Meet our current cardiology fellows by their program listed below:
- Interventional Fellows
- Structural Fellow
- Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellows
- Advanced Echocardiography and Imaging Fellows
- Heart Failure Fellows
- T32 Fellow
- Cardiovascular Disease Fellows
Interventional Fellows
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Hooman Bakhshi, M.D.
Hometown: Tehran, Iran Medical School: Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences Clinical Interest: Interventional and structural cardiology Research Interest: Outcomes research and using novel cardiovascular biomarkers for risk stratification Hooman was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. He attended medical school at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. He completed his medical residency at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore and cardiology fellowship at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus in Falls Church, Virginia. He is very passionate about medical education and academic cardiology. His research studies are focused on using novel biomarkers to predict cardiovascular disease in population at risk. He is also interested in outcomes research. -
Sumon Roy, M.D.
Hometown: Raynham, MA Medical School: Boston University School of Medicine Clinical Interest: Interventional and Structural Cardiology Research Interest: Advancement in Intracoronary Anatomic and Hemodynamic TechnologySumon was born and raised on the South Shore of Boston, MA. He attended college, graduate school, and medical school in Boston, MA. He continued on to complete his internship and residency in Internal Medicine in Rochester, NY, and then his fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease in Richmond, VA. His primary career interests are to perform impactful percutaneous coronary and structural procedures while participating in research to minimize risks associated with these procedures. He is very excited to continue the pursuit of his career goals in Baltimore, MD.
Structural Fellows
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Rimsky Denis, M.D.
Hometown: Miami, Florida Medical School: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Clinical Interest: Interventional and Structural Cardiology Research Interest: Health Inequities in Cardiovascular Disease Rimsky was born and raised in Miami, Florida. Prior to beginning his cardiovascular disease fellowship, he completed his internal medicine residency at Brown University in Rhode Island, and his medical school training at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Rimsky holds a masters degree in public health with a concentration in disease prevention, and a masters degree in business administration with a focus in healthcare policy. His research interest pertains to the assessment of health inequities within structural heart disease and interventional cardiology. -
Pranoti Hiremath, M.D.
Hometown: Seattle, WA Medical School: Harvard Medical School Clinical Interest: General cardiology and cardiovascular imaging Research Interest: Medical device and algorithm development, intraoperative imagingDuring her undergraduate degree in Bioengineering at University of Washington, Pranoti worked on building mobile health tools for global health settings, and on developing strategies for implanting pediatric medical devices. She completed medical training at Harvard Medical School, then returned home for Internal Medicine residency at University of Washington Hospitals, and now she is looking forward to returning to the east coast for Cardiology fellowship! She hopes to integrate clinical experience with knowledge from research to develop tools that can positively impact the care of patients with cardiovascular disease. Pranoti enjoys dancing of all kinds, kickboxing, cooking for friends, and spending time with people she adores.
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellows
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Nino Isakadze, M.D.
Hometown: Tbilisi, Georgia Medical School: David Tvildiani Medical University Clinical Interest: General Cardiology, Cardiac Electrophysiology Research Interest: Atrial Fibrillation, Medical Innovation, M Health Dr. Nino Isakadze is a fourth-year cardiology fellow with research interests at the intersection of digital health and atrial fibrillation. In collaboration with the American Heart Association and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, Dr. Isakadze incorporated Human Centered Design methodology to develop mobile application for management of atrial fibrillation in a way that will meet the needs of diverse groups of patients and clinicians. Dr. Isakadze currently plans to conduct a pilot randomized clinical trial to evaluate clinical outcomes with the use of atrial fibrillation application. She received a Master of Health Science Degree in Graduate Training in Clinical Investigation at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health during her third year of fellowship. She was also selected to be the American Heart Association Health Technology and Information Scientifically Focused Research Network fellow. Dr. Isakadze received The Michael Mirowski and Semyon and Janna Friedman Friedman Fellowship awards given to fellows with the greatest potential for academic success. -
Rachit Vakil, M.D.
