Our Fellows
First-year fellows
Name: Jonathan Bisaillon
Hometown: Niskayuna, NY
Med School: Albany Medical College
Residency: UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Following NY sports teams (Giants and Yankees), spending time with my family, running, gardening, drinking beer and grilling.
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Large academic program with excellent faculty and fellows creating a family-like work environment that is fully supportive. Also it’s a great location near our families.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Hiking with my family, being close to many different beaches (North Shore, Cape Cod, Rhode Island), and all the great breweries.
Name: Alejandro Folch Sandoval
Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico
Med School: Universidad Panamericana, Escuela de Medicina, Mexico City
Residency: Boston University Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Working out, playing tennis, spinning
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Being the referral center for central and western Mass and northern Connecticut, it provides very well-rounded training with the busiest cath and EP labs in the region and a growing advanced heart failure service. It also has very renowned faculty and is close to Boston.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Being close to family and Boston activities, skiing and trying new breweries
Name: Ely Gracia
Hometown: Miami, FL
Med School: New York Medical College
Residency: Stony Brook University
Hobbies/interests: Fly fishing, cooking, hiking, yoga
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Excellent leadership, ample research opportunities, and a strong focus on the education of its fellows
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Hiking and fly fishing in the local trails
Name: Ahmed Nagy
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt
Med School: Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University
Residency: UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Soccer, horseback riding, outdoor activities and video games
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Strong clinical training in all areas of cardiology, ample opportunities for research, very supportive and approachable faculty who are invested in education.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Hiking, Kayaking, trying new restaurants, spending time with friends.
Name: Kevin O’Day
Hometown: Westborough, MA
Med School: UMass Chan Medical School
Residency: UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Golf, travel, guitar
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? I love the people in the department. Everyone is smart, approachable, and dedicated to patient care. This is a demanding clinical fellowship and that's what I desired the most in my training. It has excellent exposure to noninvasive imaging and EP, a heavy cath lab volume, and a growing advanced heart failure division.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? : Rotating through the various great restaurants of Worcester and surrounding towns. Tree House Brewery on a weekend is always a treat. I also love being close to the beach towns of the Cape throughout the summer.
Name: Khanh-Van Tran
Hometown: Worcester, MA
Med School: UMass Chan Medical School (MD/PhD)
Residency: UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Cooking, hiking, skiing and spending time with my family
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? The location is close to my family and community, and the clinical training is great.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Apple picking in the fall and hiking at Mt. Wachusett.
Second-year fellows
Name: Patrick Abt
Hometown: Syracuse, NY
Med School: Upstate Medical University
Residency: Tufts Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Syracuse Basketball, NFL, Pasta Making
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Great laid-back atmosphere, fellow-driven program with excellent cardiology exposure
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Local breweries and restaurants
Name: Summer Aldrugh, co-chief fellow 2020-2021
Hometown: Stone Mountain, GA
Med School: Medical College of Georgia
Residency: UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Spending time with family, cooking, hiking and shopping.
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Excellent training and great exposure. Nice fellows and attendings. Good support staff.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Great restaurants, hiking, and fishing areas. Convenient access to large cities.
Name: Matthew Gottbrecht, co-chief fellow 2020-2021
Hometown: Hanover, MA
Med School: UMass Chan Medical School
Residency: University of Virginia Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Playing with my daughter Simone and dog Otto, golfing, jogging, Boston sports!
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Outstanding faculty and co-fellows. Large volume center with an amazing breadth and complexity of cases. Central Mass is a great to place to live.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Going for walks with my family and dog through one of the local parks. Playing golf at one of the beautiful local golf courses. Going out to a local brewery or one of Worcester’s outstanding restaurants.
Name: Christopher Phelan
Hometown: Waterbury, CT
Med School: University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Residency: Tufts Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Music/concerts, golf, spending time with family/friends and diastology.
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Collegial environment, busy hospital with significant pathology, strong clinical program and many opportunities in medical education
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? I enjoy trying new restaurants and breweries in the area, many golf courses, close to Boston as well as my hometown and great suburban areas to live.
