Faculty

Academic Leadership
Anatomy
Behavioral Science
Biochemistry
Chemistry
Clinical Science
Introduction to Clinical Medicine and Physical Diagnosis (ICMPD)
Medical Communications
Medical Librarian
Microbiology and Immunology
Pathology
Pharmacology
Physiology
USMLE Review Course
Visiting Faculty

Chief Academic Officer

Arun Kumar Dubey,MBBS, MD

Dr. Arun Kumar Dubey is a Physician, Clinical Pharmacologist and an Administrator by training. After completing his MBBS degree from Guwahati Medical College in India, Dr. Dubey completed three years of Residency in Clinical Pharmacology at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).

Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Clinical Sciences

Richard George Pestell,MB, BS, MD, PhD, MBA, FRACP, FACP, FRS (Medicine), FAAAS

rpestellmd@xusom.com

Dr. Pestell received an M.B.B.S. from the University of Western Australia, an F.R.A.C.P. (Endocrinology and Oncology training), an M.D. and a Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne, an F.A.C.P. (Fellow American College of Physicians), and an M.B.A. from New York University. He has been in executive leadership at USA Universities and Medical Centers since 2002.

He completed Post Doctoral studies at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He was subsequently faculty at Northwestern University Medical School, Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Chairman of the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University and Associate Vice President at Georgetown University Medical School. He has previously Executive Vice President of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. He has served as Director of two NCI-designated Cancer Centers (Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, 2002-2015), founded two biotechnology companies and is the author of multiple issued patents.

He is concurrently Distinguished Professor, Translational Medical Research, and the President of the Pennsylvania Cancer and Regenerative Medicine Research Center at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute.

He has received a number of awards for his work in clinical activity, research and education in Medicine including elected membership to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Elected Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation, Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Western Australia, Doctorus Honorus Causa Medical Science from University of Melbourne, RD Wright Medallion, and the Eric Sussman Prize.

Dr Pestell’s work has more than 56,700 citations and an H-index of 129, i10 index 413 (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RYlsfBQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao). He is top ranked by Google Scholar for his areas of research including: cell cycle (#1), prostate cancer (#1), Oncology (#6) and Breast cancer (#7)

Associate Dean of General Professional Education

Shawn Cannon,D.O., FACOI

Dr. Shawn Cannon is the Chief Academic Officer, Stony Brook Medicine at Southampton Hospital. He started his medical studies at NYIT-College of Osteopathic Medicine, in an accelerated program. He earned his B.S and D.O. degrees in seven years. From there he studied medicine at the University Hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center in the City of New York. At Montefiore, he served as chief resident in the Department of Social Internal Medicine. He is a board certified osteopathic internist with sub-specialty boards in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Cannon is currently studying at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec in the International Master’s for Health Leadership (IMHL). He is expected to finish his master’s curriculum in August 2018. He is also and active member of the American Osteopathic Association of Addiction Medicine and the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He is currently serving on the Board of the American Osteopathic Directors of Medical Education (AODME) as it transitions into an assembly of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). He founded the Residency Program in Social Medicine at Southmpton to ensure medial students and residents were being educated in the fields of medicine that are acutely affecting citizens of the United States.

Assistant Dean of Clinical Science

Michael Light,MD

MLightMD@xusom.com

Dr. Michael Light qualified at Guy’s Hospital, London in 1967. Following residency he spent 3 years in Europe in adult medicine in 4 countries before joining the Brompton Chest Hospital, London. There he did the equivalent of a fellowship in pediatric pulmonary and critical care. In 1973 he was invited to develop a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the University of Hawaii and inherited at the same time the Neonatal ICU. The next 16 years in Hawaii he was a pediatric pulmonologist.

In 1989 he joined the University of California, San Diego and for 8 years directed the pediatric pulmonary program. He was director of the cystic fibrosis center and managed both pediatric and adult CF patients.

The next 11 years from the year 2000 were spent at the University of Miami, 8 years in the pediatric pulmonary and 3 years in the adult pulmonary division. He continued his interest in clinical research particularly in the development of aerosolized antibiotics and other inhaled agents in cystic fibrosis. He was a member of the lung transplant team at UCSD, and this interest continued at the University of Miami.

Dr. Light was chairperson of the pulmonary section of the American Academy of Pediatrics from 2004 to 2006 and one of the tasks of the committee was to develop a Handbook of Pediatric Pulmonology. This was published in 2011 and Dr. Light was editor-in-chief. He also authored “Clinician’s Guide to Pediatric Chronic Illness” which was published in 2001.

