You may have seen some fresh faces around the department over the last few months. We are pleased to welcome these new faculty, who joined the department in October, November, and December 2017.
Lawrence Horwitz, MD – Clinical Professor
Cardiovascular Medicine
Dr. Larry Horwitz joined the General Cardiology Section of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine as a Clinical Professor on October 30, 2017. Dr. Horwitz graduated from Yale Medical School and completed an internal medicine residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York, followed by a cardiology fellowship at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UT Southwestern and as Associate Professor and Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He was most recently a Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, where he held a number of positions including Cardiology Division Head, Director of Research, and co-Director/Director of the Medical Student Teaching Blocks.
Kunatum Prasidthrathsint, MD – Clinical Assistant Professor
General Internal Medicine
On September 17, Dr. Kunatum Prasidthrathsint (“Dr. Jin”) was appointed to the rank of Clinical Assistant Professor within the Division of General Internal Medicine, where she had been a Postdoctoral Research Scholar. Dr. Jin received her MD from Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University in Thailand, followed by a medicine residency at Bassett Medical Center (Columbia University-affiliated), an Infectious Diseases fellowship here at UIHC, and a Medical Microbiology Fellowship at the University of Utah, ARUP Laboratories. Her research and clinical interests encompass fastidious gram-positive susceptibility pattern and testing, co-relation between quantitative aspergillus PCR on direct BAL samples and the involvement of invasive aspergillosis, and research related to diagnostic microbiology and antimicrobial stewardship. In her free time, Dr. Jin enjoys making photobooks, scrapbooking, making her own weblog, and spending time with her two-year-old son.
Tayyab Rehman, MD – Clinical Assistant Professor
Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine
Dr. Tayyab Rehman joined the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine as a Clinical Assistant Professor on November 1, from his previous position as a staff physician at the Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville, Mississippi. Dr. Rehman received his MBBS from King Edward Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan. He completed his medicine residency at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, followed by a fellowship in Pulmonary & Critical Care there. His clinical and research interests focus on general pulmonary and critical care. Dr. Rehman’s outside interests include spending time with family, movies, and reading.
Kamonpun Ussavarungsi, MD – Clinical Assistant Professor
Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine
Dr. Kamonpun Ussavarungsi came to the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine as a Clinical Assistant Professor on November 1 after completing an interstitial lung disease and pulmonary vasculitis fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Ussavarungsi received her MD from Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand, followed by an Internship at Pra-Nungkloa General Hospital in Nonthaburi Province, Thailand. She completed Internal Medicine residencies at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, followed by a Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Her clinical interests focus on interstitial lung disease especially autoimmune disease-related interstitial lung disease, rare lung disease, e.g. lymphangioleiomyomatosis, pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis, and Erdheim-Chester disease. Her research interests include pulmonary manifestations in connective tissue disease and rare lung disease, outcome and management in those with rare lung disease. In her spare time, Dr. Ussavarungsi enjoys reading and traveling.
Praveen Vikas, MBBS – Clinical Assistant Professor
Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation
On December 4, Dr. Praveen Vikas was appointed to the rank of Clinical Assistant Professor within the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation, where he had been a Visiting Assistant Professor. Dr. Vikas received his MBBS from Gujarat University in Ahmedabad, India, followed by an Internal Medicine Residency and Medical Oncology Fellowship at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. His current clinical and research interests include breast cancer and general oncology. Outside of work, Dr. Vikas enjoys traveling and fitness activities.