut above:
My favorite things to do outside of school are sew dresses and spend time with friends and family.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is when people use their time inefficiently, creating obstacles in their path to success.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I love listening to international music and use it to teach myself different languages and explore cultures.
;)
Margaret Brommelsiek
Hometown: St. Petersburg, Florida
College/University Attended: Eckerd College
Graduate/Professional Institution: Florida State University
A cut above:
What I like to do most outside of work is to watch foreign and art films and eat large quantities of popcorn.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is a lack of aesthetic sensibility in all areas of modern life.
Slice of life:
The most interesting about me you may not know is I am was a founding member of the Cult of the Cabernet Sauvignon.
;)
Imaima Casubhoy
Hometown: Crystal Lake, IL
College/University Attended: University of Missouri Kansas City
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is spending time with friends and family.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is the sound of nails on a chalkboard.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is that my favorite color is lime green.
;)
Vijay Dimry
Hometown: Midland, Texas
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Missouri - Kansas City
A cut above:
Some things that I like to do outside of work/school are playing tennis, working out, and trying new restaurants around KC!
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is getting less than 7 hours of sleep.
Slice of life:
Something that you might not know about me is that the first language I learned was Hindi because my parents spoke it at home. When I went to pre-school, I picked up English within a few weeks, but I forgot how to speak Hindi. I then relearned Hindi at the age of 8 and have been bilingual ever since.
;)
Kay Herzog
Hometown: Olathe, KS
College/University Attended: University of Missouri–Kansas City
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is practice yoga, play sand volleyball with friends, and hike. I also think I devote too much of my time to reality TV.
Needle unprotected:
My biggest pet peeve is backhanded compliments.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me that you may not know is that when I was 17 I spent the summer in Mexico by myself (but with a host family) working in pop-up medical clinics in various Mayan villages.
;)
Kashif Javid
Hometown: Palatine, IL
College/University Attended: University of Missouri–Kansas City
A cut above:
What I love to do outside of work is any physical activity or competitive sport where I can be outside and enjoy the weather.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is not being able to own up to shortcomings or mistakes, and then not seeking to improve and grow from them as well.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing you might not know about me is that I enjoy drawing in my spare time, and specifically love to illustrate wildlife and natural landscapes.
;)
Daniel Jung
Hometown: St. Louis Missouri
Graduate/Professional Institution: UMKC School of Medicine
;)
Ellie Kaji
Hometown: Madison, Wisconsin
College/University Attended: University of Missouri–Kansas City
A cut above:
I used to play a lot of tennis, but with school and COVID, I have been working out at the gym more instead. Since moving into an apartment, I have also developed an amateur interest in houseplants.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is when people do not follow some of the more minor traffic rules like turn signals or skipping/cutting the line when it comes to merging.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is that I play a mean game of Connect Four.
;)
Tanvi Karmarkar
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
College/University Attended: University of Missouri – Kansas City
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Missouri – Kansas City
;)
Lakshmi Kasi
Hometown: Bartlett, Illinois
College/University Attended: University of Missouri-Kansas City
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is kayaking/canoeing and going to restaurants!
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is unpleasant sounds.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is my favorite food is pizza and deep dish is the best kind!
;)
Ashna Mahadev
Hometown: O'Fallon, MO
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Missouri - Kansas City
Needle unprotectrd:
My pet peeve is… jars of honey that are sticky on the outside.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is … I backpacked Eastern Europe by myself for a month.
;)
Noelle Matese
Hometown: Jupiter, FL
College/University Attended: University of Missouri- Kansas City
Project involved in:
Speech Communication Interference, and a few others!
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is.. I’m a huge reader! Give me a good book, a rainy day, a cup of tea and I’m set for hours. If I'm not studying or reading, you can probably find me at the gym!
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is… inefficiency and fake people.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is.. I am a “retired” ballet dancer!
;)
Jennifer Kay Martin
Hometown: Orrville, Ohio. Home of Smucker’s jams and jelly.