In 2011 Dr. Light joined Ross University Medical School (RUSM) in the Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies and was asked to improve the student health services on campus. For the next 3 years he was medical director of the student health clinic which involved upgrading the clinic and developing emergency services on campus.

Dr. Light joined the faculty of the University of Florida (UF) in July 2015 in the division of Pediatric Pulmonology. From April 2016 to the present he has been chief of pediatric pulmonology at UF. During his time with UF the division has improved 11 places to 22^nd nationally in the World News medical school rankings.

Dean of Basic Science

Shankar Majhi,MBBS, MD

smajhimd@xusom.com

Dr. Majhi completed his medical school training at VSS Medical College, Sambalpur, and Orissa. After completing his M.D. in Biochemistry, and a Senior Residency in JIPMER, Dr. Majhi moved to Nepal. During his time in Nepal, he became a founding Professor of Biochemistry in a new Medical College and also worked as an editor of the medical journal, NMCJ.

Assistant Dean of Clinical Science

Ahmad Abazid,MD

abazidmd@xusom.com

Dr. Ahmad graduated from Aleppo University School of Medicine in 2004. After that he became the Assistant Medical Director at Carolina Medical Lab before he started a family medicine residency in Wichita Falls, Texas in 2007. During his last year he was Chief Resident. Upon completion of his residency, he became core faculty. At that time he was the Vice Chairman and then the Family Medicine Department Chairman at United Regional Health Care System. In 2016, he and his family moved to New York so his wife could begin her OB residency. He has practiced as a hospitalist in LIJ Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital, and practiced urgent care in Brooklyn. His passion for academia led him to start a geriatric fellowship at State University of New York, Downstate Brooklyn.

Assistant Dean of Student Affairs

Narasimha Prasad Vijayashankar,MD

nvijayashankarmd@xusom.com
Dr. Vijayshankar earned his MD in Pharmacology from Manipur University. He has given a number of presentations and participated in many workshops and conferences. His MD thesis is titled “Evaluation of Anti Gastric Ulcer and Anti Microbial Property of Impatiens Balsamina Linn.”

Assistant Dean of Curriculum Development and Planning

Malpe Surekha Bhat,PhD

mbhatphd@xusom.com

Dr. Bhat graduated with a Bachelor in Science in 1992 from Mangalore University, India. She later earned her Master in Science in Biochemistry. She was then awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in 2005, from Manipal University in India.

Assistant Dean of Pre-Med

Kevin Pawlak,PhD

kpawlakphd@xusom.com

Dr. Kevin Pawlak received his Ph.D in Biology from the University of Western Ontario in Canada. He was nominated for a Teaching Assistant award twice, first in 2005 and again in 2006. He has numerous publications and has given many presentations, and has served as a supervisor to many students.

Associate Professor of Anatomy and Medical Terminology

Segie Apacible II,DMD

segiedds@xusom.com

Dr. Apacible II earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1994 in Pre-Dental Sciences from Centro Escolar University in the Philippines. He went on to graduate from the same University in 1998 as a Doctor of Dental Medicine.

Assistant Professor of Anatomy

Manisha Hansda, MBBS, MD

mhansdamd@xusom.com

Dr. Manisha Hansda received her M.B.B.S. and her M.D. from Lady Hardinge Medical College in India. She has served as a delegate for a number of conferences, workshops, and training programs, and has organized a number of these events as well.

Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology

Diana C. Wever-Salcedo,MD

Dr. Weaver-Salcedo is currently a Director and Psychologist at MIND+, a company located in Aruba. She graduated from Leiden University in 2007 with her Bachelors in Psychology and then in 2008 she graduated with her Masters in Occupational Health Psychology from Leiden University. Since 2013 she has been an active member of the organizing committee o the Professional Woman Network.

Stress Management Expert Student Counsellor

Sharon Burgler

sburgler@xusom.com

Sharon is a Stress Management Expert with more than 20 years of experience in coaching and training of medical specialists, lawyers, officers, management groups and board members of large companies. She is specialized in the unique emotional, psychological, and physiological needs of doctors who are nearly stressed out or with experience of burn-out.

Professor of Biochemistry

Malpe Surekha Bhat,PhD

mbhatphd@xusom.com

Professor of Biochemistry

Shankar Majhi,MBBS, MD

smajhimd@xusom.com

Associate Professor of Chemistry

Jacques Odryzynski

jodryzynski@xusom.com

Professor Odryzynski received his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Florida. He has since received A+ and MCP certification. Professor Odryzynski worked previously as a process engineer for Valero Energy Corporation. In 2007, he started teaching at Xavier University School of Medicine. He began with parts one and two of general chemistry, working to help each student understand and apply chemistry. Professor Odryzynski has since taught organic chemistry, pre-calculus, and physics as well. He is also a facilitator for PBL (Problem-Based Learning) for those respective subjects.

