Transplant cardiologist Nandini Nair, MD ’00, routinely sees the impact of her work—not only on her team’s patients but their families. With a new heart, patients get a new lease on life.

“The best part about transplant cardiology is that we give many people a second chance,” said Dr. Nair, the Director of Advanced Heart Failure, Transplant, and ECMO Services at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. “Some of them have kids who go on to college, and our patients have been able to see all those good things happen. As a physician, it feels good to provide this service and the opportunity to deliver advanced cardiac care for members of our community.”

Dr. Nair was born in India but lived throughout Africa growing up, residing in Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, and finally Tanzania, where she graduated high school. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in zoology from the University of Madras in India, and then her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, one of the premier institutes in Asia for training scientific and engineering professionals. Subsequently, she moved to the United States for her postdoctorate fellowship in molecular virology at UMass Medical Center, pursuing a full-time career in basic science research.

In the interim, her mother’s untimely death secondary to an iatrogenic error redirected her career focus to medicine. Armed with a strong medical background and competitive Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) score, Dr. Nair enrolled at SGU. In Grenada, Dr. Nair dived into her studies, spending countless hours in the library with her colleagues as they reviewed the coursework and prepared for the all-important United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). In her spare time, she and friends enjoyed the island’s restaurants and beaches.

“I really owe everything to SGU,” Dr. Nair said. “Without SGU, I would not have reached where I am today, and I’ve seen several of my classmates do extremely well also. I am very proud of all of their achievements too.”

Following two basic science years and clinical rotations, Dr. Nair matched at Drexel University’s internal medicine residency program, where she later completed a three-year cardiology fellowship. She then did two other fellowships—a Ruth Kirschstein National Award in Vascular Medicine under Dr. John P. Cooke, a renowned physician scientist in vascular biology and medicine at Stanford University, and a heart failure/cardiac transplant fellowship, also at Stanford, under transplant cardiology pioneer Dr. Sharon Hunt.

From 2008 to 2013, Dr. Nair served as an assistant/associate professor in the Department of Medicine at Texas A&M Health Sciences Center College of Medicine. During that time, she served as medical director at Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Clinics in Temple, Texas, before a two-year stint as the medical director of the Advanced Heart Failure/Mechanical Circulatory Support and Cardiac Transplantation unit at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington.

“I have always been interested in research and teaching in addition to patient care,” she said. “It’s great to see our residents and fellows go on to become highly esteemed physicians, conduct research, publish their own work, and distinguish themselves.  I enjoy being able to contribute to this training process.”

Published August 2015

In 2008, Dr. Margaret Russell, MD SGU ’05, took a walk down Main Street—the only street with businesses in Yerington, Nevada—and it felt like home. For a self-proclaimed “small-town girl,” practicing medicine at South Lyon Medical Center, an all-encompassing medical facility at the base of the Sierra Nevadas, was the perfect fit.

“I had not been in Yerington more than two days, and I had fallen in love with the town,” Dr. Russell recalled. “I just knew that I wanted to do rural medicine and that it was a good fit.”

Five years later, she continues to serve as one of four doctors at South Lyon. In such a community, the medical personnel must wear many hats, together operating a 14-bed hospital, physicians clinic, long-term care unit, and 24/7 emergency room, visiting with patients old and young, rich and poor. For patients requiring a higher level of care, they work closely with major hospitals in Reno and Carson City, 65 miles away, coordinating emergency helicopter flights or accompanying patients on ambulance trips. Dr. Russell also facilitates low-cost or free healthcare for low-income individuals.

“You have to be an advocate for your patients, which is very different from a big city,” she said. “We may have to give our patients gas money to be able to see a specialist or have to call a colleague consult like a surgeon who might be willing to do a back surgery for $150. There really are people like that out here. Many specialists treat us as colleagues and arrange telemedicine or video conferencing to help us rural docs out.”

