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Dr. Tony Tran is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology. His educational background includes a BS in Biology from the University of Houston - Honors College in 1993. While doing his undergraduate studies, he was involved in various research programs, including an undergraduate internship in the Department of Biology at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois as well as a summer research fellowship in the Eukaryotic Transcriptional Regulation Section of the National Cancer Institute in Maryland. He also worked in the Division of Biochemistry at the University of Houston for his Senior Honors Thesis.

Dr. Tran completed his MD at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, during which time he was a research fellow twice in the Biomedical Sciences Exchange Program-Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (BMEP-DAAD) and worked at the Institut Biochimie, Charity Hospital/Humboldt University in 1994 and Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in 1997, both in Berlin, Germany.

He completed the Medical Research Investigator Track (MeRIT) clinical investigator pathway in Internal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in 2002, during which time he was involved in basic science research in Dr. Douglas Mann's heart failure laboratory. He also completed his fellowship in Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine 2004.

Dr. Tran's interests include medical student and resident education as well as patient care. His research interests are in diastolic dysfunction and cardiac imaging. Dr. Tran sees patients at University Cardiology Clinic, Mainland Pavilion Center.

Sonia Nimtz is a Nurse Practitioner in General Cardiology. She graduated from UTMB with a bachelor's degree in nursing and then worked as an RN in Cardiology. She later went on to obtain certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners after graduating from UTMB with a master's degree in Nursing. Sonia is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society, as well as a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She has a passion for cardiology – working with patients to help them achieve maximum cardiovascular health through positive health behaviors and knowledge of their medications and disease process. She loves to garden, cook, and bake. She and her husband love to travel and enjoy spending time with family.

Dr. Arun Narayanan is a Clinical Electrophysiologist and an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UTMB. He completed his medical training at the American University of Antigua, followed by his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. His interest in cardiology led him to pursue a fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease at New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital where he was Chief Fellow. He then completed his advanced fellowship training in Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

Dr. Narayanan specializes in the diagnosis and management of cardiac arrhythmias, including catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia, and ventricular tachycardia, as well as cardiac device implantation for treatment of slow heart rhythms and prevention of sudden cardiac death. He has published several manuscripts and presented at national conferences including Heart Rhythm Society, American College of Cardiology, and American Heart Association. His research interests include hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, sudden cardiac death, and subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.

Dr. Narayanan is a proud, native Texan. He loves traveling, Houston sports, and spending lazy weekends at home with his wife and son.

Dr. Ashraf Aly is the director of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology and a professor in the Department of Pediatrics. He received his M.D. from Cairo University School of Medicine in Cairo, Egypt and completed his Pediatric residency at Penn State University, Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania and Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He received his Ph.D. in Genetics from the George Washington University in Washington DC.

Dr. Aly specializes in Pediatric Cardiology and sees patients with possible congenital heart diseases from the fetal life throughout adulthood.

Before joining UTMB in 2003, Dr. Aly was in private practice in Michigan.

Dr. Aly is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology. He is also a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and many other professional medical and scientific organizations.

Dr. Sabayon is an established and highly skilled Cardiac Electrophysiologist. His work was informed by his fellowship training at Emory University's nation-leading electrophysiology center. He is skilled in cutting-edge technology and Cardiac Electrophysiology procedures with demonstrated success in complex device implantation and extraction therapies, simple and complex ablation therapies, and left atrial appendage closure therapies. He is a member of the Heart Rhythm Society and has been a keynote speaker on multiple medical platforms. He currently practices at UTMB Clear Lake and League City Campuses and is the Electrophysiology Lab Director at the UTMB Clear Lake Campus and Interim Electrophysiology Lab Director at the UTMB Galveston Campus.

Dr. Jiwani received his medical degree from Sindh Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan in 1989. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at the Schneider Children's Hospital at Long Island Jewish Medical Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New Hyde Park, New York.

He went on to complete a fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology in 1998, as well as a fellowship in Pediatric Echocardiography in 1999 at Schneider Children's Hospital at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. After finishing these fellowships, he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor and Attending Pediatric Cardiologist for the Schneider Children's Hospital, the Jacobi Medical Center, and North Central Bronx Hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he served until joining UTMB in 2006.

He was promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics in September 2012. Dr. Jiwani is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology. He sees patients with acquired and congenital heart diseases from the fetal life throughout adulthood. He enjoys teaching and believes in high quality patient care.

Dr. Prasad is working as a clinical cardiologist for UTMB. He is currently focused on developing cardiology practice in Angleton, TX area.

Dr. Prasad is strongly inclined towards preventive cardiology and thus guides his patients and their families to lead a healthy lifestyle. He believes in risk factor modification by providing patient centered comprehensive cardiovascular treatment options and focused education.

Dr. Prasad graduated from both Internal Medicine & Cardiology fellowship programs from Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital, Sayre, PA. During his training, he was awarded with “Resident of the year 2010” and “Teaching cardiology fellow of the year” continuously all three years in a row (2012 to 2015).

Dr. Alwash graduated from the University of Baghdad, College of Medicine. He completed Internal Medicine Residency in Atlanta, Georgia in 2015, and was also recognized and awarded as an Outstanding Resident. Thereafter, Dr. Alwash completed his fellowship training in cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX.

Dr. Alwash joined UTMB faculty in 2019 as Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, and Interventional Cardiology. He is Board certified in internal medicine and Cardiology, as well as Adult Echocardiography and Nuclear medicine. His fields of interests are coronary and peripheral arterial disease, structural heart disease, and general cardiology.

Dr. George Carayannopoulos was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and completed all of his academic and medical training in the University of Texas educational system. After completion of his Cardiac Electrophysiology training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, he was selected as one of six cardiologists to care for all of the international athletes and staff residing in the Olympic Village for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Upon the completion of the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, Dr. Carayannopoulos moved to Long Island, New York where he started Heart Rhythm Consultants of New York a practice created to address the cardiac electrophysiology needs of the community on Long Island.

During his time in New York he held the position of Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the State University of New York – Stony Brook University Hospital. He also served in several leadership positions including Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital, Vice-chair of Suffolk County H.E.A.R.T. (a task force he created in conjunction with the Suffolk County Health Commissioner to raise the awareness of heart disease in the community), Co-Founder of Suffolk County Life Savers (support group for at risk patients and survivors of Sudden Cardiac Arrest), and Vice President of the New York Hellenic Medical Society.

He is actively involved in the Heart Rhythm Society and has served on its Reimbursement and Regulatory Committee for six years. He is an international speaker and gives many lectures annually on Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Syncope, Congestive Heart Failure, and Medical Practice Building. In June 2010 he received Greek America Magazine's 40 most influential young Greek-Americans award. Dr. Carayannopoulos and his wife are active members in the Greek Orthodox community, and they enjoy living on Galveston Island.

Dr. Cai completed his residency in internal medicine at Geisinger Medical Center in Pennsylvania. Then he completed his fellowship in cardiology at UTMB and The Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in Houston. Dr. Cai joined UTMB Angleton Danbury Campus as an Assistant Professor and medical director in 2014.

Dr. Cai's professional interests include cardiac imaging, clinical cardiology, medical education, and quality improvement in cardiac care. He is board certified in cardiovascular diseases, internal medicine, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, cardiac CT, and vascular ultrasound. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Cai has been involved in multiple clinical studies and research projects. He has published extensively and serves as a reviewer for a number of medical journals.

Dr. Cai serves cardiac and vascular patients including those with any established cardiovascular diseases. He also provides risk factor management and preoperative evaluation.