Medical Staff Leadership

Immediate Past President of the Medical Staff

James D. Griffin, MD, is Chief of Parkland Anesthesia Services. Dr. Griffin is also Vice Chairman of UTSW Department of Anesthesiology for Parkland Hospital Affairs.

Dr. Griffin had been on the faculty at UT Southwestern in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management since 1990. Education has been the hallmark of his academic career, providing leadership as Director of Medical Student and Resident education for two decades. The UTSW Department of Anesthesiology has applauded the education contribution of Dr. Griffin by naming the annual faculty medical student awarded in his honor. He has research and academic interests in non-opioid analgesics, airway management, neuropathic pain syndromes and healthcare disparities. Dr.

Griffin also served as Chief of Anesthesiology Services at Zale Lipshy University Hospital.

He has been elected to two exclusion medical societies: the National Medical Honor Society - Alpha Omega Alpha and the UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers.

Dr. Griffin graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. He obtained his MD degree from UT Southwestern where he was the Fred Florence Scholar. He completed four years of anesthesiology residency with subspecialty track training in Anesthesia for Neurological Surgery.

Chief, Division of Hospital Medicine

Eugene S. Chu, MD, is the Chief, Division of Hospital Medicine at Parkland and Vice President of the Medical Staff.

In this role, he directs and manages all aspects of the Hospital Medicine Program and collaborates with physician and hospital leadership to ensure excellent program operations.

He obtained his bachelor's degree in Biology from Stanford University and his MD from the Tufts University School of Medicine.

Program Chief of Medicine Services

Jose A. Joglar, MD, is the Program Chief of Medicine Services, Vice Chair for Parkland Affairs Department of Internal Medicine and Past President of the Medical Staff at Parkland. He is a Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship Program at UT Southwestern and Parkland, and holds the Elizabeth Thaxton and Ellis Batten Page Professorship in Cardiac Electrophysiology Research.

Dr. Joglar received his Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of Puerto Rico. In 1991 he joined UT Southwestern and Parkland, where he completed a residency in Internal Medicine and Fellowships in Cardiovascular Disease and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology. Since joining UTSW faculty in 1998, Dr. Joglar has had a productive academic career, participating extensively in research and education. Dr. Joglar belongs to a number of editorial boards and national committees, including Content Editor for ECG Section at Circulation and member of the ACC/AHA Task Force on Practice Guidelines. He is a Fellow of The American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology and Heart Rhythm Society.

Dr. Joglar spends most of his time practicing academic medicine and training the next generation of young cardiologists.

Chief Radiology Officer

John Dean Barr, MD, is the Chief Radiology Officer at Parkland, and Professor of Radiology and Neurological Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Barr completed his undergraduate education at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science and his medical degree at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He completed his residency in diagnostic radiology at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center and fellowships in vascular and interventional radiology, and diagnostic and interventional neuroradiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Dr. Barr maintains an active clinical practice, including both diagnostic imaging and interventional neuroradiology procedures. He has extensive experience with endovascular treatment of ischemic stroke and percutaneous vertebral augmentation.

His research interests include endovascular treatment of stroke and other cerebrovascular disorders, image-guided percutaneous spinal surgeries and development of a novel infection prevention system for which he holds multiple patents.

Chief Innovation Officer

Kavita Bhavan, MD, MHS, is the Chief Innovation Officer and Medical Director of the Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy Clinic and Infectious Diseases Ambulatory Clinics at Parkland. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Associate Vice Chair of Clinical Innovation and High Value Care at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Bhavan earned her medical degree at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. She completed a residency in internal medicine at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation and received advanced training in infectious diseases through a fellowship at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital. She also holds a Master of Health Science degree in maternal and child health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2009. She is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and a member of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine.

Dr. Bhavan’s research interests include reducing health disparities with a low-tech and low-cost patient-centered approach to innovation in care delivery, patient engagement, and self-care models. Her current research efforts include exploring other clinical settings for self-care models to improve health equity.

Chief of Otolaryngology

Teresa V. Chan, MD, is Chief of Otolaryngology at Parkland, and Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She supervises speech pathology and the Care and Assessment of Tracheostomy Team and participates in peer review activities at Parkland.

Dr. Chan received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a doctor of medicine degree from Drexel University, formerly MCP – Hahneman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. She completed a general surgery internship and an otolaryngology H&N residency from 2003-2008 at Boston University in Boston.

