Please join us in welcoming these recent additions to the College of Medicine faculty.
Department of Anesthesiology
Maitri Shah, M.D.
Maitri Shah, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Shah completed medical school and her residency in anesthesiology at UAMS. She continued her training with critical care and obstetric anesthesiology fellowships at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Shah practiced as a general anesthesiologist in St. Louis and as a general and obstetric anesthesiologist in Houston prior to her return to UAMS. She will provide anesthesia services in the cardiovascular ICU and main operating rooms at UAMS Medical Center.
Department of Internal Medicine
Chinmay Bera, MBBS
Chinmay Bera, MBBS, has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor and transplant hepatologist in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He earned his medical degree from Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College at Calcutta University in Kolkata, India. Dr. Bera completed his residency in internal medicine at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India, followed by a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at Christian Medical College in India.
From 2016 to 2019, Dr. Bera held several clinical positions in Kolkata. He then advanced his training with a transplant hepatology fellowship in the Multiorgan Transplant Program at Toronto General Hospital, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto. Following this, he spent over two years as a clinical and research fellow in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, where he focused on acute kidney injury in cirrhosis and steatotic liver disease. During this time, he actively participated in collaborative research projects across North America as well as multiple clinical trials.
Sanjay Muttineni, M.D.
Sanjay Muttineni, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Muttineni received his medical degree at NTR University of Health Sciences Gandi Medical College Hyderabad in Telangana, India. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Regional Campus in Huntsville. Dr. Muttineni went on to practice as a hospitalist at Huntsville Hospital.
Sasya Dronavalli, MBBS
Sasya Dronavalli, MBBS, has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine. Dr. Dronavalli received her medical degree from Osmania Medical College in Andhra Pradesh, India, in 2009, and completed a yearlong internship at Osmani General Hospital. She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and subsequently practiced as a hospitalist for six years.
Department of Pediatrics
Lindsey Haack, M.D.
Lindsey Haack, M.D., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in the Cardiology Section. Dr. Haack, an electrophysiologist, received her medical degree at the Medical College of Georgia. She completed her pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Dr. Haack continued her training with a fellowship in pediatric cardiology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and a fellowship in pediatric electrophysiology at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Haack’s clinical focus is the management of arrhythmias, cardiac ablations and implantation and management of cardiac implantable devices. She has been actively involved in clinical research focusing on ECG findings and their correlation with echocardiography in children and outcomes after implantation of a novel pacemaker developed for small infants.
John B. Block, M.D.
John Block, M.D., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in the Emergency Medicine section. Dr. Block received his medical degree at UAMS and remained at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s for his pediatrics residency. As a medical student, Dr. Block was voted as the White Coat Award recipient by his peers. While in residency, he received the Resident Teacher of the Year award in two of his three years.
Passionate about advocacy and education, Dr. Block has received grant funding to provide safe drinking water for unhoused individuals in Pulaski County. Additionally, he has focused on creating a new curriculum for the pediatrics clerkship, improving both the experience and shelf pass rates of students.
Prateek Wali, M.D.
Prateek Wali, M.D., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as a Professor in the Gastroenterology Section and Vice Chair for Clinical Strategy. Dr. Wali earned his medical degree at SUNY Upstate Medical University in New York in 2004. He completed his pediatric residency at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, followed by a fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition at Nemours A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware.
In 2010, Dr. Wali joined the faculty at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, where his clinical work and research focused on pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). He served as Division Director of Gastroenterology from 2017-2024. Dr. Wali is active in the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition and the ImproveCareNow Collaborative for pediatric IBD.
As Vice Chair for Clinical Strategy, Dr. Wali will work within the department and at Arkansas Children’s to optimize clinical operations and improve access to health care for children in the community.
Parker Davidson
Parker Davidson, M.D., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in the General Pediatrics Section. Dr. Davidson received his medical degree at UAMS. Having spent time at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) as a child and again in college as an undergraduate researcher at the University of Arkansas, Dr. Davidson knew he wanted to return to Arkansas Children’s to aid in caring for the children of Arkansas. After medical school, he completed his internship and pediatric residency at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s, and he made plans to join the faculty as a general pediatrician.
Michael Bishop, M.D., M.S.
Michael Bishop, M.D., M.S., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Associate Professor in the Hematology/Oncology Section. Dr. Bishop received his medical degree at UAMS. He completed his pediatric residency at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, followed by a fellowship in pediatric hematology and oncology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. During his fellowship, he obtained a master’s in clinical and translational sciences.
In 2012, Dr. Bishop joined the Solid Tumor Division at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, with a clinical and research focus on the treatment of bone and soft tissue sarcomas. He is an active member of the Children’s Oncology Group Bone Tumor Committee and serves as Study Chair for AOST2032, the current upfront study for the treatment of osteosarcoma.
Dr. Bishop will serve as Solid Tumor Program Director for Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) and Associate Director of Clinical and Translational Research for the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. In addition, he will seek to develop dedicated programs for adolescents and young adults with cancer across ACH and the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.
Smitha Hosahalli Vasanna, M.D.
Smitha Vasanna, M.D., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in the Hematology/Oncology Section. Dr. Vasanna, a specialist in blood and marrow and cellular therapies, earned her medical degree at JSS Medical College in Mysore, India. She completed her pediatric residency at the Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Vasanna continued her training with a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at Rainbow Babies and Children’s/University Hospital in Cleveland, followed by advanced fellowship training in pediatric blood and marrow transplantation at the University of Minnesota. Her clinical focus includes bone marrow transplants and cellular therapies including gene therapies, particularly for non-malignant disorders.
Katherine Tang, M.D., M.S.
Katherine Tang, M.D., M.S.,has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in the Pediatric Hospital Medicine Section. Dr. Tang received her medical degree at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She completed her pediatric residency at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian in New York City. She continued her training with a pediatric hospital medicine fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, where she also completed a master’s in clinical research methods.
Dr. Tang will serve as Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship. Her clinical and research interests include inpatient management of children with medical complexity.
Department of Surgery
Sandra M. Garcia Osogobio, M.D., M.S.
Sandra M. Garcia Osogobio, M.D., M.S., has joined the Department of Surgery as an Instructor in the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery. Dr. Garcia Osogobio received her medical degree at Universidad Popular Autonoma del Estado de Puebla in Mexico. She completed her general surgery residency at Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran in Mexico City. She continued her training with a fellowship in laparoscopic general surgery and advanced colon and rectal surgery at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, affiliated to McMaster University in Ontario. She also completed a master’s in medical sciences at the National University of Mexico.
Dr. Garcia Osogobio has more than 10 years of experience in surgery focused on minimal invasive colorectal surgery. She has written two books on general surgery and colorectal surgery and has authored more than 25 publications and several book chapters. Dr. Garcia Osogobio’s clinical interests are in minimally invasive surgery including advanced laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer and other colorectal diseases.
Gili Halfteck, M.D., Ph.D.
Gili G. Halfteck, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology. She will divide her clinical efforts between breast surgery and endocrine surgery. After completing surgery training in Israel, Dr. Halfteck spent three years specializing in breast surgery and surgical oncology, as well as endocrine surgery. She completed a breast surgery fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and recently completed an endocrine surgery fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Halfteck graduated with excellence from the Hadassah School of Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During her medical training, she also earned a doctorate in immunology, focusing on immune-mediated recognition and eradication of tumors.
