Current Residents
Enfolded Fellow
Travis CreveCoeur, MD
Dr. Travis CreveCoeur was born in Staten Island, New York, and grew up near Bel Air, Maryland. He attended Florida State University, where he studied Organic Chemistry and Mathematics and played rugby. Before attending medical school at Washington University in Saint Louis, Dr. CreveCoeur conducted medical research at Columbia University. During his final clinical rotation at WashU, he discovered his passion for neurosurgery. Now, Dr. CreveCoeur is focused on specializing in spine surgery and is actively involved in innovative research in cervical myelopathy and spinal deformities. Outside of work, Dr. CreveCoeur enjoys spending time with his wife and their two children.
![Travis CreveCoeur]()
Chief
Nina Yoh, MD
Dr. Nina Yoh earned her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2019, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Dr. Yoh's academic journey began with a BA in Photography from Bard College, followed by a Master's in Secondary Mathematics from Pace University, and a postbaccalaureate premedical program at Columbia University. As a resident, her research interests include neuro-oncology, immunotherapy, focused ultrasound for blood-brain barrier opening, and liquid biopsy. Outside of her medical career, she enjoys surfing, riding motorcycles, and spending time with her two children. She also has a unique background in the arts, having run a Chinese opera company.
PGY-6
Deborah Boyett, MD
Deborah is a PGY5 neurosurgery resident at Columbia with an interest in open and endo-vascular neurosurgery. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, she studied Human Biology with Honors at Stanford University, with a focus on Infectious Disease. During medical school at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, she discovered neurosurgery and realized that she couldn't possibly do anything else. Her clinical research focuses on pioneering and evaluating new endovascular techniques for intra-arterial drug delivery aimed at treating vascular and neuro-oncologic conditions. Outside of the hospital, Deborah is an avid reader of women’s literature (check out Elena Ferrante or Sigrid Undset), and open water swimming, embracing the freedom and challenge it offers. When she can get away, she also loves to travel – she is working toward filling every page in her passport!
Nathan Winans, MD
Dr. Nathan Winans is a neurosurgery resident who grew up in Ithaca, NY. After earning his degree in biological sciences and microbiology at Cornell University, he attended Stony Brook University School of Medicine, where he was first exposed to neurosurgery. As a student, he conducted research focusing on improving outcomes after severe traumatic brain injury. He has also conducted basic tumor research focused on the immune microenvironment of glioblastoma, drug delivery to the spinal cord, and patient outcomes research. Dr. Winans plans to pursue a career in spinal neurosurgery.
PGY-5
Linda Wang, MD
Pavan Upadhyayula, MD
Dr. Pavan Upadhyayula was born and raised in San Jose, California. He completed his undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley and went on to earn his medical degree from UC San Diego. Dr. Upadhyayula has a strong background in neurosurgical research, particularly in developing new therapies for glioma. His work includes a clinical trial for the local delivery of topotecan to patients with recurrent high-grade glioma and a pre-clinical study on the effects of dietary interventions with ferroptosis inducers in a murine model of glioma. During his dedicated research years, he is expanding on these projects to focus on preventing neurodegeneration through ferroptosis inhibition using both local drug delivery and dietary approaches. He is also collaborating with Dr. Brett Youngerman on developing and clinically testing a new high-dimensional, flexible, and wireless ECoG device. Dr. Upadhyayula aims to specialize in functional and spine surgery, with a particular focus on regenerative medicine to improve patient longevity and quality of life. Outside of the hospital, Dr. Upadhyayula enjoys reading and rock climbing.
PGY-4
Arjun Adapa, MD
Dr. Arjun Adapa was born in Rochester, NY, and grew up in Clarksville, MD, in a small, close-knit family of four. His summers visiting family in India played a significant role in shaping his early experiences and sparking his interest in medicine. Dr. Adapa attended the University of Maryland on a full scholarship, where he studied biomedical engineering. Following college, he spent a year in the Netherlands as a Fulbright scholar, researching nanoparticle-based drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier. In medical school at the University of Michigan, Dr. Adapa focused on stimulated Raman histology for brain tumor diagnostics and outcomes in cerebrovascular neurosurgery. His work earned him several prestigious research grants, including from the NREF, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the NIH. While in medical school, Dr. Adapa obtained a master’s degree in clinical research from the School of Public Health. Currently, he is interested in specializing in skull base neuro-oncology and cerebrovascular surgery. Outside of the hospital, Dr. Adapa is an amateur DJ, enjoys playing the saxophone, and biking around NYC.