College/University Attended: Bowling Green State University
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of North Carolina - Greensboro, University of Michigan
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is gardening.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve are people who don’t follow through.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is that I climbed Machu Picchu.
;)
Jada Ohene-Agyei
Hometown: Kingston, NY
Graduate/Professional Institution: UMKC School of Medicine
A cut above:
My favorite things to do outside of school is to read, cook, and hang with friends!
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is bad drivers!
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I play the viola!
;)
Mauli Patel
Hometown: Schaumburg, IL
College/University Attended: University of Missouri-Kansas City
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Missouri-Kansas City
;)
Aarya Ramprasad
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Graduate/Professional Institution: UMKC School of Medicine
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of school is explore national parks and worldwide natural beauties!
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is when my photos are not organized in my camera roll.
;)
Casey Rose
Hometown: Lee's Summit, MO
College/University Attended: University of Missouri - Kansas City
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Missouri - Kansas City
;)
Fahad Qureshi
Hometown: Chicago, IL
College/University Attended: University of Missouri - Kansas City
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Missouri - Kansas City
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is try new restaurants with friends or family.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is setting alarms to numbers that do not end with 0 or 5, i.e. setting an alarm to 6:14 or 10:01 instead of 6:15 or 10:00, respectively.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I've lived in 3 continents, 6 states, and can speak (almost) 4 languages
;)
Tariq Said
Hometown: I was born in Birmingham, Alabama, but I grew up for 12 years in Southeast Missouri (Cape Girardeau) and 6 more years in St. Louis, MO. I consider St. Louis to be my hometown, though.
College/University Attended: I currently attend UMKC as a 2nd Year.
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is listen to music.
Needle Unprotected:
My pet peeve is when people who have lots of opportunities available to them let it go to waste on account of no ambition.
Slice of Life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I write poetry from time to time.
;)
Casey Stauber
Hometown: Crystal City, TX and San Antonio, TX
College/University Attended: South University
Contact:
Ms. Casey Stauber Administrative Assistant to Dr. Gary Sutkin - Schutte Chair in Women’s Health Surgical Innovation Lab, Rm. 3-203 UMKC School of Medicine 2411 Holmes Street Kansas City, MO 64108 Phone: 816-235-6785 Email: stauberc@umkc.edu
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is.. Read, cook, knit/crochet, garden.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is when people do not respond to requests for meetings or information
Collaborators
;)
Raymond Chan
What is your position?
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine; Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Kansas School of Medicine
;)
Sherwin Chan
Hometown: Toronto
College/University Attended: Queen's University
Graduate/Professional Institution: Washington University in St Louis
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is hiking with the kids.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is barefoot travelers on public transit.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I financed my way through grad school playing Texas Hold Em poker.
;)
An-Lin Cheng
What is your position?
Professor, Director of Research and Statistical Consult Service Department(s) of Biomedical and Health Informatics UMKC School of Medicine
;)
Anna Cianciolo
Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, MI
College/University Attended: University of Michigan
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Minnesota, Georgia Tech
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is cook, eat, travel, read, and exercise (these are all related!)
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is waiting at traffic lights / in stopped traffic.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I dream of owning a food truck that sells Italian meatballs.
;)
Jamesia Donato
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
College/University Attended: Fisk University
Graduate/Professional Institution: Meharry Medical College
;)
Gregory King
Hometown: Stilwell, KS
College/University Attended: University of Kansas
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Kansas
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is cook, run, play with my kids, tinker in the garage…I don’t really have a favorite.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is when people stand right up close to the luggage carousel at the airport. Everyone would be able to see it if they would just take a couple steps back!
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is although it’s been years since I’ve flown, I am a licensed pilot!
;)
Emily Huang
Hometown: West Windsor, NJ
College/University Attended: Princeton
Graduate/Professional Institution: Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is throwing pottery, dog agility, and growing tomatoes.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is dirty shoes tracking mud indoors.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I’ve hiked to the base camp of Mt. Everest
;)
Tara Krishnan
Hometown: Moline, IL
College/University Attended: University of Missouri - Kansas City
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is cook.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is when people use the express checkout lane even if their entire cart is full!
