Joshua Balderman, MD
Vascular Surgery, Pima Heart and Vascular, Tucson, AZ
Dr. Balderman is a Vascular Surgeon with Pima Heart and Vascular in Tucson, AZ. He is passionate about offering the full spectrum of vascular care with special interest in PAD, DVT, And PE. He enjoys bringing cutting edge technology to Southern Arizona through research and clinical trials and teaching the next generation of doctors as a clinical professor at Burrell College of Medicine.
Scott Berman, MD, MHA, RVT, FACS, DFSVS
Pima Heart and Vascular Director of Vascular Quality and Noninvasive Vascular Imaging
A Pennsylvania native, Dr. Berman received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Penn State University and a doctor of medicine degree from Hahnemann University. Following a general surgery residency in Virginia, he completed a vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Arizona. He opened his vascular surgery practice in Tucson in 1994 and has been the leader in southern Arizona vascular care introducing new technologies and treatment approaches including endovascular aneurysm repair for aortic aneurysms, carotid angioplasty and stenting, percutaneous peripheral vascular procedures and novel surgical techniques for hemodialysis access. He recently received a Master's degree in Health Policy and Administration from Penn State University. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications in the field of vascular disease along with 15 book chapters and a textbook on hemodialysis access. He is a member of regional, national and international societies devoted to the care of vascular disease patients. In recognition of his contributions, he was selected as a Distinguished Fellow for the Society of Vascular Surgery and as of this writing is the only practicing vascular surgeon in southern Arizona who holds that honor. In 2017, he was selected by Tucson Local Media and Inside Tucson Business as Most Influential Health and Medical leaders Awardee for Outstanding Neurology/Vascular Care. He currently serves as the medical director for the Rocky Mountain Vascular Quality Initiative and is on the governing council of the Society for Vascular Surgery’s Patient Safety Organization. He is a past president of the Old Pueblo Chapter of the American Heart Association and is a Guardian for the Southern Arizona Honor Flight program that provides veteran from WWII, Korea and Vietnam with the opportunity to visit their war memorials in Washington, D.C.
Arka Chatterjee, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Associate Professor of Medicine. Associate Director Structural Heart Program, Banner University Medical Center - Tucson, AZ
Dr. Arka Chatterjee is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson and the director of the structural heart program. He completed his cardiology and interventional cardiology training from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and worked as an Assistant Professor of Medicine there prior to joining UA, Tucson.
Tiffany Chen, MD, FACC, FASE, FSCMR, FSCCT
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
Tiffany Chen, MD, FACC, FASE, FSCMR, FSCCT, is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her residency at Brown University, cardiology fellowship at the University of Washington, and advanced imaging fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Chen has clinical expertise and a research focus in multimodality imaging for valvular and structural heart disease utilizing 3D echocardiography, cardiac CT, and cardiac MRI. She has published numerous papers and book chapters on interventional imaging and valvular heart disease. She is a consultant for the structural CT and MRI core lab for the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. As an educator, Dr. Chen has taught several structural CT workshops and has served on the Education Committee and Annual Scientific Meeting Program Committee in the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. She is also on the writing committee for the ACC Advanced Training Statement on Cardiovascular Imaging. An active member of the American Society of Echocardiography, she serves on the ImageGuideEcho Registry committee, the Prosthetic Valve Guidelines writing group, and the Intracardiac Echo task force.
Christine Chung, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine University of Washington Medical Center Seattle, WA
Christine J. Chung, MD, is an interventional cardiologist specializing in the management of structural heart disease as well as complex coronary artery disease. Her clinical interests include all forms of valvular heart disease, left atrial appendage closure, closure of patent foramen ovales and atrial septal defects, percutaneous coronary intervention, and management of cardiogenic shock. Dr. Chung received her medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, then went on to complete her residency training in Internal Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston. She completed her training in General Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology and Structural Heart Disease at Columbia University in New York City. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the UW School of Medicine in Seattle.
Michel Corban, MD
Banner University Medical Center, Tucson, AZ
Michel T. Corban, MD, FACC, FSCAI, is an Interventional and Structural Heart Disease Cardiologist at Banner University Medical Center Tucson, and Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) in the Cardiology Division, Internal Medicine Department, University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson, Arizona, USA. Dr. Corban received his MD degree from the American University of Beirut in Beirut, Lebanon. He then completed his postdoctoral interventional cardiology research fellowship and internal medicine residency at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, followed by cardiovascular disease fellowship, interventional cardiology fellowship, and advanced interventional fellowship in structural heart disease at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA where he also holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) appointment.
