Awards & Recognitions

Dr. Ugo Ezema has joined our faculty. A graduate of the Tulane Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship, he is board-certified in Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine with interests in lung cancer diagnosis, advanced bronchoscopy, asthma, COPD, telemedicine, and AI in medicine.

Dr. Harsh Patel has joined the faculty at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System after completing his Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship at Tulane University, where he served as chief fellow and led the UMC Tumor Board. He remains dedicated to mentoring fellows, residents, and medical students, with clinical and research interests in lung nodule evaluation, point-of-care ultrasound, and quality improvement in critical care.

Dr. Diana Espinoza Barrera has joined our faculty as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Tulane University. A specialist in interventional pulmonology, she focuses on complex respiratory conditions, including lung cancer, pleural effusions, and airway obstructions. Dr. Espinoza Barrera is actively involved in professional organizations and committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in medicine.

We welcome Dr. Renat Shaykhiev, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, and Environmental Medicine.  Dr. Shaykhiev earned his MD in Russia and PhD in Germany, later establishing an NIH-funded lung disease research program at Weill Cornell before joining Tulane earlier this month. His work focuses on the organization and regeneration of human distal airways and their role in chronic lung diseases such as COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, and lung cancer. Through innovative tissue analysis and stem cell-based models, Dr. Shaykhiev’s lab aims to uncover new pathways for restoring lung function and developing therapies that prevent and slow disease progression.

Dr. Enrique Diaz-Guzman Zavala has joined the Section of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine as Associate Professor and Director of the new Tulane Lung Center. Fellowship trained at the Cleveland Clinic, he has since led lung transplant and ECMO programs at the University of Kentucky and UAB, and launched the Florida Panhandle’s first medical ECMO service. His research centers on extracorporeal life support and expanding lung transplant access for high risk and underserved patients. At Tulane, Dr. Diaz Guzman will spearhead our advanced lung disease, ECMO, and transplant initiatives.

Yong Zhou, PhD, Receives New NIH R01 Grant:

Dr. Yong Zhou, Professor of Medicine, Associate Chief for Research in the Pulmonary Section, and Director of the Program of Lung Repair and Regeneration, has been awarded a new NIH R01 grant. His project, titled “The desmosome-keratin intermediate filament network in lung epithelial injury, repair, and regeneration,” will explore how structural and mechanical networks within the lung epithelium regulate repair after injury and drive the development of chronic fibrotic disease. This work aims to uncover pathways that could be targeted to reinstate the natural ability of the lung to repair itself, offering new hope for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other fibrotic lung diseases.
 

Shigeki Saito, MD, Receives New NIH R03 Grant:

Dr. Shigeki Saito, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Pulmonary Section, the Co-Director of Pulmonary Hypertension Program at UMCNO, and the Assistant Director of Tulane Interstitial Lung Disease Program, has been awarded a new NIH R03 grant. His project, titled “RECK in pulmonary fibrosis” will explore the role of a molecule called RECK (Reversion-Inducing Cysteine-Rich protein with Kazal Motifs) in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis, in collaboration with Dr. Yusuke Higashi (Associate Professor of Medicine in the Cardiology Section).

Dr. Blesilda Ellis, of the Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, and Environmental Medicine section, has been named Educator of the Year. This recognition highlights her outstanding dedication to medical education and her impactful contributions to training the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Congratulations to Dr. Derek Pociask, Assistant Professor in the Section of Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, and Environmental Medicine on his award of an NIH R21 grant! Dr. Pociask's research is on identifying risk factors for severe pulmonary pneumonia and mortality during viral pandemics. He has identified the thymus and its continuous generation of new T cells as pivotal factors. This project aims to explore the anti-inflammatory properties of newly produced T cells from the thymus in viral pneumonia. Additionally, it utilizes innovative models to examine thymic aging in disease susceptibility.

Congratulations to Dr. Christine M. Bojanowski, Assistant Professor in the Section of Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, and Environmental Medicine on her award of $500,000. A research grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for her work on upper airway mucosal immunity and Th22 aberrancy in cystic fibrosis (CF). Dr. Bojanowski’s research aims to characterize the unique immune pathways that make people with CF more susceptible to airway microbial persistence and identify potential therapeutic targets independent of CFTR restoration that will reduce infection and ultimately lengthen life.

