Program Director
Stefanie R. Brown, MD, MBA, FACP, FAAP
Program director, Internal Medicine Residency Program
Chief, Division of Medicine-Pediatrics
Medical School: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Residency: Med-Peds – Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School
Chief Residency: Primary Care Chief Resident – Rutgers – New Jersey Medical School
Dr. Brown was born and raised in New Jersey returning there for residency and her first 7 years of faculty experience. As a Med-Peds physician, she considers herself 100% Internal Medicine and 100% Pediatrics and after completing her MBA at the “U”, founded the Division of Med-Peds under the department of medicine. The variety of her administrative, clinical, educational, mentorship and research responsibilities inspire and motivate her, and she has a true passion for each. Her current research endeavors are based in academic medicine and curriculum development. She feels lucky to work in an institution where she is given freedom to explore and encouraged to pursue innovation in all aspects of her career.
On a personal note, Dr. Brown lives in South Beach, facing the ocean, where the multitude of extracurricular activities available is only out measured by the beauty of her surroundings. In her time off, she takes an annual trip to a location on her bucket list and is a Class Pass devotee. On the weekends she takes pottery classes, enjoys outdoor activities such as biking, lounging by any body of water and searching for that magical 8th day in the week.
Associate Program Directors
Jessica Figueroa-Valdes, MD
Medical School: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Residency: Internal Medicine – Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami
Jessica Figueroa-Valdes was born in Miami, Florida, and attended the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She completed internal medicine residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital and was subsequently Chief Resident for Quality and Safety at the Miami Veteran Affairs Medical Center. She is currently a primary care provider at the VA. Her professional interests include quality improvement and medical education.
Chadwick Flowers, MD
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
Residency: Med-Peds – Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami
Chief Residency: Jackson Memorial Hospital – University of Miami
Dr. Flowers is a Med-Peds hospitalist providing inpatient care to adults and children at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial, and Holtz Children’s Hospitals. He was born and raised in Indiana where he attended Purdue University (Boiler Up!) for undergrad, and Indiana University School of Medicine. He completed his Med-Peds residency and Internal Medicine Chief Year at UM/JMH. His academic interests include medical education, inpatient Quality Improvement, and bedside procedure/diagnostics. In his off time you can typically find him at karaoke on South Beach, paddle boarding on the bay, or playing board games.
Ernesto Fonts, MD
Medical School: Georgetown University School of Medicine
Residency: Internal Medicine - Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami
Chief Residency: University of Miami at Holy Cross
Dr. Fonts was born and raised in Miami, attended the University of Miami for his undergraduate studies and thereafter attended Georgetown University School of Medicine. After medical school he returned to Miami to complete his Internal Medicine training at UM/ Jackson Memorial Hospital. Following residency, he completed one year as a Chief Medical Resident and is currently working as an inpatient hospitalist attending at the Miami VA Medical Center. His professional interests include medical education and hospital performance improvement. On his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, and traveling.
Janelis Gonzalez, MD
Medical School: FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Residency: Internal Medicine – Shands Hospital, University of Florida
Dr. Gonzalez was born in Miami, Florida, and attended the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. She completed her internal medicine residency at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida and was subsequently Chief Resident in Ambulatory Medicine for the Internal Medicine Program in 2021-2022. During her time at the University of Florida, she fostered a love for medical education by joining the inaugural Medical Education Pathway cohort with a special focus on leadership curriculum development for residents.
She was happy to come back home to join the University of Miami in July of 2022 and currently works as a primary care provider at the Desai Sethi Primary Care Clinic. Her professional interests include preventative medicine, leadership development, and medical education. In her free time, Janelis loves walks with her mixed breed dog Maggie, jigsaw puzzling, and baking desserts.
