ADVENTHEALTH - Key Persons


Adrienne Diaz

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator II Non

Alane Waters

Job Titles:
  • Project Coordinator

Alejandra Petrilli

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Research Scientist

Alex Bologa

Job Titles:
  • IRB Specialist

Alicia Morales

Job Titles:
  • Research Assistant

Amanda Carter

Job Titles:
  • Research Finance Manager

Amanda T. Sawyer

Job Titles:
  • Biobehavioral Research Scientist
  • Research Scientist at the AdventHealth Center for Whole - Person Research
Dr. Amanda Sawyer is a Research Scientist at the AdventHealth Center for Whole-Person Research. Amanda earned a doctoral degree in Public Affairs with a focus in Governance and Public Policy from the University of Central Florida. She also earned a master's degree in International Affairs with a focus in Public Administration from Florida State University and a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Central Florida. She has a background in psychology with specific research expertise in psychoeducational interventions to improve whole-person health and secondary data analysis on multi-level impacts on tobacco use. She is currently the principal investigator on interventional studies to improve mental well-being among clinicians.

Ana Oterino Thompson

Job Titles:
  • Research Admnistrative Coordinator

Andra Loew

Job Titles:
  • IDS Pharmacist

Ann Pokelsek

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator

Bhumi Patel

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator I Non

Bobby Nibhanupudy

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director of Abdominal Transplant

Bonnie Shim

Job Titles:
  • Business Development

Brian Parkin

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Scientist

Brooke Grow

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator

Carole Coyne

Job Titles:
  • Regulatory Specialist

Chantie Garvey

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator

Charles Rowe

Job Titles:
  • Lab Research Assistant

Christina McBride

Job Titles:
  • Research Support Assistant

Christopher A. Davis

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director Research Operations
Dr. Christopher Davis serves as Executive Director Research Operations at AdventHealth, with responsibilities for the Oncology, Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes, Cardiovascular, Neuroscience, Digestive Health Surgical Institute, and Pediatric Research teams. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Davis served as Director for the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes, where he facilitated administrative and operational processes to support the clinical research goals of the department. Dr. Davis earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the College of Medicine at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He then undertook his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Eric Olson at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas where his primary research focus was to better understand the molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular development and disease. Following his postdoctoral training, Dr. Davis joined the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Department at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals where he led efforts to identify and validate novel therapeutic targets for heart failure. Following his tenure at Wyeth, he joined the Hypertension Department within Merck Research Laboratories where he focused on developing, validating, and leveraging pre-clinical models of cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary disease.

Corina Mattix

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator

Cory Rodriguez

Job Titles:
  • Lab Research Assistant

Cristina Molina-Hildago

Job Titles:
  • Research Scientist Postdoctoral Research

Cristina Santiago

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator Non

Daniel Ebele Okobi

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director Behavioral Neurology

Darshana Ullah

Job Titles:
  • IDS Pharmacist

Daryl Osbahr

Job Titles:
  • Research Bookkeeper

David Matthews

Job Titles:
  • IDS Pharmacy Technician

Debbie Ruth

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator

Deogracias R. Peña

Deogracias R. Peña, MD, is an internationally recognized pediatric nephrologist and the founding physician of AdventHealth Medical Group's first-ever pediatric kidney specialty practice in Central Florida. He is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric nephrology, a Certified Clinical Hypertension Specialist and Medical Director of Pediatric Nephrology at Advent Health for Children in Orlando. Dr. Peña earned his medical degree at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. He completed his post-graduate internship and pediatric residency at New York Medical College's Lincoln Medical & Mental Health Center in the Bronx, and his clinical fellowship in pediatric nephrology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville.

