Faculty

Alan H. Tyroch, M.D., FACS, FCCM, is a fifth-generation native Texan. He is professor and founding chair of the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery. Dr. Tyroch is also chief of surgery and trauma medical director at University Medical Center of El Paso.

After obtaining his Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Texas A&M University, Dr. Tyroch earned his Doctorate of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston McGovern Medical School in Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of the Phoenix Integrated Surgical Residency Program in Phoenix, Arizona. He has also furthered his surgical education with fellowships in trauma and surgical critical care at the University of California, San Francisco Fresno Medical Education Program in Fresno, California.

Dr. Tyroch is board certified in general surgery and surgical critical care. He is a member in the American College of Surgeons, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, Society of Critical Care Medicine, Texas Surgical Society, Southwestern Surgical Congress, American Trauma Society, Pan-American Trauma Society, Pediatric Trauma Society, Western Surgical Association, Association for Academic Surgery, Association for Surgical Education, Society of Surgical Chairs, American Burn Association, ACS-South Texas Chapter, Texas Medical Association and El Paso County Medical Society.

Dr. Tyroch is also a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Tyroch is the chair on the Governor’s Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Advisory Council. He is an active member in the BorderRAC, the Far West Texas and Southern New Mexico Regional Advisory Council on Trauma and Emergency Healthcare. His clinical and research interests are trauma, surgical critical care, acute care surgery and general surgery.

Brian Richard Davis, M.D., is the general surgery residency program director and director of surgical research at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. He is a professor in the Department of Surgery and Internal Medicine and is board certified in general surgery.

Dr. Davis obtained his Doctorate of Medicine in 1999 from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He completed general surgery residency and a fellowship at the University of Louisville in 2005. His specialty interests include hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery. He also is an expert in laparoscopic and robotic surgery with a special emphasis in foregut surgery, including treatment of hiatal hernia and gastro-esophageal reflux disease. His innovations include endoscopic treatments for biliary disease (ERCP) and surgical treatments for gastroparesis.

Dr. Davis is a career surgical educator who has designed competency-based training curricula for surgical residents and is a founding faculty member for the gastroenterology fellowship. He is an elected member of the Texas Surgical Society, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons, and the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Research interests include surgical education, robotic surgery, endoscopic surgery and the microbiome of inflammatory bowel disease.

Dr. McLean joined the department of surgery, TTUHSC El Paso faculty in 1998. She is a graduate of the Medical College of Virginia. She took her surgery internship and general surgery residency at Brown University and graduated in 1994. She went on to a surgical critical care fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and completed all requirements in 1995. She stayed on as an instructor in surgery for one year; then to the Mayo Medical School and Clinic Foundation in Minnesota until 1998. She is board certified in both general surgery and surgical critical care.

Gilbert Aidinian, M.D., is a board certified vascular surgeon at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso in El Paso, Texas. He is an associate professor of surgery, and division chief of vascular and endovascular surgery at TTUHSC El Paso. Dr. Aidinian is board certified in general surgery and vascular surgery and is a fellow of the Society for Vascular Surgery and American College of Surgeons. 

Dr. Aidinian obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and earned his Doctorate of Medicine from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Center in 2001. He completed his general surgery residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2007 and completed his fellowship in vascular surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2009.   

He joined the vascular surgery faculty at William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC) in El Paso in 2009 and stayed in El Paso until his retirement in 2021. During his time at WBAMC, Dr. Aidinian developed protocols for performing complex, state-of-the-art vascular surgery procedures at WBAMC. While at WBAMC, he served as the chief of vascular surgery for six years and chief of the Department of Surgery for three years. This was followed by serving as the deputy commander for Surgical Services for one year.  

Dr. Aidinian received the prestigious Surgeon General’s “A” proficiency designator for vascular surgery in 2016. He has served two combat tours and retired from the United States Army after over 20 years, rising to the rank of colonel.  

Dr. Aidinian’s clinical and research interests include peripheral arterial disease, aortic aneurysms, vascular trauma, carotid occlusive disease and venous disease.

Alireza Daneshpajouh, D.O., serves as an assistant professor in the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Dr. Daneshpajouh is board certified in general surgery and board eligible in vascular surgery. He is a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery. Dr. Daneshpajouh obtained his Bachelor of Science in biology from Florida International University in Miami, Florida, in 2008 and earned his Doctorate of Medicine from Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida, in 2014. He then continued to undergo surgical training at Larkin Community Hospital in Miami, Florida, which he completed in 2019. He furthered his training by pursuing fellowship training in vascular and endovascular surgery at Delray Medical Center/Florida Atlantic University in Delray Beach, Florida. His clinical and scholastic interests include carotid disease, aortic pathology, and peripheral vascular disease. 