Yerington resembles Dr. Russell’s hometown of Kellogg, ID, a mining/ranching town of about 3,000 people. After high school, she earned her Bachelor of Science in biology and chemistry from Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA, and embarked on a 21-year journey as a teacher. It included an 11-year stint in Royal City, WA, a farming community without a single doctor or nurse. When a neighbor’s infant child died of pneumonia, in part due to the lack of area health care, Dr. Russell re-directed her focus.

“I thought to myself, ‘I am going to fix this situation. I am going to be a doctor in a rural town that needs me,’ ” she said.

At SGU, Dr. Russell immersed herself in her studies as well as the Grenadian culture. She joined the Emergency Medicine Club and Surgery Club, and also served as a Department of Educational Services (DES) instructor for two years. In her free time, she learned how to SCUBA dive and to sail, and explored Grenada’s many rainforests.

After leaving the Caribbean, Dr. Russell completed her third and fourth years at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, CA. Upon graduation, she completed a family and community medicine residency through the University of Nevada’s Las Vegas-based program.  She credits St. George’s University for preparing her in all aspects of medicine and clinical care.

“I’ve been told I don’t miss much in terms of my evaluation of a patient, and that’s because I was taught a different way,” Dr. Russell said. “St. George’s really had us use all of our senses right off the bat. I depend on the skills I was taught at SGU, and those skills have never let me down. Students at St. George’s University receive a phenomenal well-rounded education.”

Published September 2013

It was during her undergraduate studies at the University of Washington that Dr. Rosalind Ambrose first heard about St. George’s University School of Medicine. A counselor told her about a new medical school in Grenada, and because Grenada is near her home of St. Vincent she applied and was accepted.

Dr. Ambrose obtained a scholarship through the University from the government of St. Vincent and began her medical education in August 1979. She was among the first of many Vincentians to attend St. George’s with a government scholarship. The School has since entered into successful medical partnerships with other governments who are unable to fulfill their manpower needs through their own internal educational system.

Dr. Ambrose, who attended the school in its early years, feels that St. George’s offered a broader perspective of medicine than other medical schools: “Studying in the United States and England gave me the chance to learn different styles of medicine.” What she found especially beneficial was the international aspect of the school: “There was a great amount of cultural exchange. I met people from all different backgrounds. In today’s global world filled with the crossing of cultures, this experience was very important.”

While growing up, Dr. Ambrose always wanted to be a pediatrician. This was the case until, in her final year of medical school, she opted for her second choice—radiology. She found working with sick children to be too sad, and believed that her emotions would get in the way of being an effective healer.

Upon graduation from St. George’s in 1983, Dr. Ambrose did internship work in St. Vincent and Trinidad. She then went on to do a fellowship in diagnostic radiology at Prince of Wales Hospital at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She was appointed a lecturer in radiology for two years at the same hospital.

Dr. Ambrose owns and operates her own medical imaging center in St. Vincent: the Caribbean Medical Imaging Center (CMIC).  She brought the first-ever CT scan service to her home country. They offer full-service, state-of-the-art imaging such as plain film radiology, mammography, fluoroscopy, ultrasound and CT scans, and they also provide teleradiology services to other Caribbean islands. In 2008, CMIC will be ten years old and fully digital, conducting filmless radiology in order to keep up with cutting-edge radiology. In addition to this, she is a consultant radiologist at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (previously Kingstown General Hospital). She is a founding member of the Caribbean Society of Radiologists, President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Medical Association, served as DME for Kingstown Medical College (KMC) for approximately 8 years, and introduced and lectured ‘Imaging in Clinical Anatomy’ as Associate Professor at KMC. Dr. Ambrose finds her work very fulfilling and credits St. George’s for enabling her to carry it out.

During her SGU years, Dr. Ambrose was known as Rosalind Baptiste. She was married in her final year at SGU to her Trinidadian husband, Dennis. Her older daughter, Michaela, was born in Trinidad and recently completed her law degree in the United Kingdom at age 21. Her younger daughter, Gabriella, is 17 and was born in Hong Kong. She is currently enrolled at Green River Community College in Washington State, US.

– Published 2010