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Dr. Maria R. Cortti Ferrari was born in Asunción, Paraguay, and earned her medical degree from the Universidad Nacional de Asunción, completing six years of rigorous training. Her clinical education included rotations at top institutions such as Hospital de Clínicas, Sanatorio Migone, Centro Médico La Costa, and the Centro del Quemado (Burn Center), where she gained valuable experience in both general and specialized care.

In 2005, Dr. Cortti Ferrari moved to the United States, where she later began her U.S.-based medical training. In 2012, she completed a Transitional Year Residency at Sinai Grace Hospital in Michigan, followed by an Internal Medicine Residency from 2014 to 2017. She went on to complete a Nephrology Fellowship at Ascension St. John Hospital in Michigan in 2018.

After finishing her fellowship, Dr. Cortti Ferrari and her family relocated to Florida in 2019, where she initially practiced as a nephrologist. Over time, she recognized the value of integrating her nephrology expertise into a broader scope of care and transitioned to primary care in 2021. Since then, she has been serving her community as a Primary Care Physician, offering comprehensive care with a deep understanding of complex chronic conditions.

Dr. Cortti Ferrari is married to Tadeo, also from Paraguay, and they are proud parents to Enzo (16), Celina (10), and their beloved dog Tito (4). In her free time, she enjoys running, playing the guitar, and being her children’s biggest fan at soccer matches and gymnastics competitions. She is passionate about building long-term relationships with her patients and helping them lead healthier lives through preventive care and compassionate support.

Languages Spoken:  English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

 

Dr. Shalin Patel, MD, is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine as a Diplomate in nephrology. He joined Renal Clinic of Houston in Katy, Memorial City, and North Cypress, Texas, in 2008. He is currently practicing out of Katy, Memorial and Sealy, Texas.

Although he was not born in Texas, Dr. Patel moved to Houston when he was quite young and considers Houston his hometown. After graduating from Westfield High School up in the north part of Houston, he received his undergraduate degree in biology from Tulane University.

He subsequently returned back to Texas and went to medical school at the University of Texas medical school at Galveston. After completing school, Dr. Patel went up to Chicago and trained at Northwestern University, where he completed both his internal medicine residency and fellowship in nephrology.

Dr. Patel remains an active medical staff member at several of the hospitals he practices at. In addition, over the years, he has truly enjoyed mentoring students, as evidenced by the multiple teaching awards he received as a resident. He was one of two physicians to receive the 2005 fellow of the year award at Northwestern University, as nominated by his peers, for his passion and dedication to teaching. He continues to mentor students when his schedule allows for.

Outside of work, he remains a huge fan of football and basketball. He also enjoys reading and watching movies to help unwind after a long work day. 

 

Dr. Rahul Prakash is the founder and President of Renal Clinic of Houston (RCH) since its inception in 1999. He is currently practicing out of Memorial, Spring Branch, Katy and Cypress, Texas. He has been in practice since 1994 after he finished his fellowship training in Nephrology from the Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, TX.                        

He is a graduate of Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi India, after which he did his residency training in Internal Medicine from Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine (NEOUCOM) affiliated Hospitals in Canton, OH.

He has served as a Chief of Staff at MH- Katy Rehabilitation Hospital, and Chief of the Department of Medicine in MH-Katy Medical Center. He is currently the Medical Director of Davita Pin Oak and Davita Horizon Dialysis Centers. He has been the recipient of the 5 star Physician Awards from the USFHP.

He has participated in the Bridge of Life (part of Davita Village Trust) mission to India, which helped in establishing three non-for-profit dialysis clinics in the Western Province of India. He helped in training of foreign physicians to run the dialysis clinics in their native countries and also in the teaching of foreign medical students.

He is a member of American Society of Nephrology (ASN), Renal Physician Association (RPA), Harris County Medical Society (HCMS), Texas Medical Association (TMA), and The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI). He has authored research papers in some reputed Medical Journals, including American Journal of Kidney Disease (AJKD) and American Journal of Hypertension (AJH).

Dr.Prakash is board certified by American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) as a Diplomate in Nephrology.