Hometown: Manahawkin, NJ Medical School: Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Clinical Interest: Electrophysiology, heart failure Research Interest: Obesity related cardiovascular comorbidities, prevention, epidemiologyRachit attended Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School for medical training. He received his Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where he focused on epidemiology and biostatistics. He completed his internal medicine training in the Osler Residency Program at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is interested in cardiovascular epidemiology with a focus on risk stratification of sudden cardiac death. After general cardiology, he plans to pursue training in cardiac electrophysiology. Outside of the hospital he enjoys traveling, trying new foods, and strolling down to the harbor with his wife and young daughter to get gelato. -
Marc Engels, M.D., Ph.D.
Hometown: Willemstad, Curaçao Medical School: Leiden University Clinical Interest: Electrophysiology Research Interest: Atrial fibrillation, sudden cardiac deathMarc was born and raised in Curaçao, a small island in the Caribbean. He graduated from medical school at Leiden University in the Netherlands and completed PhD training there as well. During his PhD training he focused on arrhythmia research and specifically shockless defibrillation using optogenetics. He subsequently moved to the US for residency training at Emory University. He plans to pursue a career in cardiac electrophysiology. -
Fabrizio Assis, M.D. - Chief Fellow
Hometown: Campina Grande, Brazil Medical School: Federal University of Paraiba Clinical Interest: Electrophysiology Research Interest: cardiac neuromodulation, ventricular arrhythmias, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), cardiac implantable devices, innovative technologies, esophageal protection Fabrizio graduated from Medical School at Federal University of Paraiba and completed his training in Cardiology and Electrophysiology at Hospital Beneficencia Portuguesa de Sao Paulo, Brazil. As a postdoctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Assis was actively involved with multiple research activities, including the development of a new, minimally invasive technique for cardiac neuromodulation, and new strategies of therapeutic hypothermia and esophageal protection against thermal injury during catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. -
Usama Daimee, M.D.
Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, MI Medical School: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Clinical Interest: Arrhythmias, catheter ablation, cardiac implantable devices Research Interests: Clinical outcomes associated with catheter ablation procedures and cardiac implantable devices; prospective registries and clinical trials -
Weijia Wang, M.D.
Hometown: Nanjing, China Medical School: Zhejiang University, School of Medicine Clinical Interest: Cardiac electrophysiology, general cardiology Research Interests: Epidemiology, inherited heart disease, atrial fibrillation I attended Zhejiang University, School of Medicine in Hangzhou, China. I completed residency at Tufts Medical Center and cardiology fellowship at UMass. Between residency and fellowship, I obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University. I am interested in the electrophysiology, general cardiology, and epidemiology.
Advanced Echocardiography and Imaging Fellows
Ethan Tumarkin
Hometown: Toronto, CanadaMedical School: University of Toronto
Clinical Interest: Heart Failure, valvular heart disease
Research Interests: Polymer material integration into biological and non-biological tissues, anti-thrombotic and anti-microbial surfaces.

Heart Failure Fellows
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Ilton Cubero Salazar
Hometown: Bluffton, South Carolina
Medical School: Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine
Clinical Interest: Heart Failure
Research Interest: Mechanisms underlying myocardial hypertrophy and heart failure, HFpEF
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Paul Scheel
Hometown: Ellicott City, MD
Medical School: Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
Clinical Interest: Heart failure, transplant, critical care cardiology
Research Interest: Genetic cardiomyopathies, durable mechanical support
T32 Fellow
Edwin Yoo
Hometown: Millbrae, CaliforniaMedical School: Temple (MD), UPenn (PhD)
Clinical Interests: HFpEF, Pulmonary Hypertension, RV Failure, Preventative Cardiology
Research Interests: Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Biomarkers, Proteomics, Epigenetics

Cardiovascular Disease Fellows
Year 1
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Rawan Amir, M.D.
Hometown: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Medical School: University of Dammam Clinical Interest: Adult congenital heart disease, electrophysiology Research Interest: Advancing care and improving outcomes in adults with congenital heart disease Rawan Amir received her medical degree from the University of Dammam in Saudi Arabia and completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. She has a special interest in adult congenital heart disease and hopes to be one of the first Saudi physicians to specialize in the field and to one day start a robust ACHD program back in Saudi. Rawan, under the guidance of her physician parents, has been involved in research from a very young age and aims to further advance her career as a physician scientist. She is also very committed to trainee wellness and served as the wellness chair for her residency program for two years running. Outside of work, she enjoys scuba diving, playing tennis and training her pet parrots. -
Matthew Belanger, M.D.
