Cardiovascular Disease Fellows
2022-23 Fellows
Jump to: Cardiovascular Disease | Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology | Adult Congenital Heart Disease | Interventional Cardiology | Structural Heart Disease | Advanced Cardiac Imaging
Recent Cardiovascular Disease Graduates in the last five years:
11% Fellows Pursued Academic Practice
32% Fellows Pursued Private Practice
57% Fellows Pursued Subspecialty Training after Graduating
Cardiovascular disease
Christopher Chen, M.D.
3rd Year Fellow - Chief Fellow
Undergraduate: Texas A&M University, Medical School: Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Residency: Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Chen is a Houston native and his initial interest in medicine and then cardiology was sparked from a prior job as a nurse assistant and telemetry tech during his undergraduate years. He left the great state of Texas to escape the heat/hurricanes, explore a different area of the USA, and learn from a new crop of physician educators.
What are your future plans? Pursuing a career in EP or Imaging in an academic or private setting.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship? Comprehensive program (they pretty much have everything). I was particularly drawn to EP and Imaging. Two major hospital systems/population - a private/academic-hybrid University Hospital and the good ol' VA hospital both connected by a wonderful sky bridge overseeing the Willamette River and the city of Portland with Mount Hood in the background. Balanced clinical duties - while the fellowship has its months of heavy clinical duties the call schedule is extremely reasonable (we are not one of those programs where your first year is trial by fire) and spread more uniformly throughout 3 years. Faculty here are very supportive; I was surprised that the culture here is NOT to avoid calling your attending in the middle of the night when things are going south and you need the extra support. Our program director really cares for us and has shown in the past that she will go the extra mile in creating opportunities to customize and mold your training goals to fit your career goals.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training? Taking my eighty-pound cream retriever named Casper to a whole multitude of amazing dog parks around town, and hanging with my co-fellows and all their dogs too! Also, enjoy sports and Netflix.
Alexander Farr, M.D.
3rd Year Fellow
Undergraduate: University of Michigan, Medical School: Wayne State University School of Medicine, Residency: Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Farr is originally from Michigan and spent most of his time there before moving for residency. He spent two years doing research in immunology before pursuing medicine as a career.
Interests: Interventional cardiology
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship? Because of the people that I meant on my interview day. There is a tremendous amount of support for pursuing all fields of cardiology. Everyone here is part of one big family and is committed to seeing you succeed. OHSU is also a large referral center for the area, so the cardiac pathology is very diverse, which I think is important for training.
What advice do you have for residents applying to fellowships? Think about programs where you will fit in with the people and the culture. It is by far the most important consideration for picking a program.
Khoa Nguyen, M.D.
3rd Year Fellow
Undergraduate: University of Michigan, Medical School: Virginia Commonwealth University, Residency: University of California - Irvine
Dr. Nguyen did a chief year prior to the fellowship. It was a valuable year to slow down and reflect on the different career pathways available to young physicians. For example, he says one day, I might have been attending on the wards; another day I was running a didactic lesson for medical students; and on a different day, I was serving as a liaison between hospital administration and house staff. By dawning these different hats, the chief role propelled him into different situations and tested his responses to them; therefore, divulging many valuable “ah-hah” moments. The year came with highs and lows as expected, but it was a phenomenal experience.
What are your future plans? I want to spend the first year of my fellowship to delve into and learn about the various fields within cardiology and proceed from there. I can see myself practicing in an academic setting in the future.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship? Diverse clinical experiences, renown teachers with emphasis on understanding integrative physiology, and a supportive environment.
Francis Phan, M.D.
3rd Year Fellow - Chief Fellow
Undergraduate: Wichita State University, Medical School: University of Kansas School of Medicine, Residency: Oregon Health & Science University
Dr. Phan was born and raised in Wichita, KS where he completed undergrad and medical school. After 26 years of enjoying the amazing BBQ, college basketball culture and midwest hospitality he finally left with his fiancee, Amanda, to explore the PNW for residency. He’s since fallen in love with Portland, the PNW and amazing medical community here and looks forward to staying here beyond fellowship.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training? hikes with his fiancee and 90 lb goofy rescue pup, working out, cooking, college basketball, KC Chiefs and rooftop beers in the PNW summers.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship? As a former OHSU resident, I was fortunate to experience first hand how collegial and supportive the faculty and fellows are towards one another. I knew that this was a foundation for me to thrive in and I feel incredibly grateful to train here.
Pooja Prasad, M.D.
