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New Employees - May 2020


New Faculty - May 2020

Meenu Singh, MD
Hospitalist, Assistant Professor
Main University Hospital, HCH

Meenu is joining us here at the University of Utah from Wisconsin. She is originally from India. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine from St. Francis Hospital, Evanston, Illinois in 2011 and then joined the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2011 as a Hospitalist. At Medical College of Wisconsin, she had several leadership roles including Hospitalist Director of Operations, Section Director for Hospital Medicine, Medical Unit Director, and Physician Advisor with Utilization review. She has led multiple quality improvement projects in her previous roles. She has been nominated for teaching awards for both medical students and residents at her previous institution. In her free time, she loves reading books, traveling, and spending time with her family.

New Staff - May 2020

Ditty Bannon, PA-C
Supportive Oncology/Palliative Care
General Internal Medicine - Huntsman Cancer Hospital/University of Utah

Ditty Bannon hails from New Hampshire, but has been out west for 16 years. After graduating from PA school in 2009, her first job was at Denver Health with their Hospitalist group. She moved to Utah in 2011 and accepted a position at the U for a brand new APC Critical Care Residency. She was lucky to be a part of the initial APC group who helped open the Huntsman ICU in November 2011. She worked in the Huntsman ICU, and then the Medical ICU as the team grew for nearly eight years before taking an 18 month hiatus to be home with her two young boys. She returns to work now and is thrilled to be part of the Supportive Oncology/Palliative Care team returning to the patients and people whom she loves at Huntsman. She is very excited to be learning new skills. Outside of work she loves to be outdoors with her two kids and husband, running, biking, or enjoying mother nature.

Lori Begaye
Research Assistant/Analyst
Epidemiology

Lacey Cooper
Clinical Nurse Specialist
General Internal Medicine

Kelsey Genovesse, PA-C, MPAS
AETC Public Health Detailer & Clinician for free PrEP/STI Clinic
Infectious Disease

Kelsey was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. After over eight years of Emergency Medical Service experience, Research Assistant at Primary Children’s Hospital and volunteering at the 4th Street Homeless Clinic she completed the Physician Assistant Program at the University of Utah in 2013. For the last seven years Kelsey has worked primarily in under served family medicine starting in migrant farmworker healthcare in California and then moving to a FQHC in Washington.

In Washington, she became Chair of the Controlled Substance Review Board and PrEP provider for her clinic. Deciding to return to her home state she brought her experience of family practice and providing PrEP care to her current position in the free PrEP and STI clinic with the Infectious Disease Department at the University of Utah and working with the AIDS Education Training Center to consult and teach other Primary Care Providers in Utah how to add PrEP and improved STI care to their practices.

Outside of work you can find Kelsey back on the hiking trails in Utah or training for upcoming triathlons.

Marissa Hernandez
Dialysis Technician
Dialysis - Utah

Brittany Hilleshiem
Dialysis Technician
Dialysis - Idaho

Alijana Kahriman, MS
Hospital Elder Life Specialist
Geriatrics

Alijana is originally from Bosnia, but has spent most of her life in Salt Lake City. She has worked for the University of Utah for the last nine years. Alijana has a Master’s degree in Gerontology from the University of Utah, College of Nursing. Her education along with her passion for working with older adults and her admiration for working at the University has led her to her new position with the Division of Geriatrics. Alijana was born in Germany and she spends most of her free time with her two dogs.

Destini Pentz
Dialysis Technician
Dialysis - Utah

Bruno Rodriguez
UU Student - Admin/Clerical
Endocrinology/Diabetes Research

Alexia Searle
Clinical Nurse Specialist
General Internal Medicine