Name: Saadia Qazi
Hometown: Portland, ME
Med School: University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: North Shore Medical Center, Salem, MA
Hobbies/interests: Hiking, soccer, cooking, love going to the library to pick out a good book to read every month
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Close to home, enjoy living in New England, and thought the community and overall vibe at Umass was as stellar as the educational experience offered.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? I enjoy finding new places to hike and explore in Central and Western MA. I’ve really come to enjoy living in Worcester.
Name: Weijia Wang
Hometown: Nanjing, China
Med School: Zhejiang University
Residency: Tufts Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: sailing, skating, fishing, reading, and traveling
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Wide range of cardiac pathology to see, good procedure volume, great attendings and mentors
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Catching bass in the Dean park, sailing on the Lake Quinsigamond, looking for fresh seafood in Wegmans
Third-year fellows
Name: Arun Damodaran
Hometown: Varkala, Kerala, India
Med School: Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, University of Kerala, India
Residency: Saint Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA
Hobbies/interests: Traveling and playing outdoors with my children.
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Clinically strong fellowship with opportunities for learning cardiac imaging in a collegial environment. Very friendly and supportive program director, Dr. Botkin.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Visiting parks in and around the area.
Name: Barinder “Ricky” Hansra, co-chief fellow 2019-2020
Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Med School: Ross University School of Medicine
Residency: UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Sports (tennis, soccer, volleyball, biking), working out, traveling any chance I get, wine club.
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Amazing program that produces clinically strong cardiologists. The attendings are very supportive and provide incredible mentorship. The high volume ensures we see a diverse range of cases.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Hiking, kayaking, and lots of quick day trips to nearby cities.
Name: Abdalla Hassan
Hometown: Khartoum, Sudan
Med School: University of Khartoum, Faculty of Medicine - Sudan
Residency: Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Hobbies/interests: Spending time with my kids, playing soccer, video games, swimming, and reading novels.
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Excellent clinical training, high volume especially in the cath lab which was my primary career goal, kind and supportive fellows and faculty, and great place to live and raise kids.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Walking, hiking, enjoying nature, visiting farms, parks, and carnivals with family.
Name: Amartya Kundu, co-chief fellow 2019-2020
Hometown: Calcutta, India
Med School: Calcutta Medical College, India
Residency: UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Traveling, music, cricket
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? Very busy program with high procedural volume, supportive and collegial work environment, proximity to friends and family
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Trying new restaurants, being a short drive to many beautiful New England tourist destinations
Name: Raghavendra “Raghu” Makam
Hometown: Bangalore, India
Med School: Bangalore Medical College
Residency: Berkshire Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Physical activity, meditation and comparative philosophy
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? My residency program was affiliated with UMass, allowing continuation of prior research mentorship. Presence of multiple well-funded research projects to explore and get experience in, besides world class faculty/ opportunities for excellent clinical training in all aspects of general cardiology. Location close to Boston and yet with affordable living was a definite plus!
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Multi-cultural 5-star cuisine (Indian, Thai, Mediterranean etc.-you name it!), besides an exceptional public library (Shrewsbury) and so many outdoor/ indoor family friendly locations, makes living here an enjoyable experience indeed!
Name: Antoine “Tony” Soueid
Hometown: New Jersey
Med School: Ross University School of Medicine
Residency: UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Hiking, boxing, travel, trips in New England
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? The quality education, breadth of clinical pathology, talent and collegiality of faculty
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Hiking Wachusett Mountain, taking advantage of all the great restaurants and cafes in Worcester
ABIM Research Pathway fellow
Name: Timothy Cashman
Hometown: Sammamish, WA
Med School: Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai (MD, PhD)
Residency: UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Medical Center
Hobbies/interests: Being active, exploring outside/hiking with my family, cooking baking, history, board games
Why did you choose UMass for fellowship? I had done residency here and was therefore very familiar with the faculty and fellows. They were a HUGE draw as all of them are inspiring, excellent clinicians and easy to work with. Worcester is also close to both my wife’s and my families, and we love the area. The acuity and complexity of the patients is also outstanding.
What are your favorite Central Massachusetts activities? Hiking, exploring local farmers’ markets and trying new restaurants.