3rd Year Fellow
Undergraduate: Wellesley College | Medical School, University of Rochester | Residency, UC Davis
Dr. Prasad is from California originally but spent eight years on the east coast for college and medical school before returning to California for residency. Dr. Prasad is excited to be moving to the west coast and is enjoying exploring the parks, hikes, pizza and ice cream in Portland so far. She is passionate about mentorship especially for women in cardiology, and also committed to addressing racial health disparities in our field. Her prior research has been based out of chest pain units with the goal of determining the most effective and efficient management of low-risk patients presenting with chest pain to the emergency department.
Pranav Chandrashekar, M.D.
2nd Year Fellow
Medical School: Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute
Residency Program: Oregon Health Science University
Dr. Chandrashekar grew up in small town in eastern Kentucky then moved to Bangalore, India after middle school. He developed an interest in cardiology as a medical student caring for rheumatic heart disease patients and decided to return to America for further training. Following medical school, he completed a research year at Mayo Clinic, Rochester evaluating into surgical outcomes of patients with valvular heart disease. Completing residency in Portland at OHSU was not only an enriching academic experience, but he really loved living in the beautiful PNW, spending as much time as possible outdoors checking out new hiking trails and trying out all the great vegetarian food in Portland with his sister and friends. During residency he became involved in research related to cardiac amyloidosis and subsequently completed a fellowship in cardiac amyloidosis here at OHSU. He is excited to stay in Portland where he has made so many great friends and can’t wait to learn all that he can during his general cardiology fellowship training here at OHSU.
What are your future plans? I plan to pursue a general cardiology fellowship next year.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship training? OHSU had very supportive, approachable faculty who were focused on helping me learn and achieve my goals. Having spent 3 years as a resident at OHSU I felt confident that I would have a great clinical experience focused on education as well as required resources to help support my research endeavors.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training? I love spending as much time as I can outdoors usually hiking, camping, or skiing. When I'm not outdoors I enjoy watching/playing soccer and spending time with my friends.
Ahmed Altibi, M.D., M.P.H.
2nd Year Fellow
Medical School: University of Jordan Faculty of Medicine
Residency Program: Henry Ford Allegiance Health/ Henry Ford Health System
Born & raised in Palestine, Dr. Altibi began his journey in the US in Pennsylvania where he spent a year doing research in cardiology at the University of Pittsburgh after graduating medical school. His research there, focused on the role of wearable defibrillators in preventing sudden cardiac death, sparked his interest in Cardiology. From Pittsburgh, he moved to Michigan for few years of Internal Medicine residency at Henry Ford Hospitals, where he also served as Chief Resident in the Department of Medicine. Concurrently, his passion for epidemiology & health disparities in cardiovascular medicine has driven him to complete an MPH degree in Epidemiology at Harvard University. Hailing from the Midwest, Dr. Altibi is excited to be moving to the west coast and exploring the PNW for the first time. He enjoys hiking, sightseeing, exploring parks, and cooking.
Colter Wichern, M.D.
2nd Year Fellow
Medical School: Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine
Residency Program: University of California Davis Medical Center
Originally from Wyoming, Dr. Wichern grew up loving the outdoors. Camping, hiking, fly fishing, and racing dirt bikes has kept him occupied for most of his life. During college, he found his passion for learning about the human body and how science can inform the way we optimize physical performance. He is particularly motivated to help our healthcare teams advance our multidisciplinary approach to assist patients with cardiovascular diseases improve their overall wellness. As a training product of the COVID-19 pandemic, he felt especially at home in the critical care units while caring for the sickest patients. He has been involved with research which has identified new echocardiographic parameters of heart function in patients with heart failure as well as investigated the optimal pacemaker settings in patients with heart failure who also have left ventricular assist devices. He is looking forward to returning to OHSU and the beautiful Pacific Northwest to continue training as a cardiology fellow.
Sanket Gokhale, M.D., Pharm. D.
2nd Year Fellow
Medical School: Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
Residency Program: University of Illinois-Chicago
Dr. Gokhale is originally from Libertyville, IL and completed residency at the University of Illinois-Chicago. When not in the hospital, he enjoys food, the NBA and spending time with his family. He is currently undecided as to his ultimate career plans but is interested in medical education and quality improvement. He is looking forward to learning as much cardiology as he can over the next three years and cannot wait to get started and meet everyone.
Omar Sheikh, M.D.
2nd Year Fellow
Medical School: Baqai Medical College
Residency Program: University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Dr. Sheikh was born in Canada, raised in Texas and moved to Pakistan to complete his medical education. He pursed Internal Medicine training in Texas where he coupled matched with his wife. During residency, he was able to confirm his passion for Cardiology. His specific interests are in Interventional Cardiology, however he hopes to explore all aspects of Cardiology. Dr. Sheikh’s prior research interests include Cardiogenic Shock, platelet and lipidology. He is also somewhat of a sports fanatic, especially related Houston Sports teams. Go Rockets!
Morris Kim, M.D.
