As Medical Director of Huntington Hospital, Dr. Cacciabaudo, oversees Medical Staff, Quality, Medical
Education, Radiology, Pharmacy and the Clinical Laboratory, Pathology and Blood Bank. She works collaboratively with nursing and hospital leadership in overseeing patient safety issues and standards of care at the 220-bed community hospital. She is proud of her team as Huntington Hospital is the only 5 Star CMS Hospital in Suffolk County. She has been a spokesperson for the American Heart Association for over 20 years and was a member of the Eastern States AHA Board of Directors. Throughout her career, she has been involved in research on the diagnosis and prevention of heart disease in women.

Previously, Dr. Cacciabaudo served as Medical Director of Peconic Bay Medical Center, Southside
Hospital’s Chief of Cardiology and Long Island Jewish Medical Center’s Associate Medical Director.
Under her leadership at Southside Hospital, she worked with the multidisciplinary team that brought
open heart surgery and advanced complex cardiac care to Suffolk County. She is the recipient of the
Northwell Health Truly Award in Mentorship recognizing her dedication to developing physicians and future physician leaders over the years. In 2019, she received the United Hospital Fund Excellence in Health Care Award for championing quality improvement. She also received the Northwell Health President’s Award in 2016 for Team Innovation. She chaired the Physician Engagement Committee in Northwell Health Physician Partners and brought physician star ratings and comments to the internet so that patients can have insight into what other patients are saying about their physicians.

Dr. Cacciabaudo received her medical training at New York Medical College and served as intern and resident at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where her training also included clinical fellowships in hypertension and cardiology.

Board certifications
Internal Medicine – American Board of Internal Medicine
Cardiovascular Disease – American Board of IM / Cardiovascular Disease
Interventional Cardiology – American Board of IM / Interventional Cardiology

Administrative titles
Director – Interventional Cardiology – Huntington
Director – Interventional Cardiology of Cardiology, Huntington Hospital

Academic titles
Assistant Professor, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell

Education
State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo

Residencies
Montefiore Medical Center – Moses Division

Fellowships
Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine
Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine

Dr. Perwaiz M. Meraj is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cardiology at Zucker School of Medicin at Hofstra/Northwell. He joined Northwell Health after being trained at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. He is an interventional cardiologist with a passion for high risk, complex coronary interventions, radial artery catheterizations, has pioneered and led the Northwell Cardiogenic Shock team as an Inteventional Heart Failure specialist bringing percutaneous ventricular support devices for both high risk PCI and shock to the health system.

As an educator, he is the Director of one of five national CHIP/CTO Fellowship programs, underlying his passion for educating our future cardiologists. His research interests parallel his clinical work. Dr. Meraj has led the effort to improve the academic footprint in cardiology, and in this role he has published and presented over 400 abstracts and manuscripts. He is invited to all national and international meetings to present his research and help assist others in his trade. He is a primary investigator for many industry sponsored research studies, and has developed many extensive home grown prospective registries from

the ground up, by developing a large team of research fellows and scholars.


Nationally and internationally, as a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, he is a key member on the Executive Council for Interventional Cardiology and represents all Interventional Cardiologists on the council. He also is an active Emerging Leader and Mentor (ELM) of Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions/ACC/CRF.

Electrophysiologist
Northshore University Community Hospital
Northwell health
Associate Professor, Cardiology
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra / Northwell

Stuart Beldner, MD, is a cardiac electrophysiologist at North Shore University Hospital where he holds an academic appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Cardiology at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.

Dr. Beldner completed his training in electrophysiology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is board-certified in cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the Heart Rhythm Society.

Dr. Beldner’ s has clinical expertise in all areas of electrophysiology including ablation, device-based therapy, left atrial appendage occlusion, and consultative electrophysiology.

He has authored or co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. He also serves as a reviewer for cardiology and electrophysiology journals.  He has been an invited speaker to local, national, and international programs.

Pharmacist
North Shore University Hospital
Northwell Health

Dr. Demekhin is a supervisor clinical pharmacy specialist for the cardiothoracic critical care unit (CT-ICU), Heart and Lung Transplant Program and is a member of critical care and heart transplant committees. Dr. Demekhin is an active member within American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP), New York City Society of Health-System Pharmacists (NYSCHP) and Royal Counties Society of Health System Pharmacists (RCHSP). She serves as a journal review for Journal of Pharmacy Practice and has presented on topics such as pulmonary arterial hypertension, management of toxicological emergencies (calcium channel and beta blockers overdose, role of lipids in toxicology world, sulfonylurea overdose, et.al.), management of hypertensive urgencies and emergencies, therapeutic hypothermia, sepsis and stroke.

Dr. Demekhin’s areas of interest include toxicology, sedation, infectious diseases, stroke, and surgery/neurosurgery, heart transplant and cardiology.

