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Cameron Ormiston, BS
Cameron Ormiston is a current medical student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He has previously worked as an NIH research trainee in the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. He has an interest and passion for exploring creative solutions to health disparities and inequality, and was especially drawn to Dr. Taub's clinical research due to her focus on real-life solutions to improving cardiovascular health through novel therapies and interventions. His favorite part about working in the Taub lab is connecting and interacting directly with our research patients and learning more about their stories. As a member of the lab, Cameron received the Julia Brown Research scholarship and is published on a variety of cardiology topics, including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and cardiovascular biomarkers.
Outside of the lab and school, Cameron loves professional photography, documenting his travels and experiences, and exploring the fields of psychology. When he's not reading research papers for fun, he also loves to de-stress through exercising.
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Ashley Rosander, BS
Ashley Rosander is a current medical student at Rocky Vista University in Ivins, UT and graduated from UC San Diego with a B.S. in Human Biology in June 2019. She was originally interested in Dr. Taub's research because of its emphasis on lifestyle interventions for preventative healthcare.
Ashley previously worked in wet lab research concerning drug addiction at the San Diego Biomedical Research Institute, and has now moved on to clinical trials research at UC San Diego. As a student, she participated in youth health education, and now she volunteers at Rady Children's Hospital on the weekends. She is an aspiring pediatric cardiologist. She considers herself very lucky to get to work with such amazing patients and such an inspiring team of people!
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David Van
Clinical Research Coordinator
David Van graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Science in Physiology and Neuroscience and a minor in Education Studies. During his time at UC San Diego, David conducted research on how perceptual scaling and signal detection analysis can be used to improve the effectiveness of eyewitness testimony and human memory with Dr. Thomas Albright at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. He is excited to transition into clinical trials research and is interested in learning more about the effects of time restricted eating on patients with metabolic syndrome.
Prior to joining the Taub Research Group, David was a student teacher for a Spanish Immersion class where he taught different STEM subjects in Spanish to elementary school students. He is inspired to educate future generations about the field of medicine and clinical research. David's medical interests lie in surgery, and he aspires to be a cardiothoracic surgeon or orthopedic surgeon in the future. During his free time, David enjoys volunteering in the community, playing the piano, mentoring K-12 students, and playing beach volleyball.
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Aryana Pazargadi, BS, MPH
Aryana Pazargadi obtained a Masters in Public Health at UCSD, and is a graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Biopsychology (Neuroscience). Her research background includes time spent with Drosophila species in a wet lab and time spent in the clinic researching verbal cognition patterns in infants with Dr. Rose Scott. She now enjoys investigating the clinical implications of circadian biology in human research trials. In her free time, Aryana is a frequent flyer and globe-trotter. She has a love for different languages and cultures, and has traveled to 22 different countries. -
Hannah Lo, MD
Hannah is a current Interventional Radiology Resident at Northwell Health, and obtained her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine. She has been working with Dr. Taub since 2018 after graduating with her B.S. in Cognitive Science from UC San Diego. After studying spatial cognition in rats for two years, she was excited to make the transition to human clinical trials. Witnessing the positive impact of studies that translate basic science to implementable interventions has confirmed her desire to pursue a career in academic medicine. As a part of Dr. Taub's Research Group she has published on Cardiac Rehabilitation and Time-Restricted Eating.
In her free time, she enjoys volunteering at the San Diego Symphony and with groups that provide free health screenings to San Diego and Tijuana communities.
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Elizabeth Epstein, MD
Elizabeth Epstein, MD is a Cardiology Fellow at Scripps Health. Her research interests include prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cardiac rehabilitation, as well as evidence-based, integrative approaches to cardiovascular diseases. She earned her medical degree from UC San Diego School of Medicine.
She is the author of A Beautiful Heart Cookbook, a research-based, heart-healthy cookbook that empowers patients to cook healthy food at home.
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Parnia Abolhassan Choubdar, MD
Parnia Choubdar, MD, earned her medical degree in Germany, where she also got Board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. She was drawn to Dr. Taub`s innovative approach of exploring interventions in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. She is currently at the University of Kentucky to further explore integrative approaches to cardiovascular medicine and acquire her American medical licensure. -
Rebecca Ocher, MD
Rebecca worked under Dr. Taub on the Healthy Heroes Study. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Integrative Biology, and has earned her medical degree from UC Riverside School of Medicine. She is a current cardiology fellow at UC San Diego Health. -
Neeja Patel, MD
Summer Scholarship Recipient
Neeja is a current resident at UCLA Health and obtained her medical degree from UC San Diego School of Medicine. She graduated from UC San Diego in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Humanities. During undergrad, she worked in the Patel lab doing research on mice tissue to analyze cell membrane fluidity. She is excited to transition to clinical research about the prevalence of diabetic cardiomyopathy and to learn more about the field of preventative cardiology.