Margo Carlin, D.O., is an assistant professor at the Department of Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Dr. Carlin is board certified in both general surgery and surgical critical care. She graduated from Temple University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and completed medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. In 2019, Dr. Carlin completed her general surgery residency training at Larkin Community Hospital in Miami, Florida. She then completed an acute care surgery fellowship in Atlanta, Georgia, followed by a surgical critical care fellowship at Kendall Regional Medical Center in Miami, Florida.

Alonso Andrade, M.D., FACS, is an Associate Professor for the department of surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.

He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology.  He obtained his Doctorate of Medicine degree in 2010 from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.  Subsequently he completed his general surgery residency at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso’s Department of Surgery in 2015.

Following residency Dr. Andrade has been involved with Medical Student education at TTUHSC El Paso’s Foster School of Medicine as the Associate Clerkship Director for General Surgery Clerkship and also as the Clerkship Director for Surgery Sub-Internship.  Dr. Andrade is also an Associate Residency Program Director for the General Surgery Residency at TTUHSC El Paso.

Dr. Andrade’s research interests include Simulation and Surgical Quality Improvement.  Dr. Andrade is the Surgery Medical Director and Director of the National Surgery Quality Improvement Program at University Medical Center of El Paso.

Dr. Andrade is board certified in general surgery and provides comprehensive general surgical care including minimally invasive and robotic surgery.

Subhasis Misra, MD, MS, FACS, FSSO is a board-certified surgeon specializing in surgical oncology who brings significant expertise in providing comprehensive cancer care.  He is currently an Associate Professor of Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.  He is also the Medical Director for the Breast Care Center.  Dr. Misra performs the full breadth of cancer surgery, including advanced surgery for cancers of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum, liver, and pancreas. Additionally, he performs complex surgical procedures to treat sarcoma, melanoma, endocrine tumors, and breast cancer surgeries, including those involving oncoplastic reconstruction and nipple-sparing mastectomies. 

He was the founding Program Director for the General Surgery Residency at HCA Florida Brandon Hospital where he successfully administered the program for five years, led the training of future surgeons, and was the Chair of the Graduate Medical Education Committee for the hospital overseeing major growth of the various training programs.  Prior to that he was an Associate Professor, Division of Surgical Oncology at TTUHSC Amarillo.  He has tremendous passion for education and research resulting in multiple faculty awards including the teacher of the year, and was the Principal Investigator the $1.45 Million Colorectal Cancer screening grant from CPRIT while a faculty at TTUHSC Amarillo.  

Dr. Misra earned his medical degree in India and did his general surgery internship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois and a general surgery residency at Fairview Hospital Cleveland Clinic Health System in Cleveland, Ohio where he served as the Chief Resident.  He then completed a surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL.  Given his interest in leadership and administration, Dr. Misra also earned a Master’s degree in Health Systems Management from Rush University in Chicago.  

He is a recognized expert in the field of medical education having worked with medical students, residents, fellows, and nursing students over the years.  This resulted in him getting inducted into the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators. Subsequently he received the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to India where he is a visiting Professor teaching at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh campus.  His project and focus there is “Changing Medical Education by Implementing Novel Educational Administration and Pedagogical Approach.” The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. 

Dr. Misra’s clinical, education, and research interests are in cancer surgery, health policy and advocacy for cancer care in the community, population health, and the full spectrum of medical education.  

Vid Fikfak, M.D., is an assistant professor for the department of surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, dedicated to the surgical treatment of colon and rectal disease.

Dr. Fikfak obtained his doctorate in medicine from University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and completed general surgery residency at the Houston Methodist Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical School in 2018. During this time, he also completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in computational surgery and medical device innovation at Methodist Institute for Technology, Innovation and Education (MITIE). Here, through the support of National Science Foundation (NSF) funding, he focused on computational modeling of disease processes and development of innovative solutions and patent-pending medical devices for disease management and treatment. After completing residency, Dr. Fikfak completed subspecialty training in colon and rectal surgery at the University of Texas in Houston.

With almost two decades of experience in clinically applicable and implementable qualitative and clinical research, Dr. Fikfak has made it his mission to improve the lives of patients as a surgeon-scientist, developing innovative solutions to problems he and his patients are faced with throughout the disease treatment process.

Dr. Fikfak is excited about practicing in El Paso as a surgeon-scientist and providing advanced colon and rectal surgery care.

Jose A. Castro Garcia, M.D., is a plastic and craniofacial surgeon. He is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.

Dr. Castro Garcia is a graduate of Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico where he received his Doctorate of Medicine in 2004. He completed his general surgery residency at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Department of Surgery in 2012.

In 2015, Dr. Castro Garcia completed a plastic surgery fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. He continued his training at the Craniofacial Center in Dallas, Texas, completing a craniofacial surgery fellowship in 2016.  

