Staff

Meet Our Team

The position joins an established cardiovascular team at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, the regional anchor for cardiac surgery and structural heart procedures across the four-hospital MedStar Baltimore region. The new hire will collaborate directly with the structural heart program leadership, the cardiac surgery team, and an experienced echocardiography group.

Regional Cardiology Leadership

Dr. Najjar is a Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University with subspecialty expertise in advanced heart failure, heart transplantation, and mechanical circulatory support. He oversees cardiology services across the four MedStar Baltimore hospitals and the system’s ambulatory cardiology practices.

Structural Heart Program Leadership

The Union Memorial structural heart program reached the 1,000-procedure TAVR milestone and continues to expand transcatheter aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valve options.

• John Chung-Yee Wang, MD (profile), Chief of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and Director of the Structural Heart Program at Union Memorial; Medical Director of Interventional Cardiology for the Baltimore Region
• Antony George Kaliyadan, MD [profile link to confirm], Interventional Cardiology with subspecialty focus in valvular and structural heart disease
• David B. Peichert, MD [profile link to confirm], Interventional Cardiology

Cardiac Surgery

Dr. Bethea’s clinical focus is minimally invasive approaches to valvular and structural heart disease, including TAVR, transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve repair and replacement, and multi-arterial coronary revascularization. He has participated in most major U.S. clinical trials for TAVR and was an early author on transcatheter mitral valve replacement.

System-wide cardiac surgery leadership is provided by Thomas E. MacGillivray, MD [profile link to confirm], Physician Executive Director of Cardiac Surgery at MedStar Health.

Echocardiography and Advanced Imaging Team

• Raktim Kumar Ghosh, MD (profile), fellowship-trained cardiologist board certified in cardiovascular disease, internal medicine, echocardiography, and nuclear cardiology. Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography. Named a Baltimore magazine Top Doctor for non-interventional cardiology in 2023 and 2024.
• Nimesh Shah, MD [profile link to confirm], Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at Union Memorial. Board certified in critical care medicine and echocardiography, with expertise in bedside cardiac imaging and mechanical circulatory support.
• Rachel Marcus, MD [profile link to confirm], prior Echo Lab Medical Director, currently supporting the lab on a per diem basis.

The Regional Medical Director of the Echo Lab role is currently open and being recruited as a separate position. Technical operations are led by Rodney, Technical Director of the Echo Lab.

Advanced Heart Failure Program

The advanced heart failure program at Union Memorial is anchored by Dr. Najjar and includes:

• Erika D. Feller, MD [profile link to confirm], Heart Failure and Transplantation Cardiology, with secondary focus in Structural Heart Disease Cardiology
• Sandeep M. Jani, MD [profile link to confirm], Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiology, and Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology
• Mrinalini Krishnan, MD (profile), Advanced Heart Failure; Regional Director of Pulmonary Hypertension

Additional Cardiology Team at Union Memorial

• Jafar Alzubi, MD [profile link to confirm]
• Ali Salah, MD [profile link to confirm]
• Ajaypaul Sukhi, MD [profile link to confirm]

Practice Operations

Day-to-day operations supporting the cardiovascular team at Union Memorial are led by:

• Mike Brijbasi, Director of Operations, Baltimore Cardiology
• Rodney, Technical Director of the Echo Lab .