Department of Medicine Health Care Advancement Symposium

Moises Ilan Nevah, MD
Section Chief of Gastroenterology

Dr. Moises Ilan Nevah is a board-certified physician in internal medicine, gastroenterology, and transplant hepatology. He earned his medical degree from the University of Panama and completed residency training at St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital (Columbia University). He completed fellowships in gastroenterology at UT Health – Houston and MD Anderson Cancer Center, and in transplant hepatology at the University of California – San Francisco.

Dr. Nevah leads the hepatology and liver transplant program at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix and serves as section chief of gastroenterology. His research focuses on cirrhosis, portal hypertension, and renal dysfunction in liver disease. He has earned multiple teaching awards and previously served as associate program director of the GI fellowship at UT Health – Houston.

Shalini Sharma, PhD
Associate Professor, Basic Medical Sciences

Dr. Shalini Sharma obtained her Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and completed her postdoctoral training at the University of California, Los Angeles. She joined the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix in 2013 and is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences. She is actively involved in undergraduate medical and graduate education and was the recipient of the Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award in 2021.

The focus of her research is on mechanisms of pre-mRNA splicing and how splicing gene mutations in hematopoietic stem cells contribute to myeloid disease phenotypes, particularly anemia as seen in myelodysplastic syndromes. Dr. Sharma’s laboratory utilizes human bone marrow–derived CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells to investigate the molecular determinants driving erythroid lineage commitment and the impact of splicing gene mutations.

Shirin Doroudgar, PhD
Assistant Professor, Basic Medical Sciences

Dr. Shirin Doroudgar is an assistant professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California, San Diego, and completed her postdoctoral training in cardiovascular biology at the University of California, San Francisco. Her research focuses on understanding how cells maintain protein homeostasis (proteostasis) in the heart and how disruptions in this balance contribute to cardiovascular disease. By studying the molecular pathways involved in cardiac stress responses, her lab aims to identify new therapeutic strategies to protect heart function under conditions such as heart failure.

Dr. Doroudgar brings expertise in molecular biology, genetics, and translational research, and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. She is passionate about mentoring students and trainees and is actively involved in educational initiatives within the college. Her work is supported by federal and foundation funding, including the National Institutes of Health.

Rayna Gonzales, MSc, PhD
Associate Professor, Basic Medical Sciences

Dr. Rayna Gonzales, M.Sc., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and founding faculty member of Basic Medical Sciences at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. A cerebrovascular physiologist, Dr. Gonzales focuses her research on mechanisms that preserve brain endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cell health following hypoxic or ischemic injury. Her work aims to identify therapeutic targets for improving neurological outcomes after stroke. She also addresses sex-based disparities in stroke research.

Dr. Gonzales brings over 20 years of experience using animal stroke models, ex vivo cerebral vessels, and in vitro primary cell systems under hypoxia and glucose deprivation. In 2024, she was recognized as Co-Corresponding Author of a key publication in Circulation Research and received the UACOM-P Excellence in Teaching in Undergraduate Medical Education Award.