Duke Pediatrics proudly celebrated its 2026 graduating residents and fellows during a graduation and awards ceremony held at Grand Rounds on Tuesday, June 16. The Department of Pediatrics extends its heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to this outstanding group of physicians and scientists. As you move forward in your specialties, we hope you will look back on your Duke training as a meaningful and formative part of your journey. Congratulations!
Graduating Pediatrics Residents
- Katie Albin: Pediatric Primary Care, Duke Health
- Michael Beauchamp: Chief Resident, Duke University
- Kevin Blum: Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship, Duke University
- Shivani Chandrashekaran: Clinical Informatics Fellowship, University of Washington
- Elyssa Farr: Pediatric Heme/Onc Fellowship, Duke University
- Avery Faucette: Pediatric Primary Care, Duke Health
- Ji’Vone Freeman: Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Children’s National
- Wesley Gregory: Chief Resident, Duke University
- Molly Guerin: Pediatric Intensive Care Fellowship, Duke University
- Alexa Kleist: Primary Care, Maple Grove, Minnesota
- Emmi Lavassani: Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship, Children’s Nationwide
- Toluwanimi Ogungbesan: Pediatric Primary Care, Danville Pediatrics, Maryland
- Emily Rieder: Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship, Nemours Children’s
- Karina Robinson: Allergy & Immunology Fellowship, University of South Florida
- Alexis Schuck: Allergy & Immunology Fellowship, University of North Carolina
- Rachel Wolfe: Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship, Duke University
Graduating Medicine-Pediatrics Residents
- Shane Clark: Hospital Medicine, Duke University Hospital
- Joseph Goddu: Med-Peds Primary Care, New Orleans, LA
- Noah Hellermann: Med-Peds Primary Care, Duke Health
- Joshua Mercer: Combined Adult and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship, Vanderbilt University
- Mohamed Mohamed: Hospital Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
- Lilianna Suarez: Academic Pediatrics Fellowship, Vanderbilt University
Graduating Fellows and Subspecialty Residents
Pediatric Allergy-Immunology
- John Barber: Allergy and Immunology Advanced Research Training, Duke University
- César López Angel: Allergy and Immunology Advanced Research Training, Duke University
- Cynthia Zhou: Faculty, Duke University, Durham, NC
Genetics and Genomics
- Milap Patel: Faculty, Division of Medical Genetics and Genomics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Pediatric Cardiology
- Sam Littlejohn: Faculty, Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital, Knoxville, TN
- Andy Balachandran: Adult Congenital Heart Disease Fellowship, Duke University, Durham, NC
- Adeola Awujoola: Faculty, Ochsner Health System, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care
- Michael Santarelli: Faculty, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
- Calisha Allen: Faculty, Children’s of Alabama, Birmingham, AL
- Marybeth Burriss-West: Faculty, Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Orlando, FL
- Vanessa Ford: Faculty, Banner – University Medical Center, Tucson, AZ
- Ryan Sutyla: Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Fellowship, Duke University, Durham, NC
Pediatric Endocrinology
- Natalie Hernandez: Pediatric Endocrinologist, Life Pediatric Endocrinology, Sandy Springs, GA
Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Reshma Patel: Faculty, Children's Health of Atlanta/Emory Center for Advanced Pediatrics, Atlanta, GA
Pediatric Hematology-Oncology
- Flannery Bowman: Hematology-Oncology Research Fellowship, Duke University, Durham, NC
- Christopher Hahn: Faculty, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
- Apoorva Jagadish: Faculty, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX
- Derek Zachman
Hospital Medicine
- Aidan Berry-Nguyen: Faculty, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, Richmond, VA
Hospice and Palliative Medicine
- Dana Peralta: Faculty, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Petersburg, FL
Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Mayse Nasser: Pediatrics Residency, Duke University, Durham, NC
Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
- Chelsea Lockyear: Faculty, Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital, Knoxville, TN
- Yasmeen Midgette: Neonatologist, Pediatrix, Charlotte, NC
- Kimran Sidhu: Faculty, Phoenix Children’s, Phoenix, AZ
Infant Complex Care
- Audrey Zeis
Pediatric Nephrology
- Jennifer Varner: Faculty, Duke University, Durham, NC
Child Neurology
- Alexa Stone: Faculty, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX
- Austin Peters: Sleep Medicine Fellowship, Duke University, Durham, NC
Pediatric Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine
- Yara Salameh: Resident, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
Pediatric Rheumatology
- Dahima Cintron: Faculty, Pediatric University Hospital at University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Awards
- Appleseed Award from Medical Students
Interns: Isabel Ramos Acevedo, Nissma Bencheikh
JAR: Courtney Bair
Seniors: Joe Goddu, Michael Beauchamp
TEACHING AWARDS
- Robert P. Drucker Excellence in Teaching Awards
1st Year: Andrew Sessions
2nd Year: Katherine Kiernan
3rd Year: Michael Beauchamp
- YT and Alice Chen Awards
Fellow Discovery in Science: Cesar Lopez Angel, Ryan Sutyla
Resident Research: Rachel Wolfe-Miller
Resident Education: Joe Goddu
Resident Patient Care: Alexa Kleist
ROTATION AWARDS
- Continuity Clinic Awards
Tolu Ogungbesan, Avery Faucette, Katie Albin
- Full-Term Nursery Award
Marlo Robinson
- Heme/Onc Award
Stefanie Kong, Michael Beauchamp
- Heme/Onc Award Upper Level
Michael Beauchamp - Hospital Medicine Award
Alexa Kleist
- Med/Peds Continuity Clinic Award
Joe Goddu
- NICU Award
Kathleen Young, Chelsea McCray
- PICU Award
Maggie Sulzbach
- Karen Frush PEM Resident Award
Emmi Lavassani
- WakeMed Intern Award
Kathleen Young
- SAR Talk Award
Tolu Ogungbesan, Lily Suarez
- Interprofessional Excellence in Resident Education Award
Brittany Robinson, CPNP-AC (Inpatient Cardiology Rotation)
- Rotation Director Excellence in Education Award
Amanda Kimberg (Director of the Mental Health Rotation)
- Arena-Palumbo Division Teaching Award
Infectious Diseases
- Samuel L. Katz Faculty Award
Heather McLean, Hospital Medicine
- Michael M. Frank Fellow Teaching Award
Henry Foote, Critical Care Medicine
- Deborah Kredich Resident Teaching Award
Noah Hellerman
- Del Wigfall Community Champion Award
Lily Suarez
- William Bell Award
Shivani Chandrashekaran
- Senior Class Special Recognition
Ellie Erickson, Jeff Baker - James A Stockman Award
Joe Goddu