Meet Our Core Faculty

Ahmad R. Elashery

Ahmad R. Elashery, MD

Cardiovascular Disease Program Director

Medical School: Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt

Residency/Fellowship: 
Internal Medicine: Greater Baltimore Medical Center (served as chief resident)
Cardiovascular Medicine: Danbury Hospital (served as chief fellow)
Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging (cardiac MRI and CT): University of Kentucky 

Board Certifications: 

  • Internal Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Echocardiography
  • Nuclear Cardiology
  • Cardiac MRI
  • Cardiac CT

Clinical/Academic Focus: Using the most up to date multi-modality cardiac imaging technology to tailor cardiovascular care

Elie Gharib

Elie G. Gharib, MD

Interventional Cardiology Program Director

Undergraduate School: West Virginia University
Medical School: West Virginia University School of Medicine

Residency/Fellowship: 
Internal Medicine: University of Tennessee
Cardiovascular Medicine: Marshall University, WV
Interventional: Marshall University, WV

Board Certifications:

  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Interventional Cardiology 

Clinical/Academic Focus: Continue to grow cardiology program on all facets, increase fellowship, interventional cardiology program

Alkhaimy_Haytham

Haytham Alkhaimy, MD

Medical School: Damascus University, Faculty of Medicine in Damascus, Syria

Residency/Fellows:
Internal Medicine: Medical College of Georgia
Cardiovascular Medicine: Charleston Area Medical Center (served as Chief Fellow)
Interventional Cardiology (Coronary, Peripheral and Structural): University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 

Board Certifications:

  • Internal Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Echocardiography
  • Nuclear Cardiology
  • Certified in Vascular Ultrasound Interpretation (RPVI)
     

Clinical/Academic Focus: 
General and Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Intensive Care, Mechanical Circulatory Support

Elise Anderson

Elise Anderson, DO

Undergraduate School: Marshall University
Medical School: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency/Fellowship:
Internal Medicine: Marshall University
Cardiovascular Disease: Charleston Area Medical Center
Interventional Cardiology: Aultman Hospital

Board Certifications:
Internal Medicine
Cardiovascular Disease

Clinical/Academic Focus:
Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Intensive Care, Mechanical Circulatory Support

Chockalingam_Anand

Anand Chockalingam, MD

Anand Chockalingam has been a Professor of Cardiology and the Director of the Cardiometabolic Center at CAMC since December 2023. His research started at the University of Missouri with over 70 original publications focusing on premature heart failure related to mental and metabolic stressors. He collaborates with mindfulness experts, behavioral psychologists, integrative medicine, exercise and nutrition scientists to improve heart failure outcomes. He has pioneered 'Heartful Living; intuitive cardiac energetics (ICE), a novel self-inquiry mindfulness and technology-based empowerment program for improving cardiometabolic health globally since 2015. He works with the American College of Cardiology and several Medical Associations to build physician resilience. ICE has demonstrated premature heart failure can be reversed. He is the Director of Diastolic Heart Failure Clinic at CAMC, where his team is studying this integrative approach for heart failure care through biological age reversal.

Kuppuswamy_Saravanan

Saravanan Kuppuswamy, MD

Mitchell Rashid

Mitchell N. Rashid, MD

Undergraduate School: Vanderbilt University
Medical School: Marshall University, WV

Residency/Fellowship: 
Internal Medicine: Marshall University, WV
Cardiovascular Medicine: Marshall University, WV
Interventional Cardiology: University of Vermont

Board Certifications: 
•    Interventional Cardiology

Clinical/Academic Focus: Interventional Cardiology Clinical Trials, STEMI, Complex PCI

Simone_Nadew

Nadew Simone, MD, MPH

Medical School: Gondar College of Medicine and Health Sciences

Post-Graduate Education:

  • Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at UCSF
  • MPH from Harvard School of Public Health

Residency/Fellowship:
Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Residency: Eastern Virginia Medical School
Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship: Marshall University
Advanced Cardiac Imaging (CT and MRI) Fellowship: Emory University 

Board Certifications: 

  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Adult Echocardiography 
  • Internal Medicine

Clinical/Academic Focus: Multimodality Cardiac Imaging, Structural Heart Disease, Artificial Intelligence, Public Health and Medical Education

Meet Our Faculty

Frank Annie

Frank Annie, PhD

Undergraduate School: West Virginia University
Graduate School: Florida State University

Clinical/Academic Focus: Disease Ecology, Structural Heart Disease , Toxicology , Medical Geography, Cardiovascular Disease

photo of doctor Chafik Assal

Chafik Assal, MD

Undergraduate School: Aleppo University, Syria
Medical School: Aleppo University, Faculty of Medicine, Syria

Residency/Fellowship: 
Internal Medicine: Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI
Cardiovascular Medicine: Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology: Geisinger Medical Center, PA

Board Certifications: 

  • Internal Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology

Clinical/Academic Focus: Starting an EP fellowship program, Innovations in EP procedures especially AFib ablation
 

photo of Tania Babar

Tania Babar, MD

Undergraduate School: University of Charleston, WV
Medical School: West Virginia University School of Medicine