Hometown: Stamford, CT Medical School: University of Connecticut School of Medicine Clinical Interest: Preventive cardiology, lipidology, cardiovascular imaging Research Interest: Diet and nutrition, exercise, biomarkers Matt grew up in Connecticut and received his undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley, where he majored in English. While a member of the UC Berkeley springboard diving team, he developed a passion for health and wellness, exercise, and nutrition. He completed medical school at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and then moved to Boston for his internal medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. His clinical interests are related to preventive cardiology, lipidology, and cardiovascular imaging. Matt plans to continue research on the prevention of cardiovascular disease through nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle interventions. -
Chloe Duvall, M.D.
Hometown: Butler, PA Medical School: University of Maryland Clinical Interest: Prevention, heart failure, cardiac imaging Research Interest:Cardiac sarcoidosis Originally from Western PA, Chloe moved to Baltimore to complete her medical degree at the University of Maryland, followed by internal medicine residency in the Osler Medical Residency Program. Here she had the opportunity to foster her interests in both prevention and heart failure through involvement with the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and the Cardiac Sarcoidosis Program, where her research focused on sex and race differences in cardiac sarcoidosis. Outside of the hospital, she enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with her husband. -
Michael Goetsch, M.D.
Hometown: Huntsville, Alabama Medical School: The University of Alabama School of Medicine Clinical Interest: Comprehensive cardiovascular prevention, hypertension, clinical lipidology, cardiovascular imaging, digital health, and medical education. Research Interest: Clinical research in early cardiovascular risk assessment and stratification, digital health, and optimization of ASCVD risk factors Michael grew up in Huntsville, Alabama. He attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa where he graduated with honors and degrees in biology and Spanish. He earned his MD at the University of Alabama in Birmingham before completing his internal medicine training in the Osler Medical Residency as a member of the Thayer Firm. He is interested in a career in preventive cardiology. His clinical and research interests include effective risk stratification, early intervention and risk factor modification to prevent coronary artery disease, cardiovascular imaging, and medical education. Outside of fellowship, he enjoys taking his dog for walks, cooking and hosting friends for dinner, hiking, fishing, and white-water rafting. He is also an avid fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide. -
Jelani Grant
Hometown: Cumuto, Trinidad and Tobago Medical School: The University of the West Indies, Trinidad Campus Clinical Interest: Preventive Cardiology, Cardiovascular Imaging Research Interest: Cardiometabolic risk reduction, healthcare disparities, and the application of deep machine learning for assessing coronary calcificationI was born in Trinidad and Tobago, where I completed my medical degree with distinction at the University of the West Indies. I completed internal medicine at the University of Miami/ Jackson Memorial Hospital where I served as the first non-US medical school graduate to be a chief medical resident at Jackson Memorial Hospital. My clinical interest includes preventive cardiology with a focus on cardiometabolic risk reduction. My research interests include outcomes research using large datasets, assessing the role of healthcare disparities in cardiovascular disease, and utilizing deep machine learning to assist with reporting coronary calcification. Following cardiology fellowship, I plan to pursue a career in academic cardiology, further my research interests and utilize my training to assist with preventive efforts in my home country. Outside of medicine, I am a huge soccer and Manchester United fan (GGMU!). -
Kellen Knowles, M.D.
Hometown: Nassau, Bahamas Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Clinical Interest: Preventive cardiology Research Interest: Medical devices, mHealth, application of mHealth and medical devices to improve primary and secondary prevention strategiesI was born and raised on New Providence, a 7x21 mile island off the coast of Florida, which is a part of the 700 island archipelago of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. I attended Purdue University where I studied Biomedical Engineering and during graduate school, I realized I had an interest in clinical medicine. It was in medical school that I discovered a love of cardiac physiology and a desire to combine my interests in engineering with cardiology. I love to travel and met my wife in Germany. We have two children. My wife is definitely the secret of my success and my children inspire me to keep fighting to maintain balance in my career pursuits. Besides traveling, I enjoy SCUBA diving, backpacking, snowboarding, tennis, volleyball, playing board games, lifting weights, and quality time with friends. -
Hassan Mirbolouk, M.D.