Samantha Gonzalez, MD
Medical School: Ponce School of Medicine
Residency: Internal Medicine-Pediatrics - Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami
Chief Residency: Jackson Memorial Hospital
Dr. Gonzalez is a board-certified physician in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. She was born and raised in Miami, Florida to Cuban-American parents and is fluent in English and Spanish. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and creative writing from the University of Miami and her medical degree from Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico. She completed her Med-Peds residency training at the University of Miami at Jackson Memorial Hospital where she received accolades for her advocacy and care of vulnerable populations. She remained with the University to serve as the Internal Medicine Primary Care Chief Medical Resident from 2017-2018, and served as an Associate Program Director for the UM Internal Medicine Residency at Holy Cross Hospital from 2018 to 2022. Her professional interests include primary care, transition of pediatric patients with chronic illness to the adult model of care, global health and care of the LGBTQI+ community. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her 80lb fur baby, Rudolph, who keeps her active and outdoors as often as possible.
Enrique Hernández Oquet, MD, FACP
Medical School: Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Residency: Internal Medicine - Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami
Chief Residency: Miami VA – University of Miami
Dr. Hernandez is a born-and-raised native of the Dominican Republic where he went to medical school. After completing his internal medicine residency at JMH, he served as chief medical resident at the Miami VA and later joined the faculty as an assistant professor of clinical medicine. His professional interests include integrating evidence-based medicine teaching into clinical practice, clinical reasoning, and medical education. He is a full-time academic hospitalist at UHealth Tower and also attends on the JMH Procedure Team. He enjoys online gaming with his friends and playing electric bass guitar with his rock band at local bars.
Erin Marcus, MD, MPH
Medical School: University of Massachusetts Medical School, Massachusetts
Residency: Internal Medicine – Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Marcus is a general internal medicine physician and Professor of Clinical Medicine and Public Health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She is also the residency site director for the Ambulatory Care Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital and has been spearheading the renovation of our outpatient curriculum. Her clinical and research interests focus on preventive medicine, health communication, and women’s health. In 2009, Dr. Marcus was one of three physicians nationally to receive an American Cancer Society Cancer Control Career Development Award for Primary Care Physicians. She has received grant support from The Ford Foundation to write about health disparities for the ethnic media and general press. She has served as an author of numerous academic chapters and articles, and has had multiple articles published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, and the perspective section of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Bhavarth Shukla, MD, MPH
Medical School: Medical University of South Carolina
Residency: Internal Medicine – Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami
Fellowship: Infectious Disease – University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Dr. Shukla’s research interests include infection control, hospital epidemiology, antimicrobial stewardship, and medical education. His work has focused on understanding transmission and clinical management of multi-drug resistant organisms such as VRE and C. auris as well as effects of antimicrobial stewardship training programs on antibiotic utilization. In his present role as the medical director for infection control at the University of Miami Health System, he has helped direct the COVID-19 pandemic response for the health system. During this time, he also became engaged in research related to SARS-CoV-2, including its impact on healthcare associated infections and wastewater surveillance.
Diana Soliman, MD
Medical School: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Residency: Med-Peds - Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami
Chief Residency: Med-Peds - Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami
Fellowship: Endocrinology - Duke University
Dr. Soliman completed her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Miami. She trained in the combined internal medicine and pediatrics residency program at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she was a chief resident. She is proud to be a triple ‘Cane! She then went on to complete a fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at Duke University, where she also obtained a Master of Health Science.
She is interested in improving the transition from pediatric to adult care for patients with diabetes and other endocrine disorders. She is also interested in medical education and directs the endocrinology course for medical students. She spends her free time with her family and two young children.
Sebastian Suarez Zarate, MD, MPH
Medical School: Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
Residency: Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA
Chief Residency: Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA
Dr. Suarez Zarate was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, where he went to medical school. In 2015 he moved to Boston where he completed a research postdoc, a MPH at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and worked as a Global Health Research Scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He completed his IM residency and chief medical residency at Boston University, after which he joined UHealth Tower as an academic hospitalist. He also serves as the UM Hospital Medicine IT Lead, helping with EMR optimization and exploring the role of AI.
He is passionate about clinical reasoning, teaching-the-teacher, evidence-based medicine, and programmatic innovation. His expertise and interests include health disparities, addiction medicine, LBGTQ+ health, POCUS, and bedside procedures. You can find him exploring the food scene in Miami, traveling abroad, watching guilty-pleasure TV shows, and hanging out at home with his husband and two cats.
Chief Residents 2024-2025
