Landon Kunzelman, M.D.

Introduction: I'm Landon Kunzelman, PGY-4 UNM AP/CP resident. I grew up in a small town in rural southern Illinois, received my Bachelor's of Science in Human Biology and Associate's in Music from Brigham Young University-Idaho, and earned my MD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine-Peoria. My wife and I have three beautiful kids (ages 6, 4, and 18 months), and all of us love it here in New Mexico. I have a special interest in GI pathology, so in 2024-2025 I will complete the Gastrointestinal Surgical Pathology Fellowship at Duke University School of Medicine.

Interests

• Pathology Interests: I am interested in all aspects of surgical pathology, but especially gastrointestinal pathology. I also enjoy mentoring pre-medical students and current medical students, and I've enjoyed my past tutoring experiences for college classes, the MCAT (with Altius Test Prep, LLC), and pre-clinical medical school courses (pathology and anatomy)
• What do you like about living in New Mexico: I love the variety of things to do in Albuquerque and the surrounding areas, especially outdoors. My family loves hiking in Petroglyph National Monument and the Sandia Crest. In the winter, I make several trips to Ski Santa Fe (1.5 hour drive) where I teach my oldest child how to ski. We absolutely love the picturesque hot air balloons that we see almost daily floating above the city. The weather is absolutely gorgeous most of the year, with four seasons including long falls and springs, winters milder than Colorado, and summers milder than Arizona and less humid than Texas. Since my extended family is spread throughout the Mountain West, Albuquerque is a great home base for me and my family to visit them while enjoying Albuquerque's many advantages including very reasonable cost of living. For me, New Mexico has indeed proved to be the Land of Enchantment.
• Interests Outside of Pathology: I love exploring the outdoors of New Mexico with my family - we particularly like hiking at the top of Sandia Crest where we can enjoy cooler temperatures and see all of Albuquerque through the clear New Mexico air. I enjoy exercising in my garage gym, playing the piano, vegetable gardening (tomatoes and peppers thrive here!), and participating in church activities.

Why I enjoy the pathology program at UNM

I felt so comfortable with the faculty on my interview day. The program's comprehensiveness in training scope impressed me, along with the selection of fellowships, particularly the hematopathology and forensic pathology programs. TriCore Laboratories and the OMI stood out as top-notch training sites for clinical pathology and autopsy, respectively. The anatomic pathology training in three different practice environments (VA hospital, UNM hospital, and Presbyterian hospital) ensures wide exposure to different practice settings. Albuquerque's proximity to extended family, mild weather, reasonable cost of living, and the abundance of nearby outdoor activities also played a part in drawing me to the program. Since it was clear that the location and overall program training were stellar, it was a very easy decision to choose the UNM Pathology Residency for my professional training.