Diana Paredes

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Supervisor

Diane Thomas

Job Titles:
  • Business Development Coordinator

Donna Shaver

Job Titles:
  • Research Coordinator

Douglas Ramirez

Job Titles:
  • IDS Pharmacy Technician Supervisor

Dr. Julie Pepe

Job Titles:
  • Biostatistician
  • Senior Manager
  • Orlando in 2010 As a Biostatistician
  • Senior Manager and Biostatistician / Center for Academic Research Excellence
Dr. Julie Pepe joined AdventHealth Orlando in 2010 as a Biostatistician supporting investigator-initiated studies for eighteen different research departments. In 2018, Dr. Pepe was charged with establishing the Center for Collaborative Research, to centralize and expand research support services associated with study development, analysis, and publication. As Senior Manager of the Center for Collaborative Research, Dr. Pepe and her team engage with a wide variety of clinical researchers across the organization, to guide project development and promote high quality standards in data management and statistical analysis. The Center for Collaborative Research's disciplines include, but are not limited to, protocol design, data management, grant writing, statistical analysis, manuscript preparation, medical editing, regulatory submissions, health economics, resident research mentoring, and research education. Dr. Pepe is a voting member of the Research Oversight Committee and the statistical representative of the Cancer Protocol Review Committee. Dr. Pepe previously served as a faculty member of the Statistics Department and Associate Director of the Institute of Statistics at the University of Central Florida. In addition to her numerous papers and publications, Dr. Pepe has been a statistical consultant for prominent organizations such as Coca Cola, Disney, Lockheed Martin, National Aerospace, Nature Conservancy, State of Florida, and the U.S. Army.

Dr. Kevin D. Accola

Job Titles:
  • Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon
Dr. Kevin D. Accola, MD is a board-certified internal medicine, hematology and oncology physician. Dr. Accola earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed his internship and medical residency at Baylor College of Medicine & Emory University School of Medicine. To date, he has performed approximately 9,000 cardiac surgical procedures, of which 2,400 (currently 300+ cases per year) involved heart valve operations. As an established member of the surgical community, Dr. Accola is a member of many medical organizations, including but not limited to, the Patient Advocacy Council, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Florida Medical Association, the Florida Society of Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgeons Council,and the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Accola's cardiac specialties include mitral valve repair, aortic valve procedures, and ascending aortic aneurysm. His clinical interests comprise new valvular technology, cardiac protective drugs, and critical care studies.

Dr. Leslie Pineda

Dr. Leslie Pineda is a board-certified neonatologist whose current research focus is on improving neurological outcomes in the neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) population. She joined AdventHealth for Children in 2016 and has been an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UCF College of Medicine since 2017. Dr. Pineda received her MD from Dartmouth Medical School. She did both her residency and fellowship at Duke, where she was very involved in research and quality improvement projects which resulted in first-author publications and national presentations. Her work addressed the neonatal gastrointestinal microbiome and necrotizing enterocolitis and the benefits of palliative care consults and educational gaps on palliative care in residency training. Concurrent with her neonatology fellowship at Duke, she earned a master's degree in Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she received training in research, epidemiology, leadership, management, and policy. At Duke, she was a certified examiner involved in identifying and enrolling infants in hypothermia trials and cord blood trials. Dr. Pineda has been actively involved in identifying and enrolling infants in multicenter clinical trials for adjunctive therapies to hypothermia for HIE. She has taken the lead to change AdventHealth for Children's current practice to initiate enteral feedings during hypothermia for HIE.

Dr. Patricia Robinson

Job Titles:
  • Scientific Director of Nursing
  • Senior Director of Research
Dr. Patricia Robinson is the Scientific Director of Nursing, Population Health, and Academic Research at AdventHealth Research Institute. She has been a research leader at AdventHealth since 2009, when she left her tenure track academic appointment in the College of Nursing at the University of Central Florida to pursue research fulltime. In 1994, she received her B.S. in Nursing from the University of Central Florida. She did her graduate work at the University of Florida, receiving her M.S. in Nursing in 2000 and her Ph.D. in Nursing in 2006. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her research, leadership, and service. As a highly regarded nurse scientist, she understands the intricacies of the challenges faced by caregivers, the rigorous demands of scientific inquiry, and how to merge the two perspectives. She provides effective leadership by leveraging her 16 years of direct clinical care experience with a sophisticated understanding of methodology gained as a scholar at a leading research university. Dr. Robinson works closely with her teams to develop and implement innovative, data-driven solutions to improve care quality and processes. She has a well-established history of external collaboration projects designed to advance the field of healthcare. Her expertise is complemented with her passion for addressing the needs of the most vulnerable populations. She seeks to identify barriers to care of the stigmatized and medically underserved while working tirelessly to promote public policy changes that impact community health. She continues to distinguish herself as a leader both within AdventHealth and in the broad field of healthcare as a medical ethicist, champion of the underserved, and change maker.

