Program Leadership - Internal Medicine Residency
Kacie J. Saulters, MD, FACP
Program Director
Dr. Saulters has been involved in undergraduate and graduate medical education since completing her residency and has a passion for teaching and training physicians. She has a depth of experience in curriculum development and didactic and bedside teaching. In addition, Dr. Saulters holds certification in tropical medicine and hygiene from ASTMH, medical education research certification from AAMC, and leadership education and development certification from AAMC. She has several teaching awards, including a Golden Apple from Georgetown University School of Medicine, where she remains adjunct associate professor. As founder of ACP-DC Chapter's Health Equities Committee, Dr. Saulters is passionate about health equity and serving our diverse population in Prince George's County.
When not at the hospital, you can find Dr. Saulters at home in D.C. with her husband and two children, probably working in the garden, making a loaf of sourdough bread, or exploring one of the local parks in Prince George's County.
Ricardo Fernández, MD
Associate Program Director
Dr. Fernández is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and completed his undergraduate and medical education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He completed his residency at The George Washington University in the Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program, later serving as assistant professor of medicine and assistant director of the Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency.
In addition to his work as a clinician-educator, Dr. Fernández has worked in private practice settings as well as community health centers with poor and uninsured patients. Prior to coming to UM Capitol Region Health, Dr. Fernández worked for 11 years as chief medical officer and as a practicing physician at La Clínica del Pueblo, a Federally Qualified Health Center serving a mostly Spanish-speaking immigrant population in Washington, DC, and Maryland.
Dr. Fernández enjoys being a lifelong learner and teacher of medical practice. In addition to general internal medicine and primary care, his clinical interests include diabetes and hypertension, preventive medicine and cancer screening, HIV, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and sexually transmitted infections.
Helen Lavelle, MD
Associate Program Director
Dr. Lavelle is originally from Texas and completed her medical education and internal medicine residency at the University of Cincinnati. After graduation she served as an academic hospitalist at the University of Cincinnati before she and her family relocated to the Washington, DC, area.
Dr. Lavelle served as an academic hospitalist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Georgetown University. She has broad longitudinal experience in undergraduate and graduate medical education, as well as hospital and institutional service as it relates to the practice of hospital medicine.
Gurdeep Singh Chhabra, MD
Associate Program Director
Dr. Chhabra received his medical degree from Gauhati University in India. He completed his internship in internal medicine at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi and completed his residency in internal medicine in 1993. He completed his fellowship in hematology & oncology at Prince George's Hospital Center in 1996.
Dr. Chhabra has served in the associate program director role since 2012 and has held several leadership roles at UM Capital Region Health. Most recently he serves as the chair of the division of hematology and oncology, as well as the immediate-past president of the medical staff. Dr. Chhabra is the president of Prince George's Medical Society.
Nidal Arnous, MD FACP
Core Faculty
Dr. Nidal Arnous graduated from Tishreen University College of Medicine in Syria. After training and work in Syria and Saudi Arabia, Dr. Arnous moved to the United States, where he completed a residency in internal medicine at UM Capital Region Health and served as a chief resident.
Dr. Arnous has also been part of the internal medicine residency program core faculty since 2015 and served as the internal medicine students clerkship director.
Dr. Arnous's primary fields of interest include diabetes and obesity management. He holds graduate diplomas in diabetes and obesity management and is certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
Lisa Moreno, MD
Core Faculty
Dr. Moreno is originally from Colombia, South America. She completed medical school in Bogota, Colombia, at The University of La Sabana and came to the United States to complete her training in internal medicine at UM Capital Region Health.
Since graduation, she has been working with residents as a core faculty member. Dr. Moreno loves to teach and enjoys being part of each resident's training. Dr. Moreno serves on the residency program evaluation committee, mentors residents through the clinical competency committee and assists with board review.
Dr. Moreno is fluent in Spanish and a mother of two. She enjoys spending time with her husband, finding and trying new and delicious restaurants in the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia area.
Sunil Swami, MD
Core Faculty
Dr. Sunil Swami is a pulmonary care specialist who is board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary disease. He provides pulmonary services in the inpatient and ambulatory setting.
Dr. Swami enjoys developing long-term relationships with his patients and has particular interest in care of patients with asthma. Dr. Swami is known amongst residents in the internal medicine program as an excellent teacher and is frequently seen giving whiteboard talks based in physiologic principles. He also is faculty director of the Clinical Research Track and serves as a core member of the clinical competency committee.
Lee-Ann Wagner, MD
Core Faculty
Dr. Wagner attended University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed a dual residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Maryland Medical Center, where she served as chief resident.
She is an academic internal medicine hospitalist who began her attending career at Georgetown University Hospital before returning to University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2011, where she maintains an adjunct associate professor faculty position.
In addition to her duties as clinical educator on the wards, she served in various administrative roles including the director of the academic hospitalist services, physician advisor to care management, UMMS Access Center physician, and the Maryland chapter president for Society of Hospital Medicine.
Dr. Wagner is passionate about resident and medical student education, enhancing inpatient care quality and efficiency, and optimizing the discharge transition. Her research interests include human factors engineering as it applies to care transitions, with a specific focus on patient self-care instructions.
Vanessa Wright, MPH
Residency Program Assistant
Vanessa is originally from Portmore, Jamaica. She received her bachelor's in biology from Notre Dame of Maryland University. She also pursued a master of public health from Hofstra University in Long Island, New York.
While at Hofstra, she worked as a graduate assistant for Orientation and New Student programs and as a graduate research assistant for the Perinatal and Infant Community Health Collaborative Grant. Vanessa was active on campus by serving as vice president and treasurer for the Society of Public Health Advocates (SOPHA). She was honored with a certificate of appreciation from the MPH department for her work in gaining donations for the Hofstra Dome Pride Pantry.
When she is not at work, Vanessa enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling and trying new restaurants within the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia area.
Angelique Norfles
Program Administrator
Angelique manages the day-to-day operations of the residency program with passion and focus, using her years of experience in the medical education administration field.
Angelique is originally from California and spent seven years at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, overseeing and supporting Graduate Medical Education (GME) for the radiology fellowship program.
She joined the internal medicine residency program at UM Capital Region Health in 2021.
Angelique is a licensed Maryland notary and certified in computerized accounting. She also is an alliance ambassador for Academic Internal Medicine.
Away from work, Angelique enjoys traveling, interior home decorating, party planning and spending time with her family and four grandchildren.