Dr. Chan practices the depth and breadth of otolaryngology and all of its various subspecialties.

Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer

Joseph Chang, MD, MBA, FACOG, is the Chief Medical Officer at Parkland and a member of the Obstetrics and Gynecology faculty at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Chang earned his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine including completing his OB/GYN residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital, and his Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University. He is board certified, is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and is a member of The American Association of Physician Leaders.

Dr. Chang is currently the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Parkland Health and Hospital System, a large safety net health system that serves Dallas County with over 1 million outpatient encounters per year. He is responsible for the oversight of all hospital and ambulatory clinical care operations. He is also responsible for all medical staff office functions including credentialing, privileging, and peer review, and the oversight of Graduate Medical Education. Previously, Dr. Chang spent 6 years as Parkland Health and Hospital System’s Associate Chief Medical Officer for Population Health and on the Volunteer Faculty for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School Faculty for the Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology. Both English and Mandarin Chinese are his native languages, and he is also fluent in Spanish. In spite of all of this, Dr. Chang cites his main work as being a husband and father, spending time with his extraordinary wife and twin daughters.

Chief of Psychiatry

Pedro José Fernandez, MD, serves as Co-Chief of Psychiatry and Medical Director of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry for Parkland. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He also serves as Associate Training Director for the Combined Internal Medicine and Psychiatry residency program at UT Southwestern.

Dr. Fernandez earned his medical degree and completed a residency at Boston University School of Medicine. He completed a fellowship in consultation-liaison psychiatry at Yale University. He has additional boards in Consultation Liaison Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. Dr. Fernandez joined the UT Southwestern and Parkland in 2017.

He is a member of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training and the American Society of Addiction Medicine. His research focuses on behavioral health integration into primary care, Latinx mental health, cultural psychiatry and LGBT mental health.

Senior Vice-President, Chief Quality and Safety Officer

Mike Lane, MD, MBA, MPHS, MSc, is the Senior Vice-President, Chief Quality and Safety Officer and Associate Chief Medical Officer for Parkland Health.

In this role, Dr. Lane is responsible for leading efforts to deliver safe, high-quality, effective, efficient, and patient-centered care for the communities served by Parkland Health.

Dr. Lane received a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and Master of Science in biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University. He received his medical degree at Drexel University College of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Dr. Lane completed fellowships in infectious diseases as well as quality and patient safety at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO. In addition, Dr. Lane completed a Master of Population Health Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine and Master of Business Administration from the Olin Business School at Washington University.

His research interests include management of prosthetic joint infections, and using administrative data to develop innovative approaches to improve value in healthcare delivery systems.

 

Chief of Emergency Services

Jeffery C. Metzger, MD, MBA, is Chief of Emergency Services at Parkland and Associate Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and President-elect.

Dr. Metzger earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from University of California, Riverside, his doctor of medicine degree from David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and a Master of Business Administration from University of Texas at Dallas. He completed his emergency medicine residency at Duke University and a fellowship in government emergency medical security services at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Metzger’s clinical and academic interests include emergency department operations and patient throughput. He also has a focus on tactical and law enforcement medicine and serves as a sworn police officer with the Dallas Police Department, where he is a Tactical Physician for the SWAT team.

Chief of Surgical Services

Joseph P. Minei, MD, MBA, is the Chief of Surgical Services at Parkland. He is also Professor and Chair of the Division of Burn, Trauma and Critical Care and Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Minei received a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y., and a doctor of medicine degree from the Cornell University Medical College in New York City. He also received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Minei completed his internship and residency at New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center and a fellowship at the Cornell University Medical College.

His research focuses on risk factors and response to traumatic shock, organ failure and surgical infection.

Chief of Pathology Services

Kyle Molberg, MD, is Chief of Pathology Services at Parkland and Professor of Pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is the CLIA Laboratory Director at Parkland for Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology, Non-Waived Point of Care Testing, Provider Performed Microscopy and Off-Campus Waived Testing.

Dr. Molberg received a Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Methodist University and his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. He completed a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology, and a fellowship in surgical pathology at Parkland and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Molberg spends most of his time administratively leading the Parkland Pathology Laboratories and working as a consultant and mentor for the next generation of pathologists on our campus. His research activities focus on various aspects of anatomic pathology.