Dr. Corban’s research is focused on coronary physiology and intravascular imaging, coronary endothelial and microvascular dysfunction, coronary myocardial bridging, and atherosclerotic plaque progression and vulnerability. Dr. Corban is the recipient of the 2019 Mayo Clinic Outstanding Research Fellow Award and 2021 American College of Cardiology Young Investigator Award Finalist for Clinical Trials. He has authored and co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters and serves as Associate Editor for European Heart Journal Case Reports and a peer reviewer for multiple high impact cardiology journals.
Kevin Evans, DO
Old Pueblo Anesthesiology Tucson, AZ
Dr. Kevin J. Evans is a board-certified anesthesiologist and interventional echocardiographer currently practicing at a high volume cardiac and structural heart program in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Evans completed his residency at the University of Arizona where he served as chief resident and obtained his advanced perioperative transesophageal echocardiography certification through the American Society of Echocardiography. He has personally imaged and conducted the anesthetic management for hundreds of left atrial appendage closure devices, transcatheter edge to edge repairs, and TAVRs. He currently serves as Chair for the Department of Anesthesia at Tucson Medical Center, is founder and president of the Arizona Society of Echocardiography, and a Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
Angela Muzzy, CNS
Clinical Nurse Specialist Adult Critical Care Tucson Medical Center Tucson, AZ
Angela Muzzy is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Adult ICU at Tucson Medical Center. She has served our nation as well as our community for over 30 years in the critical care arena in various capacities. Her passion is in growing and mentoring our bedside nurses and pursuing outstanding patient outcomes.
Hursh Naik, MD, FSCAI
Chief of Cardiology Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center Phoenix, Arizona
Dr. Hursh Naik, MD, FSCAI is the Chief of Cardiology at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center as well as Director of Structural Heart Interventions. He is also a Clinical Professor at Creighton University School of Medicine in Phoenix, AZ. Dr. Naik completed his medicine and cardiology training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed an advanced interventional and structural fellowship at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California in 2010. Dr Naik is an Interventional Cardiologist with specialized clinical and research interests in structural heart disease as well as complex percutaneous coronary intervention requiring new technologies in mechanical support. In regard to structural heart disease he has a large volume of expertise in transcatheter aortic, mitral, and tricuspid replacement and repair therapies, left atrial appendage closure, PFO/ASD/VSD and perivalvular leak closure. He is a clinical investigator in ongoing international multi-center clinical trials and has co-authored numerous peer reviewed, scientific articles. Dr Naik also serves as a national, and international clinical proctor for transcatheter aortic and mitral valve implantation and percutaneous mitral and tricuspid valve repair. Dr. Naik has multiple recurring courses for interventional operators wishing to learn advanced techniques in both coronary and structural heart therapy.
Ashish Pershad
Chandler Regional Medical Center
Chandler, AZ
Dr. Ashish Pershad graduated from the University of Mumbai, India with an MBBS degree and most recently completed his masters in clinical research from Drexel University, Philadelphia . He has been practicing Interventional Cardiology for 22 years. He currently serves as Director of Interventional Cardiology at Chandler Regional Medical Center, Arizona. He has been recognized as an expert in Complex Coronary Intervention including CTO PCI and Structural Heart Intervention. He is extensively published with more than 130 peer reviewed publications. He plays for the Giants in the Arizona Cricket Association league as a leg spinner and opening batsman in his spare time.
Kelly Pucci, MSN, BSN, RN, CCRN
Clinical Nurse Lead,
Adult Critical Care Unit,
Tucson Medical Center, Tucson, AZ
Kelly Pucci is a Clinical Nurse Lead in the Adult Critical Care Unit at Tucson Medical Center. She has specialized in Cardiovascular Critical Care for the past sixteen years, and is part-time faculty at the University of Arizona College of Nursing.
