Residents
PGY3 Residents
- Ans Albustamy, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Albustamy was raised in McAllen, TX for most of his life, where he grew to love the Mexican-American culture in the valley. His interest for medicine began in high school, where he applied to a premed program called A-PRIME TIME, a fast track program hosted by the UT system. He graduated from University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, and matched at UTRGV-DHR Internal Medicine program. He is excited to be back in the Valley and practice medicine in a growing but still under-served area. His hobbies outside of work include spending time with his friends and family, outdoor activities and going to the gym.
- Daniel Aragon, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Aragón was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. His father is from Nicaragua, and his mother from Mexico. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Texas Pan American. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and his Masters in Business Administration at the University of Houston Clear Lake where he also had the opportunity of becoming a Certified Financial Health Professional through the Healthcare Financial Management Association. In order to best serve his patients in the Rio Grande Valley, he became a Certified Medical Interpreter through the National Board of Certified Medical Interpreters. He is interested in bridging the gap between the advances in medical knowledge and patient care and is thrilled to be back at his home town serving his community. When not engaged in medicine, he and his younger brother serve as a pianist and organist in their local Seventh-Day Adventist church.
- Jorge Alejandro Bernal, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Jorge Alejandro Bernal was born in California and raised in Texas by proud Mexican parents. Dr. Bernal developed an early interest in science and healthcare volunteering at local hospitals at a young age and graduating from Med-High. He completed his pre-med requisites in chemistry and biology at UT Pan-American in Edinburg, TX and obtained a Medical Degree from Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in his parent’s home country. He participated in many clinical research projects at DHR Health Institute for Research and Development as a Clinical Research Fellow helping to provide new medical research to the RGV. Dr. Bernal looks to practice in the RGV and hopes to continue to bring innovative medical research to the valley as well as medical access to communities most in need.
- Sumandeep Brar, MD
-
PGY3
Born in Arizona and partially raised in North India by her close knit family, Dr. Brar always aspired to help people and discovered her passion for medicine at a young age. After completing her education in the United States, she moved to India for medical school. During this time, she came to understand the integral role of a physician in underserved areas with limited resources. She is excited and appreciative of the opportunity to receive training in a diverse, underserved community with rich cultural values. She plans to continue serving communities with limited resources and giving back to the communities she was raised in. Outside of work, Dr. Brar enjoys good conversation, spending time with family and friends, trying different cuisines, and spending time in nature.
- Joseph Caporusso, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Joseph E. Caporusso was born in Reynosa, Mexico, but raised in McAllen, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Exercise and Sport Science from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Caporusso obtained his medical degree from Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara. Although open to all specialties, Dr. Caporusso interests are cardiology, pulmonology, and gastroenterology. Dr. Caporusso is excited to serve the community where he grew up. Outside of medicine, he loves spending time with his wife, loves sports, particularly soccer, and roots for his beloved San Antonio Spurs and UANL Tigres.
- Rodolfo Garza, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Rodolfo Garza Morales was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. He obtained his medical degree from Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon in 2018. After graduating from medical school, he worked on multiple research projects in DNA vaccine development and microbial-based cancer therapy at the University of Louisville. He is excited to have the opportunity to serve and provide care to the Rio Grande Valley population. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, listening to music and playing the guitar and ukulele.
- Christine Loftis, MD
-
PGY3
Christine Loftis is a Texas native. She is a graduate of the inaugural class of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. She is passionate about serving others and working with underserved communities which is why she decided to make the Rio Grande Valley her home. Although she has not decided on a subspecialty, her interests include Rheumatology, Gastroenterology, and Cardiology. Her ultimate career goals are to work in Academia and to increase minority representation in the field of medicine. In her limited spare time, she enjoys spending time with her son Christopher, her mother, and her dog Blaze. Christine also enjoys running and cycling, listening to 90s alternative and grunge rock, watching anime, and collecting shoes!
- Reham Majzoub, MD
-
PGY3
Reham’s father has been her inspiration for wanting a career in medicine. His example of having a positive impact on people makes her very proud, and she has truly wanted to follow in his footsteps. Reham graduated from Al- Baath University, Syria. Soon after, she moved to Canada with her family to further pursue her education.
Reham has completed a graduate diploma in Clinical Epidemiology at McMaster University. Throughout her graduate work, she has had a unique opportunity to work with world-renowned health researchers, who lead major projects in Canada, North America and beyond. She has participated in several large systematic reviews focused on preventing childhood stunting in various age groups in low- and middle- income countries. Furthermore, Reham is currently completing her Masters in Public Health at the University of Waterloo, where she is learning about the fundamentals of evidence-based medicine and research methods skills. According to her, her graduate studies will enable her to conduct research to answer questions that arise throughout her clinical practice.
