Program Director: Dr. Craig Alpert

Former Ambassador: Dr. Nazli Okumus

Nazli Okumus (@nazliokumus) is a cardiology fellow at Allegheny General Hospital. She attended medical school at Istanbul Medical School, in Turkey before completing Internal Medicine Residency at Case Western (MetroHealth) in Cleveland, Ohio. She is planning to pursue interventional and critical care cardiology. She is passionate about medical education and health equity. Outside of the hospital, she enjoys scuba diving, sailing and spending time with her dog Macy.

Program Director: Dr. Salim Virani

Ambassador: Dr. Jamal Hussain Mahar

Jamal attended medical school at the Aga Khan University Medical College in Pakistan. Following this, he joined Cleveland Clinic for Internal Medicine residency where he spent an additional year as Chief Medical Resident. During his chief year, Jamal was involved in multiple curriculum development initiatives including the development of one of the nation’s first Problem-Based Learning curricula within an IM program. Following his passion for medical education, he completed a Masters of Education in Health Professions Education. During this, he helped found and lead the Clinician-Educator Track at the Cleveland Clinic. His career interests include critical care cardiology and continued involvement in medical education innovation.

Program Director: Dr. Omar Siddiqi

Ambassador: Dr. Alex Pipilas

Alexandra Pipilas (@apipilasMD) is a cardiology fellow at Boston Medical Center. She completed her undergraduate training at Boston University before leaving for a short stint in Chicago for medical school. She then returned to Boston for internal medicine residency and chief residency at Boston Medical Center. Outside of the hospital, she is enjoys attempting to climb the peloton leaderboard and spending time with friends and family.

Program Director: Dr. Yee-Ping Sun

Ambassador: Dr. Maria Pabon

Maria Pabon @mapabonp is a cardiology fellow at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She completed her medical school training in Bogota, Colombia at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Then she moved to NYC and trained in internal medicine at Weill Cornell New York Presbyterian Hospital where she also served as chief resident. She is interested in heart failure as well as medical education, research and diversity in Cardiology. Besides cardiology, Maria loves to do yoga and spending time with her dog Milo.

 

Program Director: Dr. Katherine French 

Ambassador: Dr. Vishnu Kadiyala 

Vishnu Kadiyala (@VKadiyalaMD) is a cardiology fellow at Brown University. He received his MD at the University of Rochester, after which he completed IM residency at Brown. He is passionate about medical education, clinical trials, and the future of cardiac research. Outside of work, he is a keen astrophotographer, and enjoys cooking, reading, and travelling

Former Ambassador: Dr. David Louis

Program Director: Dr. Joshua Goldhaber

Ambassador: Dr. Paul Marano

Paul Marano (@pjmarano1) is a cardiology fellow at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He completed medical school at Harvard Medical School before moving cross country to UCSF for internal medicine residency and chief residency. He is interested in critical care cardiology and hopes to complement his clinical work with translational research and medical education. Outside of the hospital, he enjoys learning guitar, watching soccer and spending time with friends and family.

Former ambassador: Dr. Natasha Cuk

Program Director: Dr. Venu Menon

Ambassador: Dr. Tiffany Dong

Tiffany Dong is a general cardiology fellow at the Cleveland Clinic. She completed residency at Emory and medical school at George Washington University. Her interests include medical education, clinical research and increasing diversity within the field. In her free time, she enjoys spin classes, yoga and listening to a wide variety of podcasts especially Cardionerds!

Program Director: Dr. Harsimran Singh

Ambassador: Dr. Jaya Kanduri

Jaya Kanduri (@jaya_kanduri) is a cardiology fellow at Weill Cornell. She received her medical degree from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson, and completed internal medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She is planning to pursue interventional cardiology. Other interests include shock, echo, and medical education. In her spare time Jaya loves music, wandering in NYC, and playing with her dog.