Oscar Rosales MD, FACC, FSCAI
Clinical Professor of Medicine Houston Cardiovascular Associates Houston Methodist Hospital
University of Texas McGovern School of Medicine Houston, TX
Dr. Oscar Rosales Is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas McGovern School of Medicine and Medical Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at the Heart and Vascular Institute, Memorial Hermann Hospital Texas Medical Center. Dr. Rosales is the Founder and President of Houston Center for Vascular Health, a non-profit research foundation. This research foundation is dedicated to the development and application of new techniques and technologies for the treatment and prevention of Peripheral Arterial Disease, Critical Limb Ischemia and Coronary Artery Disease. It is currently conducting several funded research studies.
Dr. Rosales received his medical degree from Javeriana University, Bogota, Colombia, and then went on to complete his residency training in Internal Medicine at Tulane University, and Cardiovascular Fellowship at the University of Texas Medical School.
Dr. Rick Snyder is Board certified in cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, and advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology, Dr. Snyder is president of HeartPlace, the largest independent cardiology practice in Texas with over 50 physicians and 20 office locations.
After graduating with honors from the University of Notre Dame and the L'Universite Catholique de L'Ouest in France, Dr. Snyder earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, where he also completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in cardiology.
A former president of the medical staff at Medical City Dallas, he has also served for three years on the board of governors for the American College of Cardiology in D.C., as well as president of the Texas Chapter. In 2012, he was president of the Dallas County Medical Society and for seven years was a member of the Dallas County Health and Human Services Public Health Advisory Committee. He currently serves as chairman of the board of directors for ASPEN Specialty Physician Independent Network, as well as President-elect for the Texas Medical Association, representing its’ 56,000 members.
Dr. Snyder is passionately engaged in health care policy advocacy and reform especially as it relates to value based care. He formally served on the ACC PAC Board for 6 years and currently serves on the SCAI Governmental Relations Committee and co-chair of SCAI PAC. This year he starts his term as one of only two physicians on the state legislature mandated Texas All-Payers Claim Database Advisory committee.
William Thomas, MD
Pima Heart and Vascular
Tucson Medical Center
Tucson, AZ
Dr. William Thomas, MD is an Interventional Cardiology Specialist in Tucson, AZ and has over 33 years of experience. in the medical field. Dr. Thomas has extensive experience in Adult Congenital Heart Conditions and Interventional Cardiac Procedures. He graduated from New York Medical College in 1989.
Howie Tran, MD
University of California-San Diego, San Diego, CA
Dr. Howie Tran is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. He is the Program Director, Advanced Heart Failure Fellowship; Medical Director, Heart Transplant and LVAD Quality Program and Cardiovascular Division Information Services; and Associate Program Director, General Cardiology Fellowship. Dr. Tran received his medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine, and then went on to complete his residency training in Internal Medicine at Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University and General Cardiology Fellowship at Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University.
Poonam Velagapudi, MD, MS, FACC, FSCAI
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Dr. Poonam Velagapudi is a Structural Interventional Cardiologist, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Associate Program Director for Cardiovascular Medicine fellowship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her clinical interests include high risk PCI, mechanical circulatory support in shock, radial and large bore access, percutaneous transcatheter valve procedures including TAVR, TMVR, and MitraClip. She also has a strong interest in education, advocacy and increasing/promoting participation of women in clinical trials. She is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), Chair of the ACC Early Career Section, Past Chair of the ACC Fellows in Training Section, and Co-Chair of the SCAI Membership Committee. She is a strong proponent of using social media for fostering education in cardiology and serves as a social media editor for ‘JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions’ journal. She is also an Associate Editor for the European Heart Journal (EHJ)- Case Reports journal and an editorial board member for JSCAI and JACC: Advances journals.
Thomas Waggoner, DO, FACC, FSCAI, FSVM
Pima Heart & Vascular Medical Director, Structural Heart Program, Tucson, AZ
Thomas Waggoner is a Structural Interventional Cardiologist with Pima Heart & Vascular who specializes in coronary artery disease, heart valve disorders, and vascular disease. He is medical director of the structural heart disease program, program director for the new structural heart disease fellowship and medical director of the cardiovascular research program and fellowship at TMC Healthcare. He is the Principal Investigator in multiple ongoing clinical research studies as well as a national physician proctor for many of the latest complex trans-catheter cardiac devices. He was selected as a young leader in Vision 2020 to lead in the field as a young interventional cardiologist. He has performed many first-in-patient cardiac device implants in Arizona and is a leading structural interventional cardiologist in the region performing cutting edge minimally invasive cardiac procedures in the fields of interventional cardiology and structural heart.