Dr. Steven R. Smith - SVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Scientific Officer
  • Senior Vice President
  • Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of AdventHealth Guiding the Research Vision for AdventHealth
Dr. Steven R. Smith is the Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of AdventHealth guiding the research vision for AdventHealth across the system. AdventHealth is a multi-state hospital system with 50 hospital campuses, more than 1,200 care sites and over 80,000 team members. Dr. Smith's oversight includes all research operations, services and oversight for the nine states in which we serve. Dr. Smith earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas in 1988. Smith completed his residency in internal medicine at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas and subsequently completed a two-year fellowship in clinical endocrinology and metabolism at the Ochsner Clinic and Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a faculty member at Pennington Biomedical Research Center for 15 years prior to joining AdventHeaIth.

Eduardo Oliveira

Job Titles:
  • Physician Investigator

Fahimeh Amnieh

Job Titles:
  • Research Services Admin Specialist

Fredericka Vertinord

Job Titles:
  • Research Budget Specialist

Georg Wiese

Job Titles:
  • Surgical Resident

Ginnette Guzman

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator Non

Gyongyi Diosomito

Job Titles:
  • Research Budget Specialist

Hayley Nielsen

Job Titles:
  • Surgery Lab Research Assistant

Heather Osorio

Job Titles:
  • Manager Research Support QA

Hector F. Lozano

Job Titles:
  • Cardiologist

Indira Abraham-Pratt

Job Titles:
  • Child Clinical Health Psychologist
Dr. Abraham-Pratt is a licensed psychologist specializing in the psychological aspects of weight management problems in children. Her goal is to help improve kids' self-esteem and overall mental health while putting them on track for healthy lifestyle choices through adulthood. Dr. Pratt earned her doctorate degree in counseling psychology from the University of Miami in Coral Gables. She completed her internship in clinical child psychology at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine / Mailman Center for Child Development and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical child and pediatric psychology at the same location. Awards & Recognition Orlando Magazine, 2016 & 2017 Premier Doctor Awards Differentiators Dr. Pratt is board certified as a health psychologist by the American Board of Professional Psychology and specializes in pediatric psychology. She has certified training by the American Diabetes Association's Mental Health Provider Diabetes Education Program and is part of the Children's Hospital Association and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Healthy Weight Expert Exchange. She has been part of several AdventHealth CREATION Health initiatives thus far.

Indrani E. Acosta

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director, Vascular Neurology Specialist
Dr. Acosta is bilingual, being fluent in both English and Spanish and is passionate about serving a broad patient group across Central Florida. She completed her residency in neurology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine and was the recipient of the Outstanding Dedication & Commitment in Stroke award. She is currently pursuing her fellowship in Stroke at the University of Texas, Health Science Center at Houston. She is a member of the American Heart Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Neurology and the American Medical Association. She and the physicians at Tri-Country Neurology provide comprehensive neurological care at Florida Hospital Apopka, Altamonte, Orlando, East Orlando and Winter Park.

Jack Ramsberger

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator Non

Janice Lopez

Job Titles:
  • Research Engagement Program Specialist

Janice Popovic

Job Titles:
  • Research Budget Specialist

Jay Redan

Job Titles:
  • General Surgeon
Jay Redan, MD, FACS, is a pioneer in the field of minimally invasive, laparoscopic surgery and one of Central Florida's most respected general surgeons with over 20 years of experience. His unsurpassed expertise in robotic, single-site, incisionless and endoscopic surgical techniques helps make AdventHealth Celebration - where he serves as Medical Director of Minimally Invasive General Surgery and directs the Chronic Abdominal and Pelvic Pain Program - a destination health resource for patients across the state of Florida and beyond. A recognized leader in his field, Dr. Redan has served as President of the Society of Laparoscopic Surgeons and actively participates in many of the country's most prestigious medical associations. His obvious dedication to his patients has also earned him multiple Patient's Choice Awards.

