Dr. López-González joined our faculty in 2023 soon after she graduated from our residency program. She is the Assistant Medical Director for the 12th Street Health and Wellness Clinic and is also the Site Director for the El Dorado Family Medicine residency program. During her time in training, she served as Chief Resident and won multiple awards including Outstanding Resident, the AFMRD Resident Scholarship Award, the TOP Outstanding Professional Award, the STAR Professionalism Award, the Medical Knowledge Award, and recognition for serving as a Community Medical Liaison. Her clinical interests include chronic disease management, geriatrics, and inpatient medicine. Dr. López-González is from Caguas, Puerto Rico, and she attended medical school at the University of Medicine and Health Sciences in St. Kitts. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, baking, learning from art and history, and trying new restaurants with her husband. She also enjoys visiting museums with her husband and daughter.
Bala Simon, M.D., Dr.PH, DipABOM, DipABLM, FAAFP
Dr. Simon is a board-certified family and preventive medicine physician, an epidemiologist, and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). He joined the DFPM in 2013 and currently serves as an adjunct Clinical Associate Professor and precepts residents and medical students in the FMC. He is also the residency program director for the upcoming Preventive Medicine Residency Program in our department. He obtained his medical degree from India and completed his Family Medicine residency at our program, where he was a chief resident. He obtained his Master of Public Health with emphasis in Epidemiology from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He further obtained his Doctorate in Public Health with emphasis in Health Policy and Epidemiology from UAMS. Dr. Simon completed a fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Preventive Medicine Residency and Fellowship Program, and became board-certified in Preventive Medicine. He is also board-certified in Obesity Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine.
Besides serving as the ADH Deputy Chief Medical Officer, he is also the State Chronic Disease Director, overseeing and providing medical guidance to chronic disease programs such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, tobacco, substance use, nutrition and physical activity across the state through the ADH’s 94 local health units located in all 75 Arkansas counties. Additionally, he serves as an adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Epidemiology in the UAMS College of Public Health. He is widely published both in national and international journals, and has obtained numerous awards for his work. These include the Director’s Science Award for his contribution to the ADH, the Chronic Disease Champion by the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, and the Physician Volunteer of the Year award for his work at the Harmony Health Clinic, which serves the uninsured and underinsured residents of central Arkansas. Dr. Simon serves in several leadership roles both at the state and national level. He served as the President of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, and he currently serves as the President of the Arkansas Public Health Association.
Charles W. Smith, M.D.
Dr. Smith retired from full-time faculty status in 2019 after 30 years at UAMS, but he continues to precept in our clinic. He opened a direct care practice (Dr. Smith Direct Care) in 2019. He also serves as medical director for Cottages of Poplar Grove (a rehab and long-term care facility) and also for Arkansas Health and Nutrition (formerly the UAMS weight loss program).
Geeta Sakariya M.D., MPH, FAAFP
Dr. Sakariya joined as faculty in 2018 and has been the Medical Director of the Family Medical Center since June 2022. She has years of experience as a family physician in addition to experience as a clinical researcher on topics such as decreasing overweight and obesity rates, the effects of smoking on pregnancy and offspring, and curriculum development on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. Her clinical interests include preventive medicine, chronic disease management, and women’s health. She has a special interest in procedures in Family Medicine and supervises the procedures clinic at the FMC. Dr. Sakariya graduated from medical school in India, then went on to earn a Master of Public Health from California State University, Long Beach. She completed her Family Medicine residency at UND, Bismarck. In her free time, she likes cooking, exercising, home improvement, spending time with her friends and family, and traveling.
David A. Nelsen, Jr., M.D., M.S.
Dr. Nelsen — long-time Family Medicine faculty member (since 1995), and graduate of the UAMS Little Rock Family Medicine residency program (1981) and UAMS College of Medicine (1978) — retired from a full-time status in September 2024. He will continue precepting in the clinic for one half-day each week and also will work with the informatics fellows at ACH. Dr. Nelsen’s other plans include traveling, tutoring math and science at Central High, building another guitar, and playing more music. He has been playing at local nursing homes several times per month. Dr. Nelsen built an impressive career in Family Medicine as an informaticist, teacher, mentor, administrator, and clinician in Arkansas for the most part, with some time in Minnesota. His Arkansas experience includes service in DeQueen, Arkansas, where he was Chief of Staff, Chief of Obstetrics, and a private practitioner. Along the way, he spent time as a Fellow in Faculty Development and Clinical Investigation at the University of Minnesota, where he earned a master’s degree in Family and Community Medicine. He won the UAMS Educational Excellence Award and the DFPM Family Medicine Outstanding Teaching Award in two years, back to back. He also won the DFPM Master Educator Award in 2022 — and this not a full recounting of his accomplishments by any means. We are glad that he will still be working with us on a part-time basis.
