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Division of Cardiovascular Medicine Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
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  5. Fellows - Cardiovascular Diseases

First Year Fellows

  • Mike Ahlers, MD

    Mike Ahlers, MD

    Hometown: Le Mars, Iowa
    Undergraduate: University of Notre Dame
    Medical school: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
    Residency: University of California, Los Angeles

    Favorite aspects of the program: Expansiveness of the department into "overlap" fields, such as peripheral endovascular disease and advanced mechanical circulatory support including VA ECMO. Enthusiasm of the faculty and department to train/teach. And finally my co-fellows and living in a city as welcoming and vibrant as San Diego.

    Career interests: Advanced HF/Interventional/General
    Research interests: Acute MI and Cardiogenic Shock, Heart Failure, Biomarkers, Prevention
    Research publications: view publications

    Hobbies: book club, following NBA basketball, and trying new restaurants in Little Italy
  • Masihullah Barat, MD

    Masihullah Barat, MD

    Hometown: Toronto, Canada
    Undergraduate: University of Western Ontario
    Medical school: University of Hawai'i at Manoa
    Residency: University of California, San Diego

    Favorite aspects of the program: I enjoyed working with the faculty and witnessed the camaraderie between the fellows during my time here as a resident. UCSD's high volume of diverse pathology, coupled with the research opportunities made it an easy decision to continue training here.

    Career interests: Academic physician
    Research interests: Cardiac amyloidosis, giant cell myocarditis, COVID-19 in heart transplant
    Research publications: view publications

    Hobbies: Soccer, basketball, surfing, hiking
  • Adam Custer, MD

    Adam Custer, MD

    Hometown: Albany, NY
    Undergraduate: Cornell University
    Medical school: SUNY Upstate Medical University
    Residency: University of California, Los Angeles

    Favorite aspects of the program: Rigor of clinical training, procedure volume, supportive/receptive program leadership, and camaraderie of co-fellows

    Career interests: Advanced Heart Failure, General Cardiology
    Research interests: Waitlist performance metrics and outcomes, recipient/donor selection, EHR-based tools to improve appropriate aspirin/statin prescription rates
    Research publications: view publications

    Hobbies: Running and spending time at the beach
  • Sonya John, MD

    Sonya John, MD

    Hometown: Fremont, CA
    Undergraduate: UC Berkeley
    Medical school: The Ohio State University College of Medicine
    Residency: UC San Diego

    Favorite aspects of the program: UCSD provides a strong and robust clinical training program in all areas of cardiology while caring for a diverse patient population with complex pathophysiology. Here, we work with attendings who love to teach and create a supportive and innovative research environment.

    Career interests: Advanced Heart Failure, Cardiac Critical Care, General Cardiology
    Research interests: Outcomes in mechanical circulatory support and cardiac transplantation
    Research publications: view publications

    Hobbies: Peloton, dance, trying new restaurants!
  • Emily Nguyen, MD PhD

    Emily Nguyen, MD PhD

    Hometown: San Diego
    Undergraduate: University of California Irvine
    Medical school: University of Iowa
    Residency: University of Iowa

    Favorite aspects of the program: Volume and diversity of pathology, world class expert faculty that are dedicated to teaching and patient care

    Career interests: General Cardiology, Imaging, Women's health
    Research interests: Molecular mechanisms of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, cardiac metabolomics
    Research publications: view publications

    Hobbies: Cooking, baking, trying new foods and restaurants, spending time with my family
  • Revathy Sampath-Kumar, MD

    Revathy Sampath-Kumar, MD

    Hometown: Fremont, CA
    Undergraduate: University of California, San Diego
    Medical school: Wake Forest School of Medicine
    Residency: University of California, San Diego

    Favorite aspects of the program: Diverse patient population and breadth of pathology across three clinical sites. Robust mechanical circulatory support program and exposure to complex coronary interventions. Research mentorship from faculty experts.