Dr. Tawakol is an experienced physician with multiple board certifications including Internal Medicine, Nephrology and Hypertension as well as Interventional Nephrology. He has also been trained in Vascular Access Surgery and is currently one of only a few physicians in the United States to be certified in the complete spectrum of dialysis access related care. He has extensive experience, in excess of 10,000 cases across multiple procedures, published numerous medical research articles and presented at several national as well as international meetings. Dr. Tawakol received his medical degree from the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany in 1997. After working in Spain as well as the United Kingdom, he completed his residency in Internal Medicine at New York University Medical Center in June 2002, his fellowships in Nephrology and Hypertension in 2003 and Interventional Nephrology in 2004 at the University of Miami, FL.

 

Rajiv Lal, MD, is a nephrology specialist. He joined Renal Clinic of Houston in 2006 and is affiliated with several medical facilities in northwest Houston.

Dr. Lal graduated from India’s premier institute All India Institute of Medical Sciences. He received his training in Internal Medicine and Nephrology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and has since made Houston his home. Dr. Lal speaks English, Hindi, and Spanish and is well-positioned to treat a variety of patients.

Dr. Lal has served as Chief of Medicine at North Cypress Medical Center Hospital. He currently serves as President of Medical Staff and Director of Dialysis Services at Kindred Northwest.

Dr. Lal is a member of the Critical Care Committee, Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, and Quality Utilization Committee at NCMC Hospital. Dr. Lal also served as an Alternate Delegate for the House of Delegates at Harris County Medical Society.

Dr. Lal is an avid bicyclist and runner. He has completed several marathons and has bicycled the prestigious TourDuRouge from Houston to New Orleans.

 

Dr. Alicia Romero is a Spanish – English bilingual native of Venezuela. She completed her medical school at the University of Zulia in Venezuela in 2001. After her graduation, she relocated to Galveston, Texas, where she received her training in Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch. She completed her fellowship in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at the University of Texas at Houston. During her fellowship she published several manuscripts. She joined Renal Clinic of Houston in October 2012.

Dr. Romero has her medical license in Texas and she is a member of the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians and American Society of Nephrology.

Dr. Romero is board certified by American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) as a Diplomate in Nephrology.

 

Hemanth Hampole, MD, is a board-certified nephrologist at Renal Clinic of Houston in Katy and Memorial City, Texas.

Dr. Hampole earned a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree with honors at J.J.M Medical College in Davangere, India. He then moved to Chicago, Illinois to complete an internal medicine residency at Cook County hospital and served as chief medical resident at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Hampole then fulfilled a nephrology fellowship at the University of Illinois in Chicago where he also served as a chief fellow. In addition to General nephrology, he also specializes in Interventional Nephrology - performing minimally invasive procedures such as dialysis access management and catheter placements.

Dr. Hampole is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and a diplomate of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. He is a member of the American Society of Nephrology, Renal physicians Association and American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology.

When he’s not assisting patients at the Renal Clinic, Dr. Hampole enjoys running,  hiking and wildlife photography. He is fluent in English, Hindi, and Kannada.

 

Dr. Mukesh Sinha is a native Houstonian and completed his undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University in 2000. He is a 2004 graduate of The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX. After his graduation, he relocated to Rochester, Minnesota, where he received his training in Internal Medicine at the internationally renowned Mayo Clinic. He remained at Mayo Clinic to complete his fellowship in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension. During his fellowship he published several manuscripts and was appointed as Instructor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medicine. He was honored with the Clinical Fellow of the Year Award for academic year 2009-2010. He joined Renal Clinic of Houston in 2010.

Dr. Sinha has his medical license in Minnesota and Texas. He is a member of the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, American Society of Nephrology and Renal Physicians Association.

Dr. Sinha is board certified by American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) as a Diplomate in Nephrology.

Rupi Chatha, MD, is a board-certified nephrologist at Renal Clinic of Houston in Cypress and Methodist Willowbrook.

After completing medical school, internship, and residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas, Dr. Chatha completed her nephrology training at the University of Colorado with a year of clinical research in Polycystic Kidney Disease.

