UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute adds 12 oncologists to staff

The UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute has added 12 oncologists to its staff.

“We are in a period of significant growth at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and are proud to welcome 12 talented physicians joining us in July. Six of these doctors will treat outpatients at our clinics, allowing more Arkansans to access our world-class cancer treatment. The remaining six will serve as hospitalists for cancer patients in the UAMS hospital,” said Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., UAMS vice chancellor and Cancer Institute director.

The institute is also on a mission to be recognized as a National Cancer Institute, a designation that could lead to more federal funding, clinical trials and a body of researchers.

The following fellowship-trained oncologists will treat outpatients in the Cancer Institute clinics:

Jibran Ahmed, M.D.
Specialty: Gastrointestinal cancer
Ahmed is a graduate of King Edward Medical University in Pakistan and completed his residency in internal medicine at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County Chicago. He recently completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at Westchester Medical Center/New York Medical College.

Sajjad Bhatti, M.D.
Specialty: Lung cancer
Bhatti earned his medical degree from the Aga Khan University Medical College in Pakistan. After completing his residency in internal medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center, he was fellowship trained in hematology/oncology at the University of Kansas Cancer Center.

Abhijit Godbole, M.D., Ph.D.
Specialty: Hematology, autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplant and cellular therapy
Godbole earned his medical degree from B.J. Medical School in Pune, India, and his Ph.D. in molecular oncology from the University of Maryland. He completed his fellowship training in the UAMS Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, where he served as chief fellow.

Joyce Habib, M.D.
Specialty: Breast cancer
After earning her medical degree from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, Habib completed a fellowship in medical oncology at Baylor Medical Center and a residency in internal medicine at Ohio State University. She previously served as the head of Healthbay Polyclinic Oncology Center in Dubai, UAE.

Erika Horta, M.D.
Specialty: Neuro-oncology
Horta earned her medical degree at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, where she also served a residency in neurology and completed a clinical fellowship in neuro-immunology. She completed a fellowship in research at the Neuro-immunology Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and a clinical fellowship in neuro-oncology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Horta also served a residency in neurology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Jumin Sunde, M.D.
Specialty: Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery
After earning his medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sunde served both his internship and residency at UAMS. He was fellowship trained in head and neck oncologic and microvascular surgery at the University of Michigan. Prior to returning to UAMS, he served as an assistant professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

The following hospitalists are joining UAMS and will treat cancer patients in the UAMS hospital:

Sravani Gundarlapalli, M.D.
Gundarlapalli earned her medical degree from Kurnool Medical School in India and served her residency in internal medicine at St. Joseph’s Mercy Oakland Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan. She previously was a hospitalist at Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin, Georgia.

James Lopez, M.D.
Lopez is a graduate of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. He completed a residency in internal medicine at UAMS.

Yetunde Ogunsesan, M.D.
Ogunsesan earned her medical degree from the University of Ilorin in Nigeria and completed her residency in internal medicine at Rochester General Hospital in New York.

Yadav Pandey, M.D.
Pandey is a graduate of Katmandu Medical School in Nepal and served his residency in internal medicine at UAMS.

Prasanth Sadaram, M.D.
Sadaram graduated from Rangaraya Medical College in Kakinada, India. He completed a residency in internal medicine at BronxCare Health System (Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) and is a graduate of the UAMS Geriatrics Fellowship Program.

Lakshmi Yarlagadda, M.D.
Yarlagadda previously served as a hospitalist at the Southeastern Region Medical Center in Lumberton, North Carolina, and as an internal medicine faculty member at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. She is a graduate of NRI Medical School in Andhra Pradesh, India, and completed her residency in internal medicine at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C.