Faculty

A number of board-certified pulmonary, critical care, and sleep specialists serve as faculty in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Hyperbaric, and Sleep Medicine, with academic appointments in the Department of Medicine, School of Medicine. Several faculty members have additional appointments in Department of Allied Health Professions, Basic Sciences, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, or Psychiatry.  We also have successful collaborations with Division of Regenerative Medicine and Center for Perinatal Biology on translational research projects.

H. Bryant Nguyen, MD, MS, MBA
Division Head
Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Professor of Emergency Medicine and Basic Sciences, School of Medicine
Executive Vice-Chair, Department of Medicine
Medical Director, Medical Intensive Care Unit, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Director, Advanced Lung Disease Center
Research and Academic Interests: Severe sepsis, cardiac arrest, acute kidney injury, ARDS, hemodynamic monitoring, biomarkers discovery, percutaneous tracheostomy, patient-centered care, medical informatics, data analytics, leadership

James D. Anholm, MD, FCCP
Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Associate Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program
Research and Academic Interests: Pulmonary hypertension, high altitude medicine, exercise physiology

Khazenay Bakhsh, DO
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Research and Academic Interests: Pulmonary Hypertension, Obstructive Airway Diseases, Sleep disorders, medical education

Twinkle Chandak MD, FCCP
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Pulmonary Hypertension, Obstructive Airway Diseases, medical education

Ara A. Chrissian, MD, FCCP
Associate Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Medical Director, Adult Bronchoscopy and Interventional Pulmonology, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Advanced diagnostic bronchoscopy and interventional pulmonology, procedural sedation, interstitial lung disease, thoracic oncology, critical care and lung ultrasound, percutaneous tracheostomy, medical education

David M. Chooljian, MD, JD
Associate Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Medical Director, Medical Intensive Care Unit, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System
Chair, Ethics Consultation Service, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System
Attending Physician, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System
Research and Academic Interests: Medical ethics, advanced lung disease, interventional/advanced diagnostic pulmonology

Nagamani Dandamudi, MD, FCCP
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Deputy Chief of Staff, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System
Medical Director, Sleep Center, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System
Research and Academic Interests: Sleep disorders

Vi A. Dinh, MD
Professor of Medicine and Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine
Director, Critical Care Ultrasound, Department of Medicine
Director, Ultrasound in Medical Education, School of Medicine
Director, Ultrasound Fellowship Program, Department of Emergency Medicine
Research and Academic Interests: Critical care and emergency ultrasound, percutaneous tracheostomy

Angela Do, MMS, PA-C
Instructor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Physician Associate, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Advanced minimally invasive pleural and airway procedures

Ramiz Fargo, MD, FCCP
Associate Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program
Medical Director, Sleep Disorders Center, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Vascular access, pulmonary hypertension, sleep disorders, bronchoscopy

Naureen Farook, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Research and Academic Interests: Critical Care and Emergency Medicine

Philip M. Gold, MD, MACP, FCCP
Emeritus Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Vice-Chair of Humanities, Department of Medicine
Research and Academic Interests: Obstructive lung disease, exercise physiology, humanities in medicine, history of medicine

Elliot Ho, DO
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Director, Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests:Interventional Pulmonology, ultrasound, education

Niranjan Jeganathan, MD, MS
Associate Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Director, Pulmonary Faculty Medical Ambulatory Clinic
Director, Interstitial Lung Disease Program
Medical Director, Blood Gas Laboratory, Loma Linda University Medical Center and East Campus
Associate Medical Director, Medical Intensive Care Unit, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Sepsis,molecular mechanisms of lung diseases,mechanical ventilation,simulation, pulmonary pathophysiology,hemodynamics

Walter Klein, MD, FCCP
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Chief, Pulmonary and Critical Care, Riverside University Health System
Research and Academic Interests: Ultrasound, vascular access, percutaneous tracheostomy

Robert Liu, PA-C, MPA
Instructor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Physician Associate, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Ambulatory pulmonary diseases

Kanwaljeet Maken, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Medical Director, Hyperbaric Medicine, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Sleep disorders, medical education

Aarti (Nikki) Mittal, DO
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Riverside University Health System
Research and Academic Interests: ARDS, cardiothoracic critical care

Dafne Moretta, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Associate Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program
Research and Academic Interests: Pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary vascular physiology, tuberculosis, post-ICU syndrome care, ARDS, quality improvement in bronchoscopy

Elaine Nguyen, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Riverside University Health System
Research and Academic Interests: Education, critical care

Sunitha Nune, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Sleep disorders

Kerstyn A. O'Brien, MSPAS, PA-C
Instructor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Physician Associate, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Interventional pulmonology

Wei Shen, MD, FCCP
Associate Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Attending Physician, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System
Research and Academic Interests: Interventional pulmonology, lung volume reduction for emphysema, sleep physiology, airway resistance in obese patients, ventilator patient interaction in critical care, airway management, critical care echocardiogram, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, nosocomial pneumonia, inflammatory cytokines

N. Lennard Specht, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Chief, Pulmonary and Critical Care, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System
Assistant Professor of Cardiopulmonary Sciences, School of Allied Health Professions
Associate Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program
Medical Director, Pulmonary Function Laboratories, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System
Medical Director, Cardiopulmonary Sciences, Respiratory Care Program, School of Allied Health Professions
Research and Academic Interests: Obstructive lung disease, exercise physiology, neuromuscular disease

Prajan Subedi, MBBS
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Attending Physician, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System
Research and Academic Interests: Sleep disorders, pulmonary physiology at high altitude

Alexander O. Sy, MD, MBA, MSL 
Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Attending Physician, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System
Research and Academic Interests: Sleep disorders, medical education

Laren Tan, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Chair, Department of Medicine
Assistant Dean, Continuing Medical Education, School of Medicine
Research and Academic Interests: Asthma, obstructive lung disease, hyperbaric medicine, praying for the critically ill patient

Shahriyar Tavakoli, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Critical care

Suman Thapamagar, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Associate Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program
Research and Academic Interests: Non-invasive mechanical ventilation, sleep disorders, pulmonary rehabilitation, pulmonary physiology at high altitude, applied statistics

Destry Washburn, DO
Assistant Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Riverside University Health System
Research and Academic Interests: Improvements in teaching students and residents in the critical care setting, antibiotic stewardship in the ICU, investigation and improvement in the treatment of sepsis and septic shock, use of cardiac and respiratory ultrasound in the ICU

Mark Welch, DO
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry, School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Sleep disorders

Timothy Wong, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Family Medicine, School of Medicine
Attending Physician, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Research and Academic Interests: Sleep disordered breathing and its impact on health