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is that I used to work at an ice cream shop back in my hometown and can tell you all about our seasonal fall flavors.
;)
Eliza Beth Littleton
Hometown: Depends. We moved around a lot. The two longest places when I was growing up: Chattanooga TN, and Regina, Saskatchewan, Canadia-land. Place I lived the most, plus where I had my kids: Pittsburgh, PA
College/University Attended: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is discover new or hidden places in Pittsburgh where I’ve not been before.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is letting someone turn left in front of you and not getting a thank-you wave or thank-you blink.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I grew up wanting to do nothing more than ballet. I was 4 when I saw my first ballet and apparently stayed in the seats after it was over insisting that the dancers would be coming back.
;)
Faith Mueller
Hometown: O’Fallon, MO
College/University Attended: University of Missouri - Kansas City
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is to be with nature, especially hiking, gardening, or camping.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is inequality on small and large scales.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I love adrenaline and adventure so I am always willing to try out a new experience.
;)
Da Yeon Roo
Graduate/Professional Institution: Ohio State University College of Medicine
A cut above:
What I love to do outside of work is going thrift shopping for clothes and accessories. I run a small business online selling used clothes. It's a wonderful outlet for me to go shopping, make additional income, AND save the environment from fabric waste!
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeves are loud chewing noises and chewing with your mouth open!
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is... I moved to the United States from Korea back in 2013 by myself to attend college. It was only possible because I was young and naive.. but by far the best decision I've ever made!
;)
Paul Rudy
Hometown: Born in South Bend, Indiana, but lived most of childhood in Smithville, OH and LaJunta, CO
College/University Attended: Bethel College (N. Newton, KS)
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is www.paulrudy.net/harmony-farm
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is Smallmindedness 🙂
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I have climbed all of Colorado's 14,000 ft. peaks (many of them more than once).
;)
Jonathan Shepherd
Hometown: Winston-Salem, NC (until my fellowship in Pittsburgh with Dr. Sutkin, I’d never spent more than 2 weeks any further than 2 hours away from W-S)
College/University Attended: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A big piece of my heart will always be there. I went to medical school there too, I’ve been a UNC rapid basketball fan since before I could walk, and I played football there during undergrad when we finished my junior season ranked #4 in the country.
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Connecticut Health Center where I am the ObGyn Vice-Chair for Research and Division Director for Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery.
A cut above:
I spend most of my time outside of work truly outside. I’ve run marathons in 32 different states, and I truly embraced the ultimate social distancing during COVID by hiking most of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Massachusetts.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is inefficiency. My research has largely focused on cost-effectiveness and reducing economic waste in our medical system. I’ve also worked with Dr. Sutkin to streamline the efficiency of how we teach residents and fellows, and I pride myself in eliminating unnecessary time and operative movements from my surgical cases. My dad’s motto was always “Work when you work, and play when you play,” and I try to squeeze as many minutes out of each day so I can have more time at home with my son doing something fun.
Slice of Life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is… that I have been to the NCAA Final Four two times, but won’t allow myself to go back since Carolina lost in the semifinals on both occasions. If you look really closely at pictures of the baseline from 2000, you’ll see a skinny college kid on the first row painted blue with a large white C as part of U-N-C on his chest. It took avoiding hotel security while roaming the halls and staying up all night the night before to secure those tickets!
;)
Richard John Simonson
College/University Attended: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Graduate/Professional Institution: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
What is your position?
Human Factors Scientist at Children’s Mercy Hospital
;)
Antonis Stylianou
Hometown: Limassol, Cyprus
College/University Attended: University of Kansas
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Kanas
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is play with kids and dogs.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is when people squeeze toothpaste from the middle of the tube.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I’m a certified decoy for schutzhund.
;)
Navin Viswanathan
Hometown: Chennai (formerly & still in my mind, Madras), India
College/University Attended: University of Madras
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Connecticut
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is to travel, watch sports, and, sample the cuisines of the world.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is when people use meaningless descriptions like "he gave 110% effort" or cliches like "think outside the box" to describe something creative (ironic, huh?).