Associate Dean of General Professional Education

Shawn Cannon,D.O., FACOI

Assistant Dean of Clinical Science

Michael Light,MD

MLightMD@xusom.com

Professor Internal Medicine

Bangalore Murthy,MD

Medical Director

Jackson Park Hospital

bangaloremurthy@hotmail.com

Professor Internal Medicine

Eric Mizuno,MD

Medical Staff

Weiss Memorial Hospital

ericmizuno@yahoo.com

Professor Internal Medicine

George Lawrence,MD

Director of Medical Education

St. Agnes Hospital

glawrence@stagnes.org

Professor Family Medicine

Regional Chair/Professor of Family Medicine

Lakshmi Dodda,MD

Dean of Family Medicine Residency and Medical Students

Jackson Park Hospital

lpdodda@gmail.com

Professor Surgery

Surgery Chair

Madhu Rangraj,MD

Director of Surgery

Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital

ramaf@aol.com

Professor Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine Chair

Parvez Mir,MD

Director Pulmonary CC

Wyckoff Heights Medical Center

pmirmd@gmail.com

Professor OB/GYN

Chairperson OB/GYN

Paul Liu,MD, JD

Director of Gynecologic Oncology

Nassau University Medical Center

pliuJDMD@gmail.com

Professor Family Medicine

Peter Urazov,DO

Director of Medical Education

Brookhaven Memorial Hospital

purazov@bmhmc.org

Professor Family Medicine

Sonia Velez,MD

Program Director, Medical Education

St. Joseph’s Medical Center

sonia.velez@saintjosephs.org

Professor Internal Medicine

Pratap Kumar,MD

Attending Physician

Jackson Park Hospital

pkumar352@aol.com

Professor Primary Care

Shawn Cannon,DO, FACOI

Chief Academic Officer

Stony Brook Medicine at Southampton

scannon@rpsom.org

Professor Family Medicine

Chairperson Psychiatry

Ronald Brenner,MD

Chief of Behavioral Health Service Line for the Catholic Health System

Mercy Hospital Medical Center

Rbrenner16@aol.com

Professor Internal Medicine

Rebecca Fishman,DO

Director of Medical Education

Mercy Hospital Center

rfishmando@gmail.com

Professor of Internal Medicine

Chairman Internal Medicine

Richard Pomerantz,MD

Chairman Department of Medicine

St. Agnes Hospital

rpomeran@stagnes.org

Professor Pediatrics

Chairperson Pediatrics

Sanjivan Patel,MD, FAAP

Chairman, Department of Pediatrics

Wyckoff Heights Medical Center

patelsanjivan@gmail.com

Professor Surgery

Siddiq Hasan,MD

Chief of Surgery

Jackson Park Hospital

siddiqzehrahasan@yahoo.com

Associate Professor

Zhiping Li,MD

Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center

Email: zpli2009@gmail.com

Associate Professor

Xuanmao JIAO,MD, PhD

Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, Pennsylvania

Xuanmao.jiao@bblumberg.org

Associate Professor of Internal Medicine

Aftab Khan,MD

Teaching Attending Physician

Jackson Park Hospital

1368khan@gmail.com

Associate Professor of Surgery

Peter Geis,MD

Chair, Department of Medical Education

Northwest Hospital Center

wgeis@lifebridgehealth.org

Associate Professor of Surgery

Frank Apantaku,MD

Attending Surgeon

Jackson Park Hospital

clinic.apantaku@gmail.com

Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Gayle Kates,MD

Attending Physician

Jackson Park Hospital

gaylekatesmd@gmail.com

Associate Professor of Family Medicine

Hee Han Kim,MD

Attending Physician

Jackson Park Hospital

hkimjph@yahoo.com

Associate Professor of Surgery

Leonard Maffucci,MD, FACS

General and Bariatric Surgery

Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital

leomaff@aol.com

Associate Professor of Internal Medicine

Mohammad Hussain,MD

Attending Physician

Jackson Park Hospital

hussainmtj@yahoo.com

Associate Professor of Family Medicinwe

Rajiv Kandala,MD

Attending Physician

Jackson Park Hospital

rajib26@hotmail.com

Associate Professor OBGYN

Ruksana Nazneen,MD

Program Director

Jackson Park Hospital

ruknazmd@yahoo.com

Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Shirley Montgomery,MD

Director of Department of Pediatrics

Jackson Park Hospital

shirleymontgomery@jacksonpark.com

Associate Professor of Internal Medicine

Thodur Ranganathan,MD

Director Medical Education

Jackson Park Hospital

ranganthant@aol.com

Assistant Professor of Family Medicine

Adebayo Bademosi,MD

Attending Physician

Jackson Park Hospital

drbademosi@yahoo.com

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Carletha Hughes,MD

Attending Physician

Jackson Park Hospital

carlethahughes@yahoo.com

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Clara Akhigbe,MD

Attending Physician

Jackson Park Hospital

UYINO@aol.com

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Hong Ming Lay,MD, FACS

Private Practice

Jackson Park Hospital