1st Year Fellow
Medical School: Tulane University School of Medicine
Residency Program: Oregon Health & Science University
Dr. Kim grew up in Portland, OR before leaving for warmer weather in the Bay Area and New Orleans for college and medical school. He returned home to Portland for his residency at OHSU and fell in love with the wonderful people at this institution. The mentorship he received from the cardiology fellows and faculty helped foster a growing interest in cardiology, particularly EP. When not working, you'll find him on the golf course, hiking in the woods, or cycling the back roads around Portland.
What are your future plans? Electrophysiology fellowship, or general practice within a community or academic setting.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship training? As a resident at OHSU, I had a chance to work with the amazing cardiology fellows and faculty here. In addition to the wonderful people, I felt that the wide breadth of pathology seen at OHSU, along with the program's robust didactics curriculum would help me become an excellent cardiologist.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training? Playing golf with old high school teammates or parents, hiking/backpacking in one of the many state or national parks in the PNW, trying new restaurants in town, and seeing new parts of the country.
Adarsh Katamreddy, M.D.
1st Year Fellow
Medical School: M.S. Ramaiah Medical College
Residency Program: Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Jacobi Medical Center
Dr. Katamreddy was born and raised in Bengaluru, India, where he completed his medical school. He moved to New York City to pursue a residency in Internal Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Jacobi program and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha(AOA) honor society during his residency. He served as a Chief resident before moving to Portland for this fellowship.
What are your future plans? Explore the landscape of cardiology during my fellowship including personalized cardiology and AI in cardiology.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship training? OHSU stood out due to the size of the program, collegial atmosphere, opportunities to pursue further subspecialty training in cardiology, research opportunities, and supportive fellows and mentors. I loved interacting with the amazing people I met on the interview day. The beautiful landscape of the pacific northwest is an added bonus.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training? Biking, Hiking, and spending time with friends and family.
Katie Lutz, M.D.
1st Year Fellow
Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine
Residency Program: Oregon Health & Science University
I grew up in rural northern Illinois and played college basketball at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. I was a part of the Rural Medical Education program at University of Illinois. After spending my entire life in the Midwest, I moved to Portland for residency with my husband, Eric, and we have enjoyed hiking, cycling, and going to craft breweries. During the COVID pandemic, we adopted a rescue dog named Flapjack who claims most of our free time. I am thrilled to be staying at OHSU for fellowship.
What are your future plans? Interested in cardiac critical care.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship training? As a former resident at OHSU, I was impressed by the education I received on my clinical cardiology rotations and the support I received from my mentors. I was impressed by the collegiality of the faculty and fellows, and I knew that this would be an excellent environment to continue training in.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training?Pretty much anything the PNW has to offer- hiking, bouldering, trying out new restaurants, downhill/cross-country skiing, and bodyboarding.
Rebecca Haraf, M.D.
1st Year Fellow
Medical School: The University of Toledo College of Medicine
Residency Program: Case Western Reserve
Dr. Haraf grew up in the midwest just outside of Chicago, IL. She was a college athlete before completing medical school, residency, and chief residency in Ohio, where she first developed a love for cardiology and its relationship to exercise. She has a passion for physical fitness and the outdoors and was quickly drawn to Oregon and the opportunity to explore the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
What are your future plans? Academic cardiology, with a focus on sports/exercise.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship training? I have always loved exploring new areas of the US, and I saw fellowship as another opportunity to live in a place I have never been! Beyond the draw of the PNW itself, I felt welcomed and inspired by the faculty I have met, and found the sense of comradely and friendship I was hoping for amongst the fellows.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training? Playing volleyball, hiking with my dog, learning new skills (next on the list: learning to snowboard!), baking, exploring restaurants/breweries in the area.
Mustafa Ajam, M.D.
1st Year Fellow
Medical School: Mu'tah University of Faculty Medicine
Residency Program: Detroit Medical Center
Fellowship: Oregon Health & Science University (Critical Care Medicine)
I completed my medical education at Mutah University in Jordan. After that I did my Internal Medicine residency at DMC/WSU in Michigan and Critical Care Medicine fellowship at Oregon Health and Science University.
What are your future plans? Pursuing a career in cardiac critical care and medical education.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship training? During my critical care training at OHSU, I appreciated the supportive learning environment and mentorship in addition to the excellent medical care that patients get here at OHSU.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training? I am a loyal fan of Real Madrid. Other than soccer, I enjoy traveling, swimming and reading.
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology
Laith Alkukhun, M.D.
2nd Year Fellow
Residency Program: University of Michigan Health System
Fellowship: UPMC-Presbyterian (Cardiovascular Disease)
Dr. Alkukhun grew and attended medical school in Jordan before moving to the U.S. for medical training. He was fascinated by the ongoing advancement in the field of cardiac electrophysiology. His research interest in about understanding the complex pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation. He enjoys playing basketball, biking and spending the day outside with his wife, son and thier little dog.
