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Meet The Faculty

Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, is a comprehensive medical facility providing advanced programs in education and research that support the highest quality patient care.

Our campus includes the Mayo Clinic Hospital, patient care buildings including the Davis, Mayo, Mangurian, and Cannaday buildings, the Birdsall and Griffin Research Buildings, the Stabile education building, and the Discovery and Innovation building.

Mary Ann S. Hedges, M.D.From the program director

We are a highly selective, collegial residency program that combines supportive mentorship and unique individualized training pathways, all within the vast support and incredible structure of the Mayo Clinic enterprise. Our program champions excellence in all endeavors.

We have a diverse, accomplished, committed, and team-oriented group of trainees. Excellent resident camaraderie, morale, and junior-senior teaching have been critical to our success. In our program, you will develop successful mentor-mentee relationships with world-renowned experts in their field. Our learning environment maximizes opportunities for personal achievement in a superb yet intimate academically focused environment.

Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida is truly a special training opportunity. Our facilities are state-of-the-art and teaching opportunities abound. We are committed to your professional growth and personal well-being.  We believe there is joy in serving others, driving innovation, and developing leaders for the future of medicine.

Mary Ann Hedges, M.D.
Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency
Associate Chair for Education, Department of Medicine
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
Consultant, Division of Community Internal Medicine
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Program faculty

One of the greatest advantages to training at Mayo Clinic is the approachability, accessibility, and collegiality of the faculty in our Department of Medicine.

In addition to caring for patients in clinical practice, Mayo Clinic's faculty is committed to teaching and facilitating the growth of medical knowledge. Many of our faculty members have published and lectured extensively and are highly regarded in their fields.

You work closely with these individuals throughout your training in the Internal Medicine Residency.

Razvan Chirila, M.D.

Razvan Chirila, M.D.
Associate Program Director
Consultant, Consultative & Diagnostic Medicine

Dr. Chirila is an associate program director and has a special interest in medical education, systems-based practice, and health care administration, with emphasis on resource utilization and clinical documentation. He serves as dedicated support for the preliminary medicine residents within our program and also oversees the outpatient rotations in general internal medicine.

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J. Colt Cowdell, M.D., M.B.A.

J. Colt Cowdell, M.D., M.B.A.
Associate Program Director
Consultant, Hospital Internal Medicine

Dr. Cowdell is an associate program director with a focus on curriculum development, quality improvement, and hospital medicine. His career interests include quality improvement and healthcare administration. He is gold certified in the Mayo Clinic Quality Academy, is the quality director for advanced care at home (ACH), and serves on the Mayo Clinic enterprise quality review board.

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Daniel Dudenkov, M.D.

Daniel Dudenkov, M.D.
Core Faculty
Consultant, General Internal Medicine

Dr. Dudenkov is a core faculty member and has a special interest in medical education, faculty development, and POTS.

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Abdallah El Sabbagh, M.D.

Abdallah El Sabbagh, M.D.
Associate Program Director
Consultant, Cardiovascular Diseases

Dr. El Sabbagh is an associate program director with a focus on innovation. He is an interventional cardiologist with a career interest in percutaneous therapies in valvular and structural heart disease.

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Michael Gharacholou, M.D., M.S.

S. Michael Gharacholou, M.D., MSc
Core Faculty
Consultant, Department of Cardiovascular Disease

Dr. Gharacholou is a core faculty member with a focus on general cardiology didactics. His career interests include the management of coronary and peripheral artery disease. He is an interventional cardiologist and is vice chair of research for the Department of Cardiovascular Disease, faculty for the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and scientific reviewer for the Mayo Clinic IRB.

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Anna Gorelik, M.D.

Anna Gorelik, M.D.
Core Faculty
Senior Associate Consultant, Community Internal Medicine

Dr. Gorelik is a primary care physician and board-certified geriatrician. She is a core faculty member with a special interest in geriatric medicine, curriculum development, and medical education.

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Ebone Hill, M.D.

Ebone Hill, M.D.
Associate Program Director
Consultant, Hospital Internal Medicine

Dr. Hill is an associate program director and serves as the chair of our Clinical Competency Committee. She has a special interest in the clinical learning environment, diversity, equity and inclusion, recruitment and retention, milestones evaluations, and faculty development.

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Brian Lacy, M.D., Ph.D.