 

Program Director: Dr. Anna Lisa Crowley

Ambassador: Dr. Aman Kansal

Former Ambassador: Dr. Kelly Arps

Program Director: Dr. Stephen Little

Ambassador: Dr. Stephanie Fuentes

Stephanie Fuentes is a cardiology fellow at Houston Methodist Hospital. She completed medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch followed by residency training at Houston Methodist Hospital. She is passionate about medical education, clinical research and reducing health disparities. She plans to pursue a career in electrophysiology. She is excited to represent Houston Methodist as a CardioNerds ambassador and collaborate with cardiology colleagues from across the country in an effort to share knowledge and science. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her dog Kusi.

 

 

Program Director: Dr. Deepak Bhakta

Ambassador: TBD

Former Ambassador: Dr. Asad Torabi

Program Director: Dr. Steven Schulman

Ambassador: Dr. Anjali Wagle

Former Ambassador: Dr. Ali Wand

Program Director: Dr. Muqtada Chaudhry

Ambassador: Dr. Sonu Abraham

Sonu Abraham @sonuabrahammd is a cardiology fellow at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Massachusetts. She completed medical school at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, India and internal medicine residency at Saint Vincent Hospital, MA. Sonu is interested in advanced heart failure therapies, infiltrative cardiomyopathies, unique challenges in treating heart failure in pregnant women and precision medicine. She loves getting together with friends and family, writing and painting.

Program Director: Dr. Jeanine Romanelli

Ambassador: Dr. Ben Horn

Benjamin (Ben) Horn @benh2424 is a fellow at Lankenau Medical Center outside Philadelphia. He was a former chief resident and medical resident at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. He enjoys being active in learning and teaching environments thus very excited to be a part of the cardionerds team!

Program Director: Dr. Nandan Anavekar

Ambassador: Dr. David Harmon

Former Ambassador: Dr. Mays Ali

Program Director: Dr. Frank Brozovich

Ambassador: Dr. David Soma

David Soma (@somadr5) is a cardiology fellow at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He attended medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University before completing Internal Medicine Residency at Case Western (Metrohealth) in Cleveland, Ohio where he also served as chief resident. He is passionate about teaching cardiology in a way that is easy to understand for all levels of training and, most of all, spending time with his wife and two goofy dogs.

Program Director: Dr. Gaby Weissman

Ambassador: Dr. Nitin Malik

Nitin Malik (@nmalik927) is a cardiology fellow at Georgetown University/Medstar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. He pursued Engineering Physics as an undergraduate student at Cornell University and went to medical school at the University of Virginia, where he was awarded the Medical Student Teaching Award for his role as a teaching assistant to the Cardiovascular System course for second-year medical students. He then completed his internal medicine residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Nitin is passionate about medical education and innovation in medicine and cardiology. He plans to pursue additional training in advanced cardiovascular imaging and a career in academic medicine, where he can continue to bridge his background and interests in engineering with clinical practice. In his free time, Nitin enjoys running, playing piano, and dancing Bhangra, a North Indian folk dance.

Program Director: Dr. Doreen DeFaria Yeh

Ambassador: Dr. Danny Pipilas

Danny is originally from New Hampshire, and went to Boston University for undergrad followed by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He did his internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s and is a general cardiology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is pursuing a career in cardiac electrophysiology. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, running, spinning, and cooking.

Program Director: Dr. Scott Maffett

Ambassador: Dr. Alli (Allison) Bigeh

Dr. Alli Bigeh (@AlliBigeh) is a Cardiovascular Medicine fellow at The Ohio State University. She attended medical school at ATSU-KCOM in Missouri before completing both her Internal Medicine training and Chief Resident year at the University of Arizona College of Medicine ⎼⎼ Phoenix. Her current interests include preventive cardiology, women’s cardiovascular health and medical education. Outside of work she enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with her two rescue dogs.

