Our Team
Faculty
Established in 1993 to centralize and improve the care of trauma victims in Bexar County and the surrounding 22-county region in South Texas, the Division of Trauma and Emergency Surgery is currently composed of ten full-time and two part-time faculty surgeons, five Physician Assistants and eight Nurse Practitioners.
Brian J. Eastridge, M.D., FACS
Professor / Clinical | Division Chief | Jocelyn and Joe Straus Endowed Chair in Trauma Research
Professor/Clinical | Dr. Arthur S. and Iris G. McFee Professorship | Department of Surgery Vice Chair for Clinical Operations | Immediate Past Chief of Staff, University Hospital, San Antonio, TX | OR Medical Director for University Hospital, San Antonio, TX
Professor/Clinical, | Vice Chair for Quality, Department of Surgery | Betty and Bob Kelso Distinguished Chair in Burn and Trauma Surgery | Associate Deputy Director, Military Health Institute
Associate Professor/Clinical | Pediatric Trauma Medical Director | University Hospital Pediatric Trauma and Burn Director
Professor | Chair, Department of Surgery | Dr. Witten B. Russ Chair in Surgery
Clinical Professor Division of Trauma and Emergency Surgery
Distinguished Teaching Professor | Vice Chair for Education | Professor of Surgery
Deborah L. Mueller, M.D., FACS
Clinical Associate Professor
Ramon F. Cestero, M.D., MBA, FACS, FCCM
Professor/Clinical
Susannah E. Nicholson, M.D., MS, FACS
Associate Professor/Research | Director, Research Operations | Dr. Ferdinand P. Herff Chair in Surgery
Associate Professor/Clinical | Trauma Medical Director, University Hospital
Christopher E. Crane, M.D., MS, FACS
Associate Professor/Clinical | Emergency Surgery Director, University Hospital
Elizabeth P. Scherer, M.D., MPH, FACS
Associate Professor/Clinical | Medical Director, SICU, University Hospital | Program Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
Assistant Professor/Clinical
Adjunct/Adjoint Faculty
- Leopoldo Cancio, M.D.,
- Adjoint Professor
- M.D., Georgetown University, 1987
- Christopher White, M.D.
- Clinical Assistant Professor
- M.D., UT Health San Antonio, 1997
- Shawn Nessen, M.D.,
- Adjoint Professor
- D.O., the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences, 1995
- Reinaldo Morales, M.D.
- Adjunct Assistant Professor
- M.D., St. Louis University School of Medicine, 2010
- Valerie Sams, M.D.
- Adjunct Assistant Professor
- M.D., St. George’s University, Greneda, West Indies, 2008
Advanced Practice Providers
Specialist
Specialist
Lindsey Rippee, MSN, RN, ACNP-BC
Specialist
Specialist
Specialist
Specialist
Jeni L. Wilson, MS, RN, APRN, BC
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Mary Von Heiland, MSN, RN, CPNP
Specialist
Daniel Martin, MSN, RN, AGACNP-BC
Specialist
Joe Martinez, MSN, RN, AGACNP-BC
Specialist
Monzerrat Luevano, MSN, APRN, AGACNP-BC
Specialist
Rachel Ely, MSN, ACNPC-AG
Specialist
Research Team
Susannah Nicholson, M.D., MSCI
Associate Professor/Research | Director, Research Operations
During her residency, she also completed a research fellowship, earned a Master’s degree in Clinical Investigation (UT Health San Antonio, 2009) and was awarded an NIH Loan Repayment Award for her research in the role of endogenous carbon monoxide and hemoperitoneum following trauma. She completed a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at UT Health San Antonio in 2014 and is board certified in General Surgery. Dr. Nicholson’s current research focuses on the role of the innate immune system and inflammation in trauma patients. She was awarded a Mentored Research Career Development Award in Clinical & Translational Science in 2014 for her research evaluating the relationship between inflammation and intracellular components released into the circulation following cellular injury called Damage-associated molecular proteins (DAMPs) and patient outcome. Additionally, she has research interests in the microbiome of critically ill and injured patients, trauma systems, geriatric trauma, and pediatric trauma.
Rachelle Babbitt Jonas, RN, BSN
Manager, Research Operations
Mrs. Jonas, a Registered Nurse, completed her Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing from Texas Tech University Health Science Center in Lubbock, Texas in 2001. She joined the trauma research staff at the Health Science Center in 2004.
Mark DeRosa, CRT, CCRC
Clinical Research Project Manager
Mr. DeRosa, a Respiratory Therapist, completed his training with the U.S. Air Force and California College for Health Sciences. He is a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator with over 20 years of research experience. He has been with the Health Science Center since 2005.
Naresh B. Talathoti, B.Sc., MBBS
Clinical Research Project Manager
Dr. Talathoti completed his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) at Rangaraya Medical College in Kakinada, India in 1997. He worked as a House Physician at Medwin Hospitals in Hyderabad, India 1997-1999. He served as Senior Lecturer at Spartan Health Sciences University, School of Medicine on the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia from 1999-2002. He started his clinical research career after moving to New York in 2002 at Columbia University Medical Center. He joined the T Health San Antonio Trauma Research Staff in January 2016.
Stephanie DeMoor, BS
Research Area Specialist – Associate
Ms. DeMoor completed her undergraduate education at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX. She worked as a medical scribe in multiple emergency departments across the country before moving into clinical research. She joined the trauma research team at the UT Health San Antonio in 2015.
Lauran Barry
Research Area Specialist – Associate
Ms. Barry completed her Bachelors of Science degree in Biological Psychology from the University of California, Davis. Before coming to UT Health San Antonio, she worked as a research associate for 5 years in the fields of emergency medicine, neuroscience for robotics and engineering, and developmental psychology. She joined the UT Health San Antonio trauma research staff in 2017.
Christian Gerhardus
Research Area Specialist – Associate