Program Leadership

Haris Rana, MD, MSc
Interim Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency
Associate Chief, Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Saint Peter's University Hospital
Dr. Haris Rana graduated from Ross University School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine training and Chief Residency in the Atlantic Health System in New Jersey. He then went to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, where he completed his Pulmonary and Critical Care training and 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 served as core faculty. He has served as clerkship director as well as sub-internship director for the medical students. Formerly, he was one of the associate program directors for the Internal Medicine Residency and the Pulmonary Fellowship programs.

His administrative responsibilities include serving as prior chair of the Sepsis Committee and serving as lead physician for CLABSI Committee. He has received numerous awards in teaching and clinical care. 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 is now overseeing the residents as interim program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program. After recently completing a master’s in Healthcare Simulation from University of Alabama – Birmingham, he advocates for learner-centered education with the optimal goal to achieve best patient outcomes in a joyful and safe learning environment.   


Harsh Bhatt, MD
Division of Hospital Medicine
Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency
Dr. Harsh Bhatt is an associate program director and attending hospitalist with almost a decade of clinical experience. He graduated from Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados and completed internal medicine residency at Mercy Catholic Medical Center, Rockville Centre, New York.

He started his career as a private hospitalist at JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey. Due to his interest in education, he came to Saint Peter’s in 2022 to become a teaching attending. Dr. Bhatt enjoys the balance of working with residents and students on the wards while providing direct patient care himself. As an advisor, he appreciates the opportunity to mentor residents as they navigate through residency. He is proud that the residency program strives for continuous collaboration, improvement, and adaptation of new ideas presented by the residents. Outside his role as a hospitalist, he is also a member of several committees to forge new ideas and help residents achieve their research goals.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Bhatt enjoys reading, sports, and most of all – spending time with his wife and three-year old son.


Rajesh Desai, MD
Department of Medicine
Director, Adult Health Center
Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency
 Dr. Rajesh Desai graduated from Baroda Medical College, India, and completed his Internal Medicine training at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Desai joined Saint Peter’s University Hospital 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 thorough.


Mariela Kapoor, MD
Department of Medicine
Director, Adult Multispecialty Health Center
Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency
Dr. Mariela Kapoor is an internist. She obtained her medical degree at Universidad Iberoamericana (Unibe). She completed her Internal Medicine residency at Metropolitan Hospital in New York City (New York Medical College).
 
Her focus is primary care and preventive medicine. She enjoys working for the underserved populations, which she has done for over 10 years. She loves cultural diversity and learning from different cultures.


Chirag Patel, MD
Division of Hospital Medicine
Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency
Dr. Chirag Patel is a board-certified internist who has joined Saint Peter’s 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 he practiced as a hospitalist at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.
He enjoys teaching and enhancing bedside medicine skills in residents, medical students and is also very interested in Point of Care Ultrasound Skills (POCUS). He is also 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.

Core Faculty
Mario D. Caldararo, MD, MS
Infectious Disease and Critical Care Medicine
Dr. Mario Caldararo is board-certified in internal medicine, infectious disease, and critical care medicine. A New Jersey native, he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at Montclair State University with a master's thesis focused on herpes simplex virus biology. He attended medical school at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and came to Saint Peter's University Hospital for his internal medicine clerkship as a medical student. After graduating, he completed his Internal Medicine residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia with a distinction in medical education. He completed an infectious disease at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, serving as chief fellow, and then a critical care medicine fellowship at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut. He now serves primarily as an intensivist at Saint Peter's and is part of the core faculty for the Internal Medicine Residency Program.
He is a member of the American College of Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. He is keenly interested in sepsis, oncologic infectious disease, immunocompromise, medical education, and expanding applications of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) outside the ICU.


Asim Khan, MD
Division of Hospital Medicine
Dr. Asim Khan graduated from SABA University School of Medicine and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Overlook Medical Center in Summit, New Jersey. He serves as the Medical Student Clerkship director and overseas the clinical education for all 3rd and 4th year students from St. George's University School of Medicine at Saint Peter's University Hospital. As part of the core faculty, Dr. Khan is an active participant in resident education and assessing clinical competency. His academic interests include resident and student education, palliative care, and hospital medicine. Outside of medicine, he loves to spend time with his family, travel, and read novels.

Lokesh Lahoti, MD
Division of Hospital Medicine
Dr. Lokesh Lahoti completed his undergraduate education at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He majored in biological sciences with minors in psychology, economics, and philosophy. He graduated from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after which he completed Internal Medicine residency training at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  His interests in medicine include quality improvement and business of medicine.
 

Hongxiu Luo, MD
Division of Endocrinology
Dr. Hongxiu 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 Old Bridge, New Jersey 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 in New Brunswick and Piscataway, New Jersey. 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 Division of Endocrinology, Nutrition and Metabolism and as core faculty in the Internal Medicine Residency Program.


Manank Patel, MD
Division of Hospital Medicine
Dr. Manank Patel received his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey with a major in Chemistry and minor in Biological Sciences. He completed his medical education at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then his Internal Medicine residency at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. With an interest in hospital medicine and medical education, Dr. Patel joined Saint Peter’s as an academic hospitalist. His interest in medicine includes quality improvement and evidence-based medicine. Outside of medicine, his hobbies include traveling, hiking and sports.


Nilam Srivastava, MD
Chief, Division of Internal Medicine
Dr. Nilam Srivastava graduated from M.S. Ramaiah Medical College in India and completed her 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 the inpatient floor service and as an attending at the outpatient continuity clinic. Her interests include preventive medicine and quality improvement.
  Talha Khan, MD
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Adil Manzoor, DO
Division of Hospital Medicine
  Cathleen Mullarkey-DeSapio, MD
Division of Endocrinology, Nutrition and Metabolism
  Mary Tobiasson, DO
Division of Hospital Medicine