Jeffery S. Magnuson

Job Titles:
  • Co - Medical Director ( Head & Neck ), Otolaryngologist

Jennifer Lyden

Job Titles:
  • Manager Clinical Research Operations

Jennifer Pelley

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator

Jennifer Restrepo

Job Titles:
  • Research Budget Specialist

Jesse Hevia

Job Titles:
  • CF - Research Operations Program Manager

Jessica El Meskouri

Job Titles:
  • Regulatory Specialist

John Noone

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Research Scientist

Jonah White

Job Titles:
  • Surgical Resident

Jonathan Lin

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Data Operations Manager

Julia Saxton

Job Titles:
  • Lab Research Assistant Translational Cancer

Julien Nogues

Job Titles:
  • Business Development Manager, Research Partnerships II
Julien Nogues leads the internal business development team for the AdventHealth Research Institute. As the Business Development Manager, Julien navigates sponsor and investigator-initiated research projects seeking sponsor funding from the concept stage by partnering with emerging drug development and biopharma companies. Prior to accepting this position, Julien managed the pursuit of AdventHealth's National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation, the launch of the Moffitt-AdventHealth clinical research unit (CRU) in Celebration, and the continued success of the MCC-AH Joint Research Operational Committee (JROC). Julien has more than 10 years' experience in clinical research, data management, data analytics and forecasting, and patient care. Julien earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Florida and is pursuing his MBA at Louisiana State University, Shreveport campus. He holds professional certifications as an Agile Certified Scrum Master, Smartsheet Certified Product Certification & Project Management Solutions, and PROSCI Change Management Practitioner. Julien is bilingual and actively serves on multiple community leadership boards.

Kaitlin Mayberry

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator

Kara Peterson

Job Titles:
  • Agreements Specialist

Karen White

Job Titles:
  • Research Compliance Analyst - Study Conduct

Kenny Andre

Job Titles:
  • Research Budget Specialist

Keren Porres

Job Titles:
  • Research Support Assistant

Kimberly Cartwright

Job Titles:
  • Research Regulatory Specialist

Kimberly Stark

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator II

Konda M. Reddy

Job Titles:
  • Pediatric Endocrinologist
Konda Reddy, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician and pediatric endocrinologist at AdventHealth Medical Group's pediatric diabetes and endocrinology practice and AdventHealth for Children. He has over a quarter-century of experience and is nationally known for his expertise in inherited metabolism and bone metabolic diseases. Dr. Reddy's credentials include his medical degree received from Kurnool Medical College in India, his residency training at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (Mt. Sinai School of Medicine) and his subspecialty fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology and metabolism at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. His board certification includes pediatrics, pediatric endocrinology and metabolism, child health and clinical densitometry.

Lindy Moore

Job Titles:
  • Exercise Physiology Manager

Lisa Ambrosini

Job Titles:
  • Supervisor Research Billing Tier I Review

Magdalini Finelli

Job Titles:
  • CF - Program Manager - IDO

Maggie Warrington

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator II

Mala Machado

Job Titles:
  • IDS Clinical Specialist

Manuel R. Perez-Izquierdo

Job Titles:
  • Vascular Surgeon
Manuel Perez-Izquierdo, MD, is a board-certified vascular surgeon who specializes in endovascular surgery, arterial and venous diseases and non-operative and minimally invasive procedures. He is an Assistant Chief of Staff at AdventHealth in Orlando and has more than a decade of experience providing customized surgical treatments with outstanding patient outcomes. Dr. Izquierdo is a graduate of the Universidad Central de Caribe School of Medicine in Puerto Rico and carried out his residency training at both Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami and Orlando Regional Medical Center. He received his advanced fellowship training in vascular surgery and research at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey.

Marcus Ospina

Job Titles:
  • Research Support Assistant

Maria F. Pino

Job Titles:
  • Research Scientist

Maria Rueda

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator Non

Mark E. Ranson

Job Titles:
  • Vascular Surgeon
Mark Ranson, MD, FACS, is a board-certified vascular surgeon specializing in the care of patients with arterial, abdominal aortic, and thoracic aneurysms; carotid artery disease; lower extremity pain and circulation disorders; leg artery blockages; and peripheral vascular disease. His access to the advanced diagnostic tools and capabilities of a thoroughly modern vascular laboratory is a great advantage to his patients at AdventHealth Medical Group's vascular surgery practice that is located right next door to AdventHealth Orlando. He provides surgical, minimally invasive and non-operative treatments tailored to each patient's specific condition and needs. Dr. Ranson is a graduate of the West Virginia School of Medicine in Morgantown and carried out his residency training at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC, prior to undergoing his advanced fellowship training in vascular and endovascular surgery at New York University School of Medicine.