Brian Lacy, Ph.D., M.D., FACG
Associate Program Director
Consultant, Gastroenterology

Dr. Lacy is an associate program director with a focus on research and scholarly activities. His career interests include functional and motility disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. He is proud to have formerly served as Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Gastroenterology for six years and is honored to be on the board of directors of the Rome Foundation, a global organization that focuses on research and clinical care for patients with functional bowel disorders. Dr. Lacy has more than 215 PubMed peer-reviewed articles published to date.

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Melissa Lyle, M.D.

Melissa Lyle, M.D.
Core Faculty
Consultant, Cardiovascular Diseases

Dr. Lyle is a core faculty member with a focus on cardiovascular disease and advanced heart failure and transplantation. She has a special interest in amyloidosis and heart transplantation for patients with cardiac amyloidosis, and is the cardiology lead for the Multidisciplinary Amyloid Clinic.

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Muhamad Moustafa, M.D., M.S.

Muhamad Alhaj Moustafa, M.D., M.S.
Core Faculty
Consultant, Division of Hematology and Oncology

Dr. Muhamad Alhaj Moustafa is a core faculty member and is a hematologist oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida, specializing in lymphoma and histiocytic diseases. He is committed to education, clinical care excellence, patient experience, and research. Dr. Alhaj Moustafa enjoys mentoring future physicians and emphasizes wellbeing and work-life balance. Dr. Alhaj Moustafa is dedicated to creating an educational environment that nurtures the skills and aspirations of future healthcare leaders, ensuring they are well-prepared to meet the challenges of modern medicine.

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Edson Mwakyanjala, M.D.

Edson Mwakyanjala, M.D.
Core Faculty
Consultant, Hospital Internal Medicine

Dr. Mwakyanjala is a core faculty member with a focus on Resident as Teachers, morbidity and mortality, and community engagement within the Internal Medicine Residency. His interests include patient safety and patient education.  He additionally serves as a member of the Mayo Clinic Florida Community Engagement Committee.

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Cara Prier, M.D.

Cara Prier, M.D.
Core Faculty
Senior Associate Consultant – Community Internal Medicine

Dr. Prier is a core faculty member with a special interest in well-being. Her career interests include primary care, medical education, and improving well-being among healthcare professionals. She is serving in an expanded role in CIM clinic leadership and the new collaborative Sulzbacher initiative with Mayo Clinic. She also serves as a Trained Peer Supporter for the HELP Program (Healing Emotional Lives of Peers). She is silver certified in the Mayo Clinic Quality Academy.

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Swetha Reddy, M.B.B.S., F.A.S.N.

Swetha Reddy, M.B.B.S., M.D., F.A.S.N.
Core Faculty
Senior Associate Consultant, Critical Care Medicine, Nephrology and Transplantation

Dr Reddy is a core faculty member with a special interest in medical education and diversity, equity and inclusion. Her clinical and research interests include sepsis management and critical care nephrology. She serves as the Chair of Sepsis Workgroup Committee and the Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit Morbidity and Mortality Meetings.

Kamal Shair, M.D., M.Eng.

Kamal Shair, M.D., M.Eng.
Core Faculty
Hospital Internal Medicine

Dr. Shair is a core faculty member with a focus on innovation. His career interests include hospital medicine and medical education. He is gold certified in the Mayo Clinic Quality Academy with interests in high value care, patient safety and experience.

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Michael Smerina, M.D.

Michael Smerina, M.D.
Core Faculty
Consultant, Hospital Internal Medicine

Dr. Smerina is a core faculty member with a special interest in inpatient medicine, health care administration, obesity, and ethics. He serves as a physician adviser and is the clinical vice chair of the hospital internal medicine division.

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Taryn Smith, M.D.

Taryn Smith, M.D.
Core Faculty
Consultant, General Internal Medicine, Women’s Health

Dr. Smith is a core faculty member with a focus on community engagement and women's health. Her career interests include menopause, female sexual health, and complex contraception. She is a North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Certified Menopause Practitioner and serves as a board member of the Mission House.

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Christopher Trautman, M.D.

Christopher Trautman, M.D.
Core Faculty
Consultant, Nephrology and Hypertension

Dr. Trautman is a core faculty member with a focus in medical education, quality improvement, and digital innovation. His career interests include acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, and glomerulonephritis. He serves as the internal medicine residency board review director. 

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Jose Valery, M.D.

Jose Valery, M.D.
Associate Program Director
Consultant, Community Internal Medicine

Dr. Valery is an associate program director and oversees the outpatient rotations for internal medicine residents. He is a primary care physician in Community Internal Medicine. Career interests include preventive health, research ethics, and medical education.

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