Building healthier communities together.
The St. Joseph's Medical Center Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program is a comprehensive training experience designed to prepare fellows for full-spectrum cardiovascular care in a diverse community setting. As part of Dignity Health, we are a member of CommonSpirit Health's national network of more than 2,200 care sites across 24 states. That broad perspective supports our local commitment to community-based training, health equity and compassionate care. Fellows gain extensive clinical experience in all aspects of cardiology, including general cardiology, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, heart failure, and advanced imaging. The program equips fellows with the skills to provide compassionate, evidence-based, and innovative patient care.
Program Highlights
- Comprehensive and rigorous three-year training experience
- Extensive clinical experience across all cardiology subspecialties
- State-of-the-art facilities and resources
- Dedicated cardiac catheterization laboratory and structural heart program
- Echocardiography and electrophysiology laboratories
- Young and energetic faculty passionate about teaching
- Focus on evidence-based and innovative patient care
- Provisionally accredited by ACGME with anticipated full accreditation
Thank you for your interest in the Adult Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship program here at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center Stockton, CA. This program began in July 2024 and is currently allocated a complement of three general cardiology fellows per year. As the Program Director, I am committed and dedicated to training the next generation of cardiologists who will provide compassionate, evidence-based, and innovative patient care.
Our program offers a comprehensive and rigorous training experience that will prepare you for a successful career in cardiology. You will gain extensive clinical experience in all aspects of cardiology, including general cardiology, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, heart failure, and advanced imaging during the three-year fellowship program. We are proud to provide training in the manner in which each of us were trained, with access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources.
We are committed to fostering an immersive learning environment where all fellows feel supported and respected. If you are passionate about cardiology and dedicated to providing exceptional patient care, I encourage you to apply to our program. We look forward to hearing from you!
Cyrus Fram Buhari, DO, MSBME, FACC
Program Director
Training Locations
Training primarily takes place at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton, California.
St. Joseph’s Medical Center
Stockton, California
Compensation and Benefits
Fellows receive educational, wellness and leave benefits designed to support their professional development and well-being.
Salary
Annual fellow salaries are:
Fellow-1: $91,065
Fellow-2: $92,431
Fellow-3: $93,817
Additional financial support includes:
Chief fellow stipend: $2,000 annually
CME allowance: $1,000 annually
Relocation bonus: $1,500 for residents moving more than 50 miles; available during the first year only
Educational and wellness benefits
Annual professional society membership
Specialty-specific educational subscriptions and question-bank resources
Meal stipend
White coat
Three pairs of scrubs annually
Free parking at St. Joseph’s Medical Center and parking reimbursement at other clinical sites
In-Shape Health Club membership
$100 annual Lyft Healthcare benefit
Well-Being Index resources
Clinical educational resources
UpToDate
Sanford Guide mobile app
Lexicomp
VisualDx
Dignity Health and CommonSpirit Health Library Web Portal
Touro University medical resources
ClinicalKey, Ovid, PubMed, MD Consult and The New England Journal of Medicine
Full-text articles and interlibrary loan services
Full-time medical librarian on-site
On-site support from a GME research director with expertise in biostatistics
Paid time off and leave
21 days of paid vacation
9 days of sick leave
6 weeks of paid medical, parental or caregiver leave immediately available for qualifying needs
Additional leave as permitted under St. Joseph’s Medical Center policies and California law
Our Community
Stockton, CA, is a historic gold rush port city on the banks of the mighty San Joaquin River, offering a diverse community and convenient access to popular Northern California destinations. It is a 60-minute drive to the San Francisco Bay Area and a 90-minute drive to the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
How to Apply
For more information, please email Joanne Daly, Department of Academic Affairs and Graduate Medical Education, at sjmcgmeleadership@commonspirit.org.
Faculty
Cyrus Fram Buhari, DO, MSBME, FACC
Role: Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program Director
Program/affiliation: Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center Stockton, CA
Medical school: Western University of Health Sciences
Residency: University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Fresno
Fellowship: University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Fresno
Manreet Basra, MD
Role: Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program Associate Director
Medical school: Sri Guru Ramdas Institute of Medical sciences and Research, Amritsar, Punjab, India
Clinical/academic interests: Preventive Cardiology, Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Women's Heart Health
Muhammad Waqas Choudhry, MD
Role: Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program Associate Director
Medical school: Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore
Elizabeth Phung-Hart, DO
Medical school: Touro University Nevada
Residency: Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine/Valley Hospital Medical Center, Las Vegas, NV
Fellowship: University of North Texas/HCA Medical City Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas (Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology)
Clinical/academic interests: Peripartum cardiomyopathy, Echocardiogram, Innovations in interventional cardiology
Sujeeth R. Punnam, MD, FACC
Medical school: Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal, India
Clinical/academic interests: Interventional & Structural Cardiology
Syed Umer Ali, MD
Medical school: Aga Khan University, Pakistan
Residency: UT Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas
Fellowship: University of Wisconsin, Madison Interventional
Fellowship: Boston Medical Center, Boston University, MA
Alaa Gabi, MD
Medical School: An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
Fellowship: Interventional and Structural Cardiology, Drexel University College of Medicine / Allegheny General Hospital; Cardiovascular Medicine, Marshall University School of Medicine
Adnan Khan, MD
Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine, Portsmouth, Dominica, West Indies
Fellowship: Interventional Cardiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
Rashaad Chothia, MD
Medical School: M.D. Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
Fellowship: Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology, University of Rochester. Rochester, New York
Mahboob Ali, MD
Medical School: University of Sindh, Pakistan
Fellowship: Interventional Cardiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center
Current Fellows
Fellow-3
Arshi Jha, DO
Medical school: Touro University, NV
Hometown: Union City, CA
Professional interests: Cardiology
AB Majeed, MD
Medical school: University of Health Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
Hometown: Livermore, CA
Professional interests: Transcatheter Coronary & Valvular Interventions, Structural Heart Diseases
Shane Burnette, MD
Medical school: Ross University School of Medicine
Hometown: Fort Collins, Colorado
Professional interests: Non-invasive cardiology, Heart failure and Electrophysiology
Fellow-2
Kelash Kumar, MD
Medical school: Chandka Medical College, Larkana, Pakistan
Hometown: Jacobabad, Pakistan
Professional interests: Cardiac Imaging and Electrophysiology
Sun Yong Lee, MD
Medical school: Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea
Hometown: Gongju, South Korea
Professional interests: Advanced cardiac imaging, echocardiography, structural heart disease, electrophysiology, and research
Omar Masarweh, MD
Medical school: Ross University School of Medicine
Hometown: Monterey, CA
Professional interests: Interventional cardiology, advanced heart failure
Fellow-1
Nikky Maharjan, MD
Medical school: Sir Salimullah Medical College
Hometown: Pulchowk, Lalitpur, Nepal
Professional interests: Cardiology
Sonali Sharma, MD
Medical school: St. George's University School of Medicine
Hometown: Yuba City, CA
Professional interests: Cardiology
Vishnu Shenoy, MD
Medical school: St. George's University School of Medicine
Hometown: West Windsor, NJ
Professional interests: Interventional Cardiology and Structural Heart Disease
Contact Information
Joanne Daly
Department of Academic Affairs and Graduate Medical Education
St. Joseph's Medical Center Graduate Medical Education
Email: sjmcgmeleadership@commonspirit.org
Mariana Orozco
Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program Administrator
Academic Affairs & Graduate Medical Education
Email: mariana.orozco901@commonspirit.org
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