Current Residents

Michael Baldassari, MD
Undergraduate: University of Pennsylvania
Medical: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

Mike grew up in nearby Collegeville, PA. He moved to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating, he spent a year as a Harrison Surgical Scholar at Penn investigating intraoperative tumor fluorescence. He attended Jefferson Medical School where he was elected president of the AANS neurosurgery interest group and was a member of AOA. As a student, he became involved with multiple research projects involving vascular and oncological neurosurgery. As a Jefferson resident, Mike is looking forward to developing the clinical and technical skills necessary to form a future career in neurosurgical device development. In his free time, he enjoys seeing his family and fiancé Chelsea, collecting records, playing guitar, watching Philadelphia sports, and maintaining his whiskey bar.

Matthew Lan, MD
Undergraduate: University of Pennsylvania
Medical: Vanderbilt University

Matt grew up nearby in Hockessin, DE, making him a lifelong Philadelphia sports fan. He then earned a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Economics and Master's degree in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. Following college, he made the move south to attend Vanderbilt University for medical school, where he was heavily involved in the Wellness program, mentoring younger students, and research primarily focusing on vascular neurosurgery. He is currently interested in all aspects of neurosurgery and excited to explore the different subspecialties. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, tennis, golf, skiing, and the occasional poker night with friends.

Carrie Andrews, MD
Undergraduate: Johns Hopkins University
Medical: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

Carrie grew up in Abington, Pennsylvania, and earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology and Psychology from Johns Hopkins University. She then returned to Philadelphia to attend Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, where she was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. During medical school she performed basic science research spinal cord injury and clinical research in vascular neurosurgery. In her free time, she enjoys dance, yoga, and spending time with friends and family.

Evan Fitchett, MD
Undergraduate: University of California at San Diego
Medical: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

Evan grew up in Santa Rosa, California, and attended the University of California at San Diego, where he studied Human Biology. He then spent time working at the Scripps Research Institute, studying the influence of sensory experience on neuronal circuit development before moving to Philadelphia to attend the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. In medical school he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor sociecty and was involved in vascular neurosurgery research. In his free time, he enjoys bowling, listening to classic rock, and wine tasting.

Kavantissa Keppetipola, MD
Undergraduate: University of Pittsburgh
Medical: Rush Medical College

Kavantissa (Kavan) grew up moving across the U.S. before finally settling in Potomac, Maryland near Washington, DC. He attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he graduated with dual degrees in Neuroscience and History. He then moved to Chicago to attend Rush Medical College. As a resident, he appreciates the breadth of neurosurgery practiced at Jefferson, where he is pursuing his interest in stereotactic & functional neurosurgery while keeping an open mind. In his free time, he likes exploring Philadelphia’s restaurants and neighborhoods, and enjoys basketball, history, and the outdoors. 

Adam Leibold, MD
Undergraduate: Indiana University
Graduate: Johns Hopkins University
Medical: Indiana University

Adam grew up in Indiana and attended Indiana University where he studied Microbiology and Immunology. He went on to receive a Master of Science at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where he studied the immune microenvironment in mouse models of colon cancer. He then went back to Indiana University to complete medical school, where he developed an interest in neurosurgery and applying his immunologic background to the study of brain tumors. In his free time Adam enjoys exploring the Philadelphia food scene, playing golf, snowboarding, and relaxing with his fiancé, Lena, and their dog, Gary.

Lucas Philipp, MD, MPH
Undergraduate: The University of Kansas
Medical/Graduate: Emory University

Lucas was born and raised in the Heart of America, just outside of Kansas City. Initially an aspiring musician studying the saxophone at The University of Kansas, his love of the sciences ultimately prevailed, and he graduated with Honors and Distinction with a degree in Human Biology. He is an Eagle Scout, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society. He attended Emory University School of Medicine where he published on multiple topics including the natural history of subarachnoid hemorrhage, new technologies in functional neurosurgery, and predictive risk models in spinal trauma. He completed his M.P.H. in Epidemiology at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health to further develop his autonomy as a clinical researcher, and interests in global health following surgical outreach endeavors in Puerto Rico and Haiti. He has also sustained a lifelong passion for education, with roles ranging from private tutor for the KU basketball team to authoring medical content with Khan Academy. Outside of work, he enjoys playing/recording music, and spending time with his wife and dog.

