A Frenzy of Fellowship Matches, Both ‘To’ and ‘From’ DOM Training Programs, Announced for 2019-20

Collage of 40 physicians who matched into fellowships to and from the University of Arizona in 2019

Photos of 40 residents and fellows matching into programs at the UA Department of Medicine and (from the UA) elsewhere — last three are outgoing UA internal medicine chief residents.

The national Fellowship Match was held Tuesday, Nov. 27, to determine where residents seeking advanced training in the specialty of their choice would wind up come July 1, 2019, the start date for most fellowship programs.

Image of Banner – UMC Tucson and Banner – UMC South with Department of Medicine logoFrom the match, more than 36 positions were available in the 17 fellowships endorsed by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) at the University of Arizona Department of Medicine this year.

In all, 35 physicians matched into UA fellowship programs—seven of them from the UA Internal Medicine Residency Programs—while 13 more UA internal medicine residents matched elsewhere. In addition, one other UA resident physician outside internal medicine matched into a DOM fellowship. Four UA fellows also matched into other fellowships in the department.

Including those going elsewhere, more than 48 fellowship positions were at stake. For some who may not get a spot initially, the match may be just the start of jockeying for position to land the best placement. With that in mind, an additional two fellowships may still be awarded from the department’s programs.

Matching from the UA Department of Medicine

Let’s start with where UA internal medicine residents matched into fellowships:

UA Internal Medicine Residency Program – South Campus

Mahesh Balakrishnan, MBBS – Cardiovascular Medicine, UA College of Medicine – Tucson  
Francisco E. Mora, MD – Critical Care Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York City
Emilio Perez Power, MD – Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, University of Texas, San Antonio
Sidra Raoof, MBBS – Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway Township, N.J.
Sarah Tariq, MD – Endocrinology, UA College of Medicine - Tucson
Wina P. Yousman, MD – Nephrology, UA College of Medicine – Tucson

Outgoing and incoming chief residents at Banner – UMC SouthIncoming 2019-20 Chief Resident: Daniel Orta, MD

Outgoing 2018-19 Chief Resident (and next stop): Roberto Swazo, MD — Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis

Other Graduating Residents (next — Specialty: Internal Medicine): Babitha Bijin, MBBSJeremy Britt, MD; and Supreet Khare, MBBS.

UA Internal Medicine Residency Program – University Campus

Michael S. Dahip, MD – Gastroenterology Fellowship, University of Missouri, Columbia
Thomas P. Hanzlik, MD – Hematology & Medical Oncology Fellowship, UA College of Medicine – Tucson
Shilpa R. Junna, MD – Gastroenterology, UA College of Medicine – Tucson
Michael Lopker, MD, PhD – Rheumatology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
Adriana Martin, MD, PhD – Cardiovascular Medicine, UA College of Medicine – Tucson
Keaton Nasser, MD – Cardiology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Phan Saligrama, MD, PhD – Rheumatology, Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
Joshua Sifuentes, MD – Gastroenterology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock
Elly Varma, MBBS – Nephrology, Cornell University/Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City
Benjamin J. Jarrett, MD, MPH – Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, UA College of Medicine – Tucson
Prashant Rao, MD - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School, Boston

Incoming 2019-20 chief residents at Banner – UMC TucsonIncoming 2019-20 Chief Residents: Nathan “Nate” Coffman, MD; Joshua K. Cox, MD; Jessica Vondrak, MD; and Richard Young, MD

Outgoing 2018-19 chief residents at Banner – UMC TucsonOutgoing 2018-19 Chief Residents (and what's next for them): Kelly Barnett, MD (Internal Medicine); Kris Kumar, DO (Cardiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland); Anthony Witten, DO (Internal Medicine); and Ryan Wong, MD (Nephrology, University of Washington, Seattle)

Other Graduating Residents (next — Specialty: Internal Medicine): Hasan A. Ali, MD; Mimi S. Bach, MDMarshall A. Caraveo, MD; Christopher Johnson, MD; Jeeyong Kim, MD; Travis Maestas, MD; Andres Molina, MD; Sara Sani, DO; Aaron Saunders, MD; Christopher Sobowale, MD; Vasveebye Sonoo, MBBS; and Elise Vo, MD.

