Leadership, faculty, staff

Nirusha Lachman, Ph.D.

Nirusha Lachman, Ph.D., is Full Professor of Anatomy and Professor of Medical Education and Chair of the Department of Clinical Anatomy, Mayo Clinic with a joint appointment in the Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery. She is the recipient of the prestigious institutional Mayo Clinic Distinguished Educator Award, Outstanding Physician Scientist Educator Award from Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences, Distinguished Teacher Award from Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, and the prestigious 2017 ACMS Distinguished Service Award from the American College of MOHS Surgery, and is currently the President Elect of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists.

Dr. Lachman graduated cum laude in Master of Medical Science and earned her Ph.D. degree in Clinical Anatomy in 2003 from the University of Durban Westville, Durban, South Africa based on her work in the field of cardiothoracic surgery. She completed a fellowship in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky. In 1995, she joined the Department of Human Biology at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), Durban, South Africa, where she held a Full Professorship in Anatomy and served as Chair of the Department of Basic Sciences and as Interim Dean for the Faculty of Health Sciences (2004-2007) where she was also ranked as a National Research Foundation of South Africa Rated Scientist since 2006.

Dr. Lachman joined Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in 2007 where she served as Senior Associate Consultant and since 2010, Consultant in the Department of Anatomy. In 2019, Dr. Lachman was appointed Chair of the Department of Anatomy which transformed under her leadership into the current Department of Clinical Anatomy, Mayo Clinic. Dr. Lachman serves on several institutional leadership committees, including Mayo Clinic Chairs Committee, IMSD (Initiative for Maximizing Student Development) in Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Mayo Clinic Education Committee, Mayo Clinic Institutional Biospecimens Committee, and as Chair of the Institutional Human Cadaveric Use committee.

Dr. Lachman brings 32 years of experience as a clinical anatomist and her current scholarly activity exceeds 130 scientific publications, more than 20 Book Chapters, and over 150 scientific presentations at national and international conferences.

Dr. Lachman is a practicing clinical anatomist who works with multidisciplinary health care teams within the clinical setting at Mayo Clinic. Her focus is on growing the field of clinical anatomy for optimizing patient care through education, research, and practice innovation.

Jonathan Torrens-Burton, M.A.

Jonathan Torrens-Burton is an Administrator in the Education shield at Mayo Clinic, assigned to the Department of Clinical Anatomy. Jonathan is secretary to the Institutional Human Cadaveric Use Committee and partners with Nirusha Lachman, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Clinical Anatomy, to oversee the Clinical Anatomy Laboratory and the Mayo Clinic Body Donation Program.

Jonathan’s prior roles in his 30-year career at Mayo Clinic include administrator for Mayo Clinic International, the Midwest Spine Center, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, and Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development, and Project Manager for multi-site Supply Chain systems implementations. Jonathan also has extensive institutional committee experience, including as chair and secretary.

Prior to joining Mayo Clinic, Jonathan served as Contracts Officer for a major petrochemical engineering and construction company in the United Kingdom. Jonathan holds a B.A. from the University of Reading, United Kingdom, and an M.A. in Health and Human Services Administration from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Jonathan holds the academic rank of Instructor in Health Care Administration with the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and is a Mayo Quality Silver Fellow.

Punnose Kattil, M.B.B.S., M.D.

Punnose Kattil, M.B.B.S., M.D., is an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, a Senior Associate Consultant in the Department of Clinical Anatomy, and a member of the Mayo Clinic Academy of Educational Excellence.

Dr. Kattil is a graduate of Pushpagiri Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India, and completed his residency at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Karnataka, India. With clinical experience in emergency medicine and neurosurgery, he brings a rich clinical foundation to his work as a medical educator.

Prior to joining the Department of Clinical Anatomy, he held faculty positions in medical education in India, where he developed a strong interest in integrating clinical context into anatomy teaching. Outside of work, he enjoys exploring Rochester’s scenic trails and walkways, finding both peace and inspiration in the natural beauty surrounding the city.

Yolanda Salinas-Alvarez, M.D., M.S.

Yolanda Salinas-Alvarez, M.D., M.S., is an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, a Senior Associate Consultant in the Department of Clinical Anatomy, and a member of the Mayo Clinic Academy of Educational Excellence.

