Radiation Oncology Residency Program

2022

Anthony Nehlsen, MD
Anthony was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in New Jersey. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Biology from Penn State University, where he was a member of the executive board of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He then spent one year working full-time as an EMT in Parsippany, New Jersey. He obtained his MD at Drexel University College of Medicine, where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and the Pathology Honor Society. He was also the recipient of the Kurt Paucker Student Achievement Award in Microbiology and completed a Summer Research Fellowship in neuroscience. He completed his transitional year internship at Crozer-Chester Medical Center. Anthony has presented his radiation oncology research at national meetings, including ASTRO, and been published in journals such as Advances in Radiation Oncology. In his free time, he enjoys weight lifting, cooking, and watching (and being disappointed by) his New York sports teams. 

Kunal Sindhu, MD
Kunal was born in Syracuse, New York, and grew up in California. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and subsequently worked as a middle school science teacher in Newark, New Jersey, and as a management consultant in New York City. He then obtained his MD from the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University, where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, the Gold Humanism Honor Society, and Sigma Xi. He completed his internship in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, where he was named the Preliminary Intern of the Year. Dr. Sindhu is a writer and has authored over 25 journal articles. His work has been featured in JAMA, JAMA Oncology, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and Academic Medicine. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, reading, and running.

Jared Rowley, MD
Jared grew up in Ithaca, New York. He moved to Montreal for university where he received a bachelor's degree in Economics and Computer Science from McGill University. He then worked at the Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory in Montreal. His responsibilities included writing pipelines that automated the analysis of MRI and PET scans. He completed a Masters in Neuroscience from McGill University in 2013 and subsequently moved to Brooklyn. In 2017, he graduated from SUNY Downstate Medical School. He completed his intern year in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. His research interests include labor and health economics. In his free time Jared enjoys playing soccer, biking and downhill skiing.

Andrew Smith, MD
Andrew grew up near Albany, NY and received his undergraduate degree in History from Dartmouth College. He attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where he graduated with distinction in clinical research for evaluating the use of brachytherapy in the treatment of brain metastases at New York Presbyterian Weill-Cornell. He completed his internship at Lenox Hill Hospital before joining the Radiation Oncology Program at Mount Sinai. During residency, he has developed an investigator-initiated clinical trial adding a selective dopamine antagonist to standard chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of glioblastoma.  His research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Neurosurgery, Journal of Neuro-Oncology, and Seminars in Radiation Oncology.  Outside of medicine, he enjoys hiking, cooking, and being a Boston sports fan in NYC.

2023

Brianna Jones, MD
Brianna was born in New York City and grew up in Lehigh Valley, PA. She received her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh and was extensively involved in translational neuroscience research and functional neuroimaging in pediatric psychiatric populations. She then completed her medical education at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. During medical school, Brianna completed research on oncologic outcomes in head and neck malignancies, and has been invited to present her research at several national conferences. She was elected as student chapter president of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and received the Clinical Scholar award for achievement and excellence in patient care during her third year of medical school. She completed her internship at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver, Colorado and was involved in research related to toxicity with accelerated partial breast irradiation. At Mount Sinai, she has developed both clinical and research interests in head and neck, brain, and gynecologic cancers, as well as health care disparities in oncology. In her free time she loves hiking, trail running, skiing, and cooking. 

Eric Lehrer, MD
Eric was born and raised in New York City. He received his undergraduate education at the City University of New York, where he majored in Mathematics and Economics. He worked for several years as a statistician in the energy management industry before changing careers and attending medical school. He received his medical education at Eastern Virginia Medical School, where he served as the President of his class and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society as a third-year medical student. During medical school he conducted NIH-funded research on the roles of the STAT-4 and Twist-1 transcription factors in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and vascular endothelial cell dysfunction. He completed his Transitional Year Internship at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson, NY. Eric is a dedicated clinician-investigator and has been invited to present his work nationally and internationally. He has authored over 75 journal articles, book chapters, and oral presentations. His work has been featured in journals, such as JAMA Oncology, JAMA Network Open, European Urology, The International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, Radiotherapy and Oncology, Academic Medicine, The Journal of Neuro-Oncology, and Cancer. In 2020, he was awarded the Members in Training Research Award from the Radiosurgery Society for his analysis of brainstem dose tolerances in single fraction stereotactic radiosurgery. He is presently the lead investigator on an international study across 10 institutions with 750 patients that is working to optimize outcomes in patients with brain metastases who are treated with stereotactic radiosurgery and immune checkpoint inhibitors. This important work was recognized with an oral presentation and a Travel Grant from the American Radium Society in 2021. In his free time, he enjoys playing the piano, cycling on his Peloton, cooking, and traveling.