All UA Fellowship Matches in Internal Medicine Subspecialties

Here’s what our incoming UA Department of Medicine class of fellows for 2019-20—starting July 1, 2019—looks like by fellowship (parentheses indicate division fellowship is in):

■ Allergy & Immunology (Pulmonary) — Program Director: Tara Carr, MD

  • Sanjay Patel, DO — Residency (Internal Medicine): University of Louisville, Ky. – Chief Resident; Medical School: University of Pikeville - Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, Pikeville.

■ Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant (Cardiology) — Program Director: Nancy K. Sweitzer, MD, PhD

No new fellows AY 19-20

■ Cardiovascular Disease (Cardiology) — Program Director: Julia Indik, MD, PhD

  • Mahesh Balakrishnan, MBBS — Residency (Internal Medicine): UA College of Medicine – South Campus, Tucson; Medical School: Coimbatore Medical College, Tamil Nadu, India
  • Emily Cendrowski, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): Loyola University Medical Center, Hines, IL; Medical School: Texas Tech University, Lubbock; Undergrad: Texas A&M University, College Station
  • Juliya Cress, MD, PharmD — Residency (Internal Medicine): Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Bronx, N.Y.; Medical School: Drexel University School of Medicine, Philadelphia; PharmD: Temple University, Philadelphia
  • Michael Kendall, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles; Medical School: University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles; MS (Biomedical Engineering): University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles
  • Adriana Martin, MD, PhD — Residency (Internal Medicine): UA College of Medicine – Tucson Campus; Medical School: Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway Township, N.J.; PhD (Pharmacology and Biomedical Engineering): Rutgers University, Piscataway Township, N.J.
  • Nkechi Mbaebie, MD, MPH — Residency (Internal Medicine): Berkshire Medical Center, Pittsfield, Mass.; MPH (Epidemiology): Tulane University, New Orleans;  Medical School: Enugu State University of Science and Technology College of Medicine, Enugu, Nigeria
  • Ignacio A. Zepeda, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): Jacobi Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Bronx, N.Y.; Medical School: Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Facultad de Medicina, Tijuana, Mexico

■ Cardiac Electrophysiology (Cardiology) — Program Director: Mathew Hutchinson, MD

No new fellows AY 19-20

■ Critical Care Fellowship Program (Pulmonary) — Program Directors: Linda Snyder, MD/Jarrod Mosier, MD

  • Zachary Hernandez, MD — Chief Resident, Emergency Medicine Residency Program, UA College of Medicine – Tucson; Medical School: Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.

■ Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism (Endocrinology) — Program Directors: Craig Stump, MD, PhD/Juan Galvez, MD

  • Sung Won Lee, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): University of Southern California/LAC+USC Medical Center, Los Angeles; Medical School: Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, Calif.
  • Sarah Tariq, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): UA College of Medicine – South Campus; Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine, Portsmouth, Dominica

■ Gastroenterology (Gastroenterology & Hepatology) — Program Director: Bhaskar Banerjee, MD

  • Suresh Mirsa, MD — Fellowship (Hepatology): Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York City; Residency (Internal Medicine): Temple University, Philadelphia; Medical School: Drexel University, Philadelphia
  • Cameron Thompson, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): University of California, San Francisco; Medical School: University of Nevada-Reno
  • Shilpa Junna, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): UA College of Medicine – Tucson Campus; Medical School: University of Missouri-Kansas City
  • Pradeep Kathi, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): Wayne State University, Detroit; Medical School: Kakatiya Medical School, Warangal, India

■ Geriatric Medicine (Geriatrics, General Internal & Palliative Medicine) — Program Director: Mindy Fain, MD

Candidate not yet named.

■ Hematology & Medical Oncology (Hematology & Oncology) — Program Directors: Pavani Chalasani, MD

  • Thomas Hanzlik, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): UA College of Medicine – Tucson Campus; Medical School: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI
  • Shivtaj Mann, DO — Residency (Internal Medicine): Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, Pa.; Medical School: Nova Southern University Dr. Kiran Patel College of Osteopathic
  • Basel Shoua, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): UCLA/Kern Medical, Bakersfield, Calif. ; Medical School: University of Aleppo Faculty of Medicine, Syria
  • Muhammad Sardar, MBBS — Residency (Internal Medicine): Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, N.J.; Medical School: Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

■ Hospice & Palliative Medicine (Geriatrics, General Internal & Palliative Medicine) — Program Director: C. Bree Johnston, MD, MPH

  • Tiffany Ynosencio, MD — Fellowship (Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine), UA College of Medicine – Tucson; Residency (Internal Medicine): Baylor University Medical Center – Chief Resident, Dallas; Medical School: Boston University; Undergrad (BS): Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station

■ Infectious Diseases (ID) — Program Director: Elizabeth Connick, MD

  • Parham Ayazi, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland; Medical School: Tehran University of Medical Sciences School of Medicine, Iran
  • Hillary Hunsinger, DO — Residency (Internal Medicine): McLaren Macomb Healthcare, Mt. Clemens, Mich.; Medical School: Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kansas City, Mo.

