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.

Alejandro J. Rios Tovar, M.D., is an assistant professor and the associate trauma medical director for the Department of Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.

He graduated from Columbia University in New York City with a Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical engineering. Upon graduation in 2007, he attended the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine in San Antonio. In 2011, Dr. Rios Tovar graduated with a doctorate degree in medicine.

He completed his general surgery residency at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso’s Department of Surgery in 2016. Following residency, he pursued a surgical critical care fellowship at the Methodist Health System in Dallas. In 2017, he completed his fellowship studies that focused on training and education relating to the treatment of critically ill and injured patients.

Grace Ng, M.D., is an assistant professor and the assistant trauma medical director for the Department of Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Dr. Ng is board certified in both general surgery and surgical critical care. 

She graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2008, with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. She then graduated with the inaugural class of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Paul L. Foster School of Medicine in 2013. She completed her general surgery residency at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center- Tulsa in 2018, followed by her fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at LAC+USC Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. One of her areas of interest is pediatric trauma. She is an El Paso native and has returned to serve the region after completing her fellowship.

Alonso Andrade, M.D., FACS, is an Assistant 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.

Zainab Al Lawati M.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Dr. Al Lawati is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation/physiatry in Canada and the United States. She is also fellowship trained and board certified in traumatic brain injury medicine.

Dr. Al Lawati obtained her Doctorate of Medicine from Sultan Qaboos University in 2010. She completed her physical medicine and rehabilitation residency at Dalhousie University in Canada and received additional training at Beaumont Hospital in Michigan in 2019.   

She obtained her Masters in Medical Education from Acadia University in Canada. Dr. Al Lawati has done many research projects and has presented at national and international conferences.  

Dr. Al Lawati’s clinical and research interests include traumatic brain injury, wheelchair skills, spinal cord injury as well as equity and diversity in education. 

Nathaniel Ng, M.D., FACS, graduated from medical school at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 2010. He completed his residency in general surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso in 2016. Following residency, Dr. Ng completed his fellowship at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston McGovern School of Medicine, specializing in colon and rectal surgery. Dr. Ng is a native of El Paso and has returned to serve the region after completing his surgical training.

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.

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.

Dr. John Lawrence, a native of Illinois, assumed on April 1, 2021, the role of division chief of pediatric surgery in the Department of Surgery, and holder of the Meier/Mounsey Endowed Chair in global pediatric surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso in El Paso, Texas. Dr. Lawrence attended Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School, then completed a family practice internship in Rockford, Illinois, before working for four years as a general medical officer in Tuba City, Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation. He subsequently completed his general surgery residency at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, and then pediatric surgery at St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia. For the past 28 years, he has been a practicing pediatric surgeon in academic settings. Owing in part to a longstanding interest in global health, Dr. Lawrence has completed 11 surgical field assignments with the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders since 2009. Additionally, he served on the board of directors for Doctors Without Borders USA for six years, including three years as the president of that board. Dr. Lawrence has worked with Doctors Without Borders as a surgeon in the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Liberia, Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

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 Clinc 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. 

Dr. Fallah joined the faculty of the Department of Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) El Paso in January 2019. He is an Associate Professor of Surgery in the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery, and serves as the Division Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, and Medical Director of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at University Medical Center in El Paso.

He also has appointment as Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at Uniformed Services University Health Sciences (USUHS), Bethesda, M.D.. 

He is board certified in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, fellow of the American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons, fellow of the American Collage of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons, fellow of the International College of Dentists, and member of the American Dental Association. 

He graduated with honors in restorative dentistry from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry where he received his Doctorate of Dental Surgery (DDS) in 1993, and then entered on active duty in the United States Army Dental Corps. While serving in the Army Dental Corps, he practiced five years of comprehensive general dentistry, and completed a one-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry. He then completed a surgical residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) at Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, GA in 2002.

He retired as a Colonel from active duty, after 25 years of honorable service in the U.S. Army Dental Corps, in 2018.

He enjoys the full scope practice of oral and maxillofacial surgery; however, his primary areas of interest are Orthognathic Corrective Jaw Surgery, Maxillofacial Trauma, Maxillofacial Pathology and Reconstructive Surgery, Dental and Facial Implant Surgery, and Obstructive Sleep Apnea among others.

Patricia Nelson, M.D., is a board-certified, comprehensive ophthalmologist with an affinity for cataract, refractive, and oculoplastic surgeries. Dr. Nelson received a B.A. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Oberlin College. She was awarded a United States Army Health Professionals Scholarship and earned her M.D. from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Dr. Nelson completed her transitional internship at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas where she was Intern of the Year. She continued her ophthalmology residency training in San Antonio, Texas and received second place from the Texas Ophthalmology Association for a resident research presentation. Following residency, Dr. Nelson served for four years as an ophthalmologist at Martin Army Community Hospital in Fort Benning, Georgia. During this time, Dr. Nelson was promoted to the rank of Major, named Chief of Ophthalmology, served with the American Board of Ophthalmology to set exam standards, and helped initiate a partnership with the Alabama Department of Veteran’s Affairs. Most recently, Dr. Nelson was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and awarded the Army Meritorious Service Medal following eight years of exemplary active duty military service.

Dr. Erica Renee Alvarez graduated from Paul L. Foster School of Medicine Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center here in El Paso, Texas. She completed her internship in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago, ophthalmology residency at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C, and her fellowship training at The Ohio State University. Dr. Alvarez is an El Paso native, bilingual in Spanish, and accepting new patients now.

Dr. Alvarez offers her expertise in treating cancers of the eye including primary vitreoretinal lymphoma, uveal melanoma, conjunctival melanoma, leukemic retinopathy, ocular side effects of cancer treatments as well as metastatic diseases to the eye. She is trained in the latest techniques for treatment including: intraoperative and in-office intravitreal chemotherapy injections. She is proficient in the placement of brachy radiation therapy plaques and transpupillary thermotherapy for treatment of uveal melanoma. She offers fine needle aspiration biopsies, and transcleral biopsies for identification of tumor genetic markers and overall prognostication. For larger tumors, she is competent in surgical removal via enucleation. She has worked with radiation oncology and is competent in following patients as they receive external beam radiation for treatment of metastatic lesions, as well as cancers like Diffuse B-cell lymphoma.

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.