The Department of Neurological Surgery would like to extend a hearty congratulations to Drs. Vin Shen Ban, Scott Connors, Zachary Johnson, and Carl Youssef on completing their UT Southwestern Neurological Surgery residency. The graduates will continue their education by completing fellowship programs.
Dr. Vin Shen Ban – Cerebrovascular Fellowship, Stanford Medicine
Dr. Scott Connors – Brain Tumor and Skull Base Fellowship, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dr. Zachary Johnson – Private Practice, Dallas Neurosurgical & Spine
Dr. Carl Youssef – Spine Fellowship, Semmes Murphey Clinic
Welcome, Class of 2030
As this new crop of neurosurgeons prepares for the next step in their careers, we also would like to welcome our incoming Neurological Surgery residents.
Ammar Adenwalla, M.D.
Born in Ohio but raised in Dallas, Ammar graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Dallas with a B.S. in biology and health care management. Throughout college, he worked on several bioinformatics projects and enjoyed tutoring organic chemistry and biochemistry. He also had the opportunity to experience the administrative side of medicine as a business intelligence intern at The Heart Hospital.
Ammar stayed in Dallas to attend medical school at UT Southwestern, where he developed a passion for neurosurgery while investigating patient outcomes after glioblastoma resection and spine surgery. To explore his interests in health care policy, he became involved in UTSW’s TMA/AMA chapter, attending conferences and taking on leadership roles throughout medical school. He is honored to continue his training at UT Southwestern for residency.
Outside of work, Ammar enjoys supporting the Cowboys and the Mavericks, working out, traveling, and trying new restaurants.
Anthony Asemota, M.D.
Anthony received his medical degree from the University of Benin, Nigeria. Following medical school, he earned a Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and subsequently conducted clinical outcomes research at the Johns Hopkins Medicine institutions, where he focused on skull base and pituitary neurosurgery. Anthony also completed clinical pre-residencies at the University of New Mexico and Beth Israel Lahey Health.
His hobbies include playing soccer, listening to music, and light reading.
Rebekah Langston, M.D.
Born and raised in a small town in Arkansas, Rebekah graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arkansas with a double major in chemistry and Spanish. She then spent two years at the National Institutes of Health as part of the Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award program, studying genetic mutations underlying Parkinson’s disease with Dr. Mark Cookson. Inspired by her work there, she pursued an M.D./Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
During medical school, Rebekah received the Lawrence E. Scheving Award for Excellence in Anatomy and served as President of the AANS Medical Student Chapter. She also was awarded grants from the Pulaski County Medical Society and the Blue & You Foundation supporting the development of an interdisciplinary foot clinic for homeless people. Rebekah graduated with the highest scholastic grade point average in her class. Returning to Dr. Cookson’s lab at the NIH to complete her Ph.D. research, she used single-cell sequencing analyses of human brain tissue and a human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia model to describe the function of a noncoding Parkinson’s disease risk variant.
Outside of work, Rebekah enjoys spending time with her husband, learning Greek, and tending her always expanding collection of plants.
Derrick Murcia M.D.
Born in Burbank, California, and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, Derrick attended Louisiana State University in Shreveport, graduating summa cum laude with a B.S. in chemistry and a minor in molecular and cellular biology. After college, he attended the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Throughout college and medical school, he has performed extensive research investigations regarding brain tumor differentiation using noninvasive imaging quantification and analysis.
In 2023 Derrick began his neurosurgical training at UT Southwestern. His academic interests in neurosurgery include neuro-oncology and MRI image processing. He also is invested in mentoring students and health care disparities.
Outside of the hospital, Derrick enjoys playing soccer and basketball, hiking, trying new foods, and traveling.
At UT Southwestern, we are dedicated to providing the highest quality training experience to cultivate future leaders in neurological surgery. Please join us in congratulating the Class of 2023 and welcoming the Class of 2030.