Before starting med school, Neeja taught 9th grade in an under served community and hopes to continue bringing education and patient awareness to the forefront of medicine. In her free time, she enjoys swimming and exploring the vibrant neighborhoods of San Diego.
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Rajiv Vasudevan, MD
Summer Scholarship Recipient
Rajiv is a current orthopedic surgery resident at Yale New Haven Health, and he obtained his medical degree from UC San Diego School of Medicine. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, he completed his undergraduate studies at UC San Diego (Revelle College) in 2018. He conducted research in clinical neuropsychology before transitioning to the cardiac biomarker lab of Dr. Alan Maisel, who worked closely with Dr. Taub prior to his retirement in 2018. Now a medical student, he enjoys exploring different avenues of research in the field of cardiology and is currently working on the Amgen FFR study pertaining to the management and outcomes of non-obstructive coronary artery disease.
In addition, Rajiv is interested in infectious diseases and nosocomial infection prevention research, and hopes to find a way to integrate infectious disease and cardiology in his future career. In his free time, Rajiv enjoys playing guitar, riding his bike, and reading books on religion and philosophy.
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Irvin Xu, MD
Summer Scholarship Recipient
Irvin Xu is a current internal medicine resident at UC San Diego, and obtained his medical degree from UC San Diego School of Medicine. He graduated from UCLA in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology. During his time at UCLA, Irvin conducted research in toxicology involving liver microtissues before transitioning over to type 1 diabetes research under Dr. Jide Tian. He is excited to continue his research endeavors, now in the field of cardiology, and work with the rest of the team on the Amgen FFR study.
During his free time, Irvin enjoys playing soccer, cooking, and exploring the San Diego food scene.
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Adena Zadourian, DO
Adena Zadourian is a general surgeon at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, and obtained her medical degree from Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) in Dothan, AL. She is also the President of the Surgical Interest Group at ACOM. Prior to starting medical school, Adena was the Lead Clinical Research Coordinator for Dr. Taub. She's worked very closely with Dr. Taub to initiate and execute several clinical trials including the AHA Statin Study, Amgen POTS Study, DHS Firefighter Study, and the NIH TRE Study. She plans to continue researching as a medical student and earn a physician-scientist position in her career.Adena graduated from UC San Diego with a Bachelor of Science in Physiology and Neuroscience and a minor in Healthcare and Social Issues. In her spare time, Adena enjoys spending time with her family/friends, and also pursuing her interests in writing, photography, dancing salsa, and kickboxing.
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Kevin Shah, MD, FACC
Dr. Kevin Shah is a Cardiologist at the University of Utah specializing in Advanced Heart Failure, Transplant Cardiology, and Mechanical Circulatory Support. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and Echocardiography.
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Erin Higginbothom, MD
Dr. Erin Higginbothom was highly involved in a study here at the Taub Research Group investigating the effects of epicatechin on exercise capacity. She is currently a practicing physician at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
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Arrash Fard, MD
Dr. Arrash Fard examined the biomarker, MR-PROADM, for prognosis in patients with heart failure while with the lab. After graduation from Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney in Australia, Dr. Fard completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in cardiovascular disease at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York. He is a practicing cardiologist dedicated to serving the communities in the Simi Valley, CA area.
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Alejandro De La Parra, MD
Dr. Alejandro De La Parra investigated the effects of epicatechin on exercise capacity under the direction of Dr. Taub. He is a practicing sports medicine physician for Kaiser Permanente in Fresno, CA.
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Christiana Stark, MD
Christina Stark is a current Clinical Cardiology Fellow at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and she obtained her medical degree from Southern Illinois University, School of Medicine. She worked under Dr. Taub studying time-restricted eating in patients with Metabolic Syndrome and the effects of Ivabradine on patients with POTS. -
Navaid Iqbal, MD
Dr. Navaid Iqbal is a practicing psychiatrist and completed his psychiatry fellowship at Columbia University. He worked with Dr. Taub examining a biomarker for prognosis in patients with heart failure and collaborated with her on numerous publications. -
Minal Patel, BS
Minal worked with Dr. Taub from 2012-2017 on research investigating the effects of epicatechin on exercise capacity.