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is that I have a particular love for visiting university campuses and for watching tennis rallies to the end (no matter if its on tv or someone playing at local tennis court!).
;)
Wang Xi
Hometown: Changsha, China
College/University Attended: University of Missouri - Kansas City
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is baking and decluttering my stuff.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is when someone is hoarding expired food.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I played viola in my high school orchestra and we performed at the Musikverein in Vienna once.
Former Researchers
;)
Mary Ackenbom
Hometown: Indianapolis, IN
College/University Attended: The Ohio State University
Graduate/Professional Institution: The Ohio State University/University of Pittsburgh
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is spending time with family and friends.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is aggressive drivers.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is I was a hip hop dancer for a WNBA team for 2 seasons.
;)
Emma Connelly
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
College/University Attended: University of Missouri-Kansas City - BA Biological Science
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Missouri-Columbia
A cut above: What I love to do most outside of work is…
Play with my cute doggies and give them haircuts in the summer!! I also love to crochet little animals while watching Netflix and I have just picked up embroidering!
Needle unprotected:
One of my pet peeves is spiders and flies no matter what the size. They can be as large and hairy or as small as a tiny speck I will scream and call someone to my aid to kill it. When there is no one around I grab one of my dogs and make them squish it with their paw so I don't have to touch it.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is… I wear a size 3 so it is super great to get deals but also a curse since a lot of shoes have unicorns or sparkly rainbows 😂.
;)
Mark Gray
Hometown: Powel, Missouri
College/University Attended: Dual BS in Biochemistry and Cell/Molecular Biology at Missouri State University; currently in Grad MS (Cell/Molecular) at UMKC
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is read! So far this year I have read The Box by Marc Levinson, White Noise by Don Delillo, and Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is when you have to watch a movie or tv show that you’ve seen before.
Slice of life:
Something you might not know is I once brought a puppy back from Mexico.
;)
Debolina Kanjilal
College/University Attended: University of Missouri - Kansas City
Graduate/Professional Institution: University of Missouri - Kansas City
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is read books, watch movies, sketch pictures of babies, and play the piano to my heart’s content.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is the sound of chalk against the blackboard.
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is that I tend to name spiders, and have philosophical discussions with them to pacify my mortal fear of arachnids.
;)
Cynthia Liu
Hometown: Naperville, IL
College/University Attended: University of Missouri - Kansas City
A cut above:
What I love to do most outside of work is play tennis, cook, and pet my cat.
Needle unprotected:
My pet peeve is bad drivers!
Slice of life:
The most interesting thing about me you may not know is all four of my grandparents were doctors in the army in China.
;)
Fizza Mahmud
;)
Molly Pasque
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
College/University Attended: University of Oklahoma
What I do most outside of work/school:
I have a dog named Stevie Nicks. We love to go on walks or to the dog park on a regular basis. I practice yoga multiple times a week, and I love to grow plants in my house. I have over 30 different plants right now! I also enjoy soaking up every bit of sunshine I can, so I try to spend as much time as I can outside!
My pet peeve:
When I have a needy plant that requires too much work to keep it alive.
The most interesting thing about me:
Maybe not the MOST interesting thing about me, but I love to play this game where you have Alexa play a genre of music and you have to be the first one to guess the name of the song. First one to 10 wins!
Projects:
I was working on one project last summer that involved transcribing surgery recordings to assess communication in the OR. Would love to be on another one! I was also running the Twitter for a while!
;)
Benjamin Quarshie
Hometown: Peki, volta region. Ghana
College/University Attended: The University of Chicago
A cut above:
I love to workout and manage options and stock in my free time.
Needle unprotected:
Injustice/unfairness, arrogance also gets to me.
Slice of life:
I was born right handed and dislocated my right hand in kindergarten playing soccer. I was threatened with remediation and learned to write with my left just so I would not remediate. Now I’m left handed.