hllay@yahoo.com

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Shani Palmer,MD

Attending Physician: Colon and Rectal Surgery/General Surgery

Motefiore New Rochelle Hospital

shanipalmer@gmail.com

Assistant Professor Internal Medicine

Syed Ali,MBBS

Jackson Park Hospital

syed_ali60640@yahoo.com

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Michael Silberstein,MD

Director of Bariatric Surgery

Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital

msilbers@montefiore.org

Professor of Introduction to Clinical Medicine and Physical Diagnosis (ICMPD)

Director of Standardized Patient (SP) Program and OSCE

Neelam Dwivedi,MBBS, DO, DNB

neelammd@xusom.com

Dr. Dwivedi is a trained Surgical Ophthalmologist. After finishing her M.B.B.S. at Jhansi Medical College in India, she completed her two-year Diploma in Ophthalmology at Manipal Academy of Higher Education. She went on further to complete three years of residency training at Icare EYE Hospital.

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

Zaheeb Choudrhy,MD

Dr. Choudhry graduated from Free University Medical School in Amsterdam in 2010. He then went on to do a number of Fellowships at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam including a Fellowship in Clinical Immunology and in transplant nephrology and interventional nephrology. Currently he works at Horacio Oduber Hospital in Aruba as an Internist and a Nephrologist.

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

Albert John Croes,MD

jcroesmd@xusom.com

Dr. Croes finished medical school in 1982 at the Universidad Javeriana, in Bogota, Colombia. He comes from a long history of native natural doctors. He is a very active physician in society and received a Public Achievement Award in 2013 at the Social Public Center, “Playa Pabow”. Dr. Croes gives medical training, conducts public lectures, writes medical articles in the news, appears regularly on TV and radio shows, and is very popular in the Caribbean. He is known on the islands as a “second opinion” doctor. He also organizes his own annual public seminar in integrative medicine. His website is well-known for online consultation and general preventive advice. Additionally, Dr. Croes is the President of the Aruba Wellness Institute Project.

Associate Professor of Medicine (Hematology)

Andries Jonkhoff,MD, PhD

Dr. Jonkhoff graduated from Vrije University in Amsterdam in 1983. He currently works at the Horacio Oduber Hospital, located on the island of Aruba. His work has been published in over 30 different publications in the medical field. Dr. Jonkhoff is a member of numerous medical associations, including the American Association of Hematology, American Association of Clinical Oncology, and Hematological Clinical Sciences in the Netherlands (HOVON), Netherlands Society of Hematology, and Nederlandse Internisten Verenging (NIV).

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

Stefanie Lubbes,MD

Dr.Lubbes graduated from Amsterdam University with a degree in Biomedical Sciences. She also has graduated from Twente University with a Bachelor’s degree in Technical Medicine and Gronigen University with a degree in Medicine. She is a medical doctor at Horacio Oduber hospital in Aruba in the Emergency Medicine department.

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

Niloufar Rahim,MD

Dr. Rahim attended Leiden University Medical school. She worked at Kabul University since 2014 as a clinical skills trainer for Medical students. Currently Dr.Rahim works at Horacio Oduber Hospital in Aruba as a Junior Doctor in the department of emergency medicine. Dr. Rahim is a part of the KEIHAN Foundation which is a platform for students and young professionals to support and implement projects in the field of education, integration and development cooperation in the Netherlands and Afghanistan.

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

Rhiannon Blanchette,MD

Dr. Blanchette received her Bachelors and Masters in Medicine from Maastricht University. Currently she works at Horacio Oduber Hospital in Aruba in the Acute care department. Dr. Blanchette has knowledge in 5 different languages: Dutch, English, German, French, and Spanish.

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

Chris Franca,MD

Dr. Franca is a Gastroenterology and Hepatolgy Consultant at Horacio Oduber Hospital in Aruba, with a specific training and interest in advanced endoscopy and hepatolgy. He graduated Cum Laude with his medical degree from Vrije University in Amsterdam. Dr. Franca is fluent in 4 Languages; Dutch, English, Spanish and Papiamento, which is his native language.

