Medical Education
Committed to Teaching Future Generations of Physicians for our Community
Brodie Family Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program
Mount Sinai Medical Center is the largest private, independent, non-profit teaching hospital in South Florida. Our 672-bed hospital provides care to a large local patient population throughout South Florida. Mount Sinai also serves as a referral center to international patients from the Caribbean and Central and South America. We are a three-year fellowship program that complies with all ACGME requirements and follows the guidelines and recommendations of the American College of Cardiology (COCATS). Fellows receive training and supervised experience in the evaluation and management of a wide variety of acute and chronic cardiovascular conditions. Clinical rotations, simulation, didactics, procedures, mentored research, and self-directed learning prepare our fellows to be outstanding physicians. All applications are accepted only through the ERAS system. Our program is directed by the Columbia University Division of Cardiology at MSMC.
Esteban Escolar, MD
Program Director, Brodie Family Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program
Teaching Philosophy
At Mount Sinai Medical Center, we stress the physician’s primary obligation to patient care and patient advocacy. Fellows accept progressive responsibility in an environment that is dedicated to their supervision and support.
Our program provides superior, “hands on” training for physicians who wish to become highly skilled clinical cardiologists as well as educators and investigators in cardiovascular disease.
Fellowship Management Team
Any active problems or issues are discussed, and plans for resolution and/or implementation are developed. A Clinical Competency Committee composed of select faculty members meets twice a year to review the progress of fellows and to identify any performance issues or unmet needs. Members include the Program Director, the Associate Program Director, the Program Coordinator, and core faculty teaching members.
House Staff Benefit
Fellows are provided with:
• Professional liability insurance
• Parking
• On-call room
• White lab coats
• Shared private offices, lounge with TV, refrigerator, and computer stations
• $2000 Educational Allowance
• 14 paid sick days
• 28 paid vacation days
• Long-term disability insurance
Fellows are eligible for:
• Health insurance for resident and dependents
• Dental insurance
• Life insurance
Education and Teaching Conferences
We are dedicated to teaching comprehensive and compassionate cardiovascular care while developing a learning environment that facilitates the achievement of knowledge and life-long learning abilities and providing time, resources, and mentoring to develop research skills. Our cardiology fellows spend a minimum of 24 months in clinical training, in the diagnosis and management of a broad spectrum of cardiovascular diseases. Fellows receive skillful training in electrocardiography, stress testing, echocardiography, electrophysiology, cardiac intensive care, nuclear cardiology, advanced cardiovascular imaging, and diagnostic cardiac catheterization. Also, fellows are strongly encouraged to contribute in scholarly activities that range from clinical, translational, or basic science research to case reports, book chapters, or national presentations. Numerous conferences are held on a continuing basis, including EKG conference, echo conference, and subspecialty conferences in electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, nuclear/imaging, and vascular medicine. Fellows attend the weekly Cardiology Grand Rounds lecture series in which national visiting speakers and MSMC faculty members provide presentations on important clinical subjects and clinically relevant research topics.
Fellows
1st Year
Ahmed Abdelrahman, MD
Residency: Detroit Medical Center/ Wayne State University- Sinai Grace Hospital
Clinical interests: Electrophysiology, Interventional Cardiology
Raad Al-Muhaisen, MD
Residency: Roger Williams Medical Center/ Boston University
Clinical interests: Interventional Cardiology, Preventive Cardiology, Adult Congenital Heart Disease
Jose G. Gomez Casanovas, MD
Residency: University of Texas RGV
Clinical interest: Advanced Heart Failure, Critical Care and Social Determinants of Health.
Anupam Halder, MD
Residency: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Harrisburg
Clinical interests: Advanced Mechanical Circulatory Support, Cardiac Transplant, Heart Failure Therapies, Electrophysiology, Channelopathies
Benjamin Klein, DO
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Clinical Interests: Interventional and Clinical Cardiology, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Koushik Sanku, MD
Residency: East Tennessee State University
Clinical Interest: Interventional Cardiology, Mechanical Circulatory Support, and Shock management
2nd Year
Haytham A. Aboushi, MD
Residency: SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Clinical Interest: Electrophysiology, Ventricular arrhythmias, Cardiac resynchronization therapy
Javier E. Arce, MD
Residency: Detroit Medical Center/ Huron Valley Sinai Hospital
Fellowship: Advanced cardiac imaging at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Clinical interest: Cardiac imaging, Coronary artery disease.