She is a physician and educator with a strong foundation in clinical anatomy, anatomical sciences, and research. She has contributed over 20 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts, textbooks and chapters, and national and international presentations. Her academic focus includes curriculum development and instruction for diverse graduate and postgraduate health professions learners.

She currently serves as Chair of the Educational Affairs Committee for the American Association of Clinical Anatomists and holds editorial roles with the Translational Research in Anatomy journal. She also serves as a reviewer for Clinical Anatomy and Anatomical Sciences Education. Her educational mission centers on integrating anatomy into clinical practice through dissection-based instruction and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Dr. Salinas-Alvarez previously served as Professor of Anatomy and Research Methodology at Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León where she also coordinated postgraduate anatomy programs. She was recognized as a Level I member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers (SNI) (2023); recipient of the Best Experimental Paper Award from the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (2022); and served as Research Chair of the Mexican Society of Anatomy (2022-2024).

Morgan Forston, Ph.D.

Morgan Forston, Ph.D., is a Clinical Anatomy fellow in the Department of Clinical Anatomy at Mayo Clinic and an Instructor in Anatomy at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.

Dr. Forston joined the Department from the University of Louisville, where she earned her Ph.D. in Translational Neuroscience at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, following her B.S. in Bioengineering. As an upcoming medical educator and translational researcher, Dr. Forston is committed to improving patient outcomes by delivering a patient-centered education to healthcare professionals and driving clinically oriented, innovative research.

Antonio Rivera-Perez, M.D.

Juan Antonio Rivera-Perez, M.D., is a Clinical Anatomy fellow in the Department of Clinical Anatomy at Mayo Clinic and an Instructor in Anatomy at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Dr. Rivera-Perez earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila and completed a specialization in Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Mexico.

Prior to joining Mayo, Dr. Rivera-Perez served as a team physician for Mexico’s national teams under the National Sports Commission (CONADE), providing medical care at major international events, including the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cups, Continental Championships, and the Central American and Caribbean Games.

His academic interests include musculoskeletal diagnostic and interventional ultrasound, particularly its role in anatomy education and clinical application. At Mayo Clinic, Dr. Rivera-Perez is actively involved in anatomy education across graduate and professional programs, contributing to cadaver-based instruction using both fresh tissue and embalmed specimens. His scholarly work includes peer-reviewed publications, textbook chapters, and conference presentations in the fields of sports medicine, musculoskeletal ultrasound, applied and clinical anatomy, pain and rehabilitation, and medical education.

Luciano Leonel, Ph.D.

Luciano Leonel, received his Ph.D. in Human Anatomy from University of São Paulo – Brazil, and is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery. His thesis characterized and described in detail the features an ultrastructure of the venous communication between the cavernous sinus and the pterygoid plexus responsible for venous drainage from the intracranial cavity to the extracranial space.

During his PhD he performed a six-month fellowship at the Northeast Surgical Anatomy Laboratory – Albany, NY, under Dr. Maria Peris-Celda’s mentorship where he learned and mastered anatomical techniques for preparation of specimens for neurosurgical dissections, microsurgical dissections techniques, 3-D photo documentation and post-processing and 3D display presentations. One of the papers published by him, Dr. Peris-Celda and her team received the ‘Rhoton Award’ at the 30th North American Skull Base Society Annual Meeting that took place in San Antonio, Texas, 2020.

He also helped to develop an Educational Program at Albany Medical Center aiming to train and offer a continuing education in the neuroanatomy field for Residents in Neurosurgery collaborating not only with the theoretical lectures but also providing mentorship and guidance inside the lab during the practical tasks proposed by the program.

Luciano Leonel, Ph.D., has published numerous papers as co-author throughout the past years under supervision of Maria Peris-Celda MD, Ph.D. and Carlos D. Pinheiro-Neto M.D., Ph.D.

Aine Jadran

Education Specialist

AriOnna Nesbit

Administrative Assistant

Andrew Kennicutt, C.S.T.

Senior Anatomy Laboratory Technician

Karen Mills

Dawn Freshwater

Body Donation Program Coordinator

Kelsey Ness

Ashleigh Skaalen

Ben Hanson

Kevin Ness

Content Production Specialist

Joel Pino

Eric Sheahan

Marios Loukas, M.D., Ph.D.

Christopher Miller, M.D.

Kevin Christensen, M.D.

Board Certified Dermatologist and Mohs Surgeon with Allina Health and in private practice at Dermatology Partners, Rochester, Minnesota