Faculty & Staff

Program Leadership

Everardo Cobos, MD

Everardo Cobos, MD

Interim Dean, UTRGV School of Medicine

Dr. Everardo Cobos is a distinguished academic physician and clinical leader who has been appointed the new Interim Dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine. He also chairs the Department of Medicine and Oncology, a position he has held since joining UTRGV in April 2023.

In his new role as Interim Dean, Dr. Cobos will oversee all medical education and research programs at the School of Medicine. His leadership will play a critical role in shaping the next generation of physicians, healthcare professionals, and biomedical scientists dedicated to transforming healthcare and improving lives in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.

As department Chair, Dr. Cobos leads the clinical, educational, and research missions of the Department of Medicine and Oncology. The department's faculty represents a wide range of internal medicine specialties and provides comprehensive care across the region. The department also serves as a key training site for medical students and residents pursuing education and hands-on experience in internal medicine.

Dr. Cobos also directs the cancer service line at UT Health RGV, which will be headquartered at the upcoming UT Health RGV Cancer and Surgery Center, scheduled to open in 2025. Under his leadership, the South Texas Center of Excellence in Cancer Research, composed of nationally recognized cancer researchers, is integrated into the service line, advancing both patient care and cutting-edge oncology research.

As a practicing hematologist and oncologist, Dr. Cobos remains deeply committed to providing high-quality, compassionate care. He and his team at UTRGV and UT Health RGV develop and lead innovative clinical trials that offer new hope for patients in a medically underserved region.

Dr. Cobos earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship training in hematology and oncology at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco. Before joining UTRGV, he held academic appointments at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Nationally recognized for his excellence in clinical medicine, research, education, and leadership, Dr. Cobos has received over 20 consecutive years of recognition from students, residents, and fellows for his exceptional teaching. Above all, he is most proud of his continuous, uninterrupted practice of medicine and care for patients over a span now exceeding 40 years.

Fatimah Oluwakemi Bello MD, MPH

Fatimah Oluwakemi Bello MD, MPH

Program Director, Internal Medicine / Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Fatimah (Kemi) Bello is a board-certified internal medicine specialist and is currently an assistant professor and the program director of the UTRGV-KMC Internal Medicine Residency Program. She has over 5 years of experience and specializes in adult medicine mainly in the inpatient setting. Dr. Bello is very passionate about health disparities, particularly relating to gender, race, and historically underserved communities.

Dr. Bello was born and raised in Nigeria. She obtained her medical degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife, Nigeria. After graduating from medical school, she went on to pursue a Master of Public Health degree at Harvard University, Boston, MA and is in the process of completing a Doctor of Public Health degree in Healthcare Organization and Policy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley at Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance where she was awarded the outstanding 2nd year in 2018 and she also served as the chief resident during her third year. She is also a fellow of the Texas Medical Association Leadership College. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling and spending time with her family.

Brandon Cantazaro, MD

Brandon Cantazaro, MD

Associate Program Director

Dr. Brandon Cantazaro is a board-certified internal medicine specialist with a focus in hospital medicine and is an assistant professor of internal medicine. He has over six years of hospital and teaching experience and speaks both English and Spanish. He specializes in adult medicine and is specially trained to manage severe long-term illnesses and to help patients with multiple, complex chronic conditions in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. He has a passion for providing comprehensive hospital patient care. Dr. Cantazaro is also dedicated to academic medicine and has worked with residents and medical students for over six years. Immediately following his residency training, Dr. Cantazaro served in the role of associate program director and currently as program director for our internal medicine residency programs. Dr. Cantazaro also serves in the role of division chief for the Department of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Cantazaro is originally from Scottsdale, Arizona. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona and received his medical training from The Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine. Following medical school, he completed his pre-internship program with New York Medical College. Dr. Cantazaro completed his internal medicine residency training with UTRGV’s inaugural internal medicine program where he also served as chief resident during his third and final year of training.

Dr. Cantazaro is extremely proud of UTRGV’s strong social mission and is committed to creating future physician leaders of tomorrow through high quality, compassionate, patient-centered care for the people of South Texas and beyond.

Faculty

Chelsea Hook Chang, MD, FACP

Chelsea Hook Chang, MD, FACP

Associate Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Chelsea Hook Chang is a board-certified internal medicine physician and associate professor of internal medicine at UTRGV SOM/UT Health. She has over 8 years of experience and speaks English and Spanish. She specializes in adult complex and preventive care in the outpatient setting.

She also has special interests in research surrounding communication, graduate medical education, medical students, and serving our underserved area of the Rio Grande Valley. Her grant-funded awards have included the ACGME/NYAM Barondess Fellowship and AAMC Nurturing Experiences for Tomorrow’s Community Leaders (NEXT) Award. She is an active board member for Texas American College of Physicians and has presented at national meetings including ACGME and APDIM.

