- Everardo Cobos, MD
- Chair, Department of Medicine & Oncology
Dr. Everardo Cobos is currently chair of the Integrated Service Unit in Medicine and Oncology at UTRGV School of Medicine. He leads the clinical, education, and research activities for the department of medicine. In this unit, the faculty from various internal medicine specialties provide care across the Rio Grande Valley and serve as one of the teaching sites for medical students and residents receiving medical education and training in the field of internal medicine.
In addition to the clinical and educational activities of his unit, Dr. Cobos also leads the Cancer Service Line which will be housed at our under-construction Cancer Center scheduled to be opened in February of 2025. This new Cancer Center will provide state of the art cancer care to our community. Integrated in this service unit under the supervision of Dr. Cobos is the South Texas Center of Excellence in Cancer Research, a team of nationally recognized basic science cancer researchers actively studying new treatments for cancer.
Dr. Cobos received his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio. He received his specialty training in internal medicine and subspecialty training in hematology and oncology at the Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco, California. He had prior academic appointments at both Texas Tech School of Medicine and at the UCLA-David Geffen School of Medicine before joining UTRGV in April of 2023.
Dr. Cobos has been recognized nationally for his expertise in clinical medicine, research, education, and administration. He has been recognized more than 20 consecutive years by his students, residents, and fellows for his teaching and educational excellence, but he is most proud of his continuous uninterrupted practice of medicine and caring for patients on a daily basis over a span of time that now exceeds 40 years.
Program Leadership
Administrative
- Brandon Cantazaro, MD
- Program Director and Division Chief of Internal Medicine / Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
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.
- Daniela Hernandez, MD
- Associate Program Director / Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
Dr. Daniela Hernandez is a board-certified internal medicine specialist and an assistant professor of internal medicine. She is one of the associate program directors of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Rio Grande Regional Hospital HCA. She has over five years of experience and speaks English and Spanish. She specializes in adult primary and preventive care in the outpatient setting.
Dr. Hernandez works closely with residents and medical students. She is now also having her own clinic and loves taking care of her patients. She also works on research projects to bring better healthcare to the valley.
Dr. Hernandez was born in Houston, Tx but was raised in Monterrey, Mexico. She received her medical degree from the TEC de Monterrey. On her last year of medical school, she did a rotation at Johns Hopkins and had the opportunity to stay there during her Social Service year. During that time, she worked studying the bone marrow’s microenvironment and new therapy approaches for leukemia. She then stayed to work there as a postdoctoral fellow collaborating in the development of new targeted therapies for leukemia. Afterwards, she came to the Valley to do her internal medicine residency. She wanted to be closer to home and help the Latino community. During her third year she was a chief resident for her program. She then decided to join the UTRGV family to continue her medical career close to her family. While in the Rio Grande Valley her family has grown, and she now has 3 kids with whom she loves spending time with and going to the beach.
- Andres Suarez Parraga, MD
- Associate Program Director / 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.
Faculty
- Roque Mifuji, MD
- Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
Dr. Roque Mifuji is a board-certified internal medicine specialist and assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He has over 4 years of experience. He currently serves as core faculty in the Knapp Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency Program. He speaks English and Spanish. He specializes in the diagnosis and management of diverse medical conditions in the inpatient setting.
He has a special interest in medical education. His passion for medical education led him to enroll and graduate from the UTRGV MedEd Teaching Certificate Program, class of 2023. He actively engages in the education of medical students as a facilitator in Problem-Based Learning Modules. He also emphasizes the importance of patient-centered, compassionate care as well as effective communication with patients and family members.
Dr. Mifuji graduated from medical school at Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon. He served as chief resident and completed his internal medicine residency training at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in Edinburg, Texas.
Subspecialty Coordinators (SEC)
Faculty Name | SEC |
---|---|
Guillermo Salinas, MD | Cardiology & Clinical Assistant Professor |
Ricardo Garcia, MD | Infectious Disease & Clinical Assistant Professor |
Eduardo Luna, MD | Endocrinology & Clinical Assistant Professor |
Bricia Toro-De-Zare, MD | Rheumatology & Clinical Assistant Professor |
Juan Pablo Gomez, MD | Pulmonology / Critical Care & Clinical Assistant Professor |
Roberto Manllo-Karim, MD | Nephrology & Clinical Assistant Professor |
Jean Cabrera, MD | Geriatrics & Clinical Assistant Professor |
Jason Philips, MD | Gastroenterology & Clinical Assistant Professor |
Eric Marshell Panzer, MD | Emergency Medicine & Clinical Assistant Professor |
Jorge R Guevara, MD | Addiction Medicine & Clinical Assistant Professor |
Community Faculty
Faculty Name | Community Faculty |
---|---|
Cesar Uribe, MD | Hospitalist |
Ismael Cantu-Garcia, MD | Hospitalist |
Jose Pena, MD | Hospitalist |