OFALD Spotlight Archives
John Catanzaro MD, MBA
Medical Director East Carolina heart and vascular Institute service line
Chief Division of Cardiology Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
MBA, University of Florida
MD, State University of New York
Dr. Catanzaro earned his medical degree from the State University of New York. He completed his residency and fellowship training at North Shore University Hospital, specializing in clinical cardiac electrophysiology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Catanzaro holds fellowships in several prestigious organizations, including the American College of Cardiology, the European Heart Rhythm Association, the European Society of Cardiology, and the Heart Rhythm Society. Additionally, he has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida, focused on Entrepreneurship.
Currently, Dr. Catanzaro serves as the John “Jack” Rose Distinguished Professor, Chief of the Division of Cardiology, Medical Director of East Carolina Heart and Vascular Service line and program director for a newly established fellowship in clinical cardiac electrophysiology. He is a prolific researcher with over 70 publications and has secured continuous funding from the NIH R01, international professional societies, and pharmaceutical companies since 2016. He actively participates in various committees at the local, national, and global levels including the Heart Rhythm Society. Recently, he was appointed as a designated Councilor for the region of Eastern North Carolina by the American College of Cardiology.
He has received teaching awards for the past two years at the University of Florida before joining ECU Health in the summer of last year. Furthermore, he has successfully licensed intellectual property related to esophageal protection during ablation of atrial fibrillation, with a patent granted in Japan and additional patents pending in Europe and the United States. His scientific interests also encompass regenerative medicine and subcutaneous defibrillation. He continuously mentors numerous trainees including pre-med students, medical students, residents, and fellows. As a Program Director, Dr. Catanzaro is committed to lifelong learning in a field that is constantly evolving due to new technological advancements.
In his free time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family, cooking, exercising with his son, and traveling.
Kathryn Flax
MD Candidate, Brody School of Medicine
BS, Chemistry, UNC Pembroke University
Kathryn Flax is third year medical student at Brody School of Medicine and is currently interested in pediatrics.
Originally from Wilmington, NC she attended UNC-Pembroke University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and played for the Women’s golf team. After graduating, she moved Greenville to work as a MedServe fellow at ECU Pediatric Outpatient clinic where she helped with day-to-day tasks as well as coordinated an annual “Wellness Clinic Day” where kids could come and get school and/or sports physicals before starting school.
Flax says she loved her time at Brody and getting to be a part of the Brody family. She has served as co-coordinator for the Happy Hearts program where expectant parents or caregivers can gain hands-on experience in infant and child CPR and choking rescue. She’s served as the summer co-coordinator for PCCC, a local free clinic run by medical students, doctors, and pre-med students. And she’s served as event coordinator for the Pediatric Interest Group and helped organize a simulation event for medical students to get hands-on experience with pediatric specific cases.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Dan, and going on walks with our 1.5-year-old golden retriever, Ruby. She still dusts off the college golf clubs for an occasional round or two of golf and loves DIY projects, baking, and is an avid nacho connoisseur!
Trish Sawyer
Director, Physician Compensation & Data Analytics
B.S. in Economics, East Carolina University
Trish Sawyer, an ECU Alumni, joined ECU in 2011 in ECU Pharmacy Services. She now proudly serves as the Director of Physician Compensation & Data Analytics. In this role, Trish works with a variety of clinical and non-clinical faculty, staff, and executive leadership to develop key analytics used for strategic decision making. Trish is a true “data chomper” who has a passion for analyzing and organizing data to provide a consolidated final product for consumption by the end user. She loves to help others automate manual processes to save time and effort.
Trish and her, husband, Anthony are the parents of 4 young children: Carter (10), Alex (9), Savannah (6) and Lily (4). She finds joy in spending time with her family, baking (especially desserts!), completing a good puzzle, and playing the piano.
Emma Gilbert
B.S. in Health Sciences, James Madison University
Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Sciences – Anatomy & Cell Biology
Emma Gilbert is a fourth-year Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology. She is a member of Dr. Christopher Geyer’s laboratory, which focuses on understanding various aspects of mammalian spermatogenesis. In her research, Emma studies how the germ cell-specific RNA-binding protein ‘RBM46’ is involved in post-transcriptional regulation of target mRNAs in male germ cells transitioning into meiosis.
While completing her undergraduate studies at James Madison University, Emma became interested in teaching human anatomy. The desire to conduct academic research and learn how to become an effective educator of the anatomical sciences brought Emma to East Carolina University in 2021. Under the mentorship of the anatomy teaching faculty, Emma has been able to assist in several anatomy courses on the health sciences campus, including the M1 Gross Anatomy and Embryology course. Throughout the remainder of her doctoral studies, Emma looks forward to future teaching opportunities in human anatomy.
In her free time, Emma enjoys spending time with her fiancé, finalizing details for their October wedding, going to Giddy-Up Coffeehouse, visiting “Little Washington,” and traveling back to her hometown of Barboursville, Virginia.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family & friends, crocheting, reading, and getting some extra sleep!
Cassandra Bradby, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine (EM) Residency, SUNY
Downstate/Kings County Hospital, 2014
MD, Meharry Medical College, (’10)
BS, The College of William and Mary, (’05)
Dr. Cassandra Bradby joined the faculty in July 2014, celebrating 10 years in Greenville this summer! She serves as the Residency Program Director for the Dept of Emergency Medicine. In her time at ECU, she has focused her career on mentoring and education through webinars, programming, and outreach. She hopes to see her efforts grow into lasting change to improve the health of patients across Eastern North Carolina through the development of more physicians for the region. She is also heavily involved on a national level through the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine and Council of Residency Directors in EM.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family & friends, crocheting, reading, and getting some extra sleep!
