Meet Our Current Residents
Class of 2010 (PGY-4)
Thomas Buchanan, MD
Tom grew up in Alaska, but has also lived in Mexico, Chicago, and New York. He graduated from Princeton with an A.B in Psychology, concentrating in Neuroscience. He earned a masters degree in Applied Physiology from Rosalind Franklin University of Health and Science, and received an MD from the Chicago Medical School at the same institution. He has done research and published on a variety of topics, including a rat model of Parkinson disease, epilepsy, autism, and headache. He plans to complete a neurophysiology fellowship after residency. He enjoys the outdoors, playing guitar and harmonica, and answering questions about lava from his 4 boys.
Seth Kareus, MD
Seth Kareus is a PGY-4 Neurology resident. He attended Northern Arizona University for both his BS and MS in chemistry. After which he attended medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He completed his intern year at the University of Utah. He is currently serving as the Chief Neurology Resident with Kevin Walker.
His academic interests include movement disorders, particularly Parkinson’s disease, hereditary ataxias, and movement disorder emergencies. He is also interested in medical education and is working to complete a movement disorder film library.
Outside the hospital he enjoys Utah’s great snow and is an avid snowboarder. Other interests include cycling and motorcycle riding.
Kevin Walker, MD
Kevin Walker is a Utah native who graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance from Brigham Young University. Shortly after graduating he married Arica Craven and was accepted to THE Ohio State University College of Medicine on the same day. After completing medical school, he excitedly returned to Utah to pursue a neurology residency at the University of Utah and is enjoying serving as a co-chief resident this year. During residency thus far he has presented research on infective endocarditis and stroke at the Western Intermountain Neurological Organization and as a poster presentation at the 2009 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in Seattle. After residency he hopes to pursue a fellowship in sleep medicine. Anytime he is not at work, he loves spending time with his wife and two little girls.
Dustin Harker, MD
Dustin Harker was raised in Alberta and Saskatchewan. He graduated high school in India, and one of his favorite memories is a weeklong hike in the Himalayas, ascending to 16,000 feet. He attended Brigham Young University as a freshman before serving a LDS mission in Ontario, Canada. Before completing a Neuroscience Bachelor's at BYU, he lived with his wife in Paris, France for 3 months. He attended medical school at Toledo, Ohio and served a medical mission to Honduras. He returned to Utah for Neurology residency, and is looking forward to going to Africa this year with other residents and faculty as part of another medical outreach. He is currently interviewing for general neurology positions starting summer 2010.
Class of 2011 (PGY-3)
Juliann Allred, MD
Juliann Allred is currently a third year neurology resident and native of rural Utah, where she spends the majority of her summers riding horses and fence lines.
Her undergraduate education began at a small local college, followed by completion of a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry at the University of Utah. Juliann completed medical school at the same institution in 2007 and subsequently began the wild ride of residency! Every day she sees a really cool neurological case. Her interests in neurology are broad and she can’t say which subspecialty she enjoys the most, but Juliann is super excited about being part of a Vitamin D study in Multiple Sclerosis patients.
Outside of neurology, she spends time with her husband, Nathan, who is an internal medicine resident. They like to read books together, hike, bike, and in general, be outside of the hospital, their house, or any other building!
Matthew Grantz, MD
Dr. Matthew Grantz grew up in Colorado Springs, CO where he developed his love for the outdoors and backpacking. He attended Fort Lewis College, a small liberal arts college, in Durango, Colorado. After receiving his Biochemistry degree and minor in psychology he joined the Peace Corps. Matthew served for 2 1/2 years in a sub-Saharan country, Malawi. There he taught physical science, biology and anti- AIDS. Undecided between graduate school in neuroscience or medical school, he worked in a biochemistry RNA crystallography lab at the University of Colorado. Two years later Matthew started medical school at the University of Colorado. Since coming to the University of Utah, he has presented patient based case studies (i.e. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and Marburg's malignant multiple sclerosis) at grand rounds and at a regional conference. His current neurologic interests include international neurology, stroke, neuro-oncology, and multiple sclerosis.
George Zinkhan, MD
Dr. George Zinkhan received his bioengineering training at Rice University where he worked with Dr. Kyriacos Athanasiou in a musculoskeletal engineering lab to develop chondrocyte implants through mechanical stimulation of the tissue. He received his medical training at the University of Texas Southwestern where he worked with Dr. Keith Tansey in a spinal cord injury bioengineering lab to develop software to measure gait parameters in spinal cord injured rats.
He is currently a resident at the University of Utah. His clinical and research interests are in neurophysiology. He is also interested in education and is currently serving on the resident education committee and resident recruitment committee.
Dissertation
Zinkhan, G. “Paw Print Gait Analysis in Rats with Spinal Cord Injury” May 2003.
Abstract
Huntington P, Zinkhan G, Botterman B, and Tansey K. Recovery of Hindlimb Stepping Following Spinal Cord Injury in the Rat: Comparison of Open Field Scores and Automated Paw Print Analysis at Different Gait Speeds and Recovery Times Accepted by 12th International Symposium on Neural Regeneration 2007.
