Please join us in welcoming these recent additions to the College of Medicine faculty.
Department of Internal Medicine
Sarah Assem, M.D.
Sarah Assem, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Program Director for the Northwest Internal Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Assem received her medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica, in 2011. She completed her residency in internal medicine at University of California, Los Angeles Kern Medical Center in 2012 and served as Chief Resident. Prior to her recruitment to UAMS, Dr. Assem practiced internal medicine at Vancouver Clinic in Washington since 2017.
During this time, she also served as core faculty for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Determinants of Health for Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital’s Internal Medicine Residency Program as well as a Clinical Instructor for the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and the University of Washington. Passionate about equality and inclusion in medicine, Dr. Assem helped pilot the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Vancouver Clinic and has participated in panels and given talks on equality in medicine. As a resident, she organized a Women in Medicine event, the first of its kind at her residency program.
Ioannis Anastasiou, M.D.
Ioannis Anastasiou, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology. Dr. Anastasiou received his medical degree from the University of Athens Medical School in Athens, Greece, in 2004. He completed his residency in internal medicine and his fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at Evangelismos General Hospital of Athens in 2010 and 2015, respectively. He completed a second fellowship in advanced endoscopy from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston in 2016. Prior to joining UAMS full-time, Dr. Anastasiou was with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital, where he served as Director of Advanced Endoscopy since 2020.
Natalie “Brooke” Peeples, M.D.
Natalie “Brooke” Peeples, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Palliative Medicine.Dr. Peeples received her medical degree from UAMS in 2017. She stayed at UAMS for her internal medicine residency and a fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine, which she completed in 2021. Dr. Peeples was an Assistant Professor in the Division of Palliative Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine prior to her recruitment to the UAMS Internal Medicine faculty.
Department of Neurology
Hisham Elkhider, M.D.
Hisham Elkhider, M.D., has joined the Department of Neurology as an Assistant Professor specializing in epilepsy. Dr. Elkhider received medical degree from the University of Khartoum in Sudan. He completed his neurology residency at UAMS and served as Chief Resident. He continued his training with a fellowship in clinical epilepsy at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston. Dr. Elkhider’s expertise and clinical interests include comprehensive management of epilepsy in adults, video EEG monitoring, ambulatory EEG reading, pre-surgical evaluation and invasive EEG monitoring for patients with medically refractory epilepsy, and managing neuromodulation devices. He sees adult patients at the UAMS Health Epilepsy and Neurology Clinic in Freeway Medical Tower in Midtown Little Rock.
Department of Radiation Oncology
Mausam Patel, M.D.
Mausam Patel, M.D., has joined the Department of Radiation Oncology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Patel received his medical degree from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in 2016. He completed his intern year in medicine at JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida, followed by a year in radiology residency training at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia. Dr. Patel completed his radiation oncology residency at UAMS in June 2022.
Dr. Patel’s research interests include the study of cancer epidemiology and survival using large national databases. He has published multiple peer-reviewed abstracts in scientific journals and has presented at local and national professional conferences. Read more about Dr. Patel.
Santanu Samanta, M.D.
Santanu Samanta, M.D., has joined the Department of Radiation Oncology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Samanta practices at UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Center in North Little Rock, where he treats patients with head and neck and gynecological cancer with advanced treatment modalities and performs brachytherapy procedures for patients with gynecological cancers. His expertise includes treatment with proton therapy for head and neck-skull base cancers, re-radiation treatments, and a variety of other cancers.
Dr. Samanta received his medical degree from the University of Calcutta in West Bengal, India, and completed radiation oncology residency training at Christian Medical College in Vellore, India. He continued his training with a residency in radiation oncology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and Maryland Proton Center and a fellowship at Maryland’s Department of Radiation Oncology, Division of Translational Radiation Sciences. Read more about Dr. Samanta.
Department of Radiology
Joe Jose, M.D.
Joe Jose, M.D., has joined the Department of Radiology as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Body Imaging. Dr. Jose received his medical degree from Vinayaka Missions KV Medical College Salem, located in Tamil Nadu, India. He completed a residency in radiology at Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh, Assam, India, and Sagar Hospitals in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. Dr. Jose continued his training with clinical fellowships in neuroradiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts, and abdominal radiology at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
Department of Surgery
Alexis Danielle Tashima, M.D.
Alexis Danielle Tashima, M.D., has joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pediatric Plastic Surgery. Dr. Tashima received her undergraduate degree in psychobiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating cum laude. She received her medical degree from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. Dr. Tashima completed her plastic surgery residency training at Pennsylvania State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and continued her training with fellowship in pediatric craniofacial surgery at Emory University in Atlanta.