Stephen King, M.D.
Dr. King is a hospitalist for the Family Medicine service. He graduated from UAMS in 1984 and completed his postgraduate training at Family Medicine Spokane (Washington). He was in private practice for 15 years in Spokane and later worked urgent care and emergency medicine before moving to hospital medicine. He was previously employed by UAMS in El Dorado at the AHEC (now Regional Programs) residency as interim residency director where he lead the program through successful accreditation. Through his career he has been involved in medical education at various levels, and he loves teaching. One of his most fulfilling medical endeavors was working in a refugee camp in Ethiopia during the famine of 1985. Dr. King is happily married to Beth and is the father of two beautiful girls, Mary and Lydia.
Jamie Howard, M.D.
Dr. Howard joined our faculty in 1981. In March 2026, she retired but will continue to precept in our clinic. Her career is marked by a deep commitment to quality care and innovation, and her leadership has been instrumental in quality improvement, patient care, institutional health, and technological advancement. To list just a few of her leadership roles: Co-Medical Director for Primary Care QI for the UAMS Integrated Medicine Service Line – achieving Level 3 PCMH Designation for the UAMS FMC – Medical Director for Student and Employee Health Services. Let’s not forget her role as a Certified Epic Physician Builder and her success in obtaining research grants. We are happy that she will still play an important role in the residency program and the department.
Diane Jarrett, Ed.D., M.A.
Dr. Jarrett joined the DFPM faculty in 2008. For 15 years, she was a member of the management team of the UAMS Little Rock Family Medicine residency program, where she was the Assistant Director and also the DFPM Director of Education and Communications. In 2023, she was named Director of the brand new DFPM Office of Communication and Departmental Relations and Co-Director of the DFPM Office of Leadership and Professional Development. Dr. Jarrett is the recipient of the UAMS College of Medicine Dean’s Educational Excellence Award, the DFPM Advancing Excellence in Education and Inclusive Leadership Award, the Dr. Edith Irby Jones Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award, and the UAMS College of Medicine MVP Award. In 2024, she was selected as co-editor for the STFM Education Column, which spotlights educational innovations in Family Medicine. In 2023, she was awarded the Sandra L. Panther Fellowship in the History of Medicine from the American Academy of Family Physicians. Over the years, she has made presentations at conferences everywhere from New York to Denver to Saskatchewan. She holds the rank of Associate Professor and is a member of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the American Educational Research Association, and Mensa International. Dr. Jarrett’s master’s degree is in journalism/mass communication and her doctorate is in higher education. When she isn’t working, she enjoys writing about classic films. She has had five publications in the international journal Films of the Golden Age — biographical essays on William Boyd, George Macready, Micky Moore, and Jack Doyle, and an analysis of the 1943 film The Seventh Victim. Her publications in Classic Images include profiles of actors Richard Todd, Ray Dixon, Frank Albertson, and Dan Frazer, along with World War I ace/actor Charles Nungesser and director Carl Theodor Dreyer.
Shashank Kraleti, M.D., FAAFP
Dr. Kraleti is the Garnett Chair of the UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and Senior Vice President for the UAMS HEalth Network. He is also Director of the Primary Care and Population Health Service Line, where he provides oversight for clinical and population health initiatives for Arkansas. He serves as Medical Director for the UAMS Division of Community and Health Education, is recognized as a leader in clinical informatics, and serves on the UAMS core informatics group. From 2016 to 2023, he was the Director of the Little Rock Family Medicine Residency Program, where he was honored with the Jack W. Kennedy Chair in Family and Preventive Medicine. He is a graduate of the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD) National Institute for Program Director Development and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Dr. Kraleti has a faculty appointment as Associate Professor with tenure in the clinical educator pathway, and he has written multiple peer-reviewed publications and has made presentations at national and international forums. His community outreach experience includes television appearances and authoring a series of newspaper columns on health issues. Among his many awards are the ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award, the New Faculty Scholar Award from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the AFMRD Program Director Recognition Award, the AFMRD/AAFP Award for Scholarship, the AFMRD Resident Scholarship Award, and the DFPM Outstanding Teacher Award. When he is away from work, Dr. Kraleti serves as the President of the Global Illumine Corporation, a non-profit organization that transforms lives by supporting the education of underserved young people. He is the Chair of the Charity Committee for the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, and the Vice-President of the Hindu Temple of Central Arkansas. On his own time, he enjoys music, movies, traveling, swimming, and spending time with his kids.