Aria Mahtabfar, MD
Undergraduate: University of Pennsylvania
Medical: Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson

Aria is a native of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. He received his undergraduate training at the University of Pennsylvania where his interests in health policy the evaluation of quality metrics, cost implications, and organizational structures were fostered. He joined the neurosurgery residency program after graduating from NJMS at Rutgers University. He has pursued research in complex spine and cerebrovascular neurosurgery. In his spare time, he enjoys lifting weights, playing golf, and watching collegiate sports.

Elias Atallah, MD
Medical: Universite Saint Joseph (Lebanon)

Elias was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon where he attended Saint Joseph University School of Medicine. He served as a teaching assistant in Anatomy throughout medical school as he has a passion for education. He was awarded the USAID service award in recognition of his contributions to community service and advocacy in underserved communities. Upon coming to the U.S., he completed a two-year research fellowship in neurosurgery at Jefferson before starting residency. His primary interests include open and endovascular neurosurgery along with neurooncology. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking, camping, squash, and tennis.

Daniel Franco Martinez, MD
Medical: Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) School of Medicine

Dan is a native of the Dominican Republic where he resided until moving to the U.S. for neurosurgical residency at Thomas Jefferson University. As a young apprentice of the arts, he has yet to decide what he would like to pursue, although he is currently interested in stereotactic & functional neurosurgery along with spine surgery. When out of the hospital, Dan likes to play soccer, listen to Latin music, and enjoy the occasional steak.

Nikolaos Mouchtouris, MD
Undergraduate: University of California at Los Angeles
Medical: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

Niko grew up in Athens, Greece and moved to Los Angeles to study Biochemistry at UCLA. He then moved to Philadelphia where he attended Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. His research interests lie in cerebrovascular neurosurgery and medical technology innovation. In his free time, he enjoys teaching the origin of medical terminology and explaining how to pronounce gyro.

Kevin Hines, MD
Undergraduate: Franklin and Marshall College
Medical: Temple University

Kevin grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he attended Franklin and Marshall College. He then made the big move to Philadelphia where he graduated from Temple University School of Medicine. Still entertaining a wide variety of neurosurgical interests, he is grateful for the excellent exposure he has received as a resident. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys playing basketball, watching Philadelphia sports, playing poker, and is currently pursuing an enfolded fellowship in karaoke performance. 

Ritam Ghosh, MD
Undergraduate: New York University
Medical: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Ritam grew up in Edison, NJ and attended NYU for his undergraduate education. He then graduated from NJMS at Rutgers University for medical school where he was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society and received the Peter W. Carmel award in neurological surgery. He has published in topics regarding skull base and vascular neurosurgery and his primary interests include open and endovascular neurosurgery as well as resident education. In his free time, he enjoys sports, movies and exploring the Philadelphia food scene.

Ellina Hattar, MD
Undergraduate: Johns Hopkins University
Medical: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Ellina was born in Amman, Jordan and grew up in the Middle East, as well as Odessa, Ukraine and Montreal, Canada. Her family immigrated to Ramsey, New Jersey when she was 13 years of age.  She attended Johns Hopkins University where she earned a dual degree in Neuroscience and Public Health. She returned to New Jersey after college to attend NJMS at Rutgers University for medical school. Ellina enjoys the variety of surgical cases she is exposed to and continues to keep an open mind regarding future sub-specialization. During her spare time, she enjoys running with her husband, Jose (a family medicine resident at Jefferson), having movie nights with their chihuahua, Matilda, and spending time with her close-knit family in New Jersey.

Omaditya (Goldey) Khanna, MD
Undergraduate: Illinois Institute of Technology
Medical: Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science

Omaditya (Goldey) grew up in Bangkok, Thailand before moving to the U.S. to pursue higher education. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a degree in Chemical Engineering, and then obtained his medical degree from the Chicago Medical School. He spent a year during medical school pursuing a research fellowship investigating factors that influence the clinical behavior of cerebral cavernous malformations. In his spare time, he enjoys exploring Philadelphia's many coffee shops, following Chicago sports teams, and watching Netflix and HBO.