New Faculty Introductions 2024-2025

bushes and trees reflecting against a building

Welcome to West Texas!

The School of Medicine has a passion to provide a prodigious education for our medical students, residents and fellows, along with improving health outcomes in the most unreached, underserved communities in West Texas and around the world. We are excited to have you on board to further our mission.

Amarillo Campus

Steven Burgess, MD, MBA

Clinical Assistant Professor

Graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, Texas - MD
Graduate of Jack Welch Management Institute - MBA
Board Certified in:
- Family Medicine

Beverly Axe-Lewis, DO

Clinical Assistant Professor

Graduate of University of Osteopathic Medicine & Health Sciences, Des Moines, Iowa
Board Certified in:
- Family Medicine

Jenny Kim Nguyen, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas
Residency in Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, Tucson, Arizona

Alexis Borden, DO

Assistant Professor

Graduate of West Virginia School, Lewisburg, West Virginia
Board Certified in:
- Ostetrics and Gynecology

Jennifer Milner, MD

Associate Professor

Graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas
Board Certified in:
- Pediatrics

Lubbock Campus

Christopher Daniele, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, St. Maarten
Board Certified in:
- Anesthesiology

Tyson Verhaal, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Ross University School of Medicine, Dominica/Miramar, Florida
Board Certified in:
- Anesthesiology
- Critical Care Medicine

Malaiyalam Mariappan, PhD

Associate Professor

Doctorate in Biochemistry, University of Göttingen, Germany

Devaraja Rajasekaran, PhD

Research Assistant Professor

PhD Fellowship in Medical Biochemistry, University of Madras, Tamilnadu, India
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Human & Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

Quynh Hoa Do, PhD

Research Assistant Professor

Graduate of Heinrich-Hein-University, Dusseldorf, Germany in Structural Biology

Alba Posligua, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Catholic University of Santiago of Guayaquil / Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador
Board Certified in:
- Dermatology

Karthickrajkumar Kariamanickam, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Govt. Stanley Medical College, India
Residency in Internal Medicine, Bronx Care Health System, Bronx, New York

Noriko Merida Morales, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas
Residency in Family and Community Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas

Marsha Perales-Hull, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas
Fellowship in Hospice & Palliative Care, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas
Residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas

Soo Chan Lee, PhD

Associate Professor

Graduate of Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Postdoctoral Fellow/Senior Research Associate, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina

Hakan Akin, MD

Professor

Graduate of Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
Fellowship in Gastroenterology, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey
Residency in Internal Medicine, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey

Richardo Franco, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas
Board Certified in:
- Internal Medicine

Barbara Mantilla, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador
Board Certified in:
- Pulmonary Disease
- Internal Medicine

Leo Yamaguchi, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Creighton University School of Medicine (CUSOM), Omaha, Nebraska
Board Certified in:
- Internal Medicine

Khaliq Ahmad, DVM, PhD

Associate Professor

Graduate of Cornell University, Ithaca, New York - PhD
Graduate of University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan - DVM

Shelly Hook, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas-MD
Graduate of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas-PhD
Board Certified in:
- Obstetrics & Gynecology

Brent Nall, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of University of Texas-Southwestern, Dallas, Texas
Board Certified in:
- Obstetrics & Gynecology

Kristen Patterson, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Texas A & M University, Temple, Texas
Board Certified in:
- Obstetrics & Gynecology

David Rogers, MD, MBA

Associate Professor

Graduate of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas-MD
Graduate of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas-MBA
Board Certified in:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology

Aubrey L. White, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, Houston, Texas
Residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology, John Peter Smith Hospital, Fort Worth, Texas

Matthew Kraeutler, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, West Virginia
Board Certified in:
- Orthopaedic Surgery

Kevin Purcell, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Fairborn, Ohio
Graduate of State University of New York (SUNY) at Downstate Medical Center - MPH
Fellowship in Orthopedic Trauma, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
Residency in Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi

Geetanjali Singh Rathore, MD

Professor

Graduate of Dr. Sampurnanand Medical College, Jodhpur, India
Board Certified in:
- Pediatrics
- Neurology with Special Qualifications in Child Neurology (ABPN)
- Epilepsy – American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology

