James F. McGuckin, Jr., M.D.

Founder Vascular Access Centers and co-founded Rex Medical with Whitfield Gardner in 1999 and directs R & D.

Dr. McGuckin is Director of the Philadelphia Vascular Institute located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. McGuckin’s research interest include: Cardiovascular Systems, Endoscopy and Endosurgery, Percutaneous Oncologic Therapy and therapy related to the End Stage Renal Disease population. He holds 39 patents and has over 170 pending patents. Dr. McGuckin double majored in Mechanical Engineering and Pre-Medical from the University of Notre Dame in 1983, and received his M.D. from Hahnemann University in 1987, General Surgery in 1988, Masters Degree in Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania in 1990, Diagnostic Imaging in 1995, and completed his Fellowship in Interventional Radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 1996.

Michael A. Arata, MD
Vascular Access Center of South Los Angeles

Dr. Arata graduated from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. He received his medical training at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and a Medical Internship at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. He completed his Radiology Residency at Duke University Medical Center and went onto a Vascular and Interventional Fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He is Board Certified Interventional Radiologist and earned a Certificate of Added Qualification in Vascular Interventional Radiology. He is a member of the American Venous Forum, the American Society of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology, the American College of Phlebology, the American Stroke Association, the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology, The American Heart Association, Council on Cardiovascular Radiology, the Society of Interventional Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America, the American College of Radiology and the American Roentgen Ray Society.

Larry Braunstein, M.D.
Vascular Access Center of Kingston

Dr. Larry Braunstein is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Temple University School of Pharmacy. He received his medical training at Hahnemann University School of Medicine, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed a residency in Diagnostic Radiology at Temple University and went to University of Virginia to complete a fellowship in Interventional Radiology. Dr. Braunstein is Board Certified in Diagnostic Radiology and has a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Interventional Radiology. His interests in­clude all aspects of Radiology, Vascular and Cross-Sectional Imaging.

Paramjit (Romi) Chopra, M.D.
Vascular Access Centers of Chicago and SW Chicago

Dr. Chopra is the Founder of Midwest Institute for Minimally Invasive Therapies and Associate Professor of Radiology and Acting Chairman of the Department of Radiology at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago IL.  He obtained his Clinical Fellowship in Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.  Dr. Chopra has actively pursued the advancement of dialysis access maintenance with primary areas of research including Dialysis Access Management and Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease.  He is widely published in the field of Access maintenance and is a national speaker for Society of Interventional Radiology.

John M. Dawsey, M.D.
Vascular Access Center of Kingston

Dr. John Dawsey attended Albright College where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with his Bachelor of Science degree in Bio-Chemistry. He received his medical training from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He completed his radiology residency at The Bryn Mawr Hospital in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.  Following his residency, Dr. Dawsey completed a fellowship in Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He is board certified by the American Board of Radiology.  Dr. Dawsey has been in practice in northeast Pennsylvania since 1991. His interests include all aspects of Radiology, Vascular and Cross Sectional Imaging.

Peter Gregory, M.D.
Vascular Access Center of Seattle

Dr. Peter Gregory has been practicing nephrology for the past four years, with a particular focus on interventional nephrology for the past three years. After graduating with a degree in chemistry from the University of Virginia, he obtained his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia. While there, he received the coveted William Branch Porter award for excellence in Internal medicine. He then went on to train in internal medicine at Washington University in St. Louis followed by nephrology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. During his tenure at Johns Hopkins, he became the first Hopkins nephrology fellow ever trained in interventional nephrology under the direction of Dr. W. Perry Arnold. Having obtained this unique training, he has spoken on the topic of interventional nephrology to both nephrologists and nephrology nurses at several meetings and continues to be involved with teaching and mentoring nephrology trainees throughout the Baltimore area. For the past two years, Dr. Gregory was a practicing interventional nephrologist for Mid Atlantic Nephrology Associates in Baltimore working in one of the largest and busiest hemodialysis vascular access centers nationwide. During this time, he became one of the earliest certified members of the American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology. Dr. Gregory has now joined the Philadelphia Vascular Institute where he will focus entirely on interventional nephrology/hemodialysis vascular access care.

John Joseph Hewett, MD
Vascular Access Centers of South Los Angeles

Dr. Hewett is a Summa Cum Laude graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Master in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Arizona in Tucson. He received his medical training at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine followed by a General Medicine Internship at St Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco. He completed his Residency in Diagnostic Radiology at Duke University Medical Center and went on to a Fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology at University of North Carolina Chapel Hills Hospitals. He is a member of the Society of Interventional Radiology, American Roentgen Ray Society, the Radiological Society of North America and the American College of Radiology.

Mario Moya, M.D.
Vascular Access Center of Trenton

Dr. Mario Moya is a native of Del Rio, Texas who earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin in 1978. He pursued his medical studies at the University of Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, Mexico while on a scholarship program. In 1988 he completed a Surgical Internship at Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Darby, Pa. and also a year in Internal Medicine in the same institution in 1989. Dr. Moya then completed his Medical Imaging Residency at Mercy Catholic Medical Center in 1994. Houston, Texas was his next destination where he completed his Angio Interventional Fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He also completed additional fellowship work at St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital before returning to Philadelphia where he joined the Interventional Section at Mercy Catholic. He has been in private practice since 1995 and from 1998 to 2005 was lead Interventionalist at Nazareth Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia and St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington, DE.