Program Director: Dr. Benjamin Freed

Ambassador: Dr. Johnny Hourmozdi

Johnny Hourmozdi, MD, MA is a cardiology fellow at Northwestern Medicine. He is from Indiana and completed his undergraduate studies at Indiana University before coming to Northwestern to complete medical school and a Master’s in Medical Humanities and Bioethics, where he fell in love with the city of Chicago and also his partner. He did briefly adventure out to the Pacific Northwest for residency and chief residency at the University of Washington, and he has brought back with him a passion (and perhaps a snobbery) for all things coffee. Within cardiology, Johnny is interested in medical education, cardiac critical care, management of RV failure, and palliative care. He is still figuring out how to work all of those interests together.

Former Ambassador: Dr. Lauren (Loie) Farina

Program Director: Dr. Hind Rahmouni

Ambassador: Dr. Christian Inchaustegui

Christian is a Cardiology Fellow at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Cayetano Heredia University School of Medicine in Peru, and completed his Internal Medicine residency and Chief Residency at Baylor College of Medicine. His research interests include anticoagulation management and adverse events in MCS, early diagnosis of non-ischemic cardiomyopathies, and optimizing medical education during subspecialty consultation. He enjoys jogging, biking, playing guitar, and exploring the great outdoors with his wife and their Shiba-Chow pup. He will be pursuing a career in Critical Care Cardiology.

Program Director: Dr. Malhar Patel

Ambassador: Dr. Christine Shen

Christine Shen @iconsideritjoy is a cardiology fellow at Scripps Clinic. She completed medical school at Loma Linda University and went on to residency training at Scripps Clinic. Passions include whole person care, health and technology, medical education, and women’s cardiovascular health.

Program Director: Dr. Joshua Knowles

Ambassador: 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.

Program Director: Dr. Marc Penn 

Ambassador: Dr. Deep Shah

My name is Deep Shah. I am a general cardiology fellow at SUMMA Health. I hope to pursue advanced training in heart failure / transplant. I hail from the Great State of Ohio and have completed my undergraduate, graduate, and residency in this state as well. I enjoy preventative cardiology in addition to advanced heart failure therapies and management. I have been fortunate to have mentors and foster professional relationships within medical education. I hope to pass this forward to the upcoming generation of trainees and medical students. I believe Medicine is an ever changing field and we are always learning something new everyday from research but also our patients. When I am not in the hospital, I enjoy watching and playing sports (football and basketball). I am a big OSU Buckeyes fan! I also enjoy cooking and traveling.

Program Director: Dr. Pravin Patil

Ambassador: Dr. Matt Delfiner

Matt is a cardiology fellow at Temple University Hospital, where he also completed his internal medicine residency. While earning his medical degree at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, he developed particular interests in cardiovascular physiology, hemodynamics, and medical education. Prior to medical school he earned his BA from the University of Pennsylvania and MS from Georgetown University. In his free time he enjoys playing racquet sports, hiking, and procrastinating while he should be cleaning his apartment.

Program Director: Dr. Gregary Marhefka

Ambassador: Dr. Sebastian Rodriguez 

Sebastian is a cardiology fellow at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He graduated from University of Pennsylvania med school and completed his residency at UC San Francisco. Outside of reading EKGs and hemodynamics his interests are in medical education and bioethics. In his free time he enjoys cooking, soccer and terrible television.

Program Director:Dr. Steven G. Lloyd

Ambassador: Dr. Usman Hasnie

Usman grew up in Michigan and started his undergraduate at University of Michigan (Go Blue!) before entering the 6-year BA/MD program at University of Missouri-Kansas City. He did his internal medicine residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and stayed on for fellowship. He plans to pursue a career in interventional cardiology. In his free time he enjoys traveling, running, soccer and flag football.

Program Director: Dr. Karol Watson

Ambassador: Dr. Soniya Rabadia

Soniya Rabadia @soniyarabadiamd is a cardiology fellow at University of California, Los Angeles. She obtained her medical degree from University of California, San Diego and completed internal medicine residency at University of California, Los Angeles. Soniya is interested in prevention, women’s cardiovascular health and medical education. cardiovascular outcomes. In her spare time, she can be found hiking in the Santa Monica mountains, drinking boba, or eating brunch in the best brunch spots in LA.

