Please join us in welcoming these recent additions to the College of Medicine faculty.
Department of Anesthesiology
Rajasekhar Byreddy, M.D.
Rajasekhar Byreddy, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Byreddy completed medical school at St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore University, in India. He continued his training in the United Kingdom, completing the Fellowship of the College of Anaesthestists in Ireland. Dr. Byreddy gained extensive experience as a consultant and senior consultant in anesthesiology and pain management in hospital systems in Qatar, India and the United Kingdom.
Christopher Murphy, M.D.
Christopher Murphy, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Murphy received his medical degree from UAMS in 2016. He completed his residency in anesthesiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and continued his training with a critical care medicine fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis.
Dr. Murphy was an Assistant Professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Washington University from 2021 until his recruitment to UAMS. He will serve as an intensivist in the UAMS Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit.
Megan Rashid, M.D.
Megan Rashid, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as an Associate Professor and Medical Director of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Dr. Rashid received her medical degree at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She completed her anesthesiology residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital/Jackson Health Systems in Miami and continued her training with an anesthesiology and critical care fellowship at Washington University/Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
Prior to her recruitment to UAMS, Dr. Rashid served as an Associate Professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System in Richmond, where she also served as the ICU Medical Director for several years.
Andrew Weaver, M.D.
Andrew Weaver, M.D., has joined the Department of Anesthesiology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Weaver received his medical degree from UAMS in 2017. He completed his residency in anesthesiology and fellowship in cardiothoracic cardiology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington.
Dr. Weaver served as an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Director of Thoracic Anesthesia at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 2022-2024. After relocating to Arkansas in early 2024, he began practicing at Arkansas Anesthesia Associates, where he has served as Director of Cardiovascular Anesthesia providing care at Arkansas Heart Hospital. At UAMS, Dr. Weaver will provide anesthesia services in the main operating room.
Department of Family and Preventive Medicine
German Corrales, M.D.
German Corrales, M.D., has joined the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Corrales received his medical degree from Universidad Nacional de Cordoba in Cordoba, Argentina, in 2017. He completed his family medicine residency at UAMS, Little Rock, this year. Dr. Corrales practices in the UAMS Neighborhood Clinics.
Nalini Narayana Reddy, M.D.
Nalini Reddy, M.D., has joined the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine as an Assistant Professor at the UAMS Southwest Regional Campus in Texarkana. Dr. Reddy received her medical degree from Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences in Bangalore, India, in 1997. She most recently completed her family medicine residency at UAMS Southwest.
Department of Internal Medicine
Salma Ahi, M.D.
Salma Ahi, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Instructor in the Division of Endocrinology. Dr. Ahi received her medical degree from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran. She completed her residency in internal medicine at Tehran University of Medical Sciences and continued her training with a fellowship in endocrinology at Shahid Beheshti University. Dr. Ahi’s clinical and research interests include diabetes, thyroid disorders, osteoporosis and vitamin D metabolism.
April Erdag, M.D.
April Erdag, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Erdag received her medical degree from Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Ankara, Turkey. She completed a residency in pediatrics at Dr. Lutfi Kirdar Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul. Dr. Erdag served as an Assistant professor and Associate Program Director in the Department of Pediatrics at Yeditepe University Faculty of Medicine before relocating to the United States.
Most recently, Dr. Erdag completed a residency in internal medicine in the Baptist Health-UAMS Internal Medicine Residency Program in Little Rock. Her professional interests include medical education, inpatient and outpatient clinical care and academic scholarship.
Michael Nguyen, D.O., M.S.
Michael Nguyen, D.O., M.S., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine. Dr. Nguyen received his medical degree from the University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth. He earned his Master of Science in Medical Physiology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Dr. Nguyen completed his internal medicine residency training in the HCA Medical City Healthcare UNT-TCU Graduate Medical Education Program. His professional interests include medical education, mentorship and community engagement.
Department of Pediatrics
Alicia Allen, Ph.D.
Alicia Allen, Ph.D., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Associate Professor in the Section of Allergy and Immunology and Director of the National Center for Opioid Research and Clinical Efficacy (NCOR) in the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI).
A behavioral epidemiologist, Dr. Allen trained at the University of Minnesota and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She was recruited to UAMS and Arkansas Children’s from the University of Arizona, where she was an Associate Professor and founding Director of the Recovery through Engaging and Empowering Women (RENEW) research team.
Dr. Allen’s highly regarded research focuses on identifying female-specific factors, such as ovarian hormones, that contribute to the development and continuation of addiction. She recently received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator (DP2) Award to examine how infant caregiving and hormones contribute to recovery from opioid use disorder in the early postpartum period.
As the inaugural Director of NCOR, Dr. Allen will lead research initiatives to improve evidence-based prevention and treatments for infants, children and families in Arkansas and beyond who are impacted by opioid use disorder.