Please join us in welcoming these recent additions to the College of Medicine faculty.
Editor’s note: These are some the many faculty members joining us this summer and fall. We will continue to introduce new faculty colleagues in the months ahead.
Department of Anesthesiology
Cynthia Chapman, M.D.
Cynthia Chapman, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Chapman received her medical degree from the University of Missouri School of Medicine. She completed her anesthesiology residency at UAMS and continued her training with a critical care medicine fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. She will practice in the UAMS Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit.
Rami Diab, M.D.
Rami Diab, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Diab earned his medical degree and a master’s in anesthesia, recovery and intensive care at the University of Jordan. He is critical care certified by the Jordanian Board of Anesthesia. He continued his training with multiple fellowships, including one in cardiothoracic anesthesia at Mount Sinai Hospital, in intensive care medicine at the University of Virginia Health System Hospital, in obstetric anesthesia at Mount Sinai West Hospital, and in pediatric anesthesia at the University of Minnesota. He will practice in the UAMS Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Sayem Miah, Ph.D.
Sayem Miah, Ph.D., has joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Miah earned his undergraduate degree and a master’s in applied chemistry at Rajshahi University in Bangladesh, followed by a master’s in medical biology at Linkoping University in Sweden. He received his doctorate in biochemistry at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Dr. Miah completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, Missouri. His research centers on how cells perceive signals that vary in healthy and cancer cells, and how this perception regulates the formation of tumors and metastasis of cancer.
Read more about Dr. Miah’s research here.
Mohammad Rahman, Ph.D.
Mohammad Rahman, Ph.D., has joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Rahman received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. He earned his doctorate in molecular medicine at Nagoya University School of Medicine in Japan, where he worked as an Assistant Professor and staff scientist in 2014-2015. Dr. Rahman completed a postdoctoral research fellowship, focusing on the mechanisms of splicing alterations in cancer, at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York in 2015-2020. For the past year, he served as a Senior Fellow at Cold Spring Harbor, focusing on therapeutic targeting of splicing alterations in cancer.
Read more about Dr. Rahman’s research here.
Department of Internal Medicine
Tushar Tarun, M.D.
Tushar Tarun, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor and invasive cardiologist in the Division of Cardiology. Dr. Tarun received his medical degree from Rural Medical College in India. He completed a residency in internal medicine and served as Chief Resident at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he continued his training with a cardiovascular disease fellowship.
Zixue Jin, Ph.D.
Zixue Jin, Ph.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor and basic scientist in the Endocrinology Division. Dr. Jin received her doctorate in immunology from the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei in 2011. She most recently served as an Instructor in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
Felix Tellez-Avila, M.D., Ph.D.
Felix Tellez-Avila, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Gastroenterology Division. Dr. Tellez-Avila received his medical degree from Universidad Michoacana in Mexico in 1999. He completed residencies in internal medicine, gastroenterology and advanced therapeutic endoscopy at the National Institute of Medical Sciences Salvador Zubirán in Mexico. Additionally, he completed advanced training in endoscopic ultrasound in Marseille, France. While completing his residencies, he earned a Master of Science and doctorate in gastroenterology from National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Dr. Tellez-Avila went on to hold appointments as a staff physician and Research Coordinator for the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Department at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and as a Professor of Endoscopic Ultrasound at the National University Autonomous of Mexico. He has served as Chief Editor of Endoscopia, the journal of the Mexican Association of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, since 2012. As a member of the National Systems of Researchers, Dr. Tellez-Avila has published more than 100 papers in the field of gastroenterology and has been awarded several honors for his research.
Hasan Rana, M.D.
Hasan Rana, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor and hospitalist in the Hematology/Oncology Division. Dr. Rana earned his medical degree at Lahore Medical & Dental College in Lahore, Pakistan, in 2014. He completed a residency at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit in 2020. Dr. Rana most recently worked at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis as a hospitalist and Adjunct Clinical Professor.
Michael Lowry, M.D.
Michael Lowry, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases. Dr. Lowry received his medical degree from UAMS in 2014. He completed his internal medicine residency and served as Chief Resident at UAMS in 2018. Dr. Lowry was a Clinical Fellow and Chief Fellow at Vanderbilt University in Nashville from 2018-2020. He practiced in Sarasota, Florida, before returning to UAMS.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Jordan Gross, M.D.
Jordan Gross, M.D., has joined the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery as an Assistant Professor specializing in complex deformities of the spine. Dr. Gross received his medical degree at Boston University. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at New York Medical College and continued his training with a fellowship in orthopaedic/spine deformity at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles/University of Southern California. He will see patients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock and Arkansas Children’s Northwest in Springdale.
Adrienne Koder, D.O.
Adrienne Koder, D.O., has joined the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery as an Assistant Professor and pediatric orthopaedic surgeon. Dr. Koder received her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her orthopaedic surgery residency at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Koder is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America and the Ruth Jackson Orthopedic Society. She will see patients at Arkansas Children’s Northwest.
Justin Rabinowitz, M.D.
Justin Rabinowitz, M.D., has joined the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery as an Assistant Professor and shoulder/elbow specialist. Dr. Rabinowitz received his medical degree from Rush University Medical College in Chicago. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and continued his training with a shoulder and elbow fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. He will see patients at the UAMS orthopaedic clinics on Colonel Glenn Road in Little Rock and at Baptist-Conway.
Scott Schoenleber, M.D.
Scott Schoenleber, M.D., has joined the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery as an Assistant Professor and pediatric orthopaedic surgeon. Dr. Schoenleber earned his medical degree at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, followed by a pediatric orthopaedic fellowship at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. He comes to UAMS from Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, where he had practiced since 2015. Dr. Schoenleber will focus on building a limb-lengthening program in Arkansas while also pursuing interests in neuromuscular conditions and providing care at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock and Arkansas Children’s Northwest in Springdale.