Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock Cardiovascular Disease people

Jose Suarez, MD

Program Director

Cardiologist, Associate Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock

Leela Lella, MD

Program Director - Cardiology

Cardiologist at Midland Memorial Hospital

Leigh Jenkins, MD

Cardiology Division Chief

Cardiologist, Clinical Professor HSC at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock

Matthew Molinar

Fellowship Coordinator

Matthew Molinar is a Fellowship Coordinator at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He is listed as the staff contact on the Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology fellowship pages.

Aliakbar Arvandi, MD

Associate Professor; Former Program Director

Cardiologist, Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock

Aliakbar Arvandi

Program Director, Cardiology Fellowship

Aliakbar Arvandi earned his medical degree at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and completed internal medicine residency and cardiovascular disease fellowship at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. He is a professor of internal medicine, directs the cardiology fellowship, and practices with Texas Tech Physicians. His conference presentations address cardiovascular imaging in heart failure, and his publications include echocardiography and ventricular function. He received the School of Medicine’s OS1 Block Teaching Award for 2023–2024.

Brandon Rogers, MD

Interventional Cardiology Fellowship

Brandon Rogers earned his medical degree at Ross University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease at Texas Tech in Lubbock, followed by advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology at UT Southwestern. He is listed as a Resident Instructor 8th Year and a Lubbock cardiology specialist, with interventional fellowship dates unresolved. His clinical areas include heart failure, transplantation and interventional cardiology. His peers selected him as an internal medicine chief resident.

Cristian Valdez

Resident Instructor 6th Year

Cristian Valdez is a Resident Instructor 6th Year in the Internal Medicine Department in Lubbock at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Deephak Swaminath, MD, MBA

Assistant Professor

Cardiologist, Adjunct Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock

Deephak Swaminath, MD, MBA

Program Director, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship

Deephak Swaminath trained at Stanley Medical College, completed internal medicine residency at Texas Tech, cardiology fellowship at Summa Health/NEOMED, and electrophysiology training at Yale. He is a cardiac electrophysiologist, Assistant Professor and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship Program Director at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. His work centers on arrhythmia ablation, device therapy and integrating clinical care with operational innovation. He also holds an MBA from Rawls College of Business and performs over 350 atrial fibrillation ablations annually.

Integrating clinical excellence with operational innovation

Douglas Lopez, MD

Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship

Cardiovascular Disease fellow, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Felipe Martignoni

Class of 2027

Internal Medicine resident, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock

Jason B Wischmeyer, MD

Clinical Associate Professor

Jason B Wischmeyer trained at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Mid America Heart Institute. He is a clinical associate professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and an interventional cardiologist in Lubbock. His cardiovascular prevention practice centers on early detection of atherosclerotic plaque and management of heart attack and stroke risk, using the Bale/Doneen Method. Before moving to Lubbock, he practiced for nine years at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

Jose Alejandro Suarez

Program Director

Jose Alejandro Suarez graduated from Universidad De El Salvador Facultad De Medicina in 1996 and completed training listed as residency at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He is now an associate professor in its Internal Medicine Department in Lubbock and directs its Cardiology Fellowship. His clinical practice encompasses interventional cardiology, cardiology and internal medicine. His publications include case reports on coronary artery abnormalities, cardiomyopathy associated with hyperthyroidism, and artery of Percheron infarction after coronary angiography.

Khush Dadhania, MD

Cardiovascular Disease Fellow

Cardiovascular Disease fellow, Texas Tech University HSC El Paso

Laura Reyes

Class of 2028

Internal Medicine resident, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock

Leigh Ann Ann Jenkins, MD

Program Director, Cardiology Fellowship

Leigh Ann Ann Jenkins earned her medical degree at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 1983 and completed cardiovascular disease fellowship training at Louisiana State University. She is a clinical professor, chief of cardiology and cardiology fellowship program director at her medical school, and practices with Texas Tech Physicians in Lubbock. Her clinical work centers on interventional cardiology. She received the School of Medicine’s Dean’s Distinguished Service Award in 2012 for service to the institution and community.

Calcium-entry interactions in normal and failing heart

Natnicha Leelaviwat

Resident Instructor 6th Year

Natnicha Leelaviwat is listed as a Resident Instructor 6th Year in the Internal Medicine Department at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. She coauthored a 2025 Journal of Arrhythmia study examining bradycardia and atrioventricular conduction disorders in patients with type 2 myocardial infarction, using nationwide inpatient data to evaluate incidence and hospital outcomes.

Bradycardia and atrioventricular conduction disorders in type 2 myocardial infarction

Natnicha Leelaviwat

Class of 2027

Internal Medicine resident, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock

Sandrine Defeu, MD

Class of 2027

General practice physician at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock

Scott Shurmur, MD

Professor; Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Director

Cardiologist, Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock

Scott Webster Shurmur, MD

Program Director, Interventional Cardiology Fellowship

Scott Webster Shurmur earned his medical degree at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and completed internal medicine residency and cardiovascular disease fellowship at New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston. He is a professor and internal medicine chair at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, where he directs the interventional cardiology fellowship and practices with Texas Tech Physicians. His work includes cardiovascular prevention, lipid disorders and cardiac rehabilitation. He belonged to the inaugural 2005 class certified by the American Board of Clinical Lipidology.

Comprehensive medical management to improve long-term outcomes in peripheral artery disease, Cardiac rehabilitation and cardiovascular risk reduction, Prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events after myocardial infarction, Adjunct lipid-lowering therapy for homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia

Ty Whisenant, MD/PhD

Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship

Ty Whisenant studied biochemistry at Texas Tech University and Texas State University before completing an MD/PhD in Molecular Biophysics at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He now practices cardiology and internal medicine in Lubbock and is listed as an eighth-year resident instructor. His doctoral research examined cardiac ion channels and electrical conduction, and he has expressed interest in genetic predispositions to arrhythmias. Before graduate medical training, he worked as a contract laboratory technician during the H1N1 pandemic.

Renal sodium channels and hypertension, Cardiac ion channels and electrical conduction, Genetic predispositions to arrhythmias and cardiac electrical-activity proteins

Zhaunn Mikhail Sly, MD

Assistant Professor

Zhaunn Mikhail Sly earned his medical degree at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in 2017. He is an assistant professor in the institution's Internal Medicine Department in Lubbock and an interventional cardiology physician with Texas Tech Physicians. His practice centers on cardiology and interventional cardiology, and his publications include case reports on myocarditis and patent foramen ovale closure. UMC Health System named him House Staff of the Month in March 2021.