Dr. Vaghjiani complete his undergraduate education at Brown University with a Sc.B. in neuroscience. He received his M.D. from Brown University and completed general surgery residency at the Albert Einstein COM/Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY. During that time, he also completed a thoracic surgery research fellowship focusing on solid tumor immunology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY. He received subspecialty clinical training in complex general surgical oncology at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY before joining the faculty at UTMB.

His clinical interests include the treatment of a wide variety of cancers including: gastric, esophageal, small bowel, pancreas, bile duct, adrenal, thyroid/parathyroid, sarcoma, melanoma, and breast. He is also well versed in minimally invasive/robotic techniques.

Dr. Vaghjiani is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the Society of Surgical Oncology, and the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association.

Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family (including his dogs Mango and Chutney), camping, and cars.

Dr. Lauren McTaggart, MD is a board-certified general surgeon. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. She returned to pursue a career in medicine obtaining her medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean. She completed her internship and residency in General Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. She accomplished a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery, Advanced GI and Bariatric Surgery at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida.

Dr. McTaggart’s surgical interests include: Minimally Invasive Surgery of the Foregut, Bariatric, and General Surgery. She has experience in bariatric and revisional bariatric surgery, foregut surgery, including esophageal motility disorders, gastroesophageal reflux disease, hiatal and paraesophageal hernias, and gastroparesis. She also has an interest in endoscopy, benign gallbladder disease and abdominal and inguinal hernias. She utilizes minimally invasive surgical techniques through a robotic and laparoscopic approach.

Dr. Lauren McTaggart is a member of the American College of Surgeons, Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, Association of Women Surgeons, and the American Hernia Society.

Lastly, Dr. McTaggart is passionate about patient care and her community. She is dedicated to helping her patient’s understand disease processes and achieve a better quality of life.

Dr. Tyler's clinical practice focuses on GI cancers, melanoma, and sarcoma. He has pioneered neoadjuvant approaches using chemotherapy and/or radiation to tumors of the stomach and pancreas as well as the application of minimally invasive surgery to tumors of the GI tract. He is an expert in the management of regionally advanced and in-transit melanoma and oversees novel clinical trials to manage this form of disease. Dr. Tyler also has extensive experience managing retroperitoneal and abdominal wall sarcomas.

Dr. Tyler serves as chairman of the UTMB Health Department of Surgery and is the holder of the John Woods Harris Distinguished Chairman, Department of Surgery.

Dr. Abigail Forbes is the Director of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas. She is a Texas native, Baylor University alumni and a board-eligible Plastic Surgeon. She has lived in the Galveston area for over a decade.

Dr. Forbes is well-known for her aesthetic eye as it relates to Plastic Surgery. She maintains the highest standards when it comes to achieving surgical results for her patients. She is very detail-oriented and is a perfectionist in the operating room. Dr. Forbes takes the time to optimize outcomes and, most importantly, her patient’s satisfaction.

Dr. Forbes graduated from Baylor University in 2013 with a Bachelors degree in Biology with Honors. She went on to the University of Texas Medical Branch for her medical doctorate degree where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2017. Matching into her top choice of training programs at University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), she then completed a six-year Plastic Surgery Residency where she operated at UTMB, MD Anderson, Memorial Hermann, St. Joseph’s, Dell Childrens, Dell Seton Medical Center and numerous private Aesthetic practices in Texas.

Dr. Forbes has contributed to the field of Plastic Surgery through research, publishing articles in peer-reviewed journals, and spending time educating Plastic Surgery trainees. She is a member of the Truman G. Blocker, Jr., M.D. Society. She particularly enjoys performing mommy makeovers, massive weight loss body contouring, facelift/necklift, blepharoplasties, breast lift/reduction/augmentation, tummy tuck, complex scar revisions, lipoma/benign cyst excisions and labiaplasties.

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Dr. Hoang Q. Pham grew up in northern California. He graduated from high school in San Antonio before attending Harvard College. He graduated summa cum laude in Biological Sciences. Dr. Pham then completed his medical school education at the University of Pennsylvania. He returned to Texas and Houston in 1999 to continue his training at Baylor College of Medicine. He then stayed on at Baylor as an assistant professor of surgery working at Ben Taub General Hospital doing trauma and general surgery. He has been a trauma and general surgeon in the Clear Lake area since 2007, and now is part of the team at UTMB Health.

Dr. Laurel L. Humphrey is an Assistant Professor in the Division of MIS/Foregut Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). Prior to practicing at UTMB Dr. Humphrey was in private practice in General Surgery and Endoscopy in Dallas, Crockett, and La Grange, Texas.

Dr. Humphrey earned her Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Her residency in General Surgery was completed at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana. She received her Doctorate of Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas.

Dr. Humphrey has been a part of scientific societies such as the Brazoria County Medical Society, Colorado-Fayette County Medical Society, Tarrant County Medical Society and membership in the Texas Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Humphrey's specialties include endoscopy, breast and colon cancer, thyroid, hernia repair, gall bladder, appendectomy, and emergency surgery.

Dr. Naik-Mathuria is the Division Chief of Pediatric Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), where she?holds the Granville T. Hall Chair in General Surgery.? Dr. Naik-Mathuria?is triple board certified in Pediatric Surgery, General Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care. She is an?experienced pediatric surgeon with over a decade of clinical experience in general pediatric abdominal and thoracic surgery, pediatric surgical oncology, and pediatric trauma.