Mary Vance

Job Titles:
  • Research Regulatory Specialist Supervisor

Melanie Percy

Job Titles:
  • Research Compliance Analyst - Study Conduct

Michael D. Seidman

Michael D. Seidman, MD, FACS, is board certified in otolaryngology and neurotologic surgery. He received his medical degree from the University of Michigan and is an expert on the molecular basis of aging, noise-induced hearing loss, otologic/ neurotologic skull base surgery, all aspects of ear, nose and throat surgery, and complementary/integrative medicine such as herbal therapies, nutrition and antioxidants and their relationship to health, sports and aging. Dr. Seidman is extensively published in the literature, has been funded by the NIH and other sources since 1986, and lectures internationally on his areas of expertise. The American Academy of Otolarangology- Head and Neck Surgery honored him with the Clinical Practitioner Excellence Award. He was also appointed by the Governor of Michigan to oversee a medical board on hearing issues, and works with the Department of Defense providing consultation on hearing disorders in members of the U.S. Armed Forces. He has published three books, holds multiple patents, and is one of only a handful of surgeons in the U.S. credentialed to implant fully implantable hearing devices.

Michael Gregg

Job Titles:
  • Surgical Resident

Michelle McKinney

Job Titles:
  • IRB Specialist

Mitesh Lotia

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director and Neurologist

Mohan Govindappa

Job Titles:
  • CF - Program Manager Systems & Data

Nancy Eldred

Job Titles:
  • Data Abstractor

Natalie Reyes

Job Titles:
  • Research Coordinator
Natalie Reyes grew up in the small Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. She attended the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus and obtained a BS degree, with high honors (magna cum laude), in General Biology. Natalie moved to Houston TX where she completed a two year post baccalaureate program in bacterial antibiotic resistance and the cell division process of S. pombe. She was then accepted to the Integrative Molecular and Biomedical Sciences doctoral program. Natalie's thesis focused on the role of the estrogen receptor alpha in the metastatic process of Estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. During her years as a basic research scientist, Natalie developed the necessary skills to design, conduct and analyze various assays to determine how breast cancer cells migrate and invade when exposed to estrogen and anti-estrogens. Once she graduated, Natalie desired to have a more meaningful and direct impact on patient care and decided to pursue a career in clinical research. During her year as a clinical research coordinator at Ben Taub Hospital, Natalie managed two clinical trials with patients with tuberculosis. She is currently working as a clinical research coordinator for Radiology Specialists of Florida in AdventHealth in Orlando.

Nathalie Pedraza

Job Titles:
  • PRMS Coordinator

Naushad A. Shaik

Dr. Naushad Shaik is an experienced Cardiac Electrophysiologist and Cardiologist who joined Cardiovascular Associates in 2009. He specializes in performing complex ablation procedures for arrhythmias which include supraventricular arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmias, device implantations- pacemakers and defibrillators. He also specializes in placement of the watchman device. He completed his Internal medicine residency at Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA, following which he did his fellowship in Cardiology at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston and then undertook an advanced two-year Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology fellowship at Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA. He has an excellent record of clinical and research accomplishments and has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals in many topics germane to cardiac electrophysiology. He is currently the primary investigator/ co-investigator in several national and international trials involving catheter ablation, new device therapies and technology. His academic roles include serving as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Central Florida School of Medicine in Orlando, FL. Dr Shaik is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the Heart Rhythm Society. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Chapter of the American College of Cardiology

Nery Rodriguez

Job Titles:
  • Research Bookkeeper

Nesa Downard

Job Titles:
  • PRMS Coordinator Lead

Nicole Ruiz

Job Titles:
  • Grants Ops Program Manager

Nicole Warner

Job Titles:
  • Research Regulatory Support Supervisor

Patricia Spencer

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Trial Application Specialist

Petronio Martins

Job Titles:
  • Research Operations Manager

Quilin Mars

Job Titles:
  • Senior Sponsored Programs Analyst

Rachelle Nemorin

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Trial Application Transcript

Rebecca Prevost

Job Titles:
  • Manager for Investigational Drugs Services
Rebecca Prevost is the Manager for Investigational Drugs Services for the 10-campus AdventHealth System in Central Florida and Manager of the Infusion Center at AdventHealth Celebration. She has also served as Senior Director and Medication Safety Officer, and was the founding Director of Pharmacy for AdventHealth Celebration. Rebecca received her B.S. and Pharm.D. degrees from Mercer University School of Pharmacy, and completed a pharmacy practice residency at the VA Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to relocating to Florida, Rebecca served as the clinical pharmacist for Women's and Neonatal Services at the Regional Medical Center in Memphis, and as Associate Professor, University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy.