She began her nephrology practice in Houston in 1999. She is board-certified in Nephrology and has served as medical director for several dialysis clinics, earning a 5-Star rating by CMS for achieving the highest quality standards in care delivery. She has also been a principal investigator in several clinical research trials.

Dr. Chatha is passionate about disease prevention, care coordination for patients with complex illnesses, and patient education. She empowers her patients to take control of their kidney health for the best outcomes.

Outside of work, Dr. Chatha enjoys skiing, hiking, long walks with her golden retriever, traveling with her family, and nurturing her rose garden.

Specialties: Nephrology and Internal Medicine

Internship & Residency: Parkland Hospital and University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas – 1996

Fellowship: Nephrology Fellowship, University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado – 1999

Medical Education: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas

Memberships & Affiliations: The American Society of Nephrology, The Renal Physicians Association

 

Dr. Sheetal Golla completed her medical school at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia in 2003. After graduation, she relocated to Chicago, Illinois where she received her training in Internal Medicine at Rush University Medical Center. She subsequently completed her fellowship in the Section of Nephrology at Rush University Medical Center, where she published her work on Lupus Nephritis based on the MDRD estimated GFR under Dr Edmund J. Lewis and Dr Steven Korbet. Dr Golla was in private practice for a couple of years in Chicago until she moved to Houston, Texas with her husband. She joined Renal Clinic of Houston in April 2014. She is also a member of the American Society of Nephrology.

Dr. Golla is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) as a Diplomate in Nephrology.

 

Sayed Ahmed, MD, is a board-certified and fellowship-trained internal medicine physician at the Renal Clinic of Houston in Katy, Memorial City, and North Cypress, Texas.

Dr. Ahmed earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Houston in Texas. He then traveled to the Caribbean to earn his doctorate at the Saba University School of Medicine in The Bottom, Saba, Dutch Caribbean.  He received specialized training in dialysis modalities, including hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and continuous renal replacement therapies during his fellowship at Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center in Houston. He also received extensive fellowship training in the care of cancer patients with kidney disease and injury at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

A diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Ahmed maintains Texas and Louisiana state medical licenses and is a member of the American Society of Nephrology and the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Ahmed enjoys table tennis, badminton, cricket, music, and traveling. He speaks English, Urdu, Hindi, Sindhi, and Punjabi.

 

Dr. Krishna Raman is a senior partner of the Renal Clinic of Houston (RCH). He became a practicing Nephrologist at Renal Clinic of Houston in 2002. Dr. Raman is a graduate of Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, which is among the top 10 medical schools in India. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at The University of Delhi in 1989. He then completed his residency in the State University of New York at Buffalo in Internal Medicine from 1993-1995. He was a Chief Resident in the State University of New York at Buffalo from 1995-1998. He then joined Internal Medicine Practice in Rural Western NY State from 1996-2000. After 4 years of practicing Internal Medicine, Dr. Raman completed his fellowship at Loyola University Medical and the VA Hospital in Chicago, IL from July of 2000 to June 2002.

Dr. Raman is board certified by American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) as a Diplomate in Nephrology.

 

Joseph Oolut, MD is a board-certified and fellowship-trained internal medicine and nephrology physician at the Renal Clinic of Houston in Katy, Memorial City, and North Cypress, Texas. 

Dr. Oolut earned his bachelor’s and medical degree with honors at the University of Houston in Texas. He completed interventional radiology/nephrology rotations between 2006 and 2007 at the University of Texas and served as Chief Medical Resident from 2006 to 2009 at the First Street Surgical Hospital in Houston. He received fellowship training at the University of Texas, Houston Division of Nephrology from 2007 to 2009.

Prior to joining the team at the Renal Clinic, Dr. Oolut’s professional experience includes serving as a medical director and interventional nephrology attending doctor, and extensive experience in dialysis access procedures, port insertion, vein/PAD care, kidney biopsies, PD catheter placement, tending to nephrology patients in the ICU, and working in the emergency room.

Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Oolut also maintains certification in nephrology with the American Society of Diagnostic & Interventional Nephrology.