Please join us in welcoming these recent additions to the College of Medicine faculty.
Department of Anesthesiology
Annsley Garner, M.D.
Annsley Garner, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Garner received her medical degree from UAMS in 2019. She completed her residency in anesthesiology at UAMS in 2023.
Eric Weirich, M.D.
Eric Weirich, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as an Associate Professor. Dr. Weirich received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis. He completed an internship and residency at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Jacksonville, Florida, and a cardiovascular and thoracic anesthesiology fellowship at the University of Texas-Houston College of Medicine.
Dr. Weirich joined Medical Anesthesia Group in Memphis as a cardiovascular anesthesiologist in 2014. He has served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and as Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis.
Department of Internal Medicine
Michael Luna, M.D.
Michael Luna, M.D.,has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as a Professor in the Division of Cardiology. Dr. Luna received his medical degree from the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas in 2005. He completed his residency in internal medicine at UT Southwestern in 2008. Continuing his training, Dr. Luna completed three fellowships, including cardiovascular diseases and interventional cardiology with a focus on congenital heart disease at UT Southwestern, and pediatric interventional cardiology at Childrens Medical Center in Texas. Dr. Luna has served in a variety of positions at UT Southwestern Medical Center since 2012, and most recently as an Associate Professor at both UT Southwestern and Parkland Health & Hospital System.
Kapil Yadav, M.D.
Kapil Yadav, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Associate Professor in the Division of Cardiology. Dr. Yadav received his medical degree from Sawai Man Singh Medical College in India. He completed his internal medicine residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Yadav continued his training with two fellowships, cardiovascular disease at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans in 2017, and interventional and structural cardiology at University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson in 2018. Among many distinctions, Dr. Yadav is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC) and a Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation (RSVI). Dr. Yadav served as an attending cardiologist at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock before joining UAMS.
Meer Akbar Ali, M.D.
Meer Akbar Ali, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Associate Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology. Dr. Ali earned his medical degree from Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences in India in 2004. He completed his internal medicine residency in 2010 at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Ali continued his training with fellowships in gastroenterology and hepatology and in advanced endoscopy with a special interest in bariatric endoscopy at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. Dr. Ali most recently served as an attending gastroenterologist at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff.
Sam Dalvi, M.D.
Sam Dalvi, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as a Professor and Division Director for the Division of Rheumatology. Dr. Dalvi earned his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham (UAB) in 2005. He completed his internal medicine residency training at UAB in 2008. Dr. Dalvi continued his training with a rheumatology fellowship at New York University, Hospital for Joint Diseases in 2012. He went on to serve as an Assistant Professor at Duke University Medical Center. He served as an Associate Professor at University of Alabama Birmingham from 2018 until his recruitment to UAMS.
Department of Ophthalmology
Chaow Charoenkijkajorn, M.D.
Chaow Charoenkijkajorn, M.D., has joined the Department of Ophthalmology as an Assistant Professor. Originally from Thailand, Dr. Charoenkijkajorn earned his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University in 2014. He completed an ophthalmology residency at Mahidol University in Bangkok. Dr. Charoenkijkajorn continued his training with a fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at Blanton’s Eye Institute, Houston Medical Hospital, followed by training in ophthalmic pathology in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Charoenkijkajorn brings expertise in conditions including giant cell arteritis, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, blepharospasm, and optic neuritis to the UAMS Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute. He has an extensive publication record, with over 30 articles indexed in ophthalmology journals. He is a sought-after speaker at international ophthalmology conferences and actively contributes to organizations such as the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS) and American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).
Department of Pathology
Rakesh Sethapati, M.D.
Rakesh Sethapati, M.D., has joined the Department of Pathology as an Assistant Professor in the Transfusion Medicine Division. Dr. Sethapati received his medical degree from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University in Mangalore, India. He completed his residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Kansas City University. Dr. Sethapati continued his training with a fellowship in transfusion medicine and blood banking at Stanford Health Care in Stanford, California. He completed a fellowship in hematopathology at City of Hope National Cancer Center in Duarte, California.
Department of Pediatrics
Ana Del Valle Penella, M.D.
Ana Del Valle Penella, M.D., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in the Infectious Diseases Section. Dr. Del Valle Penella received her medical degree from Universidad de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico. She completed her pediatric residency at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami and continued her training with a fellowship in pediatric infectious disease at Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. During her fellowship, her research focused on the use of dried blood spots for the diagnosis of congenital CMV.
Adriana Sarmiento Clemente, M.D.
Adriana Sarmiento Clemente, M.D., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in the Infectious Diseases Section. Dr. Sarmiento received her medical degree at Escuela de Medicina J.M. Vargas from Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas. She completed her pediatric residency at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami and her pediatric infectious diseases fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. As a member of the Antimicrobial Stewardship team, her main area of focus outside of clinical service will be inpatient stewardship and quality improvement projects relating to diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship.