Dr. Morales joined our surgical faculty as Assistant Professor of Surgery after completing the Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in July 2025. Her clinical interests includes specialties in breast cancer surgery and benign and malignant breast disease.

Memberships, Awards and Honors
American Board of Surgery, General Surgery – Board Certified
American College of Surgeons
American Society of Breast Surgeons

Education
M.D. – Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2018 - 2021
Internship – Saint Luke’s Episcopal Medical Center, Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2018 – 2019
Residency – Saint Luke’s Episcopal Medical Center, Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2019 – 2024
Fellowship – Breast Surgical Oncology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. 2024 - 2025

Jeffrey Ryan Conner, MD Assistant Professor of Surgery Division of Acute Care Surgery Department of Surgery Vanderbilt University Medical Center Major, Medical Corps, US Army EMAIL: jeffrey.conner@vumc.org

Dr. Conner joined our surgical faculty as Assistant Professor of Surgery after a two-year Acute Care Surgery fellowship at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He has been Active Duty in our Armed Forces currently serving for the past 8 years in the Army, entering his 9th year of service, with current rank of Major. Dr. Conner is one of our Acute Care Surgeons assigned to Vanderbilt’s Army Military Civilian Trauma Team Training (AMCT3) program. He has received many accolades in civilian and military setting, such as Madigan Army Medical Center Most Outstanding Resident Award, US Army Achievement Medal, US Army Commendation Medal, and Wake Forest Department of Surgery Fellow Educator of the Year. He is board certified in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care.

Research
Dr. Conner’s research interests and quality improvement efforts are focused on advancing laparoscopic common bile duct exploration and outcomes in Emergency General Surgery and Trauma. Included among his recent publications are: “Nationwide Estimates of Potential Lives Saved with Prehospital Blood Transfusions,” Transfusion 2025, “A Novel Taxonomy of Intraoperative Cholangiograms in Suspected Choledocholithiasis: A Tool for Advancing Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration Outcomes Research,” The American Surgeon 2025, and “Utilization of Machine Learning Approaches to Predict Mortality in Pediatric Warzone Casualties,” Military Medicine 2024.

See Dr. Conner’s publications on PubMed.

Memberships, Awards and Honors
US Army Achievement Medal, 2019
US Army Commendation Medal, 2018, 2023
Madigan Army Medical Center Most Outstanding Resident Award, 2023
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Fellow Teacher of the Year, 2024 – 2025
The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma – Associate Member
The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma – Member
Excelsior Surgical Society - Member

Education
M.D. – University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Medicine, Memphis, TN. 2013 - 2017
Residency – General Surgery Residency, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA. 2017-2023
Fellowship – Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Fellowship, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Winston Salem, NC. 2023-2025

Contact
Division of Acute Care Surgery
1211 21st Avenue South
404 Medical Arts Building
Nashville, TN 37232

Dr. Sastriques joined our surgical faculty as Assistant Professor of Surgery after completing the Integrated Vascular Surgery Residency at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA, in 2025. His clinical areas of expertise include a focus on chronic venous insufficiency, pelvic venous disorders, deep venous reconstructions, hemodialysis access, abdominal aortic aneurysms, carotid disease, and peripheral arterial disease.

Research
Dr. Sastriques’s research interests center on venous disease, particularly pelvic venous disorders and complex deep venous reconstructions, as well as vascular biology in abdominal aortic aneurysms and other arterial conditions. His work also reflects a broader interest in understanding vascular disease within the context of overall human health. He is committed to exploring strategies that not only treat specific vascular pathologies, but also help patients optimize their health and longevity, supporting them in leading fulfilling and active lives.

Included among his recent publications are:

“Ketosis prevents abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture through C-C chemokine receptor type 2 downregulation and enhanced extracellular matrix balance,” Scientific Reports 2024.

"CCR2 Positron Emission Tomography for the Assessment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Inflammation and Rupture Prediction," Cardiovascular Imaging 2020.

