Recent faculty additions, January-April 2019

The Department of Internal Medicine would like to introduce our newest members who joined in the months of January-April 2019 (start dates in parentheses). We are pleased to welcome them to the department.

Anjana Aggarwal, MD – Clinical Assistant Professor (4-15-19)

Dr. Anjana Aggarwal joined the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology as a Clinical Assistant Professor on April 15. She has been in the clinical arena as a practicing gastroenterologist for over 16 years, in both private practice and hospital-employed positions. During her residency and fellowship, she researched and managed patients with many chronic diseases and published several papers in peer-reviewed journals. She has improved health outcomes while reducing costs during her career, including creating outreach services for the VA, filling a local need for breath testing, creating electronic medical record templates, promoting awareness for prevention of colon cancer with community talks, interviews and publications, streamlining nursing communication in an endoscopy suite, and reducing turnover time between procedures. She has been an educator to medical students, residents, nurse practitioners, nurses, and physicians, and has given multiple CME talks on evidence-based practices throughout her career. She is motivated by continual learning and has taken core classes for resource utilization and quality assurance, obtained whole-food plant-based diet certification and trained in health and wellness coaching. Dr. Aggarwal is board certified in Lifestyle Medicine, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. She is passionate about caring for patients in totality while being conscious of costs and utilization of resources that are involved in providing quality care. Dr. Aggarwal attended medical school at Topiwala National Medical College, Mumbai, India. She then completed her Internal Medicine residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and her gastroenterology fellowship at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. For ten years she was in a single-specialty private practice in Bettendorf, IA, before moving back to Iowa City and joining Mercy Hospital for several years. She is currently enrolled in the EMHA program at the College of Public Health and the EMBA program at the Tippie College of Business. She enjoys healthy whole-food cooking, regular physical activity, and practices mindfulness meditation.

Pashtoon Kasi, MBBS, MS – Clinical Assistant Professor (2-22-19)

Dr. Pashtoon Kasi joined the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation as a Clinical Assistant Professor from an Assistant Professor position at Mayo Clinic, Florida. Dr. Kasi went to medical school at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Pittsburgh followed by a fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. He was an Assistant Professor in Oncology at Mayo Clinic, Florida, for three years. In parallel, he earned an MS in Basic Sciences through Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Kasi has been focusing on colorectal cancers and other GI malignancies. In particular, he has a keen interest in liquid biopsies, pharmacogenomics and experimental therapeutics. Outside of work, Dr. Kasi likes to spend time with his wife Maryam, and 2-year old boy Rafay. In his spare time, he enjoys playing squash.

Jonathan Nizar, MD – Assistant Professor (1-24-19)

Dr. Jonathan Nizar comes to the Division of Nephrology as an Assistant Professor from a postdoctoral position at Stanford University. He received his MD at the University of California San Diego, followed by a residency at Scripps Mercy Hospital there. He also served as Chief Resident in Medicine, after which he was a Postdoctoral Research Scholar and Clinical Instructor at Stanford. Dr. Nizar’s current clinical and research interests focus on regulation of tubular sodium transport by dietary potassium and renal sympathetic nerve activity. In his free time, Dr. Nizar likes to cook and play with his children.

Jacob Simmering, PhD – Assistant Professor (1-14-19)

Dr. Jacob Simmering has joined the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Simmering received an MS in Epidemiology from the University of Iowa in 2013, followed by a PhD in Pharmaceutical Socioeconomics here. Most recently, he was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Computer Science. Dr. Simmering’s research focuses on using large healthcare utilization databases to understand the effects of pollution, weather, and climate on health. He is especially interested in the effects of weather and pollution on risk of atypical pneumonia, such as Legionnaires’ disease, or acute exacerbations of COPD. Outside of work, you can find him riding his bike on the gravel roads outside of town or enjoying a movie at FilmScene with his wife.

Jin-Young Yoon, PhD – Associate (1-21-19)

Dr. Jin-Young Yoon was recently appointed to the rank of Associate within the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, from her position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Dr. Yoon earned her PhD in Physiology from the Seoul National University College of Medicine in Korea, after which she held postdoctoral positions at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Her research interests focus on post-transcriptional and post-translational regulation of cardiac excitability. Her hobbies include swimming and reading.

Rodney Zeitler, MD, MS – Clinical Professor (3-29-19)

Dr. Rodney Zeitler returns to the Division of General Internal Medicine as a Clinical Professor, after a long tenure as a staff physician at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. Dr. Zeitler received his MD, as well as an MS in Preventive Medicine, from the University of Iowa College of Medicine. He also completed his Medicine Residency and Fellowships in General Medicine and Geriatric Education at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Dr. Zeitler held a faculty position in Internal Medicine for many years, as well as several administrative, educational, and leadership positions at the UI and the VA. Dr. Zeitler’s clinical focus is General Internal Medicine. His interests outside of the clinic include Hawkeye athletics, gardening, home food preservation through canning, and competition in the foods department at the Iowa State Fair.