Dr. Chang earned her medical degree from Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and completed her residency training in internal medicine at Scott & White in Temple Texas where her awards included Intern of the Year and Outstanding Teaching Attending in Internal Medicine. She grew up in McAllen Texas and has been enjoying practicing medicine, teaching, and spending time outdoors since joining UTRGV in 2018.

Cesar Gutierrez MD

Cesar Gutierrez MD

Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Cesar Gutierrez is a board-certified internal medicine specialist in Weslaco and an assistant professor of internal medicine. Dr. Gutierrez has over 7 years of experience in his field. He is fluent both in English and Spanish. He specializes in the diagnosis and management of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol disease, infections, liver diseases, preventive care, etc.

Dr. Gutierrez also has a special interest in medical education. He is currently the internal medicine associate clerkship director for the UTRGV School of Medicine. He is also passionate about research. He is currently in the process of completing a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology through the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health. He was voted best inpatient attending at the UTRGV-KMC Internal Medicine Residency Program for the academic year 2022-2023.

Dr. Gutierrez attended the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon School of Medicine and graduated in 2012. He completed his residency at the UTRGV-DHR Internal Medicine Residency Program in 2019. Subsequently, he served as chief resident of internal medicine from 2019-2020. Currently, he serves as faculty member for the UTRGV-KMC Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Andres Suarez Parraga, MD

Andres Suarez Parraga, MD

Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Andres Suarez Parraga is a board-certified internal medicine specialist and an assistant professor of internal medicine. He has over five years of experience and speaks English and Spanish. He specializes in diagnosing and managing outpatient medicine conditions like hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and obesity and inpatient medicine conditions like heart failure, sepsis, and COPD exacerbations.

He is also particularly interested in critical care medicine, endocrinology, and obesity medicine. Clinical responsibilities include supervising third- and fourth-year medical students, interns, and senior residents in the inpatient rotation. Nonclinical duties include directing MS1 in Practice-Based Learning Sessions, dictating lectures for MS3 bimonthly, and guiding MS4 in Critical Appraisal of Medical Literature elective. Additional functions include mentoring residents, supervising QI projects, and presenting didactics for the UTRGV-KMC Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Dr. Suarez Parraga attended medical school at Universidad de Los Andes in Merida, Venezuela. He completed a residency in internal medicine with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg, TX, on which he served as chief resident in his third year.

Aramide Tijani, MD

Aramide Tijani, MD

Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

Aramide Tijani is an assistant professor of internal medicine at the School of Medicine, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. His career goal is to practice inpatient medicine in an intellectually stimulating patient-centered facility in an underserved community, while also engaging in teaching the next generation of physicians and engaging in research activities aimed at improving patient outcomes.

He had his medical education at University of Ibadan, Nigeria with residency training, and thereafter practiced medicine at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels prior to relocating to the United States. He was part of the inaugural graduating class of the UTRGV-KMC Internal Medicine Residency Program.

He is excited at the opportunity to continue as a faculty member at a program where he had the privilege to be in the first class and from where his dreams of being an outstanding internist/hospitalist are coming through. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, watching/playing soccer, and enjoying everything the Rio Grande Valley (where he now calls home) has to offer.

Staff

Martha Pina

Martha Pina

Program Coordinator

Martha Pina is a Rio Grande Valley Native. She graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos, TX with a Bachelor's in interdisciplinary studies and three years later, she went back to school to pursue a Master's in healthcare administration from UTRGV. She has since found a love for healthcare and assisting residents with their journey as a Medical Doctor in the Rio Grande Valley. Martha has worked with elementary, middle school, and high school students to ensure every child is college, career, and military ready. She enjoys working out, golfing, and coloring in her spare time.

Veronica Villareal: UTRGV GME Administrative Assistant

Subspecialty Coordinators (SEC)

Subspecialty Coordinators (SEC)
Faculty Name	SEC
Eduardo Flores, MD	Cardiology & Clinical Assistant Professor
Luis Rosas, MD	Infectious Disease & Clinical Assistant Professor
Eduardo Luna, MD	Endocrinology & Clinical Assistant Professor
Elvin Garcia, MD	Rheumatology & Clinical Assistant Professor
Daniel Farray-Berges, MD	Hematology/Oncology & Clinical Assistant Professor
Alfredo Arauco-Brown, MD	Pulmonology & Clinical Assistant Professor
Ricardo Abreu, MD	Critical Care Medicine & Clinical Assistant Professor
Roberto Manllo-Karim, MD	Nephrology & Clinical Assistant Professor
Jean Cabrera, MD	Geriatrics/ Clinical Assistant Professor
Valeska Balderas, MD	Gastroenterology & Clinical Assistant Professor

Graduate Medical Education UTRGV School of Medicine

Faculty & Staff

Program Leadership

Faculty

Staff

Subspecialty Coordinators (SEC)