Arvind Subramaniam (Mallikarjunan)
MD Candidate, Brody School of Medicine, Class of 2026
M.S. Physiology, NC State University, 2021
B.A. Music | Exercise and Sport Science, UNC, 2019
Arvind Subramaniam (Mallikarjunan) is a third-year medical student and Brody Scholar at the Brody School of Medicine from Durham, NC. He is an aspiring research-physician with a focus in healthcare technology. His current research includes using machine learning and AI models to predict patient complications; developing digital health software and chat-bots to enhance patient outcomes; 3D printing in healthcare; and healthcare technology adoption.
As an SSRP and Brody Scholar, Arvind joined the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics at Johns Hopkins University, where he contributed to the development of cranial implants, AI-guided surgical robots, and augmented reality tools for minimally invasive surgery. He is also the co-founder of Nanbar Health, a software suite that assists healthcare providers in identifying root causes of patient issues through predictive algorithms and patient-led information.
Prior to starting medical school, Arvind’s research at Duke helped create over 15 digital health platforms. These tools are used to improve care for children and adults living with cancer, sickle cell disease, and chronic pain. He also founded The Knowledge Block, a non-profit organization that has donated over $7,000 worth of school supplies to teachers across North Carolina, including more than 40 computers for classrooms in need.
Arvind, a jazz saxophonist and composer, co-directs the jazz ensemble SMYA. When he’s not playing music, he enjoys working on his fixer-upper, gardening, and spending time with his partner, family, two dogs (Milo and Theo), and his tortoises.
David Wiggins
Clinical Administrative Manager, Radiation Oncology
David Wiggins joined ECU as the administrator for Radiation Oncology in 2015. Since that time, he has also provided oversight for other departments during periods of transition, serving as interim administrator for Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (2018-2021) and as interim administrator for Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (2023-present). Prior to ECU, David worked as the Assistant to the Dean in the Tillman School of Business at the University of Mount Olive where he helped to develop the university’s first graduate program (the MBA). Among his contributions as an ECU employee, he is most proud of his work in recruiting 30+ faculty, of his efforts to expand professional service offerings in the region, and of the fiscal and operational improvements he’s helped departments achieve during these last nine years. David currently serves on the Steering Committee for Radiation Oncology’s Medical Physics Residency Program and on the Clinical Services Executive Committee for Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.
David and his wife, Michele, hail from Goldsboro, NC, and are the proud parents of Emma (9) and Nathan (4).
McLane Montgomery
BS, Georgia College and State University
MS, Florida State University
McLane Montgomery is a third-year graduate student in the biomedical sciences doctoral program. He is a member of the Fisher-Wellman lab in the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute. The Fisher-Wellman lab focuses on the bioenergetic function of mitochondria in the context of different cancers including colorectal cancer, acute myeloid leukemia and melanoma. McLane’s research focuses on how respiratory complex I function is altered in colorectal cancer tumors and how this alteration my help cancer cells grow. Originally from Georgia, McLane obtained his undergraduate degree from Georgia College and State University. He then went on to complete his master’s degree at Florida State University, both degrees in exercise physiology. In his free time, McLane enjoys traveling, cooking, reading, listening to music, and spending time with his cat Rudy.
Chris Geyer, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
Postdoctoral Fellow, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Ph.D., The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
B.S., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Dr. Chris Geyer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology at the Brody School of Medicine. Dr. Geyer has studied various aspects of mammalian spermatogenesis for the past 21 years, and his laboratory is currently focused on exploring how germ cells uniquely transition from mitosis to meiosis and how mitochondrial metabolism regulates both germ cell fate decisions and sperm motility. In terms of service, he is actively involved in leadership of the Triangle Consortium for Reproductive Biology and service as Membership Chair of the Society for the Study of Reproduction. At the Brody School of Medicine, he has served in a variety of capacities including on the research, promotion and tenure, and medical admissions committees. With Dr. John Cavanagh, he is working with colleagues in the ECU Business School to implement an MBA/PhD joint degree in 2025. He is also passionate about graduate education – with faculty colleagues, he developed and currently co-directs two graduate student courses – Molecular Cell Biology with Dr. Shaw Akula and Research Proposal Strategies with Dr. Brett Keiper. He also teaches M1 students in the Medical Histology and Cell Biology course.
He grew up in central Virginia and joined the faculty at ECU in 2010. He and his wife Catherine have two children, Nathan (19) and Sarah (16), and in his spare time enjoys kayak fishing, running, and spending time outdoors.
Uma Gaddmanugu
MD Candidate, Class of 2025
B.S Public Health, UNC, 2018
M.S. Physiology, NC State University, 2020
Uma Gaddamanugu is a third-year medical student at the Brody School of Medicine. Uma is an aspiring OB/GYN who is passionate about advancing maternal health equity through community engagement and policy reform. As a Brody Scholar and North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellow, Uma co-founded ECU Birth Companions, a free volunteer birth doula program at ECU Health Medical Center. Uma was recently awarded the NC Governor’s Award for Volunteer Service for the program’s contributions, which trained over 60 volunteers who supported 262 birthing patients in one year. She is also a LINC Scholar and is currently working on a Quality Improvement project to help address food insecurity at ECU’s High-Risk Outpatient OB clinic.
Prior to starting medical school, Uma spent three summers volunteering with a women’s empowerment nonprofit in rural India, where she partnered with local women to create menstrual hygiene workshops, a community health worker program, and helped establish the village’s first women’s health clinic.
Uma is a Winston-Salem native, trained Indian Classical dancer, and speaks four languages. Outside of school, Uma loves to spend time with family and friends, dancing, tackling puzzles, traveling, and listening to Beyoncé.