2024

Julie Bloom, MD
Julie grew up in the Greater Chicago area. She received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University where she studied Neuroscience and Environmental Policy, graduating cum laude. Julie subsequently attended Rush Medical School, and developed an interest in radiation oncology and interdisciplinary oncology care. In medical school, she was awarded the J. Zukowski Endowed Scholarship and Summer Research Fellowship to study expectation-actuality outcomes in relation to patient satisfaction for patients undergoing neurosurgery procedures. She pursued translational research looking at predictive biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer, explored stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) dose-related toxicities in oligometastatic disease, and presented these outcomes at national conferences. She is passionate about exploring palliative radiation oncology, communication skills in oncology, and the evolving use of SBRT for primary and oligometastatic lung disease. Outside of the hospital, you might find her hiking in the Catskills, picnicking in Central Park or volunteering at NYC’s local beehives.

Alexandra Hotca‐Cho, MD
Alex grew up in Romania before moving to France for high school. Later, she moved to New York, where she received her bachelor degree in Biology from CUNY Hunter College. During this time, she worked on developing novel techniques for bone image processing for high resolution MR research and presented her work at international conferences. She then completed her medical education at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia and conducted research on heart toxicity following radiation therapy in non-small cell lung cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She returned to New York to complete her internship in internal medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital before joining Mount Sinai's Radiology Oncology program. Outside of medicine, she enjoys running marathons, traveling the world, and eating good food in NYC. 

Carlos Rodriguez‐Russo, MD
Carlos was born in Boulder, Colorado, and grew up in Centerville, Massachusetts. He received his bachelor’s degree in Developmental and Regenerative Biology from Harvard University and his medical degree from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. In medical school, he was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society and was the recipient of the inaugural Bray Fellowship in Medical Humanities for his research in reflective writing in medical education. He was additionally awarded the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society's Carolyn Kuckein Research Fellowship for his work assessing the impact of home and community-based services for individuals with HIV. While completing his internal medicine internship at George Washington University Hospital in D.C., he created a new elective in radiation oncology for resident physicians and completed treatment outcomes research for adenoid cystic carcinoma. His poetry has been featured in JAMA Oncology, The Annals of Internal Medicine, and Plexus Literary Review. At Mount Sinai, his research interests include exploring the scope of palliative care within radiation oncology, improving radiotherapy for rare cancers, and widening access to radiation oncology services for underserved communities. His spare time is spent playing piano, cooking new recipes with his wife, and planning day trips to local hiking spots.

2025

Daniel Dickstein, MD
Daniel, originally from Westfield, NJ, attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, where he completed his undergraduate studies in mathematics and biochemistry. He earned his MD at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he completed a year of clinical research with Dr. Bakst developing an investigator-initiated trial on hypofractionation for elderly patients with head and neck cancer. Before returning to Mount Sinai for residency, Daniel completed his internship at Greenwich Hospital, where he also continued his Mount Sinai research, opening another clinical trial investigating the relationship between the oral microbiome and head and neck cancers. Both trials are presently open and enrolling patients, and Daniel hopes to follow them through to the end, which should coincide with his PGY5 completion. Outside of science and medicine, Daniel enjoys watching Bravo, LOL’ing with his friends, and eating.

Kristin Hsieh, MD
Kristin grew up in Taiwan and later in Massachusetts. She received her bachelor degree in Biological Sciences at Cornell University. She subsequently attended Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. She discovered her interest in radiation oncology through CNS research, conducting NIH-funded research on the temporal distribution of brain metastasis and later research in glioblastoma, breast, prostate, and pediatric cancer. After completing her internship at Greenwich Hospital, she returned to New York to join Mount Sinai’s Radiation Oncology program. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, kayaking, museums/cultural sites, arts and crafts, and flute.

