Department of Medicine Facts & Faculty

Established in 1907, Saint Peter’s University Hospital is a Roman Catholic hospital sponsored by the Diocese of Metuchen. It is a major clinical affiliate of the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. 

The Department of Internal Medicine is the largest department at Saint Peter’s. A diverse and experienced clinical faculty teaches the core of our program and provides training to the 51 Internal Medicine residents. 

The following provides a brief overview of the clinical faculty 

Vital Statistics

Hospital established	1907
Residency established	1929
Saint Peter’s University Hospital	478 Beds
ICU	20 Beds
Department of Medicine	120 Beds
Teaching Service	50-60 Beds
Internal Medicine Outpatient Clinic	14,000 Visits per year
Full accreditation by ACGME.	Next site visit 2017.
ABIM Pass Rate	100% 2013-2014
Number of Residents	51
Preliminary	0
Rutgers Fellowships:	GI, Endocrinology
Number of Full time Faculty	29
Number of Part time Faculty	20

Academic Affiliations

• Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
• Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers Business School

Program Leadership

Nayan Kothari, MD, MACP, FRCP, (Edin)
Chair, Department of Medicine
Chief Academic Officer, Saint Peter’s University Hospital
Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency

Dr. Kothari is a board certified internist and rheumatologist. He is a leading educator and was a member of Step 2 Committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners. Dr. Kothari was a member of the Test Developing Committee of the Educational Council for Foreign Medical Graduates from 1996 to 2003. He has received several teaching awards from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Drexel University College of Medicine, The Edward J. III Outstanding Medical Education Award from the Excellence in Medicine Foundation, and the Academic Award from the Middlesex County Medical Society. Most recently he received the Mastership from the American College of Physicians. Prior to 2005, Dr. Kothari directed the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Internal Medicine Residency Program for 17 years.

Kim Dixon, MD
Department of Medicine
Chair, Program Evaluation Committee
Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency

Dr. Dixon has been affiliated with St. Peter’s University Hospital since 1998 when she began her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS). Upon completion of her Internal Medicine Residency, she served as Chief Resident at Princeton Medical. After her chief residency, she joined as Faculty in the Department of Internal Medicine at Saint Peter’s University Hospital and has been an integral member of the department since that time. She has served as an attending physician in the Residency Continuity Clinic since 2003. In the past, she has served as the 3rd Year Clerkship Director for UMDNJ-RWJMS and Drexel University College of Medicine. Her current academic appointment is Clinical Assistant Professor, Rutgers RWJMS. She is board certified in Internal Medicine. She worked from 2012-2020 as a Breast Care Specialist at the Saint Peter’s Breast Center. Dr. Dixon is passionate about Women’s Health and Physician Wellness.

Rajesh Desai, MD
Department of Medicine
Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency

Dr. Desai graduated from Baroda Medical College, India and completed his Internal Medicine training at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY. Dr. Desai joined Saint Peter’s in October 2018 as an attending at our Adult Ambulatory Continuity Clinic. He works to improve the education curriculum, while working with each resident to train them to become an exceptional physician. He is passionate about teaching his residents to deliver care that is efficient and through.

Core Faculty

Hongxiu Luo, MD
Division of Endocrinology

Dr. Luo, born in China, is a graduate of the Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science & Technology in China, where she received her medical degree. She went on to complete her residencies in internal medicine at Raritan Bay Medical Center in NJ and Guangzhou No.12 People’s Hospital in China. Further, she completed her fellowship in Endocrinology at the National Institute of Health in 2018. She is certified by both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Dr. Luo is an active member of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the American Thyroid Association (ATA), the American Endocrine Society, and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE). She presently provides cutting-edge medical care to patients of New Brunswick and Piscataway, NJ. Her areas of expertise include thyroid goiters, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, thyroid cancer, diabetes (type I & type II), adrenal disease, pituitary disease, and bone osteoporosis. Dr. Luo has won many prestigious awards and has authored articles in esteemed publications. Her commitment to creating a positive patient experience for every individual is unparalleled.

Dr. Luo is also enthusiastic in education, contributing as the subspecialty education coordinator in the Endocrinology Division and as core faculty in the Internal Medicine residency program.

Chirag Patel, MD
Division of Hospital Medicine

Dr. Chirag Patel is a board-certified internist who has joined St Peters in 2019. Dr. Chirag earned his medical degree from University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes” in Romania. He completed his Internal Medicine residency training at Oak Hill Hospital, Florida after which practiced as a Hospitalist at Hackensack University Medical Center, New Jersey.

He enjoys teaching and enhancing bedside medicine skills in residents, medical students and is also very interested in teaching residents about Point Of Care Ultrasound Skills (POCUS). Also, he is the third-year medical clerkship director for rotating Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School students. Dr Patel is also a member of the Clinical Competency Committee for the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Haris Rana, MD
Chair, Clinical Competency Committee
Associate Program Director, Pulmonary Fellowship

Dr. Rana graduated from Ross University School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine training and Chief Residency in the Atlantic Health Care System in New Jersey. He then went to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan where he completed his Pulmonary and Critical Care training and also functioned as a chief fellow.

In addition to being part of the Saint Peter's University Hospital Internal Medicine Medical Teaching Service (MTS), Dr. Rana has operated as core key clinical faculty and as a Sub-internship Director. Currently he is one of the Associate Program Directors for the Pulmonary Fellowship. His administrative responsibilities include chairing the Sepsis Committee.

Dr. Rana is passionate about patient care and medical education. He works closely with residents offering mentorship in many aspects of their training. Dr. Rana oversees resident participation in administrative and/or education committees. He works with each resident in developing and completing a quality improvement project during their training.

Nilam Srivastava, MD
Chief, Division of Internal Medicine

Dr. Srivastava graduated from M.S. Ramaiah Medical College and completed Internal Medicine residency training at Saint Peter’s University Hospital.

Dr. Srivastava has been a part of the MTS Teaching Service faculty since June 2008. She serves on both inpatient floor service as well as an attending at the outpatient continuity clinic. Her interests include preventive medicine and quality improvement.

Santiago Wer Arrivillaga, MD
Medical Director, Adult Family Health Center

Dr Wer Arrivillaga is a board-certified internist.  He graduated from UFM Medical School in his native Guatemala.   He completed Internal Medicine Residency here at Saint Peter’s.   Since 2017 he has served as the medical director for the outpatient Adult Family Medicine and core faculty.   One of his primary beliefs is the Internist as a “jack of all trades”, therefore, he participates in both primary care and hospital medicine.  His interests include evidence based physical examination and medical education.    

Subspecialty Education Coordinators

Subspecialty Division	Education Coordinator
Cardiology	Dinesh Singal, MD
Critical Care	Balaji Yegneswaran, MD
Endocrinology	Hongxiu Luo, MD
General Internal Medicine/Hospital Medicine	Nilam Srivastava, MD
Hematology/Oncology	Marcus Porcelli, MD
Infectious Diseased	Henry Redel, MD
Nephrology	Paul Sterman, MD
Neurology	Roger Behar, MD
Pulmonology	Haris Rana, MD