Reham is enthusiastic to train in a well-rounded Internal Medicine program that provides clinical training and solid teaching foundation in a supportive environment.
- Jorge Nadal, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Jorge Nadal was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He attended medical school at Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara at Jalisco, Mexico. He completed his clinical clerkship rotations at Phoenix, Arizona where he found his passion for Internal Medicine. After obtaining his medical degree he worked at an Internal Medicine Clinic providing care to the underserved community. He is passionate about providing healthcare to underserved communities. Outside of medicine, he enjoys spending time with his wife, play with his dogs “Minnie” and “Mickey”, spend time with his family, play soccer, exercise and traveling.
- Lina Pedraza, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Lina Pedraza was born and raised in Colombia. She graduated from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, School of Medicine. Upon graduation, she joined the Colombian Air Force where she worked promoting primary prevention in the military community. After her service in the Air Force, she started a position in the endocrinology practice, where she collaborated with the endocrinology faculty team of her School of Medicine. She also became part of the Biomedical Engineering Research Group at Universidad Nacional de Colombia where she worked on different projects related to thyroid cancer. Later, she moved to Houston, Texas where she had the opportunity to do observerships at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and at MD Anderson Cancer Center in the field of pain management, palliative, and geriatric medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys jogging, visiting museums, traveling, cooking, watching independent films and history documentaries.
- Natalia Pinto, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Pinto was born in a small town called Cucuta in the border with Venezuela, in her early years she had the opportunity to growth watching both of her parents live a passionate life through medicine. Since very early in her life, she decided that her dream was to become a doctor. She graduated from Universidad Libre – Cali-Colombia, after graduation she wanted to explore different fields in her career, she had the opportunity to work in renal transplantation research, and as a general practitioner. After having this experience, she realized that she wanted to continue growing, so she decided to embark in the journey of becoming a Doctor in the United States, during this new journey, she was able to work in research projects with great mentors at Stanford, University of Colorado and Case Western Reserve University, and with Cleveland Va Medical center as well, where she found her interest in Infectious diseases. Now she is very happy and honor to continue her journey and growth by the hand of UTRGV. She’s an advocate of animal rights, yoga lover, and travel enthusiast.
- Don Rajan, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Rajan was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in India. He graduated from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Government Medical College in India. After completing four years of medical school and one year of internship in India, he moved to New York for 2 years to pursue his dream of residency in the USA. He completed multiple rotations in New Jersey and Florida until the start of his residency at the UTRGV Internal Medicine Residency Program at DHR. His professional interests include Gastroenterology and infectious diseases. Outside of work he enjoys hanging out with his friends, listening to music, and playing soccer and ping pong.
- Jose Rivera, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Rivera was born in Brownsville, Tx and grew up between the Brownsville/Matamoros area. He completed his medical education at the Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas in Matamors, Mx in 2016. On his free time, he enjoys playing video games, bowling, watching football-Go Packers!
- Sergio Saenz, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Sergio Saenz was born and raised in Mission, TX. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas – Pan American and obtained his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. His professional interests include rheumatology, infectious diseases, and hospital medicine. He enjoys spending time with his family, saltwater fishing, dad jokes, grilling, traveling, video games, and watching soccer.
- Martha Solis, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Martha Solis was born and raised in Mexico, just across the Rio Grande Valley. She graduated valedictorian from the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon School of Medicine in Monterrey, Mexico in 2018. She received numerous academic achievement awards during her medical training, including 2 national recognitions: CENEVAL Excellence Award and Pfizer/AMFEM Academic Excellence Award. Right after concluding her medical training, she completed her mandatory social service year at the National Program of Social Service in Research while taking the USMLEs to pursue her residency in the United States. She is very glad to have joined the UTRGV-DHR Internal Medicine Program, where she can be close to her family and enjoy the nice warm weather of the Valley. In her free time, Dr. Solis enjoys spending time with her family, crafting, and watching movies and TV shows.
- Juan Trejo, MD
-
PGY3
Dr. Trejo Pacheco was born and raised in the beautiful country of El Salvador. He obtained his medical degree from Universidad Evangelica de El Salvador where he spent most of his training working with the underserved communities in the city of San Salvador. After completing medical school, he decided to move to Houston to study for the USMLE boards and pursue a career in the Internal Medicine field.
During his time in Houston, Dr. Trejo met his wife Isabel and they adopted two cats (Rutila and Luna). He rotated through various hospitals and clinics throughout the state and he had the opportunity to come to the valley and rotate at the Doctors Hospital at Renaissance where he fell in love with the hospital, the valley and the food. Working in the valley has given him the opportunity to help the underserved Spanish speaking population as well to learn about the rich Hispanic-American culture that the valley offers.
Outside the hospital, Dr. Trejo likes to practices sports; he is a gym and soccer enthusiast, try different restaurants, travel and go to the beach.
