Care Team

Dr. Samy Al-Bayati earned his medical degree from the University of Al-Mustansiriyah College of Medicine in 2003. He completed both his residency in radiology and fellowship training in interventional radiology at UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, with fellowships completed in 2018 and 2023. He is board‑certified by the American Board of Radiology in Diagnostic Radiology.

Dr. Andrew Chelsea has a bio on the way.

Dr. Arthur Joseph earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He completed his residency training in interventional radiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Joseph is certified by the American Board of Radiology in Diagnostic Radiology and Interventional Radiology. His clinical interests include minimally invasive image-guided procedures to diagnose and treat a variety of conditions, with a focus on improving patient outcomes through advanced interventional techniques.

Dr. Ghazwan Kroma received his medical degree from Damascus University in Syria in 1994. He completed his residency in Diagnostic Radiology in 1997 at Damascus University. Dr. Kroma worked as a diagnostic radiologist in Syria and Saudi Arabia from 1997 to 2004. He then completed a Neuroradiology fellowship at Louisiana State University in 2005; followed by two years of Interventional Radiology fellowships at Louisiana State University and the UT Health-San Antonio. He joined UT Health faculty in 2007. Dr. Kroma is certified by the American Board of Radiology for diagnostic radiology followed by a Certificate of Advanced Qualification in vascular interventional radiology (CAQ).

Dr. Jorge Lopera completed his Medical School and Radiology Residency training in Medellin, Colombia. He completed two years of Interventional Radiology fellowship training at Louisiana State University in New Orleans. He is certified by the American Board of Radiology in Diagnostic Radiology and in Interventional Radiology. Dr. Lopera is a Fellow of the Society of Interventional Radiology. His main interests are the treatment of liver tumors, peripheral vascular interventions, treatment of arterio-venous malformations (AVMs) and dialysis related interventions.

Dr. Rajeev Suri received his medical degree from The Christian Medical College in India. He has completed residencies in diagnostic radiology at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in India. He completed a Cardiovascular and Abdominal Interventional Radiology Fellowship at the University of California Los Angeles. Dr. Suri is Board Certified by the American College of Radiology. His clinical interests include carotid artery stent placement, chemoembolization, infrainguinal arterial interventions, radiofrequency ablations, uterine fibroid embolizations, and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts.

Dr. John A. Walker, Jr. completed his medical training with the UT School of Medicine at San Antonio. Following medical school, he completed a two-year research fellowship with the US Army Institute for Surgical Research working in regenerative medicine and imaging. He then obtained a research doctorate in imaging with the UT School of Biomedical Sciences while simultaneously training in the UT School of Medicine at San Antonio Diagnostic Radiology residency. Through his efforts, he completed the prestigious ABR Holman Radiology Research Pathway. He then completed a fellowship in the UT School of Medicine at San Antonio Vascular and Interventional Radiology Program. Upon completion of his training, Dr. Walker joined the UT Health faculty in 2016. 

Dr. Gregory Abrahamian specializes in adult and pediatric kidney and liver transplant surgery. Dr. Abrahamian received his medical degree from the UT Health San Antonio. He completed his residency and transplant fellowship at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, and Massachusetts General Hospital. He specializes in adult and pediatric kidney and liver transplant surgery and has served with the United States Air Force overseas. Dr. Abrahamian has also contributed to many notable publications in his field.

Dr. Jonathan Cullen earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from The University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio in 2014 and completed his general surgery residency at the University of Virginia Health System in 2021. He then pursued fellowship training in transplant surgery at both the University of Virginia Medical Center (2018) and the University of Colorado (2023). Dr. Cullen is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery and now serves as a transplant surgeon with University Health. His clinical expertise spans acute and chronic liver conditions, including liver transplantation, bile duct and gallbladder cancers, chronic liver disease and hernias.

Dr. Danielle Fritze is an assistant professor in the Division of Organ Transplantation in the Department of Surgery at UT Health, San Antonio. Dr. Fritze completed her medical degree and subsequent surgical training at the University of Michigan. Following general surgery residency, she pursued additional fellowship training in transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery. Dr. Fritze specializes in liver and kidney transplantation as well as surgery of the liver, bile duct, and pancreas. She has a special interest in pediatric transplantation. Dr. Fritze has also contributed to many notable publications in her field.

Dr. Glenn Halff is Director of the Transplant Center at UT Health San Antonio and University Hospital. He received his medical degree at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, Texas. He completed his residency and internship at New York University in New York City, New York and his transplant fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1992, he started the liver transplant program at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He performs adult and pediatric liver and kidney transplants. He along with Dr. Francisco Cigarroa performed the first split liver transplant in South Texas. He also performs adult-to-adult living liver transplants and specializes in all liver, biliary and pancreas surgeries. Dr. Halff has also contributed to many notable publications in his field.

Dr. Tarunjeet Klair is an assistant professor in the Division of Organ Transplantation in the Department of Surgery at UT Health, San Antonio. Dr. Klair completed his medical degree from Manipal University in India and his general surgery training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He received fellowship training in abdominal organ transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery at the Columbia University Medical Center/New York Presbyterian Hospital. At Columbia, Dr. Klair was trained by some of the pioneers in transplantation – Drs. Jean Emond and Lloyd Ratner. Dr. Klair performs liver and kidney transplant surgery for adults and children. His special interests are in living donor liver transplantation and treatment of liver cancer. Dr. Klair has also contributed to many notable publications in his field.