Stephanie Nemir, M.D., Ph.D., is a native of El Paso, having graduated as valedictorian from El Paso High School in 1999. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical engineering from Yale University, then was accepted into the Medical Scientist Training Program at Baylor College of Medicine. She earned her doctorate in medicine from Baylor along with a Ph.D. in bioengineering from Rice University, where her research focused on the development of biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. She went on to complete an integrated plastic surgery residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where she won numerous accolades for her research, including the Cronin Award from the Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons. After her residency, she furthered her surgical education with a one a one-year fellowship in reconstructive microsurgery and advanced cancer reconstruction at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is also board certified in Plastic Surgery.

Dr. Nemir is pleased to put her training in reconstructive and cosmetic surgery to work at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, where she serves as the Director of Breast Reconstruction. Her clinical interests include implant-based and autologous breast reconstruction, post-bariatric body contouring, general reconstruction, and cosmetic surgery of the breast and body.

Shawn Diamond, M.D., grew up in Southern California and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of California Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He received his M.D. from Cornell University where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Dr. Diamond met his wife, a fourth generation El Pasoan, during his time in New York. Subsequently, he completed general surgery training in Santa Barbara, California and is certified by the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Diamond joined the Harvard Plastic Surgery Residency and was awarded the Resident Teacher of the year award in 2019 and served on the Plastic Surgery Executive Committee. He completed subspecialty hand and microsurgery training in the combined Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgery fellowship at the University of California, Irvine.

Dr. Diamond joined Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso as an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery - specializing in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is an active educator of the TTUHSC El Paso General Surgery residency program, the combined William Beaumont Army Medical Center/TTUHSC El Paso Orthopaedic residency program, and Paul L. Foster School of Medicine medical students.  Dr. Diamond’s clinical practice focuses on adult and pediatric hand surgery, replantation, lower extremity limb salvage, amputation care, targeted muscle reinnervation and brachial plexus birth injury. He serves as the director of the Limb Restoration Program at TTUHSC El Paso. In addition to his work locally, Dr. Diamond also serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Reconstructive Microsurgery and has presented original research in the field of limb salvage at various national and international meetings. He is pleased to return to his wife’s hometown with his two young children to serve El Paso.

He is triple board-certified in general surgery, plastic surgery and hand surgery.

Roger G. Skiles, M.D., FACS, is a board certified otolaryngology-head and neck surgeon and assistant professor of surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.

Dr. Skiles is a fellow and diplomate of the American Academy of Otolaryngology ­Head and Neck Surgery and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Skiles graduated with honors from Texas Tech University in Lubbock with a degree in zoology. He graduated with his medical degree from the Texas Tech University School of Medicine in Lubbock, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society.

Following graduation, he trained in general surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and completed his residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas in 1987.

Dr. Skiles comes to TTUHSC El Paso after a successful private practice in Dallas, where he was named a D Magazine top doctor more than once and a Texas Monthly Super Doctor. He joined Baylor Scott & White Health in 2014.

Dr. Skiles has more than 30 years of clinical, surgical and leadership experience with advanced training in allergy treatment and management. Areas of expertise include the diagnosis and management of vestibular and balance disorders, hearing loss, voice disorders, as well as sleep disordered breathing. As a general otolaryngologist, Dr. Skiles treats all age groups, from newborns to adults.

Jarett K . Howe, M.D., is an assistant professor for the department of surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Dr. Howe is board certified in general surgery, surgical critical care, and pediatric surgery.

Dr. Howe is a graduate of the University of South Dakota School of Medicine, Sioux Falls, South Dakota where he received his Doctorate of Medicine in 2006. He completed his general surgery residency at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Department of Surgery.

In 2012, Dr. Howe completed a surgical critical care fellowship at St. Louis University. He then completed a pediatric trauma/research fellowship in 2013 and a pediatric surgery fellowship in 2015 at St. Louis University, Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Dr. Walker graduated from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in 2009. She completed residency training in General Surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 2015. Following that, she completed a fellowship in Surgery Critical Care at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2016. She then did outcomes research in Pediatric Surgery focusing on surgical outcomes and quality improvement with an emphasis on antibiotic stewardship in the NICU and care of the surgical neonate in the OR in 2017. Dr. Walker then completed her fellowship in Pediatric Surgery at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinic in Iowa City in 2019. 

Dr. Walker is excited to provide broad-based general pediatric surgery from neonates to adolescents. Her research interests include quality improvement and surgical outcomes. She also has a clinical interest in helping pediatric patients with chronic conditions transition into the world of adult care. 