Program Director: Dr. Daniel Blanchard

Ambassador: Dr. Patrick Azcarate

Patrick Azcarate is a cardiology fellow at UCSD. He is passionate about medical education, advanced imaging and heart failure. He was born and raised in Miami where he received his medical degree at the University of Miami then went on to complete his internal medicine residency at UCSF. Fun Fact: The fastest way to his heart is through his radial artery.

Program Director: Dr. Parker Wand

Ambassador: Dr. Shirlene Obuobi

Program Director: Dr. Joyce Meng

Ambassador: Dr. Manish Kumar

Manish grew up in India, and went to Armed Forces Medical College in India for medical school. He did his residency in Internal Medicine, followed by Geriatrics fellowship at UConn. He is currently in second year of Cardiology fellowship at UConn. He intends to train in Critical Care after Cardiology. He is passionate about medicine, cardiology, medical education, and research. In his free time, he enjoys reading, playing guitar, recently started learning flute.

Program Director: Dr. Alex Auseon

Ambassador: Dr. Owais Abdul-Kafi

MD University of Missouri (’16), IM residency & Chief Resident at University of Illinois at Chicago (’19, ’20), Cardiology Fellow at University of Illinois at Chicago (’23), Interventional Cardiology Fellow at University of Illinois at Chicago (’24)

Former Ambassador: Dr. Brody Slostad

Program Director: Dr. Mustafa Mohammed Ahmed

Ambassador: Dr. S. Allan Petty

Allan is from Louisiana originally, and went to LSU for undergrad (Geaux Tigers) followed by medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in PA. He completed internal medicine residency and a chief year at Wake Forest University in NC before moving down for cardiology fellowship at the University of Florida. He is interested in pursuing a career in electrophysiology. When not at the hospital, he enjoys spending time outside in sunny FL with his wife and 3 daughters.

Program Director: Dr. Dipanjan Banerjee

Ambassador: Dr. Isaac Mizrahi

Isaac Mizrahi is a cardiology fellow at the University of Hawaii. He completed medical school at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine before moving to Brooklyn, New York to complete his internal medicine residency and a chief resident year at Maimonides Medical Center. He has a passion for teaching and is excited to join his colleagues around the country in democratizing cardiac education. In his free time he enjoys botany, traveling, and surfing. He is perpetually trying to convince people that there are actually two Isaac Mizrahis.
 

Program Director: Dr. Mukta Srivastava

Ambassador: Dr. Andrew Lutz

Dr. Andrew Lutz is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and Tufts University with an undergraduate degree in economics, and later went on to medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He completed residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and spent one year as a hospitalist before entering cardiology fellowship back home at the University of Maryland. He is passionate about medical education, humanism in medicine, cardiovascular prevention, the Baltimore Ravens, and is an avid tennis player in his free time.

Program Director:Dr. Melinda Davis

Ambassador: Dr. Katie Fell

Katie Fell is a general cardiology fellow at the University of Michigan. She is originally from Ohio and went to Loyola University in Chicago for undergrad and medical school. She completed internal medicine residency and chief residency at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Katie is passionate about medical education and echocardiography and hopes to pursue a career in academic cardiology. Outside of medicine, she is working her way through each of Ina Garten’s recipes, bike commuting, and drinking too much coffee.

Program Director: Dr. Tre Clark

Ambassador: Dr. Andrew Brown

Andrew Brown @AndrewBrown221 is a cardiology fellow at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He completed medical school, residency, and a chief residency at the University of Mississippi. During residency, Andrew co-founded the program’s wellness committee and completed quality improvement work on accurate blood pressure measurement in clinic. Currently, he is interested in all things CV and plans to pursue a career in academics focusing on fellowship education and noninvasive cardiology. Outside of the hospital, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two boys.