Abstract with Poster Presentation
Afra P, Zinkhan G, Constantino T, and Matsuo F. “Acute Mental Status Changes and Subtle Periodic Epileptiform Discharges, Reversible with Bolus of Benzodiazepine Injection: Another Form of NCSE,” presented at American Academy of Neurology in April 2009.
Class of 2012 (PGY-2)
Lukas Clark, MD
Lukas Clark was born in Germany, and has lived in Ohio, California, Tennessee, Taiwan, Wisconsin and Utah. He graduated with a BS in Microbiology and with a minor in history, and received his MD degree at the Medical College of Wisconsin. His nascent interest in Neurology bloomed in medical school, where he was able to pursue research in Diffusion Tensor Imaging. He continues to remain open to new possibilities for further specialization in Neurology.
Outside of medicine, Lukas enjoys skiing, running, biking, and playing table tennis. He speaks German, Mandarin, and some Spanish. He loves history, the sciences, and mathematics, and also likes reading a good book.
Melissa Cortez, DO
Dr. Melissa Cortez was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology, with a minor in Psychology, from the University of Wyoming. She then went on to earn her Medical Degree at Midwestern University’s Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she graduated with honors in 2008, followed by a one-year internship at the University of Minnesota and Hennepin County Medical Centers. Dr. Cortez is currently completing her neurology residency here at the University of Utah’s Department of Neurology. Her current areas of interest include multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular and neuroinfectious diseases, and the role of lifestyle and nutritional choices in the management of neurologic disorders. Dr. Cortez grew up in Laramie, Wyoming, where she developed an appreciation for the outdoors and nurtured an affinity for addressing the specialized medical needs of small, rural communities. She hopes to have a career that includes providing outreach to underserved populations, international travel, and clinical research.
Summer Gibson, MD
Dr. Gibson grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. She went to Rice University to complete her undergraduate training. Summer completed medical school at the University of Texas in San Antonio. She was a scholarship athlete competing in cross-country and track while at Rice and currently enjoys training for triathlons. A current area of interest is neuromuscular disease. Summer has done research in immunology and genetics and is looking forward to putting these experiences to use in future projects and possibly in ALS.
Bethany McClenathan, MD
Bethany is a 2008 graduate from Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois. While in medical school, she participated in several research studies on patients wiht transient ischemic attacks. She received her undergraduate degree in Animal Biology from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She completed her internship at the University of Utah. Her love for the outdoors brought her to Utah so she could combine a great education with some fantastic recreation. In her free time she loves to hike and spend time with her husband, friends and dog, Charlie. Her other hobbies include reading, photography and DYI projects. Bethany plans to pursue a career in academic neurology following residency.
Natalie Weathered, MD
Natalie Weathered studied biology and art history at the University of Notre Dame, but when she decided to pursue a career in medicine, she returned home to Utah to attend the University of Utah School of Medicine. She had an intense interest in neurology from the beginning and loved the neurology program at the U so much she decided to stay for residency. Currently, Natalie is investigating multiple options for her future career in neurology. She is very interested in international medicine and has traveled to Peru and Kenya to work in medical clinics. These experiences involved a great deal of HIV neurology cases which fascinated her and are currently driving her to consider this exciting area in neurology. However, she’s struggling because she’s also very interested in stroke and perhaps even critical care. We'll see where she ends up!
Pediatric Neurology Residents
Wendy Osterling, MD
Wendy Osterling received her BA in Biology at Dartmouth College. She then went on to
complete her medical degree at Dartmouth Medical School. After graduating, Wendy completed her pediatric residency at the University of Utah/Primary Children’s Medial Center. In 2007, she started her pediatric neurology residency training and is currently in her last year.
Wendy enjoys pottery, painting, knitting, sewing, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, and backpacking.
Matthew Sweeney, MD
Matthew Thomas Sweney, MD, MS is originally from Lincoln, NE, and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he received his BS in Biosystems Engineering. Afterward, Matthew attended the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and received his Masters in Biomedical Engineering. He returned to Nebraska and attended the University of Nebraska, College of Medicine, where he received his MD in 2004. After graduation, Matthew completed his pediatric residency at the combined University of Nebraska-Creighton University training program. He came to the University of Utah in 2007 and completed a one year Research Fellowship studying Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood with Kathryn Swoboda, MD. As of July 2008, Matthew started his clinical fellowship in Child Neurology, and he is due to finish in June 2011.
Dr Sweeney's research interests have included ocular drug delivery and neuroprotective measures in stroke management during graduate training. Residency included publication on congenital malformations and steroid use in neonatal critical care. Matthew currently continues to investigate the genetic and clinical aspects of Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood with plans to extend training through pediatric epilepsy fellowship.
Clint Nelson, MD
Clint Nelson is currently in his third year out of five in the pediatric neurology training program. He is originally from Utah and loves living here with his family. Clint completed his undergraduate education at Brigham Young University, and then was able to attend Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He used the first two years of his residency to focus on general pediatrics, and also on collaborating on a research project involving outcomes and diagnoses in inherited leukodystrophies. Clint was accepted to present the first part of this research at the Child Neurology Society 2009 national meeting. His ultimate plans involve general inpatient and outpatient child neurology, and continuing his clinical research with inherited white matter disease.
