Current Fellows

Eyad Gharaibeh, M.D.

Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Medical School: University of Kansas School of Medicine
Residency: St. Luke's Hospital
Areas of Interest: General GI 

Mahmoud Madi, M.D.

Hometown: Salfit, Palestine
Medical School: University of Jordan Faculty of Medicine
Residency: Tufts Medical Center
Areas of Interest: General GI, Advanced Endoscopy
Hobbies: Soccer, baking, making Middle Eastern desserts

Zain Raza, M.D.

Hometown: Edmond, Oklahoma
Medical School: University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
Residency: Washington University St. Louis
Areas of Interest: General GI, biliary
Hobbies: Hanging out with my daughter and wife, cycling, running, cooking, gaming

Pradeep Yarra, M.D.

Medical School: Kasturba Medical College Mangalore
Residency: Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New Jersey
Areas of Interest: General GI, biliary

Zarir Ahmed, D.O. 

Hometown: St. Louis
Medical School: Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Saint Louis University
Areas of Interest: General GI 
Why SLU: I chose SLU because of the amazing mentors who care about my learning and being the most competent in what I do and a diverse patient population
Hobbies: Enjoy spending time with my wife and two daughters. Love Lego collecting, Marvel Universe enthusiast, traveling, cooking, and exploring new places to eat.

Michelle Baliss, D.O. 

Hometown: Dunlap, Illinois
Medical School: Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: University of Texas Medical Branch
Areas of Interest: General GI
Why SLU: I love my co-fellows! I feel so supported and I appreciate the opportunity to learn from amazing faculty.
Hobbies: Food, family, and working out!

Soumojit Ghosh, M.D.

Hometown: St. Louis
Medical School: Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Residency: Saint Louis University
Areas of Interest: General GI, biliary
Why SLU: The diverse training of the teaching faculty as well as the patient population at SLU provides a rich clinical environment to learn and train in. This, alongside the camaraderie between all the fellows and faculty really attracted me to the GI fellowship at SLU. And it doesn't hurt to have a brand new state-of-the-art facility to work and learn in.
Hobbies: Cooking, real estate, watching and playing all sports, finance/investing, playing the ukulele.

Laith Numan, M.D. 

Hometown: Irbid, Jordan
Medical School: Jordan University of Science and Technology
Residency: University of Missouri-Kansas City
Areas of Interest: General GI, biliary
Why SLU: The main reason was that my wife is an internal medicine resident in St. Louis, and I heard a lot of great things about the program from one of my friends who was a fellow here. At SLU, I really like the complexity of the cases and the great faculty we have.
Hobbies: Soccer, video games and collecting shoes.

Leen Al-Sayyed, M.D. 

Hometown: Attil, Palestine
Medical School: University of Jordan
Residency: University of Arizona- Tucson
Areas of Interest: General GI, hepatology, biliary
Why SLU: Diversity, mentorship, friendly environment and SLU's strong transplant hepatology program.
Career Plans: Transplant hepatology.
Hobbies: I love being in nature, reading, art in general, classic music and traveling.

Anuj Chhaparia, M.D. 

Hometown: New Delhi, India
Medical School: University College of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
Residency: Saint Louis University
Areas of Interest: General GI, IBD, Hepatology
Why SLU: Having done my residency at SLU, I was very familiar with the GI fellowship program at St. Louis University. SLU GI offers great exposure to a wide spectrum of gastrointestinal and hepatology pathologies. As a liver transplant center, there is a good mixture of both chronic liver disease and decompensated cirrhosis patients. Everyone in the program is very friendly and approachable. Most importantly, I believe that SLU GI trains you to be an outstanding gastroenterologist.
Hobbies: Travel, Netflix, fitness and spending time with family.

Gebran Khneizer, M.D.

Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon
Medical School: American University of Beirut
Residency: Saint Louis University
Areas of Interest: General GI, IBD
Why SLU: Friendly and supportive culture here. I came back for fellowship because I felt at home.
Hobbies: Basketball, scuba diving, learning new languages (currently Spanish).

Benjamin Schmidt, M.D. 

Hometown: St. Louis
Medical School: University of Missouri
Residency: Loyola University Medical Center
Areas of Interest: General GI, hepatology
Why SLU: I loved the welcoming environment and the diverse GI/liver pathology. It has been an amazing place to learn.
Career Plans: General GI
Hobbies: Movies, ultimate frisbee, short film production.