Assistant Professor

Daybelis Alexandra Maria Croes,MD

Dr. Croes graduated from the Universidad De Ciencias Medicas (UCIMED), Costa Rica in 2016. Her medical internships includes Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics and OB-Gyn. She also did Plastic Surgery rotation in 2012. Dr. Croes is currently a General Practitioner on the island of Aruba.

Lecturer

Fidelis Nwachukwu,MD, BMLS

fnwachukwumd@xusom.com

Dr. Nwachukwu received his Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Sciences from the University of Nigeria and then went on to obtain and M.D. from All Saints University College of Medicine in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Recently, he completed his M.Sc in Clinical Pharmacology at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nigeria. During his time at All Saints he was awarded Best Graduating Student in Basic Medical Sciences. Later, he was conferred an Outstanding Performance Award from the Nigerian Medical Association.

Librarian/ Assistant Professor of Medical Communications and Research

Patricia Brumley,Ph.D

pbrumleyphd@xusom.com

Dr. Patricia Brumley earned her M.A. in Library and Information Studies at Florida State University. She has also earned her B.S in special education, M.S in elementary education and Ph.D in higher education administration at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Over the last 20 years she has worked with schools and their staffs to develop supervise and evaluate Library media programs. She has been an adjunct professor at Nova University for over 15 years teaching Library Educational Media Courses. At her time there she sponsored reading readiness projects, and developed educational policies for the library. She was also selected and served on the committee to evaluate the on-line databases for library media services for all public schools in Miami-Dade.

Librarian/ Assistant Professor of Medical Communications and Research

Patricia Brumley,Ph.D

pbrumleyphd@xusom.com

Assistant Professor for Health Biotech, Immunology, Microbiology

Tulika Mishra,PhD

Dr. Tulika Mishra received her Ph.D in Life Sciences from Punjabi University, Punjab, India in 2009. She has12 years of experience in administration and academics, including guiding M.Sc Dissertations and Ph.D students. She previously worked as Director at India Life Technologies, as well as Professor at Chandigarh University, Punjab, India. She has won “Best Teacher” awards and multiple Universities and has 27 publications.

Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Prasanna Honnavar,PhD

phonnavarphd@xusom.com

Dr. Honnavar completed his Ph.D in Medical Microbiology at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in India. His thesis is titled “Speciation, molecular typing and pathobiology of Malassezia species isolated from patients with seborrhoeic dermatitis/dandruff”. He has numerous publications and awards, and has participated in and presented at a number of conferences.

Professor of Pathology

Vishal Saxena,MD

Dr. Vishal Saxena received his M.D. (Pathology) from Armed Forces Medical College, University of Pune, India. He has served as the Assistant Dean of Academics and Student Affairs at American University of Barbados, as well as Chair & Course Director of Department of Pathology. Prior to that, he was a Professor in the Department of Pathology at Medical University of the Americas, St. Kitts & Nevis, West Indies. He has vast global teaching, clinical practice, and administrative experience. He has held key positions as Chief of the Laboratory Services at Aga Khan Hospital, and Medical Superintendent at the International Medical and Technological University, Tanzania. He was the Chief of Laboratory Medicine Department and Blood Bank, Moolchand Medcity Hospital, (India’s First JCI and Comprehensive NABH Accredited Hospital), in New Delhi, India. He has been bestowed with “Most Outstanding Professor” award in recognition of superior teaching and commitment to quality medical education at various medical universities across the world. He is an accomplished orator par excellence, and has graced White Coat Graduation Ceremonies at medical universities as the keynote speaker on multiple occasions.

Professor of Pharmacology

Arun Kumar Dubey,MBBS, MD

Dubeymd@xusom.com

Assistant Professor of Pharmacology

Narasimha Prasad Vijayashankar,MD

Assistant Professor of Physiology

Gopikumar Shivaramaiah,MBBS, MD

gshivaramaiahmd@xusom.com

Dr. Kumar earned his M.B.B.S. from Bangalore Medical College in Bengaluru. Following that, he received his M.D. in Physiology from Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital. He is a life member of two scientific organizations: Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India (APPI) and Indian Medical Association (IMA).

Assistant Professor of Physiology

Sheetal Naik,MD, MBBS

snaikmd@xusom.com

Dr. Sheetal Naik is a physician and physiologist by training. After completing her MBBS degree from JJMMC Davangere, India, Dr. Naik completed three years of residency in physiology at KIMS, Bangalore, India. Her MD thesis is titled “Birth weight and its effect on cognition in children aged 5-6 years”. She has given a number of presentations and participated in many CME, workshops and conferences. She has undergone training in exercise physiology and neurophysiology.