Hometown: Rasht, Iran Medical School: Shahid Beheshti Medical University Clinical Interest: Prevention, Arrhythmias, Cardiovascular Imaging Research Interest: Cardiovascular epidemiology Hassan was born and raised in Rasht, Iran. After graduating from medical school, he joined Johns Hopkins’ Ciccarone center for a research fellowship, followed by internal medicine residency in Yale. His clinical and research interests include population health, risk prediction, cardiovascular imaging, arrhythmias, and data science. Hassan’s hobbies include soccer, Olympic wrestling, and literature. -
Mohammad R. Ostovaneh, M.D.
Hometown: Salmas, Iran Medical School: Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Clinical Interest: Advanced cardiac imaging, prevention, and electrophysiology Research Interest: Cardiac imaging, clinical trials, machine learning and its utility in clinical trials Originally from Salmas in northwest Iran, Mo earned both his medical degree and master of public health at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. He then spent two years working on a large clinical trial of fixed-dose combination therapy (polypill) for cardiovascular prevention in rural areas of Iran which was ultimately published in the Lancet. Later he joined Dr. Joao Lima’s research lab at Johns Hopkins University and worked on several clinical trials and other epidemiological studies. He has been a finalist for the AHA Melvin Judkins Early Career Investigator Award in 2020. Before returning to Johns Hopkins for clinical cardiology fellowship, Mo completed his internal medicine residency at the Pennsylvania State University. Outside of medicine, he enjoys spending time with friends, traveling, and watching documentaries. -
Anjali Wagle, M.D.
Hometown: Gadsden, Alabama Medical School: University of Alabama SOM Clinical interest: Electrophysiology Research interest: Procedural skill acquisition in trainees, AF Anjali grew up in the Southeast, most recently living in Alabama. She attended UABSOM for medical school and Johns Hopkins Osler Internal Medicine Program for residency. She plans to pursue a career in EP. She enjoys hiking with her dog, Bella, and fiancé Michael! -
Edwin Yoo, M.D.
Hometown: Millbrae, California Medical School: Temple (MD), UPenn (PhD) Clinical Interests: HFpEF, Pulmonary Hypertension, RV Failure, Preventative Cardiology Research Interests: Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Biomarkers, Proteomics, Epigenetics Edwin was born and raised in San Francisco, California and went on to study Biochemistry at UC San Diego, followed by medical school at Temple University in Philadelphia. During a summer research internship at the University of Pennsylvania, Edwin discovered a novel drug target in smooth muscle which led him to develop a passion for translational research. He completed a PhD in Pharmacology at UPenn where he was awarded a NIH NRSA grant, a patent, and several publications on his thesis research. Edwin subsequently completed residency in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York where he confirmed his aspirations to become a physician-scientist in Cardiology. Outside of the hospital, Edwin enjoys spending time with his wife and playing the electric guitar.
