Tchantchaleishvili Laboratory

Elizabeth Maynes, MD  

Hometown: Halifax, Nova Scotia
College and Medical School: Saint James School of Medicine (MD, 2015); Dalhousie Univeristy (MA); Acadia University (BSc)
Research Interests: Heart transplant (variety of topics in heart disease), history of medicine (medical humanities), mechanical circulatory support, artificial organ development/design
Career Goals/Residency: Further contributions to the field of heart surgery and assisted circulation and organ replacement
Hobbies: Painting, playing guitar, international travel

Liz is an MD originally from Canada who joined the team in May 2018. Her research interests include heart assist device implantation and design along with many topics in cardiovascular health.  Her interests outside of surgery and medicine include painting, surfing, and international travel.

Melissa Austin

Hometown: Morris Plains, NJ
College and Medical School: Johns Hopkins University; SKMC
Research Interests: devices, acute care, R-software coding
Career Goals/Residency: TBD
Hobbies: Soccer, baking, brunch

Brandon Ferrell

Hometown: Boston, MA
College: Georgetown University, Human Science
Medical School: Georgetown University School of Medicine
Research Interests: Outcomes after heart transplantation and advancements in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Career Goals/Residency: Dual-applying to I6 and General Surgery residency in pursuit of becoming a cardiac surgeon
Hobbies: Ice-hockey, golf, travel, and mentoring

Brandon is a medical student at Georgetown University School of Medicine (Class of 2021). Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, he is interested in pursuing a career in academic cardiac surgery. His current research interests are in outcomes after heart transplantation and advancements in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Outside of medicine, Brandon co-founded an international non-profit that provides free CPR training to communities around-the-world. He also enjoys spending his free time playing ice-hockey, golfing, traveling, and mentoring.

Jonathan Gordon

Hometown: Holland, PA
College and Medical School: Cornell University (undergrad), SKMC
Research Interests: advanced heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, cardiac arrhythmia
Career Goals/Residency: Applying to Internal Medicine with plans to pursue a fellowship in Cardiology
Hobbies: reading, racquetball, tennis

Andrew Jordan

Hometown: Rochester, NY
College and Medical School: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; SKMC
Research Interests: Congenital heart defect repair, Heart and Lung Transplant
Career Goals/Residency: Cardiothoracic Surgery, I6 Thoracic Surgery
Hobbies: Ice Hockey, Hiking, Running

Kyle Prochno

Hometown: Minnetonka, MN
College and Medical School: University of Denver BA '11; Columbia University Postbac '16; SKMC Medicine '22
Research Interests: Surgical repair of structural heart disease, biomedical devices, biostatistics
Career Goals/Residency: Cardiac surgery
Hobbies: Golfing, SCUBA diving, international travel, and anything in the mountains or on the water

Kyle received his BA from the University of Denver in 2011, where he majored in International Relations and English. After moving to New York City and completing the Post-baccalaureate program at Columbia University in 2016, he worked in clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital, prior to moving to Philadelphia. He currently is a second-year medical student at SKMC at Thomas Jefferson University, and loves to travel far and wide but now spends his precious little free time enjoying the outdoors and local food scene with his wife and dog.

Rob Tatum

Hometown: Washington DC
College and Medical School: Lafayette College, SKMC
Research Interests: Lung assist devices, valve surgery, LVADs, transplants
Career Goals/Residency: CT surgery, integrated 6 year vs general surgery + fellowship
Hobbies: Play the guitar/piano, exercise, ride bike, spend time with friends, read

I went to Lafayette college where I was an English major and played on the varsity baseball team. After college I attended the Thomas Jefferson postbac program before spending my gap year as a teacher and coach at my high school alma mater. I started medical school in July of 2017 and hope to graduate in May 2021 and pursue a career in surgery.

Matthew Weber

Hometown: Amityville, NY
College and Medical School: Villanova University - Undergrad, Columbia University-Masters, Georgetown University-Masters, SKMC
Research Interests: Study design, biostatistics, and machine learning techniques in predicting cardiac surgery outcomes.
Career Goals/Residency: Hoping for a future career in cardiothoracic surgery
Hobbies: Fishing, soccer, basketball, and programming

Matt is a second-year medical student at Thomas Jefferson University originally from Long Island, New York. Matthew graduated with master's degrees from Columbia University and Georgetown University before starting medical school. Matthew’s role on the team is heavily focused on study design and executing statistical analyses for the team. His research also explores the use of advanced machine learning techniques in predicting cardiac surgery outcomes. Clinically, his interests include topics pertaining to heart transplant outcomes and advancements in mechanical circulatory assist devices.

Chelsey T. Wood

Hometown: Chicago Suburbs
College and Medical School: Milwaukee Institute of Art (Undergrad), Northwestern University (post-bacc), SKMC (medical)
Research Interests: Cardiac surgery
Hobbies: painting/drawing, kickboxing

Prior to returning to school for medicine I received my MFA from Tufts University, School of the Museum of Fine Art, where I was later awarded a post-graduate teaching fellowship. Following this, I accepted a position at the University of South Dakota as Assistant Professor of Fine Arts in Painting. It was early in my first year that I began to collaborate with the anatomy department within the medical school. This lead to further exploration of my own path, allowing me to realize my hopes to return school and complete a medical degree. I eventually made the leap to change careers and completed a post-bacc at Northwestern University where I also gained extensive bench-side research experience working full-time in the Brickner Molecular Biology lab. I am currently a second year medical student at Thomas Jefferson University.

Colin Yost

Hometown: Portsmouth, New Hampshire
College and Medical School: Princeton University (2019) and Sidney Kimmel Medical College (2023)
Research Interests: A variety of topics related to cardiovascular health and cardiothoracic surgery.
Hobbies: Discussing TV/film, playing mallet percussion, finding new food in Philly

Colin is a medical student at Thomas Jefferson University (Class of 2023) who grew up in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He completed his undergraduate studies in chemistry at Princeton. His research interests include a variety of topics related to cardiovascular health, cardiothoracic surgery, and the intersection of both with public health. In the future, he plans to pursue a career in cardiothoracic surgery. In his free time, he enjoys avidly discussing his most recent film or television obsession, playing mallet percussion, and discovering great food spots in Philadelphia with friends.

Tommy O'Malley, MD

Hometown: Red Bank, NJ
College and Medical School: Duke University; Tulane University
Research Interests: End-Stage Lung Disease, Lung Transplantation, Advanced Heart Failure Therapies
Career Goals/Residency: General Surgery Residency; General Thoracic Track Fellowship
Hobbies: Spending time with my wife, Cooking, Reading, Watching Movies