Amanda Chiao, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A is a clinician–scientist at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in communication sciences and disorders in 2010 and earned her Au.D. in 2014 and Ph.D. in vestibular function and assessment in 2016 from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. Dr. Chiao also spent two years as an NIH T32 postdoctoral research fellow at Boys Town National Research Hospital, where her research experience focused on pediatric vestibular assessment. Prior to returning to Texas, Dr. Chiao was a faculty member at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she maintained an active research laboratory focusing on the effects of sports concussion on the vestibular system and ototoxicity, taught graduate-level courses, and provided concussion and vestibular services for Division I athletics and the surrounding community.

Dr. Chiao joined as an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, continuing to specialize in clinical vestibular research. Now in El Paso, Dr. Chiao is most interested in studying hearing and vestibular health disparities within Hispanic community and improving intervention access. Dr. Chiao also is a practicing pediatric audiologist at El Paso Children's Hospital, where her clinical expertise focuses on diagnostics, ototoxicity and concussion. Dr. Chiao also publishes and serves as an ad-hoc reviewer for various top-tier otolaryngology journals, and she actively presents her work at national and international meetings in the field. An El Paso native, Dr. Chiao is excited to return to the Borderland alongside her husband to serve the pediatric community.

Dr. Claudia Maria Prospero Ponce is a Board-certified Ophthalmologist who graduated from Ignacio A. Santos School of Medicine, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (TEC de Monterrey), Monterrey Mexico, considered one of the best Medical Schools in Mexico for its national and international rotations and innovative biomedical research.

She enrolled in pre-residency research at The Cole Eye Institute, Department of Refractive Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, The Retinal Vascular Center at Charles A. Garcia and Associates, and the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine at Houston, TX. She completed her Internal Medicine internship and her residency in Ophthalmology at The University of Arizona in Tucson AZ. She also trained in Neuro-Opthalmology and Ocular Pathology at Houston Methodist hospital before becoming an assistant professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.

Some of her areas of expertise include optic nerve pathologies (i.e. ischemic optic neuropathy, optic neuritis, neuro-retinitis), visual field and visual acuity loss, unexplained and/or transient visual loss, double vision, ocular motility abnormalities, histopathological assessment of eyelid, periorbital and orbital lesions including neoplastic (i.e. melanoma, basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma, etc.) and non-neoplastic (chalazion, idiopathic orbital inflammation, among others).

Dr. Maldonado is a native El Pasoan and long-standing faculty at the Texas Tech Ophthalmology Clinic. He is board certified by the American Board of Optometry in Ocular Disease and licensed in Texas and New Mexico.

He trains residents and medical students throughout the year on ocular disease and pathology of vision. He is current president of the El Paso Optometric Society and serves on the Board of Directors for the El Paso Diabetes Association. Professionally, he lectures on various eye disease topics throughout Texas for several organizations.

Professional Affiliations:

• American Board of Optometry #4236
• American Academy of Optometry
• American Optometric Association
• Texas Optometric Association, Board of Trustees 

• El Paso Optometric Society, President 2007-2017
• El Paso Diabetes Board of Directors, since 2011
• National Eye Institute NEHEP Planning Committee Member, since 2012
• Faculty Council Committee Member, Texas Tech University
• Adjunct Clinician, IAUPR Optometry School

Dr. Konstantinidis was born and raised in Greece. He graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Medical School. He moved to the United States and completed a research fellowship on pancreatic and biliary cancer and a surgical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital before completing his general surgery training at the University of Arizona.

During his residency, Dr. Konstantinidis completed a research fellowship on pancreatic and hepatobiliary cancers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is board certified in Complex General Surgical Oncology. He continued his advanced training in Complex Surgical Oncology and Robotic Surgery at City of Hope National Cancer Center with Dr. Yuman Fong. 

Dr. Konstantinidis has written several peer-reviewed articles on pancreatic and hepatobiliary cancers and has received several awards including an American Cancer Society Merit Award.

Dr. Alkhalili (Pronounced al-ka-li-li) is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso and Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso at Transmountain. He graduated from medical school at the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan. He completed his internship in general surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital then finished his residency training at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. He then completed his endocrine surgery fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Alkhalili is dedicated to the surgical care of patients with disorders of the thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands.

Shintaro Chiba, M.D. is an assistant professor at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. Dr. Chiba specializes in weight loss surgery, reflux surgery, hernia surgery, minimally invasive general surgery, and robotic surgery.

Dr. Chiba completed his General Surgery Residency at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. He went on to complete a fellowship in Advanced Minimally Invasive Surgery / Bariatric Surgery  at Loma Linda University Health in Loma Linda, California.

Dr. Chiba is board-certified in general surgery.  He is a member of American College of Surgeons (ACS), Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), and American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).  Dr. Chiba regularly publishes in his field and presents at national meetings.