Please join us in welcoming these recent additions to the College of Medicine faculty.
Department of Internal Medicine
Joseph DeLuca, M.D.
Joseph DeLuca, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, practicing in El Dorado. Dr. DeLuca earned his medical degree from Saint George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies, in 2003. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Louisville Health Sciences. Dr. DeLuca has served as a hospitalist at South Arkansas Regional Hospital in El Dorado since 2014 and as its Assistant Medical Director for Inpatient Rehabilitation since 2022. He has held numerous other clinical leadership positions in El Dorado and Camden, Arkansas, since 2006.
Anuradha Kunthur, M.D.
Anuradha Kunthur, M.D., has rejoined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Kunthur received her medical degree from Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences in Tirupathi, India, in 1997. She completed her internal medicine residency at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital Montefiore North Division in New York City in 2004. After completing a hematology/medical oncology fellowship at UAMS in 2011, she began serving as a staff physician at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System and Adjunct Assistant Professor at UAMS. She worked most recently at St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock.
Department of Pediatrics
Obeid Shafi, M.D.
Obeid Shafi, M.D., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in the Section of Clinical Informatics. Dr. Shafi received his medical degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh, India, and completed his pediatric training at Delhi University. He went on to complete a pediatric residency at New York Flushing Medical Center and Hospital in Queens, New York, and served as Chief Resident.
Dr. Shafi became interested in improving pediatric care by leveraging health information technology tools. His education and experiences led him to pursue a fellowship in clinical informatics at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where he now uses data and technology to improve health care delivery and quality for clinicians and patients. His work includes enhancing clinical decision support systems, optimizing electronic health record systems and exploring the potential of artificial intelligence in medicine. He is also committed to medical education, quality improvement and safety initiatives.