Residency/Fellowship: 
Internal Medicine: Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH
Cardiovascular Medicine: St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, MA
Electrophysiology: St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, MA

Board Certifications: 

  • Internal Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Electrophysiology

Clinical/Academic Focus:
Clinical: complex arrhythmia and device management, SVT ablation, VT ablation, Afib ablation, ICD, His Bundle Pacing, Micra, Watchman
Academic: Atrial Fibrillation, Obesity and Atrial Fibrillation, LAA Closure devices, Advanced pacing techniques with physiologic and leadless pacing

Adam Belcher

Adam Belcher, PhD

Undergraduate School: Marshall University
Graduate School: Marshall University

Joseph Choo

Joseph Choo, MD

photo of Kevin Driver

Kevin Driver, MD

Undergraduate School: Messiah University
Medical School: The College of Physicians and Surgeons (Columbia University)

Residency/Fellowship: 
Internal Medicine: Duke University Medical Center 
Cardiovascular Disease: University of Virginia Medical Center 
Electrophysiology: University of Virginia Medical Center 

Board Certifications: 

  • Internal Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology

Clinical/Academic Focus: Device implantation including S-ICD and leadless pacing, Catheter ablation of AF and atrial arrhythmias, Catheter ablation of PVCs and VT
 

photo of david francke

David D. Francke, MD

Undergraduate School: Virginia Tech
Medical School: Marshall University, WV

Residency/Fellowship: 
Internal Medicine: Marshall University, WV
Cardiovascular Medicine: Marshall University, WV 
Interventional: Marshall University, WV

Board Certifications: 

  • Internal Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Disease

Clinical/Academic Focus: General and Interventional Cardiology

Richard Han

Richard Han, MD

Medical School: University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Residency/Fellowship:
Internal Medicine: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Cardiovascular Disease: Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Interventional Cardiology: Massachusetts General Hospital

Board Certifications:
Cardiovascular Disease
Interventional Cardiology

Clinical/Academic Focus:
Structural Heart Disease

photo of Marciano Lee

Marciano B. Lee, MD

Undergraduate School: University of the Philippines
Medical School: Cebu Doctors University College of Medicine

Residency/Fellowship: 
Internal Medicine: Seton Hall University School of Graduate Medical Education
Cardiovascular Medicine: Seton Hall University School of Graduate Medical Education
Advanced Heart Failure/Transplant Cardiology: University of Kentucky College of Medicine and Affiliated Hospitals

Board Certifications: 

  • Internal Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Echocardiography
  • Nuclear Cardiology

Clinical/Academic Focus:

  • Advanced Heart Failure
photo of sangeeta mandapaka

Sangeeta Mandapaka, MD

Medical School: Kasturba Medical College, India

Residency/Fellowship: 
Internal Medicine: Seton Hall University, NJ (Internship)/ University of Florida (Residency)
Cardiovascular Medicine: East Carolina University
Cardiac MRI and CTA: Wake Forest University 
Interventional Cardiology: East Carolina University 

Board Certifications: 

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Cardiac CT
  • Interventional Cardiology

Clinical/Academic Focus:  Interventional cardiology, CTA cardiology, Peripartum Cardiomyopathy, Preventive cardiology

photo of Muhammad S. Mian, MD

Muhammad S. Mian, MD

Medical School: King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan

Residency/Fellowship: 
Internal Medicine: New Britain General Hospital, CT
Cardiovascular Medicine: University of Connecticut Medical Center
Interventional: St. Francis Hospital, University of Connecticut

Board Certifications: 
•    Internal Medicine
•    Cardiovascular Disease
•    Cardiac CT

Clinical/Academic Focus:  Coronary Interventions, Cardiac CT

Sarah Rinehart

Sarah Rinehart, MD

Undergraduate School: WV Wesleyan College
Medical School: Marshall University, WV

Residency/Fellowship: 
Internal Medicine: Marshall University, WV
Cardiovascular Disease: Marshall University, WV
Piedmont Heart Institute, GA – Level 3 training in Cardiac MRI and Cardiac CT

Board Certifications:

  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Nuclear Cardiology
  • Cardiovascular CT 

Clinical/Academic Focus: Cardiac Imaging, Prevention and risk management, Women’s Health, Structural Heart Disease, Vascular Disease
 

Ganpat Thakkar

Ganpat Thakkar, MD

Medical School: Kasturba Medical College, India

Residency/Fellowship:
Internal Medicine: Queens Hospital Center/Long Island Jewish Hospital SUNY
Cardiovascular Medicine: Queens Hospital Center/Long Island Jewish Hospital SUNY

Board Certifications:
Internal Medicine
Cardiovascular Disease
Echocardiography 
FACC: Fellow of American College of Cardiology
FASE: Fellow of American Society of Echocardiography 
Certified in Vascular Ultrasound Interpretation (RPVI)

Clinical/Academic Focus:
Clinical Cardiology and Echocardiography