Nischit Baral, MD
Residency: McLaren Flint/Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
Clinical Interest: Cardio-oncology, Immune therapy, Atherosclerosis
Marissa Donatelle, MD
Residency: Mount Sinai Medical Center
Clinical Interest: Structural heart disease, Heart failure
Sri Mandava, MD
Residency: Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital
Clinical Interest: Interventional cardiology, Structural heart disease
David Meister, MD
Residency: Mount Sinai Morningside/West
Clinical Interest: Cardiovascular imaging, Pulmonary hypertension, Venous thromboembolism
3rd Year
Mohammad Altujjar, MD (Chief Fellows)
Residency: Ascension Saint John Hospital
Clinical interest: Interventional cardiology, Peripheral endovascular intervention
Hossam Alzu’bi, MD
Residency: Michigan State University/Hurley Medical Center
Fellowship: Vascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN
Clinical Interest: Vascular medicine, Endovascular intervention
Javier Arreaza, MD
Residency: Mount Sinai Morningside/West
Clinical Interest: Cardiovascular imaging, Strain analysis
Reshma Golamari, MD (Chief Fellows)
Residency: Mercy Catholic Medical Center
Clinical Interest: Advanced heart failure, Mechanical circulatory support
Mohammad Khatib, MD
Residency: Creighton University-Phoenix
Clinical interest: Cardiovascular imaging, Role of multimodality imaging, valvular heart disease.
Alexander Khodak, MD
Residency: Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at North University Hospital/LIJ Medical Center
Chief Residency: Einstein Medical Center Montgomery
Clinical Interest: General Cardiology, Cardiovascular imaging
General
Six positions are offered at Mount Sinai Medical Center’s Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program each year.
Mount Sinai Medical Center participates and accepts applications only through ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service). In addition, your application will only be considered if you are enrolled in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). You must contact your medical school for delivery of your application, transcripts, Dean’s letter and faculty recommendations to our program via the internet.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DEADLINE FOR APPLYING THROUGH ERAS IS AUGUST 31.
NRMP#: #1105141F0
Program ID#: #1411112076
Required Documents for Application
The following supporting documents should be submitted via the ERAS program:
- ERAS Application
- Official Medical School Transcript
- USMLE Transcripts (at least Steps 1&2) and if applicable, ECFMG status report
- Personal Statement
- Three (3) letters of recommendation, including one from your internal medicine program director.
Information for applicants on a Visa:
- J-1 Visas will be sponsored for applicants who are accepted into the program. Foreign medical graduates will need to have completed an ACGME-approved residency program in Internal Medicine in the United States prior to beginning our program. -We are not able to sponsor or accept H-1 or O-1 visas. We will not convert H visas to J visas for individual candidates.
- Your visa status must be certain at the time of application.
Interview Process
Upon receipt of the completed application, our selection committee will review all materials. Invitations for interviews will be offered via e-mail from Jessica Alvarado, Program Coordinator. Selected applicants are interviewed in the month of September. Inquiries may be directed to Jessica Alvarado, Program Coordinator, via e-mail, Jessica.alvarado@msmc.com, or by phone at 305.674.2251.
MSMC Graduates
2023 Graduates
Karthik Vedantam: Interventional cardiology fellowship- Mount Sinai Medical Center
Christian Torres: Interventional cardiology fellowship- Mount Sinai Medical Center
Julio Grajeda: Private practice- Miami, FL
Matthew Lozier: Clinical cardiologist- University of South Florida
Ricardo De La Villa: Private practice- Miami, FL
Hernando Torres-Ortiz: Clinical cardiologist- Mount Sinai Medical Center
2022 Graduates
Priscilla Wessly: Advanced imaging fellowship- Houston Methodist Hospital
Garly Saint Croix: Interventional cardiology fellowship- Montefiore Medical Center
Tarec Elajami: Clinical cardiologist- MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center
Jorge Perez: Private practice- Miami, FL
2021 Graduates
Syed Zaidi: Advanced imaging fellowship- University of South Florida
John Lee: Electrophysiology fellowship- Ohio State University
Sarah Guigui: Clinical cardiologist- Mount Sinai Medical Center
Benjamin Hurwitz: Private practice- Miami, FL
2020 Graduates
Denisse Diaz: Clinical cardiologist- Mount Sinai Medical Center
Saberio Lo Presti: Advanced imaging fellowship- Cleveland Clinic, Ohio
Juan Vinardell: Interventional cardiology fellowship- Mount Sinai Medical Center
Jody Ritter: Clinical cardiologist- Memorial Healthcare System
2019 Graduates
Carlos Podesta Ornes: Interventional cardiology fellowship- Mount Sinai Medical Center
Rafle Fernandez: Clinical cardiologist- Mount Sinai Medical Center
Nafees Mohammed: Interventional cardiology fellowship- Mount Sinai Medical Center
Ahmed Zedan: Electrophysiology fellowship- UTHealth Houston
2018 Graduates
Sofia Horvath: Clinical cardiologist- Mount Sinai Medical Center
Sabry Omar: Interventional cardiology fellowship- University at Buffalo
Miguel Benavides: Private practice- Miami, FL
Omar Issa: Sports cardiology- Massachusetts General Hospital
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