Dr. Naik-Mathuria was born and raised in Mombasa, Kenya, she immigrated to Houston with her family during high school and graduated from Clements High School in Sugar Land. She attended Trinity University in San Antonio where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a double major (BS in Biology and BA in Psychology), then matriculated from medical school at Texas A+M Health Science Center where she was nominated to the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. She joined the General Surgery residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (2003-2009), where she spent an additional year doing a research fellowship in fetal wound healing. Following completion of General Surgery residency, she moved to Los Angeles for Pediatric Surgery fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (2009-2011). She was then recruited back to Baylor in the Division of Pediatric Surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital where she was given the opportunity to develop and lead the recently established Level I pediatric trauma program. She completed a second fellowship in Surgical Critical Care and subsequently started the pediatric track of Baylor's surgical critical care fellowship. A few years later, she?obtained a?Master's?in Public Health?from John’s Hopkin’s Bloomberg school.?She was promoted to Associate Professor at Baylor 6 years after completing training (2018) and is currently pending approval for promotion to Professor at UTMB (2022).

Dr. Naik-Mathuria is an experienced and compassionate clinician. She is most passionate about caring for the most vulnerable – those affected by cancer or injury – and believes strongly in equitable, high-quality care for all. During the ten years that she worked at Texas Children's Hospital, she specialized?in surgical oncology and trauma in addition to practicing general neonatal and pediatric surgery. She received multiple awards during this time, including Texas Rising Star in Texas Monthly's SuperDoctors (2018),?Who’s Who in Medicine (2018), Best Doctors in Houston by Houstonia Magazine (2018, 2020, 2021), Texas SuperDoctors in Texas Monthly Magazine (2022). Her clinical academic excellence was awarded by Baylor College of Medicine through the Early Career Faculty Excellence Award (2017), the Women of Excellence Award (2020), and The Texas Children’s Hospital Department of Surgery Faculty Clinical Excellence Award (2020).

Dr. Naik-Mathuria is an avid clinical outcomes, trauma, and public health researcher. She has authored over 100 publications and co-edited the primary textbook in pediatric trauma. In 2017, she was chosen as a Future Trauma Leader by the American College of Surgeons and is now considered a national leader in pediatric trauma. She has contributed to several national initiatives affecting the care of injured children and is frequently invited for national speaking engagements. Dr. Naik-Mathuria has an R01 award from the Centers for Disease Control to understand the epidemiology of firearm injury and violence in Harris County (Houston) and was the only surgeon to be funded by CDC in the first round following a 24-year federal ban on firearm-related funding. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Houston Chronicle. She is a strong advocate for child firearm safety and works with Houston city leadership and law enforcement through her leadership role on the Houston Mayor's Commission Against Gun Violence. Additionally, she is a fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy in the Firearm Injury Prevention and Safety program.

Dr. Naik-Mathuria is involved in several national surgical organizations at the leadership level. She completed a term on the executive board of the Pediatric Trauma Society, is the current Chair of the Advocacy committee of the AAP Section on Surgery, and the Vice-Chair of the Pediatric committee of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma. She also serves on several committees in the American Pediatric Surgical Association and Society of University Surgeons.

Finally, Dr. Naik-Mathuria has a special interest in global surgery, and travels to Africa to the town where she grew up frequently to work with local pediatric surgeons to increase access to high-quality pediatric surgical care, train local pediatric surgical fellows and residents, and build local capacity. She also works with the Rice 360 and bioengineering program to create low-cost innovative solutions for surgical problems in low resource settings. She plans to start a global surgery program at UTMB and train passionate residents and students to be leaders in global surgery.

As the new leader of pediatric surgery at UTMB, Dr. Naik-Mathuria is excited about programmatic development and research to ensure the highest quality of surgical care for the children and families in South Texas, to educate the next generation of surgeons, and to continue to advocate for child health and safety, and the highest level of health for all people.

Jill Resendez, MSN, APRN, AGACNP-BC is a board- certified Nurse Practitioner with the Division of Plastic Surgery at UTMB. She completed her Masters of Science in Nursing from The University of Texas at Arlington. She provides patient care at the UTMB Health Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics Town Center, Plastic Surgery Specialty clinic in League City, MD Anderson League City and University Health Clinics in Galveston. Jill specializes in non-surgical aesthetic procedures such as Botox, Dermal fillers, lasers, nipple areola tattooing for breast cancer survivors, treatment of complex wounds, new plastic surgery consultations and assist in the management of post operative patients.

Dr. Carmen Mora serves as an Assistant Professor specializing in Pediatric Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. She brings a comprehensive academic background to her medical career. Dr. Mora earned her bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Texas A&M in College Station before pursuing her medical degree at Texas A&M Health Science Center-COM.

After graduating from medical school at Texas A&M Health Science Center-COM, she completed her general surgery residency at UMass-Baystate. Her commitment to advancing pediatric care led her to pursue specialized training through fellowships in Pediatric Surgical Critical Care at the University of Tennessee- Le Bonheur Children’s, Pediatric Minimally Invasive Surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Pediatric Surgery at UCSF-Benioff Children’s in California.

Raised in Houston, Texas, Dr. Mora’s cultural versatility extends to her fluency in Spanish, enhancing her ability to connect with an underserved patient population. In her role as Assistant Professor, Dr. Mora combines her extensive training, multicultural proficiency, and compassionate approach to provide top-tier care and make a lasting impact on the lives of young patients. Her true passion lies in advocating for the most vulnerable children, embodying her unwavering belief in delivering equitable healthcare to every child, with a special focus on those who are underrepresented in our society.