Year 2
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Xuan Ding
Hometown: Houston, TX
Medical School: University of Pittsburgh
Clinical Interest: Cardiovascular imaging
Research Interests: Ultrasound imaging, acoustics, technology development -
Richard Ferraro
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Medical School: Weill Cornell Medicine
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Erin Goerlich
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
Medical School: University of Texas at Houston, McGovern Medical School
Clinical Interest: Cardiovascular imaging, coronary artery disease
Research Interests: Noninvasive imaging, novel echocardiographic techniques, endothelial dysfunction -
Joseph Goldenberg
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Medical School: University of Illinois at Chicago
Clinical Interest: Advanced heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, cardiovascular disease prevention
Research Interests: Myocardial recovery in heart failure, interactions between myocardial and systemic metabolism, obesity and cardiovascular disease, pulmonary hypertension -
Alan Jacobsen
Hometown: Galway, Ireland
Medical School: National University of Ireland, Galway
Clinical Interest: Cardiovascular disease
Research Interests: Preventive Cardiology -
Maeve Jones-O’connor
Hometown: Dublin, Ireland
Medical School: University College Dublin, Ireland
Clinical Interest: Cardiac critical care
Research Interests: Prevention, digital health -
Chang Kim
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea ; San Diego, CA
Medical School: State University of New York Upstate Medical University
Clinical Interest: General cardiology, prevention, cardiac imaging
Research Interests: Big data, risk modelling, machine learning/artificial intelligence -
Minhal Makshood
Hometown: Albany, NY
Medical School: Albany Medical College
Clinical Interest: Prevention and Heart failure
Research Interests: Understanding the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease in South Asians -
Nestor Vasquez
Hometown: Lima, Peru
Medical School: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Lima, Peru)
Clinical Interest: Preventive cardiology, cardiovascular imaging, critical care
Research Interests: Lipoprotein (a), lipids, cardiovascular disease in Hispanics/Latinos
Year 3
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Rick Carrick
Hometown: Wakefield, MA
Medical School: University of Vermont College of Medicine
Clinical Interests: Critical Care, Electrophysiology
Research Interests: Computational modeling and simulation in electrophysiology
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Keva Garg
Hometown: Bethesda, Maryland
Medical School: Georgetown University School of Medicine
Clinical Interests: Preventative Cardiology
Research Interests: HIV related cardiac disease
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Arune Gulati
Hometown: Kingston, NY
Medical School: University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Clinical Interests: Heart Failure, LVAD, RV Failure, Pulmonary Hypertension
Research Interests: RHF After LVAD
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Esra Gucuk Ipek
Hometown: Ankara, Turkey
Medical School: Gazi University School of Medicine
Clinical Interests: Advanced Cardiac Imaging
Research Interests: Atrial remodeling using multimodality imaging and associations with outcome
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Jana Lovell
Hometown: Lutherville, MD
Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Clinical Interests: Advanced Heart Failure
Research Interests: Translational research, heart failure, immunology
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Mariam Meddeb
Hometown: Tunis, Tunisia; Strasborug, France
Medical School: University Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France
Clinical Interests: Cardiac critical care, heart failure
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of decompensated heart failure, novel therapeutic approaches for the acutely failing heart, gene editing
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Martin Tibuakuu
Hometown: Jirapa, Ghana
Medical School: Université d'Alger (Algiers, Algeria)
Clinical Interests: Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: Prevention and Interventional Cardiology
Research Interests: Preventive cardiology
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Alison Wand
Hometown: Wallingford, PA
Medical School: University of Pennsylvania
Clinical Interests: Heart Failure, Cardiac Imaging
Research Interests: Cardiac sarcoidosis, inflammatory cardiomyopathies
Year 4
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Renato Quispe Ayala, M.D.
Hometown: Lima, Peru
Medical School: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Lima, Peru)
Clinical Interest: General Cardiology, Prevention, Heart Failure
Research Interest: Prevention, lipids, risk modeling, big-data, machine learning/artificial intelligence, genomics
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Ilton Cubero Salazar
Hometown: Bluffton, South Carolina
Medical School: Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine
Clinical Interest: Heart Failure
Research Interest: Mechanisms underlying myocardial hypertrophy and heart failure, HFpEF
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Marc Engels
Hometown: Willemstad, Curaçao
Medical School: Leiden University
Clinical Interest: Electrophysiology
Research Interest: Atrial fibrillation, sudden cardiac death
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Paul Scheel
Hometown: Ellicott City, MD
Medical School: Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
Clinical Interest: Heart failure, transplant, critical care cardiology
Research Interest: Genetic cardiomyopathies, durable mechanical support
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Nick Smith
Hometown: Dover-Foxcroft, Maine
Medical School: Boston University School of Medicine
Clinical Interest: Cardiology critical care
Research Interest: Cardiogenic shock, Emergency Management Simulation in Medical Education
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Rachit (Rick) Vakil
Hometown: Manahawkin, NJ
Medical School: Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Clinical Interest: Electrophysiology, heart failure
Research Interest: Obesity related cardiovascular comorbidities, prevention, epidemiology