Congratulations to Dr. Jerry Zifodya, Assistant Professor in the Section of Pulmonary, Diseases, Critical Care and Environmental Medicine, he has been awarded a Charles and Elizabeth Wetmore Fund Grant for his work entitled “Post-Tuberculosis Lung Disease: Prevalence and risk factors in a cohort of tuberculosis patients in Region 1, Wetmore tuberculosis clinic New Orleans (PTLD-NO study).”

We would like to welcome, Dr. Deepak Tripathi, Assistant Professor in the Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Environmental Medicine, to our department. Prior to joining Tulane, he was Assistant Professor of Immunology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler where he also completed in post-doctoral research training.

Dr. Yong Zhou, Ph.D. has recently joined the Section of Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, and Environmental Medicine in the John W. Deming Department of Medicine at Tulane University as a tenured Professor of Medicine. Dr. Zhou also serves as the Associate Chief for Research in the Pulmonary Section and Director of the Program of Lung Repair and Regeneration. 

Dr. Eva Otoupalova, who joined the Department of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care the summer of 2024, has been selected as a Tulane PSPP (Physician Scientist Pipeline Program) Scholar, and has been awarded a grant from the Wetmore Foundation for her tuberculosis research.

Dr. Nereida Alicia Parada has started a Pulmonary Service Line at the Federally Qualified St Thomas Community Heath Center. St Thomas is the first CHC to have Pulmonary  services available in the New Orleans area. With the presence of FeNO and lung function testing that includes lung volumes and DLCO on site, patients can now have state of the art assessment for pulmonary conditions when they are being evaluated by Dr Parada and Joseph DeFraites FNP at the 2000 Magazine location. In addition, FeNO machine at the other 5 CHC locations, are assisting in identifying patients that need to be seen for their asthma. Since starting there in March 2024, hundreds of patients have been cared for in their Medical Home with appropriate referrals when needed.

We are excited to announce that Dr. Yasin Khan has been selected to be the Medical Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at University Medical Center. This 24-bed unit is the busiest ICU in the LCMC system and takes care of over 2900 critically ill patients a year. In this role, Dr. Khan will work alongside over a dozen intensivists from both schools of medicine to help ensure that UMC continues to provide high quality, evidence-based critical care to the patients from the city and beyond. Dr. Khan was among the first cohort of fellows to rotate through the new MICU at UMC in 2015; and we are pleased to see his growth and ongoing commitment to improving the experiences of the patients, staff, and physicians in this ICU.

Dr. Zifodya has been awarded a Firland Foundation Research Grant for his grant entitled “Host Clinical and Immunological Risk Factors Associated with Post-Tuberculosis Lung Disease (PTLD) among Kenyan and Ugandan Adults.” He aims to identify subtypes of post-tuberculosis lung disease and their associated risk factors. This grant will fund extended programs for ongoing studies in Kenya and Uganda and continue to build capacity at these study sites.

Dr. Blesilda Quiniones Ellis was selected by the residents and fellows at East Jefferson hospital as this year's Top Clinical Teacher. Congratulations on receiving this recognition for your dedication to medical education Bessy! 

The Association of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Program Directors (APCCMPD) has selected Dr. Arunava Saha from a very competitive field of applicants to serve on the Fellows In-Training committee. Dr. Saha is a Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellow (PGY IV) at Tulane University School of Medicine. Chosen from a highly competitive pool of applicants, Dr. Saha brings valuable clinical and academic experience to this leadership role. He completed his residency at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, MA, and earned his medical degree from Christian Medical College in Vellore, India. His appointment reflects his dedication to advancing pulmonary and critical care education and training.

Dr. Shigeki Saito's grant application entitled “Defining the Roles of Fibulin-5 in Pulmonary Fibrosis”, submitted for pilot funding to the Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science (LA CaTS) Center, was recently selected for funding by the LA CaTS Center Executive Council.