Medical Journalism
Cardionerds Correspondents

Welcome to the Medical Journalism CardioNerds Correspondents Page! 

Medical journalism empowers the masses with key and timely health information, distilled from primary literature and other sources. The CardioNerds Medical Journalism Program is an immersive experience whereby CardioNerds Correspondents develop as journalists in the cardiovascular arena. Information is power, and we aim to improve health equitably by empowering everyone with accurate, timely, and relevant cardiovascular health news.

CardioNerds Correspondents 2022

A word from Dr. Jessie Holtzman, Executive Correspondent

Meet our Correspondents

Dr. Jessie Holtzman – Executive Correspondent

Dr. Jessie Holtzman (@jholtzman3) is an internal medicine resident

at the University of California, San Francisco. She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School, before which she had the time of her life as a Fulbright Scholar doing research in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She ultimately hopes to pursue a career that combines clinical cardiology with an emphasis on women’s cardiovascular health, medical education, and policy making.

Dr. Kahtan Fadah

Dr. Kahtan Fadah is an internal medicine resident at Texas Tech University in El Paso. Born and raised in rural Yemen, he has found a home in the border community. From undergraduate to residency, he has demonstrated a passion for the creation of educational content. In undergraduate school, he established and lead undergraduate teaching assistance programs for departments including chemistry, microbiology, and organic chemistry. In medical school, he was the founder of a unique peer tutoring system, while in residency he became well known for starting the peer-resident “Big sibling/little sibling” research mentoring program. His research focuses on environmental control, racial and demographic disparities, heart failure, and cardiovascular disease and management. Dr. Fadah is passionate about advocacy and policy reform, health equity, and transformative approaches to research and medical education. As well as being a devoted member of the healthcare profession, he is a soccer aficionado and will play with local leagues on his downtime. He will challenge you to flintknapping where there is no napping.

Dr. Natalie Tapaskar

Dr. Natalie Tapaskar is a cardiology fellow at Stanford University Medical Center. She is a Midwest native, attending Northwestern University for undergrad, Case Western Reserve University for medical school and Internal Medicine training at The University of Chicago. She also served a year as a chief resident. She is passionate about Advanced Heart Failure and all issues related to Women in Cardiology. She loves to work with trainees of all levels and believes that all learning is bi-directional. Her interests include advanced heart failure and transplant, critical care, women’s cardiovascular health, and cardiogenic shock clinical outcomes. She plans to pursue an Advanced Heart Failure fellowship. In her free time, she enjoys hiking in the Bay Area, cuddling with her mini golden-doodle on the couch, and exploring natural wine tasting with her husband. 

Student Dr. Hirsh Elhence

Hirsh is an MS3 at USC in Los Angeles. He hopes to pursue a residency in internal medicine and he is intrigued by a career in cardiology. Specifically, he is interested in heart failure and interventional cardiology. To be honest though, he hasn’t had enough exposure to really know. Additionally, he is interested in teaching because it’s a great way to learn.

Dr. Liane Arcinas

Liane is a Cardiology fellow at the University of Manitoba (Canada) where she also received her medical degree and finished her Internal Medicine residency. She is the current Chief in her Program. She plans to pursue a fellowship in Cardiac Electrophysiology. Aside from arrhythmias, Liane is also passionate about medical education and mentorship and hopes to inspire more women and people of color to pursue an exciting career in Cardiology. She enjoys spending her free time with her family, travelling, and tending to her dog and 50+ indoor plants!

Dr. Devesh Rai 

Devesh @DeveshRaiMD is a Cardiovascular Disease Fellow at Rochester General Hospital. He was awarded as the best PGY3 of the year for his clinical acumen and peer teaching abilities and was chief resident. During residency, he has received travel and research grants and involved in multiple prospective studies. He is interested in pursuing a career in imaging, prevention, and #MedEd. He is involved in gender-based disparities and outcomes. Over the weekends, he is hiking with his wife @RitambharaMD and exploring western NY.

CardioNerds Correspondents and Medical JournalismDr. Mark Belkin
Dr. Daniel Pipilas
Dr. Alexandra Pipilas
Dr. Kelly Arps