■ Interventional Cardiology (Cardiology) — Program Director: Kapil Lotun, MD

  • JR Exequiel "Keng" Pineda, MD, PhD — Fellowship (Cardiovascular Disease – Research & Clinical): UA College of Medicine – Co-Chief Fellow (2017-18), Tucson, AZ; Medical School (Combined MD-PhD): Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Bronx, N.Y.; MS: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Bronx, N.Y.; MS (Chemistry): Montana State University – Bozeman; BS (Chemistry): University of the Philippines – Diliman
  • Sridhar M. Reddy, MD —UA Internal Medicine Residency Program – South Campus, Tucson, AZ; Medical School: American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Saint Maarten

■ Micrographic Surgery & Dermatologic Oncology (Dermatology) — Program Director: Duane C. Whitaker, MD 

No fellows AY 19-20

■ Nephrology — Program Director: Amy Sussman, MD

  • Golnaz Vahdani, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): University of Southern California/LAC+USC Medical Center, Los Angeles; Medical School: University of Debrecen Medical School and Health Science Centre, Debrecen, Hungary
  • Waseem Albasha, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): UA College of Medicine – Phoenix; Medical School: UA College of Medicine - Tucson
  • Wina Yousman, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): UA College of Medicine – South Campus (Tucson); Medical School: Universitas Padjadjaran Fakultas (Padjadjaran University Faculty of Medicine), Kedokteran, Padjadjaran, Indonesia

■ Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine (Pulmonary) — Program Director: James Knepler, MD 

  • Arista Chand, MBBS — Residency (Internal Medicine): Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich, Conn.; Medical School: University of Sydney, Australia
  • Benjamin Gerke, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine): Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.; Medical School: Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, Calif.
  • Angela Gibbs, MD — Residency (Internal Medicine) Providence St. Vincent, Portland, Ore. – Chief Resident; Medical School: University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle
  • Benjamin Jarrett, MD, MPH — Fellowship (Hospice and Palliative Care): Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine; Residency (Internal Medicine): UA College of Medicine – Tucson Campus; Medical School: Ross University, Portsmouth, Dominica; MPH (Environmental and Occupational Health): Drexel University, Philadelphia

■ Rheumatology — Program Directors: Kent Kwoh, MD/Dominick Sudano, MD

  • Helene Kramer, DO — Residency (Internal Medicine): MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Washington, DC; Medical School: Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University, Downers Grove, Ill.
  • Julia Buchfuhrer, DO — Residency (Internal Medicine): University of California, Irvine; Medical school: Western University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Pomona, Calif.

■ Sleep Medicine (Pulmonary) — Program Director: Sairam Parthasarathy, MD

  • Lauren E. Estep, MD — Fellowship (Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine): UA College of Medicine – Tucson; Residency (Internal Medicine): University of Illinois at Chicago; MD: Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pa.; Undergrad (BS): Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

EXTRA INFO: Sleep Medicine Dalia Zakri, MD

The Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program added another fellow to their incoming class of 2019-20 cohort after this article was initially posted:

  • Dalia Zakri, MD — Chief Resident, Internal Medicine Residency Program, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine/HCA West Florida GME Consortium/Brandon Regional Hospital Program, Brandon, Fla.; MD: University of Aleppo Faculty of Medicine, Syria

These new additions will bring the number of all fellows in training at the UA Department of Medicine to more than 80.

ALSO SEE:
“See Fellows Match in Internal Medicine Subspecialties Both at, from UA Department of Medicine” | Posted March 6, 2018
“January Match Mix Shows Promise for Incoming Fellows in Advanced Internal Med Training” | Posted March 2, 2017
“New, Old Fellows in Dept. of Medicine Programs Bring Varied Strengths to Advanced Medical Training” | Posted June 10, 2016

Release Date: 
01/18/2019 - 4:00pm