Program Director: Dr. Frank Silvestry

Ambassador: Dr. Marius Chukwurah

Marius Chukwurah was born and raised in Maryland, and is currently a cardiology fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences from the University of Maryland – Baltimore County (UMBC) in 2014, obtained his medical degree from the Howard University College of Medicine in 2018, and completed his internal medicine residency at Duke University Hospital in 2021. He is most passionate about mentorship and advancement of underrepresented minorities in medicine, community outreach in underserved populations and patient advocacy. In his spare time, he loves to cook, travel, workout and spend time with family and friends.

Program Director: Dr. Katie Berlacher

Ambassador: Dr. Jenna Skowronski

Jenna Skowronski is a cardiology fellow at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She completed her MD at Sidney Kimmel Medical College(Jefferson) with honors prior to moving across the state to complete her internal medicine residency at UPMC, where she also served as Chief Medical Resident. Jenna is passionate about women’s health and advanced heart failure in addition to medical education and health systems. Outside of work, she loves to travel, spend time with her dog Mavvy, and engaged in foodie pursuits.

Program Director: Dr. Zachary Goldberger

Ambassador: Dr. Amir Esmaeeli

Amir Esmaeeli is a general cardiology fellow at the University of Wisconsin. He is a native of the lovely city of Isfahan, but grew up as a “nomad” in various parts of the USA and Canada. He received his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis and completed internal medicine residency at Emory University. He worked as a hospitalist for several years prior to pursuing cardiology fellowship. He enjoys learning about all topics in cardiology, but is particularly fascinated by heart failure and cardiomyopathies. In his free time, he enjoys catching up on sleep, dabbling in bird watching, watching soccer, and visiting historical sites.

Former Ambassador: Dr. Rayan Rachwan 

Program Director: Dr. Rosario Freeman

Ambassador: Dr. Tomio Tran

Tomio Tran is a general cardiology fellow at the University of Washington. He completed medical school at the University of Washington and took a break from the rain for his internal medicine residency at the University of Colorado before returning to the Pacific Northwest for fellowship. His career interests include critical care, echocardiography, and medical education. Outside of medicine, he spends his time backpacking, skiing, and hanging out with his wife and dog.
 

 

Program Director: Dr. Clay Cauthen

Ambassador: Dr. Ryan Cooney

Ryan is soon-to-be cardiology fellow at UT Austin. She completed her combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency at the University of Michigan, and has been working as an adult hospitalist there for the past two years. She is passionate about caring for adults with congenital heart disease and women with heart disease during pregnancy, as well as about improving the transition from pediatric to adult-based care. She loves boating and watersports, all things chocolate, and spending time with her new puppy. She has lived in the Midwest since childhood but is excited about making the move to Texas!

Program Director: Dr. Gail Peterson 

Ambassador: Dr. Sonia Shah

Sonia Shah @sshah008 is a cardiology fellow at UT Southwestern. She obtained her medical degree from Northwestern University School of Medicine and completed internal medicine residency at Stanford University. Sonia is interested in cardiovascular disease in women and sex differences in cardiovascular outcomes. In her spare time, she can be found exploring hikes or choreographing Indian Bhangra dances with her co-fellow husband.

Program Director: Dr. Julie Damp

Ambassador: Dr. Victoria Thomas

Victoria Thomas @Drvic_thomas is a cardiology fellow at Vanderbilt University. She completed medical school at University of Chicago-Pritzker School of Medicine followed by residency training at Indiana University. Victoria is fervent about medical and patient education along with promoting health equity and decreasing health disparities. She is currently deciding between a Master of Education or Science in Clinical Investigation. Her research interest are curriculum development, cardiac ATTR, and coronary artery disease.
 

Program Director: Dr. Gautham Kalahasty

Ambassador: Dr. Yuxuan Mao

Medical School:  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Residency:  East Carolina University / Vidant Medical Center 

Program Director: Dr. Andy Kates

Ambassador: Dr. Manuel (Manny) Rivera Maza

Medical School: Universidad Dr. Jose Matias Delgado

Residency: University of Miami