Dr. Asish Misra earned his medical degree and completed advanced training in internal medicine and gastroenterology/hepatology before pursuing specialized fellowship training in transplant hepatology. He is board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology, with clinical expertise in the evaluation and management of complex liver disease, including cirrhosis, viral hepatitis, fatty liver disease and complications of portal hypertension. Dr. Misra’s practice includes pre- and post-transplant care in close collaboration with multidisciplinary liver and transplant teams, with a focus on evidence-based, patient-centered care.

Dr. Elizabeth Thomas received her medical degree at Midwestern University in Arizona. She completed her surgical residency at UT Health San Antonio and fellowship training at the University of Southern California. Prior to joining our team, she served in the division of transplantation surgery at the University of Florida. Dr. Thomas has a special interest in quality patient care, living donor kidney transplantation, academic research and institutional education.

Dr. Carmen Landaverde is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio where she attends on the wards and teaches the house staff. Prior to joining The Texas Liver Institute-Austin, Dr. Landaverde completed her Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and her Transplant Hepatology Fellowship at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, Texas. She has authored and co-authored review articles on the management of fluid retention and cirrhosis, NAFLD and nutrition, outcomes in liver re-transplantation and treatment of hepatitis C. She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and Transplant Hepatology. Dr. Landaverde is fluent in Spanish and English. 

Dr. Jan Petrasek earned his medical degree from the First Faculty of Medicine at Charles University in Prague in 2003. He completed residency training in internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center in 2015 and went on to complete multiple fellowships — including those at the University of Massachusetts and UT Southwestern — specializing in gastroenterology and transplant hepatology. He is board‑certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in internal medicine, gastroenterology and transplant hepatology. 

Dr. Fred Poordad is Professor of Medicine at the UT Health San Antonio, Vice President of Academic and Clinical Affairs at The Texas Liver Institute and Chief of Hepatology and the University Transplant Center. Dr. Poordad received his bachelor and medical doctorate at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and completed a residency in internal medicine at St. Thomas Medical Center and Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Dr. Poordad also completed fellowships in gastroenterology at the University of South Carolina and in hepatology/liver transplantation at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Poordad sits on multiple committees for national societies and has over 300 publications including numerous book chapters, abstracts, educational monographs and publishes in such journals as Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Liver Transplantation, the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Hepatology, American Journal of Transplantation, and International Journal of Artificial Organs. Dr. Poordad has also contributed to many notable publications in his field.

Dr. Fabian Rodas is the Director of Transplant Services at Texas Liver Institute and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. Prior to joining the Texas Liver Institute and UT Health, he completed his Hepatology Fellowship at Carolinas Healthcare System in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. Rodas also has international experience caring for patients in hospital systems in other countries and is fluent in Spanish and English. He has a special interest in liver transplant outcomes as well as the study of portal hypertension and decompensated liver disease. While at the Carolinas Healthcare System, his research included studying the natural history of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Dr. Rodas is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is fluent in Spanish. Dr. Rodas has also contributed to many notable publications in his field.

Dr. Eugenia Tsai earned her medical degree from Albany Medical College in 2012. She completed her internal medicine residency at Montefiore Medical Center in 2015, followed by fellowship training in gastroenterology at Tulane Medical Center and in transplant hepatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Tsai is board‑certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in gastroenterology and transplant hepatology. She serves as the Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program at the University Health Transplant Institute and practices as a transplant hepatologist at the Texas Liver Institute and UT Health San Antonio.

Dr. Sukeshi Patel Arora is a native of San Antonio, graduated from University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas, and completed her Internal Medicine Residency and Medical Hematology and Oncology Fellowship at the UT Health San Antonio. She has been Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, UT Health Cancer Center, since 2014. As the leader for gastrointestinal malignancies, her clinical and research interests are gastrointestinal malignancies, GI geriatric oncology, and high-risk gastrointestinal cancer syndromes, such as Lynch syndrome.

Katherine Crow, PA is a board certified physician assistant and the clinical coordinator for the Texas Liver Tumor Center. She graduated from Baylor University in 1991 with a BS in Education and again in 1993 with a Master’s degree in biology specializing in genetics. She was an adjunct professor of biology for 9 years at colleges in Ohio, Maryland, and Texas. Ms. Crow completed her Physician Assistant Studies degree at Louisiana State University Medical Center in 2009. Her experience includes interventional radiology specializing in interventional oncology and hepatobiliary interventions, as well as a surgical physician assistant in hepatobiliary surgery and solid organ transplant. She was the liver and pancreas tumor board coordinator at Louisiana State University Hospital and at the McDonald Regional Transplant Center both in Shreveport, Louisiana and continues in this role at the Texas Liver Tumor Center.

Nurse coordinators are a team of registered nurses (RN) who assess all patients, coordinate care from referral to discharge from service including clinic visit to surgery if indicated. The nurse coordinators help facilitate referrals to other services as necessary and provide education to the patient and family throughout their care.

Irma V Infante, MSN, RN is the director of the Texas Liver Tumor Center. She received her Bachelor of Nursing in 1995 and her Master of Nursing in 2012 from the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Nursing. Irma has over 30 years of nursing experience including 15 years of management. Her experience includes 5 years as a bedside nurse, 7 years as a liver transplant coordinator, and 9 years with the department of neurosurgery overseeing their clinical operations.