Dr. Cheerla joined our faculty in 2025 as Clerkship Director for Family Medicine and Associate Director of the Division of Medical Student Education. Soon afterward, she won the Chair’s Award for Recognition of Excellence in the category of UME Educator. She graduated from the UAMS Little Rock FM residency program in 2012 and won awards including the Outstanding Resident Award, the STFM Resident Teacher Award, two professionalism awards, and two medical knowledge awards. After graduation, she served as faculty in the Little Rock program and later joined the faculty at the Huntsville Family Medicine Residency Program at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. She served in leadership roles encompassing both Graduate and Undergraduate Medical Education at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and University of Alabama School of Medicine. She was in private practice in Washington state prior to moving back to Little Rock and joining the faculty at the Baptist/UAMS FM residency program in 2021.
As part of the leadership team in the program, in her role as Medical Director for a newly established Residency clinic, Dr. Cheerla played a pivotal role in the early development of the residency program’s ambulatory Family Medicine curriculum and led the establishment of their inaugural Clerkship Division. Her clinical interests include preventive cardiology, women’s cardiovascular health, diabetes, lifestyle medicine, geriatrics, and comprehensive preventive care with emphasis on health literacy and patient engagement. Her research interests include women’s cardiovascular health, childhood obesity, diabetes, and competency-based medical education . She has authored medical media teaching modules for students and residents and has presented at several national conferences including STFM, AAFP Program Directors Workshop, and NAPCRG. Dr. Cheerla is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Outside of work, she enjoys music, dance (Bollywood, Bharatanatyam), yoga, and spending time outdoors with her husband, their two wonderful daughters, and their dog Buddy.