Incoming Residents

Class of 2023

Brayden Barrientez, MD
Interim Year – University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
Medical School – University of Oklahoma College of Medicine

Dr. Barrientez was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. After high school, he attended Oklahoma Christian University where he ran cross country and track, earned his Bachelor’s of Science in Biology, and met his lovely wife, Maria. Shortly after college, he attended medical school at the University of Oklahoma, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and Gold Humanism Honor Society. He continued his medical training at OU, where he completed a year of residency training in internal medicine. Outside of medicine, Dr. Barrientez can be found cheering on the Los Angeles Lakers, teaching preschool class at church, playing board games with his family, or going out for a leisurely jog.

Tyler Friske, MD
Interim Year – Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center
Medical School – Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. Friske grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, before moving to Dallas, Texas. He attended Southern Methodist University as a President’s Scholar and graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He then went on to complete medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society. During his time at Baylor, he served as a student co-chair of the Admissions Committee and worked extensively as a peer mentor and tutor. Following medical school, he completed a transitional year internship at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver, Colorado, where he worked as intern class representative. In his free time, Dr. Friske enjoys cooking, skiing, exploring the outdoors hiking and camping, and spending time with his friends and family.

Christian Leal, MD
Interim Year – University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
Medical School – University of Texas Southwestern Medical School

Dr. Leal was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. The first in his family to attend college, he graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Human Biology and was the recipient of the Lyons Award for Public Service. He attended UT Southwestern Medical School where he was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha and the Gold Humanism Honor Society and received the Vanatta-Hesser Teaching Award for his class. He completed a year of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern prior to joining DMEI. Outside of work, Dr. Leal loves spending time with his beautiful wife, Audrey, whom he met in middle school, and their precious pup, Sophie. He enjoys traveling, nature walks, tennis, and inviting friends and family over for dinner. ​

Cynthia McClard, MD, PhD
Interim Year – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Medical School – Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. McClard originally hails from Houston, Texas. She attended the Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating magna cum laude with a BA in English and Economics. Prior to pursuing medical studies at Baylor College of Medicine, she worked in various research settings, investigating how viruses alter the cells they infect and how cells can be manipulated or reprogrammed in times of organ distress and differentiation. Yearning to understand how investigative research can impact patient care, she enrolled in medical school and concomitantly earned a PhD, using virus-based technology to study how genetic changes in neurosensory cells can alter neurosensory circuit function. She dreams of a day when viral and other molecular tools, such as gene therapy and CRISPR, are as widely available as eye drops and injections, for patients who suffer from visual circuit disorders. Prior to joining the Dean McGee Eye Institute, Dr. McClard completed her preliminary year of training in Internal Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where she earned friends and mentors for a lifetime. She enjoys spending her spare time teaching her children to be curious and kind, laughing at her cantankerous Corgis, and waxing philosophical with her amazing spouse.

Rupin N. Parikh, MD
Interim Year – Columbia-Bassett Medical Center
Medical School – Albany Medical College

Dr. Parikh grew up in Livingston, New Jersey. He attended Northwestern University where he graduated cum laude with a BS in Human Communication Sciences. He then attended Albany Medical College (AMC) for medical school. During his time at AMC, he grew passionate about ophthalmology which motivated him to complete a retina research fellowship year at the Scheie Eye Institute of the University of Pennsylvania where he focused on the efficacy of intravitreal anti-VEGF injections on patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy complicated by vitreous hemorrhage. After medical school, he completed his transitional year internship at the Columbia-Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, New York. This was followed by a clinical ophthalmic pathology fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins University prior to joining the Dean McGee Eye Institute. In his spare time, Dr. Parikh enjoys traveling, watching and playing sports, Bhangra dancing, spending time with his family, and sending comical memes to his friends and co-residents.