He is board certified in Radiology since his completion of training and also earned his Certificate of Added Qualification in Interventional Radiology. Currently he is licensed to practice in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. He is a member of the Society of Interventional Radiology, the American Roentgen Ray Society, the American College of Radiology, the Radiologic Society of North America, the American College of Phlebology, and the American Institute of Cosmetic Medicine.

Clifford M. Sales, MD, MBA
Vascular Access Center of West Orange

Dr. Sales is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo. He received his medical training at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. His training included a Clinical Externship in Liver Transplantation at Cambridge University in Cambridge, England. He completed a Surgery Internship and a Residency in General Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He became Chief Resident in General Surgery in 1991; then completed a Fellowship in Vascular Surgery at Montefiore Medical from 1991 to 1993. In 1998, he was appointed Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Sales received his M.B.A. in 2002 from Rutgers University, New Jersey. He is widely published and an invited presenter at conferences and grand rounds.

Anish P. Shah, MD, FASN
Vascular Access Centers Prince George’s County & Washington, DC

Dr. Shah, along with his partner Dr. Yu, is the medical director of VAC Prince George and of VAC Washington DC. He is an Interventional Nephrologist credentialed by the American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology and was one of the first twenty-five physicians credentialed in the nation. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Board Certified in Nephrology by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology. He came to us from Philadelphia, PA in 2006 where he was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine (formerly known as Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University) in the Division of Nephrology. He was active in the education of Nephrology Fellows, Residents and Medical Students and was the Medical Director of the FMC–Abington dialysis unit. Dr. Shah specializes in all aspects of Hemodialysis Vascular Access. His areas of expertise include AV Fistula maturation and augmentation, AV Graft & AV Fistula salvage and all aspects of Dialysis Catheter dysfunction.

Dr. Shah completed his Internship and Residency in 2001 and then his Fellowship in Nephrology in 2003 from MCP Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, PA. He currently holds active Medical Licenses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, District of Columbia and California.

Sandeep Sharma, M.D.
Vascular Access Center of Pittsburgh

Dr. Sandeep Sharma comes to us after finishing his nephrology fellowship at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. During his fellowship he had presented research at the American Society of Nephrology national conference and has been published in national journals. Prior to his fellowship he completed his internal medicine residency at Allegheny General where he was recognized for service and care provided in the outpatient clinic. After graduating from St. George’s University, Sandeep completed a Family Medicine residency at Hamot Medical Center in Erie, PA where he served as a Co-Chief resident and received a resident teaching award. Sandeep has lived in Western PA for the last 30 years and in Pittsburgh for the last 7 years. Sandeep received his interventional training from James McGuckin, MD and Peter Gregory, MD.

Kyle Smith, DO, FACP
Vascular Access Center of Houston

Dr. Smith graduated with a Bachelor of Science and a Graduate degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He received his medical training from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. He completed a Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at Methodist Hospitals of Dallas and a Fellowship in Nephrology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. Dr. Smith has teaching affiliations with the Department of Internal Medicine Residency Training, Staff Attending Physicians at Methodist Medical Center of Dallas and Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. His also participates at the Family Practice Residency Program, Staff Attending Physician at Baylor Medical Center at Garland. He is a Fellow, in the American College of Physician.

Douglas C.B. Redd, M.D.
Vascular Access Center of Atlanta

Dr. Redd graduated from Emory University in Atlanta with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and a Master’s of Science in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his medical training at Emory University School of Medicine, and then completed an Internship in Internal Medicine followed by a Residency in Diagnostic Radiology at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals in Atlanta. Dr. Redd completed a Fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He was appointed Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Redd is a member of the American Roentgen Ray Society, American College of Radiology, Radiology Society of North America, the American Medical Association, American Heart Association, Radiology Council, Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, Society for Pediatric Radiology and the Georgia Radiology Society.

William D. Yu, MD, FASN
Vascular Access Centers Prince George’s County & Washington, DC

Dr. William Yu graduated from Boston University School of Medicine in 1994 as part of the 6-year combined BA/MD program, from which he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency from 1994-1997 and his Nephrology Fellowship from 1997-1999, both at Northwester University School of Medicine in Chicago. He is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Nephrology. He has practiced in a private practice setting for over 6 years in the Baltimore area. Despite being in private practice, Dr. Yu was active in teaching and had a part-time academic position at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as a Clinical Instructor of Medicine from 2000-2005. Furthermore, Dr. Yu was awarded the “Faculty Teacher Award” in 2001 by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Sinai Hospital Program in Internal Medicine. In 2001, Dr. Yu was trained in Interventional Nephrology procedures, specifically Hemodialysis Vascular Access procedures, by both Interventional Radiologist Dr. W. Perry Arnold as well as Interventional Nephrologist, Dr. Gerald Beathard. By the beginning of 2002, Dr. Yu was the first practicing Interventional Nephrologists in the Maryland and Washington, DC area. In early 2004, Dr. Yu was one of the first Interventional Nephrologists certified in Hemodialysis Vascular Access Procedures by the American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology (ASDIN). To date, he has performed approximately 2,000 procedures and has helped train several other Interventional Nephrologists.