Jose L. Lozano Garcia, M.D.
1st Year Fellow
Medical School: University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine
Residency Program: University of Michigan Health System
Fellowship: The State University of New York at Buffalo (Cardiology)
Dr. Lozano Garcia was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico where he completed his undergraduate degree. He worked as a mechanical engineer and completed graduate studies in Texas before pursuing medicine and cardiology as a career. Dr. Lozano Garcia is excited to be moving to Oregon and exploring its mountains and beaches.
What are your future plans? Electrophysiology
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship training? I was initially drawn to OHSU since I initially visited the city for residency interview. I knew that I wanted to experience living in the PNW. I enjoyed my EP interview at OHSU a lot. I truly felt welcomed and that I would get excellent training with awesome attendings.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training? Hiking and biking.
Ryle Przybylowicz, M.D.
1st Year Fellow
Medical School: The Ohio State University
Residency Program: Baylor College of Medicine
Fellowship: Oregon Health & Science University (Cardiovascular Disease)
Interests: Electrophysiology
What advice do you have for residents applying to fellowships? Make sure the fellows are happy and get along with each other. Look into what the fellows are doing after their general fellowship. Make sure the location is somewhere you'd want to live.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training? Hanging out and cooking with family/friends, hiking, watching soccer, trying new coffee and beer spots.
Adult Congenital Heart Disease
Ibett Colina Garcia, M.D.
2nd Year Fellow
Residency Program: Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center
Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program: Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center
Dr. Colina Garcia is originally from Venezuela. She comes from a city in the Andes called Merida. She lived in Chicago for the last six years for residency and fellowship training. She is passionate about congenital heart disease and cardiac MRI. She is interested in researching clinical tools that help predict long term outcomes in patients born with congenital heart disease. In her free time she enjoys cooking foods from different cuisines and dancing to Latin American music.
Interventional Cardiology
Tim Simpson, M.D., Pharm.D
1st Year Fellow
Medical School: Oregon Health & Science University, Residency: University of California, San Francisco
Fellowship: Oregon Health & Science University (Cardiovascular Disease)
Dr. Simpson is a native Oregonian and a former snow bum turned pharmacist, turned physician.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship? After spending time in the bay at UCSF for residency, the opportunity to return back to Portland for fellowship was an opportunity I could not pass up. The cardiology fellowship has achieved an exceptional amount of progress in the last several years, as has the department as a whole. I found the subspecialties of interventional cardiology as well as electrophysiology, where my interests lie, to be exceptionally strong. Both groups have great clinical volume, exceptional clinical and personal mentorship, and an abundance of opportunities to get involved to whatever extent you wish. People across the division are extremely kind, invested in your learning, and a joy to work with.
Structural Heart Disease
Amged Abdelaziz, M.D.
Medical School: The Academy of Medical Sciences and Technology
Residency Program: Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center
Fellowship: Beaumont Hospital-Dearborn (Cardiology); UCONN/Hartford Hospital (Interventional Cardiology)
Dr. Abdelaziz completed medical school in Sudan, after which he moved to Michigan for residency training. He completed a Master’s degree from the University of Michigan and then joined Beaumont Dearborn hospital for general cardiology and UCONN/Hartford Hospital for interventional training. He is passionate about cardiology and learning and have special interest in structural heart interventions.
What are your future plans? To be able to help as many patients using the skills that I have gained from fellowship. I plan to join a health system where I can apply the knowledge gained during my fellowship and hopefully contribute to the advancement of the field.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship training? To be at the cutting edge of technology and learn from leaders in the field of Cardiology and Structural Heart Interventions.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training? soccer, swimming
Advanced Imaging
Sujeen Adhikari, M.D.
Medical School: Nova Southeastern University
Residency Program: University of Illinois-Chicago/Advocate Christ Medical Center
Fellowship: Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (Cardiology)
I was born and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal. After finishing my undergraduate as an international student in Illinois, I went to Florida for medical school and later came back to Illinois for residency and fellowship. My interest in cardiology started while learning the heart sounds in the SIM lab during my second year of medical school and has been continuously growing since.
What are your future plans? I plan on finding a job within a large community healthcare or an academic position.
Why did you choose OHSU for your fellowship training? I have always heard about OHSU's academic quality. During my interview, I met a great group of people who were supportive of my career goals. Additionally, I want to enjoy the beauty and culture of Portland area.
What do you enjoy doing outside of training? Playing sports such as soccer, cricket, pingpong, ultimate frisbee. I also enjoy working out. I also love spending time with my family.