Alex Agopyan-Miu, MD
Dr. Alex Agopyan-Miu was born in Montreal, Canada, but spent much of his formative years in California. He attended UC Berkeley, where he earned a degree in Molecular Cell Biology, before moving to New York to attend medical school at Columbia University. Now, as a resident, Dr. Agopyan-Miu focuses on epilepsy and functional neurosurgery research. While he remains open-minded about his future specialization, he has a strong interest in functional neurosurgery and spine. Outside of the hospital, Dr. Agopyan-Miu has a passion for rowing, a sport he took up after years as a competitive swimmer. An interesting fact about him is that before leaving the Bay Area, he successfully swam from Alcatraz to shore.
Farhan Khan, MD
PGY-3
Michael Argenziano, MD
Amrita Singh, MD
Dr. Amrita Singh received her undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Statistics from Columbia University and received her MD from the Yale University School of Medicine. Her research has focused on genetic drivers of congenital hydrocephalus, most recently identifying a novel human syndrome in a paper published in Brain in April 2024. She has a particular interest in pediatric neurosurgery, although is enjoying exploration of all fields of neurosurgery in her junior residency. An avid violinist, she has been playing for 23 years and studied at the Meadowmount School of Music.
Adrian Jimenez, MD
PGY-2
Colin Sperring, MD
Colin was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan where he studied Microbiology and Latin. After college, he returned to San Francisco to work under Dr. Bill Weiss at UCSF, studying NF1 splicing in high-risk neuroblastoma. He then attended the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, where he explored immunotherapeutic and metabolic targets in high-grade glioma under Dr. Jeffrey Bruce and Dr. Peter Canoll. As he looks to the future, Colin is interested in neuro-oncology and novel drug delivery.
Nathan Shlobin, MD
Nathan was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. He received his BA in Biological Sciences and Psychology and MD from Northwestern University as part of the Honors Program in Medical Education and took a year off during medical school to complete an MBA at Northwestern University. Nathan's clinical interests include functional, epilepsy, and tumor, and he is involved in work within global neurosurgery, health policy, and bioethics. He enjoys playing hockey and soccer, traveling, listening to a wide variety of music, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.
Raviteja Bethamcharla, MD
Ravi grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Fremont. He completed his undergraduate and medical degrees at Drexel University in Philadelphia as a part of the accelerated BS/MD program. During medical school he spent a year working with Dr. Raymond Sekula to research cranial neuralgias and skull base disorders. During residency, Ravi hopes to explore more basic science research and collaborate with Columbia's exceptional laboratories. Ravi's current clinical interests are skull base and neurosurgical oncology. However, he looks forward to being exposed to other subspecialties including spine, vascular, and peripheral nerve.
PGY-1 Interns
William Savage, MD
Dr. William Savage was born in London, UK but mostly grew up in Riverdale in the Bronx. He received his undergraduate degree from Columbia College and returned to Columbia for medical school, attending the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. As a medical student, he worked in the Brain Tumor Lab under the guidance of Drs. Jeffrey Bruce, Peter Canoll, and Jack Grinband, focusing on differentiating true tumor progression from treatment-related radiographic changes in patients with high-grade brain tumors. He received the Miriam Berkman Spotnitz Award for excellence in cancer research for this work.
Nicholas B. Dadario, MD
Dr. Nicholas B. Dadario was born in the Bronx and raised in Westchester, NY. He developed an interest in neurosurgery at an early age and went on to earn his medical degree from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. During his research year at Columbia, he conducted research in Dr. Jeffrey Bruce’s Brain Tumor Lab with co-mentor Dr. Peter Canoll, studying the immune landscape of glioblastoma and novel approaches to immunotherapy using convection-enhanced drug delivery. His project on intra-tumoral delivery of an immunostimulatory agent in glioblastoma earned him the 2024 Southeastern Brain Tumors Neuro-Oncology Trainee Award.