Senior Vice President and Chief Health Officer

Brett Moran, MD, is the Chief Health Officer at Parkland Health where he leads Clinical Strategic Development, Digital Health, Research, Innovation, Clinician Well-being, and Value initiatives. His strategic vision focuses on transforming healthcare delivery through technology and process improvement, with particular emphasis on serving vulnerable populations. He previously served as SVP, Associate Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Medical Information Officer, where he established and led the Clinical Informatics department, developing groundbreaking initiatives including the Digital Health Center and Safety Net Surveillance Team.

His academic contributions span medical education and research at UT Southwestern Medical Center, including serving as course director for Clinical Decision Support in the Masters Program for Clinical Informatics and co-creating the Population Health Curriculum for medicine residents. Dr. Moran is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Clinical Informatics, with a Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship from the Cox School of Business.

As a leader in healthcare technology and AI implementation, Dr. Moran serves in several key advisory roles, including co-chair of the Texas eHealth Advisory Council, which provides strategic guidance to the Health and Human Services Commission. He contributes his expertise as an independent reviewer for the Duke Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) framework, actively participates in the Epic Health Policy and AI workgroup, and co-facilitates the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's AI Accelerator. His current focus includes advancing patient safety through artificial intelligence, pioneering solutions to reduce clinician burden, deepening the integration of social care within healthcare delivery systems, and developing sustainable virtual care models tailored to safety-net environments.

Vice President, Ambulatory Medical Service and Population Medicine

Noel O. Santini, MD, MBA, FACP, is the Vice President, Ambulatory Medical Service and Population Medicine at Parkland Health and as Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern. In his leadership role, he oversees the direction and coordination of medical and clinical ambulatory services, ensuring the delivery of high-quality care to all patients. He serves on multiple key health system committees, plays an integral role in the development of initiatives focused on care management across the continuum, and serves as co-investigator on several research grants, primarily in the area of population health.

Dr. Santini is a board-certified internal medicine physician who earned his medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and completed his residency training in internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He also earned a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Organization Leadership and Management from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Dr. Santini has contributed to major organizational achievements, including Patient-Centered Medical Home recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and recognition by the American Diabetes Association for the Healthy Living with Diabetes program. He has also contributed to numerous publications, manuscripts, presentations, and continuing education programs related to internal medicine, ambulatory care, and population health.

Throughout his career, Dr. Santini has served on numerous leadership boards and advisory bodies. These include the Board of Directors of the Texas Chapter of the American College of Physicians from 2008 to 2011; the Leadership Board of the American Diabetes Association in North Texas, where he was elected Board President in 2015; the Board of Directors of the Dallas-Valencia Citizens Committee, where he chaired Health Initiatives; the Men’s Health Advisory Board at Parkland; the Pathology Clinical Advisory Council at Parkland; and the Diabetes Advisory Board at Parkland, among others. By appointment of the Dallas County Commissioners Court, he also served on the Metrocare Board of Trustees from 2019 to 2026.

Dr. Santini is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Association for Physician Leadership, the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, and the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. His honors include the Provider Recognition Award from the American Diabetes Association, the Parkland Above and Beyond Award, and the Parkland Distinguished Physician Award, among others.

For more than 25 years, Dr. Santini has dedicated his career to serving the medically underserved of Dallas County. Through his longstanding commitment to Parkland Health, one of the nation’s largest safety-net health systems, he has become a respected physician leader in population health and ambulatory medicine.

Chief Health Information Officer

Nainesh Shah, MD, is the Chief Health Information Officer at Parkland Health, where he leads strategic initiatives to advance digital health innovation, clinical informatics and patient-centered technology solutions. He is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Clinical Informatics and practices clinically as a hospitalist.

Dr. Shah earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and completed his residency and chief residency at Baylor College of Medicine. He is recognized as a Senior Fellow in Hospital Medicine (SFHM).

Prior to his current role, Dr. Shah served for a decade as Deputy Medical Information Officer at Parkland Health and as Medical Director of Technology, Innovation, and Design with the The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Division of Hospital Medicine. He played a pivotal role in shaping Parkland’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, guiding data-informed strategies and operational agility.

In his current role, Dr. Shah is focused on harnessing the full potential of informatics teams to improve patient care and advance wellness across the continuum. A key priority is enhancing the digital ecosystem for clinical staff—ensuring they have intuitive, efficient tools that empower them to deliver optimal care. By aligning data science, clinical workflows, and technology strategy, he is driving efforts to reduce care variation and strengthen population health management.

Dr. Shah is known for fostering cross-functional collaboration and championing innovation that aligns with both clinical priorities and organizational values.