Renee Rogers

Job Titles:
  • Senior Research Scientist
  • Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine
Dr. Rogers is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and the Chair of ACSM's Strategic Health Initiative (SHI) for Behavior and Program Chair of ACSM's International Health and Fitness Summit. She blends her background in theater and production with her formal academic training in Exercise Physiology, Behavior Change, and Weight Management to develop and implement innovative health promotion, physical activity and weight management initiatives to promote well-being, reduce sedentary behavior and increase physical activity engagement. Dr. Rogers has clinical research and translational expertise in the areas of developing and implementing lifestyle behavior-based weight management trials, many of which have integrated technology and media. Dr. Rogers has been developing technology-based interventions using media and video since 2010 creating successful video interventions related to physical activity with progressive strategies for engaging different population groups including older adults, young adults/weight loss, and participants learning yoga. She has also adapted a media intervention into Italian for a project that ran in the US and in Italy. Through these projects, outcomes of engagement, adherence, along with cardiovascular fitness, strength, physical function, cognition and quality of life are being studied. Dr. Rogers has been asked to Blog on trends and behavior-related and weight management strategies for ACSM, and she has also provided professional comment for popular media outlets such as WSJ, Good Housekeeping, Prevention and many others. Beyond research publications, Dr. Rogers has recently written for The Conversation US where her piece on strategies for staying physically active during quarantine was reprinted in over 50 media outlets. Dr. Rogers is regularly invited to speak on the engagement strategies and intervention design related to building and enhancing a physically active lifestyle. Dr. Rogers received her B.S. in Exercise Science from Youngstown State University and her Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Pittsburgh.

Richard E. Pratley

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director at the AdventHealth Diabetes Institute, Senior Investigator, Diabetes Program Lead at the Translational Research Institute
Richard Pratley, MD, is a board-certified internal medicine physician and nationally recognized diabetes expert with advanced training in gerontology, geriatrics and clinical physiology and metabolism. He sees patients at AdventHealth Medical Group's diabetes and endocrine specialty practice in Orlando and The Villages while also serving as the Medical Director of the AdventHealth Diabetes Institute and as a senior scientist in diabetes research for AdventHealth. He is a leading authority on new and emerging treatments for diabetes and its comorbidities, which is why many area physicians refer their patients to him for advanced diabetes care. Dr. Pratley earned his medical degree at Wayne State University in Detroit and undertook his residency at the University of Michigan. He next completed three consecutive fellowships in clinical physiology and metabolism, gerontology and geriatrics, and geriatrics at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Michigan, respectively.

Rita Emerson

Job Titles:
  • Research Dietitian

Rob Herzog

Job Titles:
  • Vice President of AdventHealth 's Research Institute
  • Vice President, Adventhealth Research Institute & Nicholson Center
Rob Herzog serves as the Vice President of AdventHealth's Research Institute and Nicholson Center, leading oversight and operations of research activities, as well as clinical and surgical training and education. The Research Institute includes the clinical research operations for eleven therapeutically focused research teams across AdventHealth: , including Cancer Research, Cardiovascular Research, Neuroscience Research and the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes, with a total portfolio of more than 600+ active clinical studies at any given time. During his tenure, Rob has established new infrastructure to facilitate high-impact clinical research including launching the Office of Sponsored Programs, the Office of Research Integrity and Research Data Services Core, a core service designed to leverage the scale of the AdventHealth System-wide ‘data lake' with the goal to use rapid learning to advance discovery and improve the health of our communities.

Robin Michaels

Job Titles:
  • Research Support Assistant

Ryan Mizell

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director, Multiple Sclerosis Neurologist

Sam Pierre Louis

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator II - Non

Samantha Roberts

Job Titles:
  • Research Support Assistant

Sameera Shaban

Job Titles:
  • Research Support Specialist

Sarah Lafortune

Job Titles:
  • ORI Support Specialist

Scott J. Pollak

Scott J Pollack, MD., F.A.C.C, is an eminently qualified cardiologist who is board certified in clinical electrophysiology, internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology. He received his undergraduate and Medical degree at Indiana University of Medicine and continued his training with a fellowship at American College of Cardiology. He then joined the Central Florida Cardiology Group, where he has been a member since 1987.

