I am passionate about helping heart failure patients author their own story and am honored to be part of such an amazing team at UF Health. I am an associate professor for the University of Florida’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. I specialize in advanced heart failure, ventricular assist devices and transplantation, while serving as the section chief of heart failure and medical director of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Program at UF Health. I wear many hats, including the program director of the cardiovascular disease fellowship at UF. I returned to UF in 2013 after serving on faculty at Temple University.

I attended Johns Hopkins University as an undergraduate and obtained my medical degree at West Virginia University School of Medicine, where I was awarded the Van Liere Research Scholarship and the Harak V Dedhia Medical Student Award. Thereafter, I completed my internship and residency at Thomas Jefferson University. I started my training in cardiovascular medicine at UF, followed by an additional fellowship in advanced heart failure and transplantation while serving as the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN) training scholar.

I am certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in cardiovascular disease as well as advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology. My current research interests include stem cell therapy in heart failure, ideal strategies for pacemakers and defibrillators in LVAD recipients, interventions to reduce bleeding in LVAD patients and the role of spirituality in medical care. I also stay engaged as a member of the Heart Failure Society of America as well as the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.

Within Gainesville, I am actively engaged in the community, having founded an expense-free medical clinic that received recognition by the Annual Spirit of Gainesville Award in Medicine. In my free time, I enjoy reading fiction, grilling, playing and watching sports, and riding my bicycle.