    Career interests: Cardiac Critical Care, Interventional Cardiology
    Research interests: Inferior vena cava diameter guided heart failure management, clinical trial development
    Research publications: view publications

    Hobbies: Piano, Yoga, Women in STEM Mentorship
  • Musa Shakoor, MD

    Musa Shakoor, MD

    Hometown: Phoenix
    Undergraduate: Arizona State University
    Medical school: University of Virginia
    Residency: UT Southwestern

    Favorite aspects of the program: Collegiality, clinical volume, and excellent location

    Career interests: Interventional Cardiology
    Research interests: Lipids
    Research publications: view publications

    Hobbies: Cooking, basketball, movies

Second Year Fellows

  • Daniel Chu, MD

    Daniel Chu, MD

    Hometown: Irvine, California
    Undergraduate: Boston University
    Medical school: Hofstra University
    Residency: Baylor College of Medicine

    Favorite aspects of the program: Robust, clinically focused training program.  Allows for great autonomy and procedural experience while caring for a variety of patients in different practice settings.  Strong in each subspecialty area. 

    Career interests: Interventional Cardiology
    Research interests: Quality improvement in the cardiac catheterization lab, preventive cardiology and cardiorespiratory fitness
    Research publications: view publications
  • Candace Jackson, MD, MPH

    Candace Jackson, MD, MPH

    Hometown: Yorba Linda, CA
    Undergraduate: MIT
    Medical school: UT Southwestern
    Residency: Mayo Clinic, Rochester

    Favorite aspects of the program:  Comprehensive training, complex pathophysiology, diverse patient populations, numerous research opportunities, supportive faculty and mentors.

    Career interests: General Cardiology
    Research interests: Preventive cardiology, cardiovascular epidemiology, familial hypercholesterolemia
    Research publications: view publications
  • Andrew Lin, MD

    Andrew Lin, MD

    Hometown: Carmel, Indiana
    Undergraduate: Indiana University
    Medical school: Indiana University School of Medicine
    Residency: UC San Diego

    Favorite aspects of the program: At UCSD we are exposed to the entire spectrum of cardiology care, with the perfect balance between autonomy and supervision. We also get to work with attendings who are experts in their respective fields and very invested in teaching. Lastly, love my cofellows!

    Career interests: Electrophysiology, advanced heart failure
    Research interests: CIED management, ventricular arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, advanced heart failure
    Research publications: view publications
  • John Power, MD

    John Power, MD

    Hometown: Alexandria, VA
    Undergraduate: Johns Hopkins University
    Medical school: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
    Residency: Vanderbilt University Medical Center

    Favorite aspects of the program: Full exposure to complex and high acuity care, collaborative and supportive institutional culture, unique research environment.

    Career interests: Advanced heart failure, clinical research
    Research interests: Cardio-oncology, cardio-immunology, informatics
    Research publications: view publications
  • Tatiana Saul, MD

    Tatiana Saul, MD

    Hometown: Downey, CA
    Undergraduate: UC San Diego
    Medical school: UC Riverside
    Residency: UC San Diego

    Favorite aspects of the program: Strong clinical training due to a high volume medical system with a diverse patient population and a variety of cardiovascular diseases. Also, the program has supportive faculty, mentors, and co-fellows to help navigate through all areas of cardiology fellowship.

    Career interests: General cardiology, Advanced heart failure
    Research interests: Non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
    Research publications: view publications

Third Year Fellows

  • Omar Aldaas, MD

    Omar Aldaas, MD

    Hometown: Corona, California
    Undergraduate: University of California, Riverside
    Medical School: University of California, Riverside
    Residency: University of California, San Diego

    Favorite aspects of the program: The high volume of complex cardiac pathology and diverse patient populations.  Fellows get comprehensive experience in all areas of cardiology, with clinical training, research opportunities, and mentorship that are second to none. 

    Career interests: Electrophysiology, atrial fibrillation, catheter ablation
    Research interests: Outcomes after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation, novel ablation techniques, left atrial appendage occlusion, anticoagulation with direct oral anticoagulants
    Research publications: view publications
  • Omid Behnamfar, MD, MSc

    Omid Behnamfar, MD, MSc

    Hometown: Isfahan, Iran
    Undergraduate: Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
    Medical School: Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
    Residency: John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County

    Favorite aspects of the program: High patient volume with complex cardiovascular physiology. Excellent research and clinical training opportunities, particularly in coronary and peripheral interventional cardiology. Camaraderie among fellows.