Sekai Northern

Job Titles:
  • Research Billing & Compliance Supervisor

Shanell Mejia

Job Titles:
  • Research Regulatory Specialist

Shannon Roof

Job Titles:
  • Registrar

Sierra Reed

Job Titles:
  • Research Support Assistant

Sonya Robinson

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Monitor

Stacy Fogg-Smith

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Monitor - Oncology

Tamara Rosario

Job Titles:
  • Research Admin Coordinator

Tarek M. Mekhail

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director ( Thoracic Cancer ), Medical Oncologist

Tina Sylva

Job Titles:
  • Research Assistant

Torfay Roman

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director Fatty Liver Disease
Torfay Sharifnia Roman, MD, joined the AdventHealth Transplant Institute, formerly Florida Hospital Transplant Institute, in October 2014 as a Transplant Hepatologist. She completed her Internal Medicine residency training at Boston University Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. She subsequently completed her Gastroenterology fellowship, as well as a advanced fellowship in Transplant Hepatology, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. She is triple board certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Transplant Hepatology. Dr. Roman cares for patients requiring treatment for liver related diseases, including those with end stage liver failure/cirrhosis needing liver transplantation. Her clinical specialties include management of patients with viral hepatitis, NASH/fatty liver, autoimmune liver disease, genetic liver diseases, alcohol mediated disease, liver cancer and cirrhosis. She also specializes in treating patients who require liver transplantation and manages their long-term post-transplant care. She provides endoscopic evaluation for those needing EGDs and colonoscopies. She is a member of the American Association of the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and American Society of Transplantation (AST).

Tracey Purvis

Job Titles:
  • Program Manager, Study Intake

Usman R. Siddiqui

Usman Rasheed Siddiqui, MD, is a board-certified cardiologist with training in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, clinical care electrophysiology and nuclear cardiology. After earning his medical degree from Dow Medical College in Pakistan, Dr. Siddiqui completed his internal medicine residency at both the University of Iowa in Iowa City and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. He completed his clinical cardiac electrophysiology fellowship at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Siddiqui says his goal is always to treat patients like family and increase the quality of their lives.

Vanessa Raymond Espera

Job Titles:
  • Research Regulatory Support Specialist

Vipul Patel

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director of Global Robotics
Dr. Patel is a board-certified urologist who has performed more robotic surgeries than any other surgeon worldwide, including more than 17,000 robotic prostatectomies to date. As Medical Director of the Global Robotics Institute at AdventHealth and Director of Urologic Oncology at AdventHealth Cancer Institute, he specializes in minimally invasive, robotic-assisted procedures to address cancers of the bladder, kidneys and prostate and reconstruct elements of the urinary system. A recognized authority in his field, Dr. Patel devotes considerable energy to helping train fellow surgeons around the world in the use of the latest robotic surgical techniques and tools in order to improve patient care and outcomes. He teaches advanced courses in robotic surgery for the American Urologic Association and is an active Professor of Urology at the University of Central. He also retains honorary professorships at several prestigious international universities and medical societies, including the University of Milan, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Asian School of Urology, Ricardo Palma University College of Medicine in Peru, Korea University Hospital and the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and he has provided robotic surgery instruction or helped create new robotic surgery programs at numerous medical teaching facilities worldwide. Dr. Patel has co-authored or contributed to more than a dozen medical textbooks on topics including robotic surgery, minimally invasive urologic procedures, prostate cancer, robotic prostatectomy, emerging surgical technology, robotics in genitourinary surgery and others, and his work has appeared in more than 100 peer-reviewed medical journals. Prior to joining AdventHealth, Dr. Patel served as Director of the Center for Robotic and Computer-Assisted Surgery and as an Associate Professor of Urology and Bioinformatics at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Patel has been designated as one of America's Top Doctors® and as one of America's Top Urologists by Castle Connolly Medical and U.S. News & World Report, establishing him as among the top 1 percent of doctors nationwide. He is also a founder and director of the International Prostate Cancer Foundation and a founding editor and editor emeritus of the Journal of Robotic Surgery. Dr. Patel earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Texas and completed a urology residency and subsequent urology fellowship at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Florida. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Virginia Calvo-Torres

Job Titles:
  • Research Regulatory Supervisor

Wassim Mchayleh

Job Titles:
  • Medical Oncologist

Wilfred Onyia

Job Titles:
  • Physician Investigator

William Oh

Job Titles:
  • Scientific Medical Director

Yolanda Morales

Job Titles:
  • IDS Pharmacy Technician

Yury O. Nunez-Lopez

Job Titles:
  • Research Scientist

Yva Luc

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Research Coordinator Non

Zaymis Mejia


Zilane Morancy