Medical Review Board

The Health Union Medical Review Board is made up of board-certified healthcare professionals with extensive experience in their respective fields. They review and ensure that our content is accurate and reflects timely, evidence-based research. The Medical Review Board works alongside our Community Team and Editorial Team to empower and improve the health of our community members.

Alka Bhatt, PharmD, MBA

Alka Bhatt, PharmD, MBA, is the President and Founder of ABConcepts Group, LLC, a healthcare advisory focused on policy, patient access, and marketing and communications. She also serves as a healthcare policy, advocacy, and medical writer and editor for numerous organizations. Prior to being a healthcare consultant, she worked in the life sciences at biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb in numerous roles across oncology, immunology, and cardiovascular.

Dr. Bhatt completed her Doctor of Pharmacy from Rutgers University, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. She received her Master of Business Administration from Rutgers Business School.

Lizzette Cruz, MS, RN

Lizzette Cruz, MS, RN, has more than 8 years of experience in cardiovascular clinical research. She started as a research nurse and now oversees a cardiology clinical research program. Her current role includes administrative and operational oversight of clinical trial start-up, regulatory, conduct, and quality management.

Lizzette is also a nurse writer who specializes in health and wellness writing. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Physiology from the University of Arizona. She then obtained a Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Arizona.

Laura Ferguson, MD, MS, MSTR

Laura Ferguson, MD, MS, MSTR, is a physician and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She sees patients with pulmonary diseases and critical illness, and she specializes in interstitial lung disease. Her research is in the development of inhaled nanomedicine to improve medical treatments for chronic lung disease.

Dr. Ferguson attended medical school at New York Medical College, Internal Medicine Residency and Chief Residency at the University of Maryland, and fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Philadelphia.

Alexander Gill, MD, PhD

Alexander Gill, MD, PhD, is a neuroimmunology and neurological infections fellow at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Gill obtained his MD and his PhD in neuroscience from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His PhD work focused on potential novel therapies for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. He continued his medical training with a preliminary medicine year and neurology residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Gill currently sees patients in clinic with autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system including multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica, neurosarcoidosis, and autoimmune encephalitis. In the lab at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Gill’s research involves targeting the innate immune system as a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis and other neurologic autoimmune diseases. His work includes studies in both animal and cell-culture models. Dr. Gill’s work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals with more than 400 citations.

Suzette Iverson, PA-C, MSHS, MPH

Suzette Iverson PA-C, MSHS, MPH, has over 15 years of experience as a physician assistant in family practice and internal medicine. She has worked in community health, hospital, and outpatient clinic settings. She has a diverse range of skills, including training in functional medicine and experience creating medical education content.

Suzette completed her physician assistant training and received her Masters of Public Health degree at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Seema Khosla, MD, FCCP, FAASM

Seema Khosla, MD, FCCP, FAASM, is the medical director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep. She is a fellow of the College of Chest Physicians (CCP) as well as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Kentucky. She completed her fellowship in pulmonary/critical care/sleep medicine at the Medical College of Georgia.

Dr. Khosla has been running a telemedicine outreach program for more than a decade to serve rural areas in North Dakota. She is active within the AASM and has served on numerous AASM committees, including the original Telemedicine Task Force.

She served as the inaugural chair of the Clinical and Consumer Sleep Technology Committee, and she is the current chair of the new AASM Public Awareness Advisory Committee. She hosts the AASM Talking Sleep podcast and was recently awarded the AASM Excellence in Education award.

Andrea Murphy, MSN, APRN

Andrea Murphy, MSN, APRN, is a board-certified nurse practitioner with extensive experience in headache diagnosis, treatment, and management. She has been a practicing nurse since 2009 and helped establish the first headache medicine program at Hartford HealthCare (HHC) in 2015. She continues to practice as a certified headache specialist at a private practice in Connecticut.

Andrea received her bachelor's degree in nursing with a minor in psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and then went on to graduate with a master of science degree in nursing from the University of Connecticut. Andrea has a deep commitment to medical education and works to educate clinicians and patients in the approach to headache. Andrea is passionate about migraine advocacy and empowering others to improve their own health and well-being.

Katie Murphy, MSN, RN

Katie Murphy, MSN, RN, is a nurse educator and public health nurse. With a strong desire to create easily-digestible health content for all, Katie focuses on health literacy and readable content.

Katie’s clinical background is varied and diverse, spanning general medicine, critical care, telemetry, home health, and case management.

Katie completed a degree in respiratory therapy prior to nursing and worked as a critical care respiratory therapist. She completed her nursing degree at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California. Later achieving a BSN and MSN, Katie is currently completing a post-masters FNP.

Mandip Panesar, MD

Mandip Panesar, MD, is a nephrologist and the chief medical information officer at Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) in Buffalo, New York. He also serves as the medical director of ECMC’s hemodialysis program, where he cares for patients with chronic kidney disease, glomerulonephritis, hypertension, polycystic kidney disease, electrolyte abnormalities, anemia, secondary hyperparathyroidism, and end-stage kidney disease.

Dr. Panesar is a fellow of the American Society of Nephrology. He completed his internal medicine residency at St. Francis Medical Center – Seton Hall University. He completed his fellowship in nephrology at the University of Arkansas.

His clinical research falls in 2 main areas: mechanisms of and treatment options for anemia and acid base disturbances in end-stage kidney disease hemodialysis patients.

Paulina Tran, DO

Paulina Tran, DO, completed her fellowship training in allergy and immunology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Tran currently cares for patients with immunodeficiency and allergic disease. She is certified by both the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, and the American Board of Pediatrics.

Dr. Tran has been involved in various research regarding allergic inflammatory diseases, including atopic dermatitis and eosinophilic esophagitis.

Jessica Wix, MMS, PA-C

Jessica Wix, MMS, PA-C is a practicing physician assistant in the urgent care setting. Prior to her current role as a PA-C, she spent nearly four years helping meet the diverse health needs of patients of all ages in primary care and skilled nursing.

Wix graduated with a master's degree in medical science and earned her certification as a physician assistant in 2018 from Red Rocks Community College in Arvada, Colorado.

Cynthia Uche, PharmD, AAHIVP

Cynthia Uche, PharmD, AAHIVP, is the founder of Cyn_Rx, a pharmacist consulting service that works with healthcare providers to establish customized medication treatments for each patient. She is also a pharmacology professor who teaches students in graduate nurse practitioner programs. She currently works with 30 people with HIV to manage their medication regimen, comorbidities, and vaccinations.

Dr. Uche completed her doctorate in pharmacy at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. She also earned a master of science degree in biomedical sciences from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Tianxiao (David) Xiang, PharmD

Tianxiao (David) Xiang, PharmD, is a pharmacist at Nemours Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.

Dr. Xiang obtained his PharmD at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. After graduation, he worked for several years in a community pharmacy, where he served as the pharmacy manager. He then transitioned to inpatient care at Nemours Children's Hospital, where he helps pediatric patients with a wide variety of healthcare needs, including acute emergency room visits, neonatal care, intensive cardiac care, and treatment of blood/cancer diseases.