Residency Program

A Message from our Chief Residents

Dear Prospective Residents,

Thank you so much for your interest in our program! We're excited to share why we love training here.

First, to introduce ourselves: Andrew Valesano is the current Chief Resident, and Jared Neeley and Benjamin Telford are the Assistant Chief Residents for the 2026-2027 academic year. Andrew grew up in Oregon and joined us after completing the MD/PhD program here at the University of Michigan. Jared came to us from UT Southwestern by way of Dallas, Texas, and Ben trained at Michigan State University after growing up in Provo, Utah. Although the three of us grew up outside of Michigan, we were all drawn to this department because of the strong clinical training, research, and educational opportunities, and the warm and collaborative people and culture.

Residents are an integral part of the Department of Pathology at Michigan Medicine and are deeply involved in the clinical work and day-to-day operations of both anatomic and clinical pathology. We see a wide range of cases — not only the "bread and butter" diagnoses that build a strong diagnostic foundation, but also rare and complex entities seen at a large, quaternary care center. Our hands-on clinical training paired with our formal didactic conferences provides an excellent launchpad for a career in academic medicine, community practice, and beyond. Whatever your interests, whether clinical/translational research, basic science, medical education, or healthcare administration and leadership, you will find support here to meet your goals.

We love living in the Ann Arbor area. It is a quintessential college town, filled with great restaurants, arts, community events, college sports, and plenty of parks and green space. Detroit is only a short drive away and has an incredible culture of its own, with multiple world-class museums, professional sports teams, parks, and restaurants. There are many housing options in the area, with lots of places to rent or buy.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, our co-residents make this program an incredible place to work. They are some of the kindest, funniest, most supportive people we know, and we feel genuinely lucky to work alongside them every day.

We'd love to tell you more about the program, answer any questions, or simply get to know you better. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us via the email links below.

Warmly,

Andrew, Jared, and Ben

Chief & Co-Assistant Chief Residents, 2026-2027

About Resident Life