2021
Jalal Ahmed, MD, PhD – Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY
Deborah Marshall, MD – Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY
William Smith, MD – St. Luke’s University Health Network. Bethlehem, PA

2020
Oren Factor, MD – Mount Sinai South Nassau, Oceanside, NY
Lucas Resende Salgado, MD – Elmhurst Hospital, Elmhurst, NY

2019
Heather McGee, MD, PhD – Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
Stanislav (Stas) Lazarev, MD – Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY
Marcher R. Thompson, MD – Adventist Health Hospital, Bakersfield, NY

2018
Zahra Ghiassi-Nejad, MD, PhD – Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY
Ava Golchin, MD – Medical Consultant

2017
Nisha Ohri, MD – Robert Wood Johnson/Rutgers Cancer Institute, New Bruswick, NJ
Ryan Rhome, MD, PhD – Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
Patrick Navolanic, MD, PhD – Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, Cooperstown, NY

2016
Miriam Knoll, MD – Montefiore Nyack Hospital, Nyack, NJ
S. Yaseen Zia, MD – Pardee Hospital – UNC Health Care, Hendersonville, NC

2015
Todd J. Carpenter, MD – NYU Winthrop Hospital, New York/Mineola, NY
Jerry Liu, MD – Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York, NY

2014
Florence Wright, MD – UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

2013
Michael Buckstein, MD, PhD – Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY
Eric Ko, MD, PhD – University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA

2012
David Andolino, MD – Advanced Radiation Oncology Associates, St. Lukes University, Easton, PA
Kevin Forsythe, MD – Advanced Oncology, Springfield, OR
Isaiah Friedman, MD – Flushing Radiation Oncology, Flushing, NY

2011
Seth Blacksburg, MD – NYU Winthrop Hospital, New York, NY
Kurt Snyder, MD – Northeast Radiation Oncology, Brewer, ME

2010
No graduates

2009
Ryan Burri, MD – Bay Pines-VA Medical Center, Bay Pines, FL
Amy Solan, MD – Nassau Radiologic Group, PC, Lake Success, NY

2008
Christopher Peters, MD – Northeast Radiation Oncology Center, Scranton, PA
Grace Fan, MD – St. Luke’s Hospital, Bethlehem, PA

2007
Alice Ho, MD – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Kathy Lo, MD – Sparta Cancer Center, Sparta, NJ

2006
No graduates

2005
Karen Loeb-Borofsky, MD – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Basking Ridge, NJ
Michael J. Smith, MD – NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY

2004
Jamie Cesaretti, MD – Florida Physician Specialists, Jacksonville, FL
Marisa Kollmeier, MD – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

We seek applicants who are interested in radiation oncology. While we do not require prior experience in the field, we do look favorably on research and clinical rotations that indicate interest in radiation oncology.

We select fellows through the Medicine Subspecialty Match, which is part of the National Residency Match Program (NRMP). You must submit your application through the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS), along with all supporting documents. We only consider applicants who are registered with the NRMP and only consider applications through ERAS. We require, in addition to the application form, the following materials:

• Up-to-date curriculum vitae
• Three letters of reference – at least one must be from a practicing radiation oncologist
• Dean’s letter
• Medical school transcript
• United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 and Step 2 (if available) scores
• A personal statement

We accept and review applicants from students of all accredited medical and osteopathic schools, located within the United States and abroad.

Please note that while we do not have a minimum USMLE score, applicants who match with our program frequently score above 200. We require only Step 1 at the time of application. Do not send additional information to ERAS or directly to us; we only review the above-mentioned documents.

We interview approximately 30 candidates a year and hold interviews in November, December, and January before the year when you would attend. Interviews take a full day (8 am to 4 pm) and include one-on-one meetings with various faculty members and lunch with our current residents. We interview approximately 30 candidates a year and accept two or three PGY-2 positions a year.