    Career interests: Interventional Cardiology
    Research interests: Balloon pulmonary Angioplasty in CTEPH; Coronary and peripheral CTO interventional techniques and results; TAVR outcomes
    Research publications: view publications
  • Antoinette Birs, MD - Chief Fellow

    Antoinette Birs, MD - Chief Fellow

    Hometown: West Palm Beach, Florida
    Undergraduate: University of Florida
    Medical School: University of Central Florida
    Residency: University of Washington

    Favorite aspects of the program: UCSD is a very strong, high-volume, clinically focused program that has multiple training sites and a diverse patient population. I was extremely impressed with the tight knit community and camaraderie amongst the fellows and faculty and was intrigued by the variety of innovative research opportunities and numerous on-going projects. Of course, it is also hard to ignore the natural beauty of the city. 

    Career interests: Advanced heart failure, interventional cardiology
    Research interests: Risk prediction and health outcomes, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, right ventricular pathology, infiltrative heart disease, heart disease in women
    Research publications: view publications
  • Alison (Ali) Brann, MD

    Alison (Ali) Brann, MD

    Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
    Undergraduate: University of Notre Dame
    Medical School: Rush Medical College
    Residency: UC San Diego

    Favorite aspects of the program: UCSD provides robust, hands on clinical training in all areas of cardiology which for me is highlighted by the high-volume advanced heart failure and transplant program. As a resident at UCSD I had a very positive experience working with supportive faculty and excellent mentors. Additionally, the research opportunities and camaraderie among the fellows made UCSD a very attractive place to continue my training. 

    Career interests: Cardiac critical care, advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation, imaging
    Research interests: Outcomes in mechanical circulatory support and cardiac transplantation, heart failure risk prediction
    Research publications: view publications
  • Gary Ma, MD - Chief Fellow

    Gary Ma, MD - Chief Fellow

    Hometown: San Jose, CA
    Undergraduate: University of California, Berkeley
    Medical School: University of California, San Diego
    Residency: University of California, San Diego

    Favorite aspects of the program: Active, enthusiastic emphasis on research in fellowship. Diverse and complete clinical training with high volume and autonomy.  

    Career interests: Academic Physician-Science
    Research interests: Calcified Aortic Valve Disease, Lipoprotein(a)
    Research publications: view publications
  • Bryan Wu, MD

    Bryan Wu, MD

    Hometown: Ambler, PA
    Undergraduate: University of Notre Dame
    Medical School: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
    Residency: University of Texas Southwestern

    Favorite aspects of the program:  Diverse and well-rounded clinical training, high clinical volume and disease complexity, numerous opportunities for scholarly endeavors. 

    Career interests: General cardiology    
    Research interests: Hypertension, hemodynamic principles of cardiovascular diseases. 
    Research publications: view publications

Past Fellows

  • Recent Graduates

    Recent Graduates

    • Harpreet Bhatia
    • Calvin Hang
    • Thomas Prohaska
    • Quan Bui
    • Prerana (Pre) Bhatia
    • Patrick Azcarate
    • Shahzad (Shaz) Chindhy
    • Kevin Ting
    • David Torres-Barba
    • Alayn Govea
    • Abduallah Almasoud
    • Jason Duran
    • Marin Nishimura
    • Daniel Mangels
    • Harpreet Bhatia
    • Darrin Wong
    • Htet Khine
    • Douglas Darden
    • Stephen Dickson
    • Christopher Smitson
    • Nicholas Phreaner
    • Lauren Glassmoyer
    • Thao Duong
    • Calvin Yeang
    • Michael Wilkinson
    • Shiv Sab
    • Felice Lin
    • Noel S. Lee
    • Shone O. Almeida
    • Daniel Walters
    • Isac Thomas
    • Armand Rostamian
    • Boris Arbit