Ram Gobburu, MD

Associate Professor

Graduate of College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Board Certified in:
- Pediatrics

Aric F. Logsdon, PhD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV - PhD

John Cooley, PhD

Clinical Assistant Professor

Graduate of University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
Fellowship in Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado

Marina Chavez, MD

Associate Professor

Graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas
Board Certified in:
- Psychiatry

Raja Kiani, MD

Associate Professor

Graduate of University Medical College, Pakistan
Fellowship/Residency in Pediatrics/Psychiatry/Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana

Laurel Wolfe Zarnoth, PsyD, LP

Assistant Professor

Graduate of Spalding University-Clinical Child, Adolescent, & Family Track, Louisville, Kentucky
Fellowship in Child & Adolescent Psychology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas

Collin Gandillon, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of St. George’s University, St. George’s Grenada, West Indies
Board Certified in:
- General & Vascular Surgery

Tabitha Threatt headshot

Tabitha Threatt, MD

Assistant Professor

Graduate of McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas
Board Certified in:
- General Surgery
- Surgical Critical Care

Odessa Campus

Vani Selvan, MD

Associate Professor

Graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, Texas
Board Certified in:
- Family Medicine

James Tarin, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor

Graduate of University of Texas Southwestern Medical School - MD
Board Certified in:
- Family Medicine

Joesph Shayeb, MD

Associate Professor

Graduate of Magna Cum Laude, Catholic University of Lille, France - MD
Board Certified in:
- Internal Medicine
- Critical Care Medicine

Jessica Gillen, MD

Clinical Associate Professor

Graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas
Board Certified in:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Gynecologic Oncology

Alaa A. Eldemerdash, MD

Professor

Graduate of Ain Shams University, School of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt
Board Certified in:
- Pediatrics
- Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine

Rajendra Badgaiyan, MD, MBA

Professor

Graduate of Barkatullah University, Bhopal Madhya Pradesh, India - MD
Graduate of University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama - MBA
Board Certified in:
- Psychiatry
- Neurology
- Addiction Medicine

Gail Johnson, MD

Associate Professor

Graduate of University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, Texas
Fellowship in Child Psychiatry, Austin State Hospital, Texas
Residency in General Psychiatry, University of Oklahoma, Tulsa Medical College School of Medicine

New Faculty Introductions 2024-2025

Welcome to West Texas!

Amarillo Campus

Steven Burgess, MD, MBA

Beverly Axe-Lewis, DO

Jenny Kim Nguyen, MD

Alexis Borden, DO

Jennifer Milner, MD

Lubbock Campus

Christopher Daniele, MD

Tyson Verhaal, MD

Malaiyalam Mariappan, PhD

Devaraja Rajasekaran, PhD

Quynh Hoa Do, PhD

Alba Posligua, MD

Karthickrajkumar Kariamanickam, MD

Noriko Merida Morales, MD

Marsha Perales-Hull, MD

Soo Chan Lee, PhD

Hakan Akin, MD

Richardo Franco, MD

Barbara Mantilla, MD

Leo Yamaguchi, MD

Khaliq Ahmad, DVM, PhD

Shelly Hook, MD, PhD

Brent Nall, MD

Kristen Patterson, MD

David Rogers, MD, MBA

Aubrey L. White, MD

Matthew Kraeutler, MD

Kevin Purcell, MD, MPH

Geetanjali Singh Rathore, MD

Ram Gobburu, MD

Aric F. Logsdon, PhD

John Cooley, PhD

Marina Chavez, MD

Raja Kiani, MD

Laurel Wolfe Zarnoth, PsyD, LP

Collin Gandillon, MD

Tabitha Threatt, MD

Odessa Campus

Vani Selvan, MD

James Tarin, MD

Joesph Shayeb, MD

Jessica Gillen, MD

Alaa A. Eldemerdash, MD

Rajendra Badgaiyan, MD, MBA

Gail Johnson, MD

Got Questions?

Office of Faculty Recruitment, Affairs & Development