"Sauna use as a novel management approach for cardiovascular health and peripheral arterial disease," Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine 2025.

See Dr. Sastriques’s publications on PubMed.

Memberships, Awards and Honors
Argentine College for Venous and Lymphatic Surgery 
Argentine Association of Surgery
Society for Vascular Surgery
American Venous Forum
Society for Clinical Vascular Surgeons

Dr. Sastriques graduated first in his class (Rank 1/96, Medalist) from the Army School of Officers, National Military College, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2008

Education
MD – National University of Cordoba, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Cordoba, Argentina. 2001 - 2007
General Surgery Residency – University of Buenos Aires, Central Military Hospital, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2008 - 2013
Vascular Surgery Fellowship - University of Buenos Aires, Hospital de Clinicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2014 – 2016
Vascular Surgery Research Scholar – Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. 2017 – 2020
Integrated Vascular Surgery Residency – Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA. 2020 - 2025

Dr. Hootsmans joined our surgical faculty as Assistant Professor of Surgery after completing the Advanced Gastrointestinal Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2025. His clinical areas of expertise include a focus on minimally invasive surgery, robotic surgery, gastroesophageal reflux disease, hiatal and paraesophageal hernias, and abdominal wall reconstruction, hernia (inguinal, ventral, incisional, flank, parastomal), and biliary disease.

Research
Dr. Hootsmans’s research interests are focused on outcomes in minimally invasive foregut and hernia/complex abdominal wall surgery, mesh use in hernia repair, enhanced recovery after surgery, quality improvement and surgical innovation.

Included among his recent publications are:  “A Randomized Trial of Three Routes of Tranexamic Acid Administration in Total Knee Arthroplasty,” Orthopedics 2023, and “Outcomes of an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program to limit perioperative opioid use in outpatient minimally invasive GI and hernia surgeries,” Surgical Endoscopy 2023.

See Dr. Hootsmans’s publications on PubMed.

Memberships, Awards and Honors
American Board of Surgery, General Surgery – Board Certified
Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)
The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT)
American College of Surgeons
Resident Excellence in Teaching Award, 2024
Adrian Park Humanism Award, 2024

Education
M.P.H – Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT. 2013 – 2015
M.D. – Frank H. Netter, MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, North Haven, CT. 2015 - 2019
Internship – Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis, MD. 2019 – 2020
Residency – Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis, MD. 2020 – 2024
Fellowship – Advanced Gastrointestinal Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. 2024-2025

Dr. Dageforde joins our faculty as Associate Professor of Surgery after being an abdominal transplant surgeon and the surgical director of living kidney donation at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. She is excited to return to Nashville and the Vanderbilt community having completed her medical school and general surgery residency at VUMC. Her clinical interests focus on end stage kidney disease, laparoscopic and robotic living kidney donor surgery, and kidney and pancreas transplantation. She is the surgical director of living kidney donation at Vanderbilt Transplant Center.

Research
Dr. Dageforde’s research interests include conducting implementation science research related to developing and implementing interventions for post-transplant patients. Her NIH funded research addresses a critical gap in care for liver transplant recipients with alcohol use disorder through testing an integrated interventional approach with the potential to improve access, equity, and long-term outcomes for these patients. Her research also includes work on wellness after transplantation with a particular focus on maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle.

See Dr. Dageforde’s publications on PubMed.

Memberships, Awards and Honors
Member of the American Board of Surgery in General Surgery
Anne Klibanski Visiting Scholar Award for the Mass General Hospital Center for Faculty Development – 2020
Vanguard Award with the American Society of Transplant Surgeons for the best clinical research manuscript published the previous year – 2022
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award for the Mass General Hospital Executive Committee on Research and Office for Women’s Careers – 2024

Education
M.D. – Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN. 2004 - 2008
Internship – Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. 2008 – 2009
Residency – Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. 2008 - 2016
M.P.H. – Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN. 2011 - 2013
Fellowship – Washington University, St. Louis, MO. 2016 - 2018