James Gabriels, MD, FACC, is an electrophysiologist at North Shore University Hospital where he serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cardiology at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.

Dr. Gabriels completed an internal medicine residency, chief residency in internal medicine and cardiology fellowship at Northwell Health. He served as a chief cardiology fellow. He then completed his electrophysiology fellowship at New York Presbyterian Weil Cornell. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiology, echocardiography and electrophysiology.

Dr. Gabriels’ clinical expertise includes device implantation with a focus on conduction system pacing and leadless pacing. He also has a focus on catheter ablation with attention to complex atrial arrhythmias and ventricular tachycardia. His research endeavors include 56 peer-reviewed publications, including 22 as the primary author.

Bio Coming Soon!

Jan Hernandez has Critical Care RN experience since 2006.  He earned a Master of Science in Family NP at the College of New Rochelle and Post Masters degree in Adult Acute Care NP from Pace University. He has practiced in CTICU, CCU, CT Stepdown, and Medical-Surgical ICU.  Currently, he is the CCU Shock NP at Lenox Hill Hospital.

Bio Coming Soon!

Dr. Kyle Kelschenbach is a third year cardiology fellow at Nassau University Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Adult Echocardiography. He is currently planning on pursuing a career in Noninvasive Cardiology with special interest in imaging and heart failure.

Dr. Kelschenbach is married and has a one year old son. His interests include ice hockey, golf, hiking, music, and chess.

Dr. Paul Maccaro is a Cardiac Electrophysiologist and joined Northwell Physician Partners (then North Shore Health System) in 1997. He currently serves as Vice-Chairman of Cardiology and Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology for Huntington Hospital.  Dr. Maccaro performs a variety of Electrophysiology procedures for the treatment of patients with Arrhythmia including device implantation and catheter ablation. He is an active Investigator on numerous clinical trials.

Dr. Maccaro is Assistant Professor of Cardiology, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.  He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, a Fellow of the American College of Physician, and a Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society. He currently serves as president of the Medical Staff of Huntington Hospital. Dr. Maccaro serves as Chairman of the Northwell HealthIRB committee D.

Gregory Maurer, PA received his Undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at the SUNY Stony
Brook, after which he spent 8 years as a Paramedic in the NYC 911 system with Jamaica
Hospital and the Nassau County Police Department, while also serving in the United States Naval Reserves as a Combat Corpsman assigned to the 4th Marine Division. He went back to become a Physician Assistant at the New York Institute of Technology. He has spent the last 20 years with Northwell in the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery where he has served as the QA and Education Coordinator in the CTICU, and since 2014 has served as a Structural Heart Coordinator, involved in all aspects of the Structural Heart Team both in and outpatient.

Dr. Perwaiz M. Meraj is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cardiology at Zucker School of Medicin at Hofstra/Northwell. He joined Northwell Health after being trained at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. He is an interventional cardiologist with a passion for high risk, complex coronary interventions, radial artery catheterizations, has pioneered and led the Northwell Cardiogenic Shock team as an Inteventional Heart Failure specialist bringing percutaneous ventricular support devices for both high risk PCI and shock to the health system.

As an educator, he is the Director of one of five national CHIP/CTO Fellowship programs, underlying his passion for educating our future cardiologists. His research interests parallel his clinical work. Dr. Meraj has led the effort to improve the academic footprint in cardiology, and in this role he has published and presented over 400 abstracts and manuscripts. He is invited to all national and international meetings to present his research and help assist others in his trade. He is a primary investigator for many industry sponsored research studies, and has developed many extensive home grown prospective registries from

the ground up, by developing a large team of research fellows and scholars.


Nationally and internationally, as a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, he is a key member on the Executive Council for Interventional Cardiology and represents all Interventional Cardiologists on the council. He also is an active Emerging Leader and Mentor (ELM) of Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions/ACC/CRF.

Rajeev Narayan studied medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. After completing an internship and residency at Columbia university medical center, Rajeev went on to complete his cardiology and interventional cardiology fellowships at the Mount Sinai medical center. Subsequently Rajeev went on to complete a fellowship in advanced vascular intervention at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is currently the director of interventional cardiology at Nuvance-Northwell Vassar Brothers Medical Center where he performs a variety of structural, vascular, and complex coronary interventions. He is also site primary investigator for a variety of clinical trials.

