Meet Our Faculty
Faiz Bhora, M.D.
Regional Chair of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian Health Central Region
Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, George Washington University Medical Center
Fellowship: Cardiothoracic Surgery, UCLA Medical Center
Fellowship: Thoracic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania
Alyssa R. Golas, M.D., MBA
Residency Program Director
Director of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, JFK University Medical Center
Associate Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, NY Presbyterian Hospital, Weill-Cornell Medical Center
Residency: Plastic Surgery, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
General Surgery
Prayag Barot, M.D.
Residency: General Surgery, Saint Barnabas Medical Center
Fellowship: Advanced Laparoscopy, North Shore Long Island Jewish Medical Center
Annie Benzie, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Fellowship: Advanced Gastrointestinal Surgery, Methodist Richardson Medical Center
Harold Chung-Loy, M.D.
Residency: General Surgery, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Fellowship: Renal Transplant, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Vincent Moss, M.D.
Associate Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center, Nassau County Medical Center
Fellowship: Thoracic Surgery, State University of New York (SUNY), Brooklyn
Burton Surick, M.D.
Site Director, JFKUMC Rotations at Hackensack University Medical Center
Program Director, Hackensack University Medical Center General Surgery Residency
Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, Beth Israel Medical Center
Fellowship: Surgical Endoscopy, Beth Israel Medical Center
Anesthesia
Michael Armao, D.O.
Residency: Anesthesiology, Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center
Breast Surgery
Simone Mays, M.D.
Residency: General Surgery, Brookdale Hospital Medical Center,
Fellowship: Breast Surgery, Bryn Mawr Hospital
Colorectal Surgery
Jonathan Knowles, M.D.
Chief of Colorectal Surgery, JFK University Medical Center
Residency/Fellowship: UK General Surgical and Colorectal Residency/Fellowship Surgical Training
Fellowship: Colon and Rectal Surgery, NY Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center
Adam Studniarek, M.D.
Residency: General Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Fellowship: Colon and Rectal Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical Center - Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center
Critical Care
Daniel Rosenblatt, M.D.
Medical Director, Critical Care, JFK University Medical Center
Residency: Internal Medicine, Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh
Fellowship: Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Endocrine Surgery
David Steinmetz, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Fellowship: Endocrine Surgery, University of Miami, Jackson Health System
Head and Neck Surgery
Matin Imanguli, M.D., DDS
Director of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, Hackensack Meridian Health Central Region
Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: Otolaryngology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Fellowship: Head and Neck Surgery, University of Alabama Medical Center
Robert Lebovics, M.D.
Associate Professor of Otolaryngology
Co-Director, Advanced Lung and Airway Center
Residency: Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Montefiore Hospital & Medical Center
Minimally Invasive and Foregut Surgery
Anish Nihalani, M.D.
Division Chief, General Surgery, JFK University Medical Center
Residency: General Surgery, Montefiore North Medical Center - New York Medical College
Fellowship: Advanced Laparoscopic/Bariatric Surgery, Princeton University Medical Center
Alexander Abkin, M.D.
Residency: General Surgery, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Aram Jawed, M.D.
Residency: General Surgery, Morristown Medical Center
Fellowship: Advanced Laparoscopic, Robotic and Bariatric Surgery, Inova Fairfax Hospital
Aziz Merchant, M.D.
Surgical Clerkship Site Director, JFK University Medical Center
Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, Georgetown University Medical School
Fellowship: Minimally Invasive and Advanced Gastrointestinal Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine
Sergey Terushkin, M.D.
Residency: General Surgery, Maimonides Medical Center
Fellowship: Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida
Pediatric Surgery
Keith Kuenzler, M.D.
Residency: General Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University
Fellowship: Pediatric Surgery, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, NY Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center
Plastic Surgery
Alyssa R. Golas, M.D., MBA
Residency Program Director
Director of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, JFK University Medical Center
Associate Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, NY Presbyterian Hospital, Weill-Cornell Medical Center
Residency: Plastic Surgery, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Peter Andrawes, M.D.
Residency: General Surgery, Staten Island University Hospital – Northwell Health
Residency: Plastic Surgery, Houston Methodist Hospital
Fellowship: Hand Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center at Harmot
Surgical Ethics and Artificial Intelligence
Charles Binkley, M.D.
Director of Bioethics, Hackensack Meridian Health Central Region
Associate Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, University of Michigan Hospitals
Fellowship: NIH Gastrointestinal Surgery, University of Michigan Hospitals
Surgical Oncology
Benjamin Golas, M.D.
Regional Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology, Hackensack Meridian Health Central Region
Associate Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, NY Presbyterian Hospital, Weill-Cornell Medical Center
Fellowship: Complex General Surgical Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Eric Pletcher, M.D.
Residency: General Surgery, St. Luke’s Roosevelt Medical Center
Fellowship: Complex General Surgical Oncology, Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Thoracic Surgery
Faiz Bhora, M.D.
Regional Chair of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian Health Central Region
Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, George Washington University Medical Center
Fellowship: Cardiothoracic Surgery, UCLA Medical Center
Fellowship: Thoracic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania
Mohammed Jawad Latif, M.D.
Director of Esophageal Surgery, Site Chief of Esophageal Surgery, Hackensack Meridian Health Central Region
Residency: General Surgery, St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center - Mt. Sinai Health System
Fellowship: Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Fellowship: Thoracic Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Konstantinos Poulikidis, M.D.
Fellowship Director, Advanced Thoracic Fellowship, JFK University Medical Center
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, Stamford Hospital – Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons
Fellowship: Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Loyola University Medical Center
Fellowship: Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Transplant Surgery
Michael Goldstein, M.D.
Professor of Surgery, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: General Surgery, NY Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center
Fellowship: Liver Disease and Transplantation, NY Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center
Vascular Surgery
Geoffrey Wong, M.D.
Vice Chair, Department of Surgery, JFK University Medical Center
Division Chief, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, JFK University Medical Center
Residency: General Surgery, SUNY Downstate Brooklyn
Fellowship: Vascular Surgery, University of Massachusetts
Hunaiz Patel, M.D.
Residency: General Surgery, Bassett Medical Center
Fellowship: Vascular Surgery, Albany Medical Center
Christopher Cappellini, D.O.
Residency: General Surgery, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Fellowship: Vascular Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Elizabeth Northfield, M.D.
Residency: Vascular Surgery, Zucker School of Medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital