Join us in welcoming these recent additions to the College of Medicine faculty.
Destiny Chau, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as a professor in the Division of Pediatric Cardiovascular Anesthesia. Dr. Chau received her medical degree at the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Medicine in Lexington in 2002 and remained at UK for her anesthesiology residency. She continued her training with a fellowship in pediatric cardiac anesthesiology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 2010.
Dr. Chau joined the faculty of the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center as an assistant professor in 2010 and was promoted to associate professor in 2013. She also served as an associate professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School and as an attending physician at Children’s Hospital of Kings’ Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia, where she served as Interim Cardiac Section Head in the Division of Anesthesiology from December 2018 until her recruitment to UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Meera Gangadharan, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as an assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Cardiovascular Anesthesia. Dr. Gangadharan received her medical degree at Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research in Pondicherry, India, in 1993. She completed her pediatric internship and residency at MetroHealth Medical Center-Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She continued her training with a residency in anesthesiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, followed by a fellowship in pediatric anesthesiology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Dr. Gangadharan served most recently as a clinical associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christ from 2010 until her recruitment to UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Neeraj Kumar, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as an assistant professor. He received his M.B.B.S. from University College of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi, India, and trained in anesthesiology, receiving his M.D. at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, University of Delhi. Dr. Kumar completed his anesthesiology residency at UAMS in 2011-2015 and then worked in private practice in Batesville and Little Rock prior to his return to UAMS.
Regina Gibson, Ph.D., has joined the Department of Geriatrics faculty as an assistant professor. Dr. Gibson received her master’s degree in gerontology/health education from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where she went on to earn her doctorate in religious studies. She served as a research associate and nurse educator for the department and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging prior to her faculty appointment. Dr. Gibson works closely with the department’s Opioid Prevention for Aging and Longevity (OPAL) program. She is also involved in community outreach to disseminate information about delirium and dementia.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Wesley Cox, M.D., has joined the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery as an assistant professor and leader of the Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine team in Fayetteville. Dr. Cox received his medical degree from UAMS in 2003 and remained at UAMS for his residency in orthopaedic surgery. He completed a fellowship in shoulder arthroscopy, reconstruction and sports medicine with the Sportsmed Orthopaedic Group and the San Francisco Shoulder and Elbow Clinic in California.
Dr. Cox returned to his native Fayetteville in 2009 and opened the Shoulder Center of Arkansas. In January 2020, the practice and its therapy partner TRM Train-Recover-Move became part of the the statewide UAMS Health System.
Read more in the COM Newsroom.
Chad Songy, M.D., has joined the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery as an assistant professor practicing with the Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine team in Fayetteville. He received his medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport and completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at UAMS. Dr. Songy completed his fellowship in shoulder and elbow reconstructive surgery (adult and pediatric) at the Mayo Clinic in 2019 and returned to Arkansas to join the Shoulder Center of Arkansas in Fayetteville, which is now part of UAMS Health.
Read more in the COM Newsroom.
Anjali Patwardhan, M.D., M.Sc., M.B.A., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as professor and director of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology. Dr. Patwardhan received her medical degree from Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, where she also completed her residency and certification in pediatrics. She later continued her training in the U.K. and went on to receive a Master of Science in Health Policy and Quality Improvement from Birmingham University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Wales.
Dr. Patwardhan completed her fellowship in pediatric rheumatology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. She also trained and was certified as an improvement advisor at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) at Harvard University. She is a lifelong IHI Fellow.
Dr. Patwardhan was recruited to the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia in 2012 and served most recently as an Associate Professor and Director of Pediatric Rheumatology. Among other leadership posts, she served as Director of Operational Quality in the Division of Child Health.
David Spiro, M.D., M.P.H., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as a professor in the Division of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Spiro received his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco and completed his residency at the University of Colorado Health Sciences, Denver Children’s Hospital. He continued his training with a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he also received his Master of Public Health.
Dr. Spiro has served in numerous clinical, physician leadership and academic roles for over 25 years. He was on the faculty at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, from 2003-2006, when he was recruited to Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland. His leadership roles at OHSU over the next eight years included medical director and section chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. Most recently, Dr. Spiro served as founder and chief medical officer of ReelDX Education, medical director and vice president of AllMed Healthcare Management, Inc., and as an attending physician in the Pediatric Emergency Department at Sunrise Children’s Hospital in Las Vegas.
Jay K. Bhama, M.D., has joined the Department of Surgery as professor and chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery. Dr. Bhama will lead the cardiovascular program at UAMS by working alongside Paul Mounsey, M.D., director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.
Dr. Bhama is a nationally recognized heart surgeon and leader in cardiovascular health care. He has a special interest and expertise in heart valve surgery as well as mechanical circulatory support.
Dr. Bhama formerly was professor and chief of the adult cardiac surgery program at University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City. Under his leadership, the program became a regional leader in heart valve surgery, structural heart disease and MCS/LVAD. A national expert and thought-leader in the field of heart failure surgery, Dr. Bhama also was director of the heart transplantation, MCS, and extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation programs. Prior to that, he was associate director of the cardiothoracic (heart and lung) transplant and artificial heart programs at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.