Dr. Apurva Patel, MD, FACC, FSCAI is a board-certified interventional cardiologist with expertise in structural heart disease management and treatment. Dr. Patel completed his fellowships in Interventional Cardiology and Structural Heart Disease Interventions at the DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, Houston Methodist Hospital (Houston, TX). He trained in Internal Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH) and Cardiovascular Disease at the Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital. He has received several academic accolades and research awards during his training, and has authored numerous peer reviewed articles, abstracts, and book chapters. Dr. Patel’s Board Certifications include: Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular disease, Interventional Cardiology, Comprehensive Adult Echocardiography, Nuclear Cardiology and Vascular Interpretations. His clinical focus includes an entire spectrum of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), transcatheter mitral valve therapies (Mitraclip, TMVR, and BMV), ASD/PFO closure, paravalvular leak closure, and left atrial appendage closure, in addition to complex coronary interventions. He also performs endovascular intervention for peripheral arterial disease. Dr. Patel is highly skilled in all facets of cardiovascular disease management.

Matthew Pierce, MD, MBA is the Cardiology Critical Care Site Director at North Shore University Hospital and is Assistant Professor in Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He practices primarily in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit in the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at North Shore University Hospital. Dr. Pierce received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine, graduating in 2011. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Morningside-West and fellowships in cardiovascular disease at Temple University Hospital and medical critical care at Yale New Haven Hospital.

Dr. Anna Plitt is an Assistant Professor of Cardiology at Northwell Health and a specialist in advanced multimodality cardiac imaging. She earned her MD from Harvard Medical School and completed her residency and cardiology fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital, followed by an advanced imaging fellowship in CT and MRI at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Board-certified across echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, cardiac CT, and cardiac MRI, she brings a comprehensive skill set to clinical care, teaching, and research.

Dr. Plitt’s academic work spans over 15 years, from early immunology and oncology research to her current focus on advanced cardiac imaging and translational cardiovascular medicine. She has published extensively in leading journals, served as a reviewer for multiple cardiology publications, and presented nationally on imaging innovations. Active in professional societies including the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Society of Cardiovascular CT and MR, she has also held leadership roles focused on education and mentorship. Her career reflects a dedication to innovation in imaging, collaboration across disciplines, and advancing the quality of cardiovascular care.

Olga Reynbakh, is a cardiac electrophysiologist at North Shore University Hospital, an Assistant Professor of Cardiology at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. She specializes in catheter ablation of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, cardiac device implantation. She has research interests in improving outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation and in cardiac imaging for cardiac electrophysiologists. She received a Masters of Science in clinical research degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt hospitals, fellowship in cardiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/ Montefiore Hospital and fellowship in Cardiac Electrophysiology at Columbia University School of Medicine – NY Presbyterian.

Bruce J. Rutkin, MD is a Structural Interventional Cardiologist at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY.  He is the System Director of Structural Heart Disease at Northwell Health, an Associate Professor of Cardiology & Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, and one of the Co-Directors of the Center for Valvular Disease at Northwell’s Cardiovascular Institute. He is active in numerous clinical trials for the treatment of patients with aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valve disease utilizing transcatheter therapies.

Benjamin Seifer is second year cardiovascular disease fellow in the NS/LIJ program. Ben completed his MD at the University of South Florida and his internal medicine residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Fellow, Northwell Health

Bio Coming Soon!

Bio Coming Soon!

Dr. Spencer Weintraub is a current cardiology fellow and former chief resident, board-certified in Internal Medicine, Clinical Lipidology, and Lifestyle Medicine. He is actively engaged in research spanning cardiovascular prevention, metabolic health, and cardiac critical care.

Bio Coming Soon!

Dr. Roman Zeltser, MD, FACC, FICA, currently serves as the Program Director of Cardiovascular Disease
Fellowship at South Shore University Hospital and holds the position of Associate Professor of Cardiology at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. His distinguished career in cardiology spans clinical practice, medical education, and innovative research, establishing him as a respected leader in his field.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Zeltser made significant contributions at Nassau University Medical Center, where he served as the Program Director of the Cardiology Fellowship Program from 2014 to 2024. During his tenure there, he also held the positions of Treasurer of the Medical Staff and Chief Medical Informatics Officer, demonstrating his versatility in both clinical and administrative leadership.

Since 2013, Dr. Zeltser has expanded his educational impact through appointments as an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at both the American University of the Caribbean and NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine. His commitment to medical education has earned him notable recognition, including the MAP-IT Gold High Potential Mentor Program Award from Northwell Health in 2016 and the Leadership in Medical Education award from NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2014.

Dr. Zeltser’s academic foundation was established at Brooklyn College, CUNY, where he earned his BA in Economics, Cum Laude, in 2000, followed by his MD from Downstate College of Medicine, SUNY, in 2004. His postdoctoral training included a fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and residency training in Internal Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

Throughout his career, Dr. Zeltser has maintained active involvement in professional organizations, contributing significantly to the International College of Angiology and participating in Cardiovascular Catheter Therapeutics Global Summits. His
comprehensive approach to cardiology, combining clinical excellence with educational leadership, continues to influence and shape the future of cardiovascular medicine and the development of new generations of cardiologists.