The Department of Medicine teaching faculty is comprised of board-certified physicians from the following medical service groups:

As a resident at Inova, you will benefit from the large national network of resources and contacts established through close interaction with our diversely trained subspecialists and general internists, intensivists and hospitalists.

Department leadership

Inova Fairfax Hospital, which is the flagship hospital for Inova and a major referral center for Northern Virginia and the Washington, DC, metro area, is extremely proud of the depth and diversity of its nearly 800 member and 13-section Department of Medicine. The physicians who form the foundation for this medical community are comprised of experts from our nation's top institutions. These clinicians – with today's cutting-edge technology – treat all patients from around the corner to around the world.

In addition to the sections of cardiology, oncology, pulmonology, critical care, endocrinology, rheumatology, dermatology, allergy and immunology, nephrology, gerontology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases and general internal medicine, the Inova Fairfax Hospital Department of Medicine maintains centers of excellence in cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, liver disease and cancer care management.

 

Teaching service faculty

Inova Fairfax Hospitalist Group is board-certified internal medicine physicians who admit and care for patients at Inova Fairfax Hospital. In addition to being excellent clinicians, they also excel in teaching residents and medical students. The group has admitting privileges to the teaching service and also participates in noon conferences, morning report conferences and teaching didactic sessions.

Hospitalists provide medical care to hospitalized patients. While the hospitalist program does not replace specialty physicians such as cardiologists and gastroenterologists, it ensures a physician is present in the hospital to see patients throughout the day, meet with families and assist with prescriptions and discharge planning.

Once patients are discharged, the hospitalist sends documentation to the primary care physician about the patient's hospitalization.

Teaching Service Leadership

Zehra Gaudiano, MD

Zehra Gaudiano, MD, FACP

Program Director

Although Dr. Gaudiano was appointed program director in 2021, she has been actively engaged with the Internal Medicine Residency Program since its inception since 2013. She has been a core teaching faculty member and engaged in academic committees, recruitment and mentorship.

Dr. Gaudiano graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 2008. She completed a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at Case Medical Center/University Hospitals of Cleveland in 2013 followed by chief residency. Dr. Gaudiano is board certified in both internal medicine and pediatrics and fellow of the American College of Physicians. She is a hospitalist and has won multiple teaching awards for time on the general medicine inpatient service. Dr. Gaudiano currently holds a faculty appointment at the UVA School of Medicine and she previously served as the associated clerkship director for the UVA School of Medicine Inova Campus as well as the VCU School of Medicine Regional campus that preceded it. Dr. Gaudiano’s academic interests include clinical reasoning, effective feedback as well as hospital throughput. Dr. Gaudiano is a native of Northern Virginia. When she is not at the hospital she enjoys watching baseball and spending time with her family – a husband, three children and multiple pets.

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Z Chris, MD

Z Chris, MD

APD, Ambulatory Programs

Dr. Chris is a primary care physician board certified in internal medicine. He has more than 20 years of clinical experience and was in private practice in Washington, DC, prior to joining Inova Medical Group. He has also served as clinical faculty at Georgetown University, Duke University, and Emory University.

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Gregory Trimble

Gregory Trimble, MD

Division Chief of Academics, Medicine Service Line

Dr. Trimble is a graduate of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Utah in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics in 2007.  He then completed a Chief Resident year in Internal Medicine. He joined Inova as an Internal Medicine Hospitalist in 2008 and has held multiple academic leadership positions. Currently, he serves as the Division Chief of Academics for the Medicine Service Line and the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the UVA SOM/Inova Regional Campus. He completed the Stanford Faculty Development Facilitator’s Program in Clinical Teaching in 2012. He was a member of the AAMC Core EPA pilot committee while it worked to explore and promote competency-based education in undergraduate medical education. He has received multiple teaching awards from medical students and residents. He continues to practice as a hospitalist at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus.

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Homan Wai, MD, FACP

Homan Wai, MD, FACP

Clerkship Director, 3rd Year Students

Dr. Wai received his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego Medical School in 2006. He completed his residency in internal medicine at George Washington University where he was honored as both intern (2007) and resident (2009) of the year. He joined the department in 2009, was appointed to associate clerkship director in 2010, and clerkship director in 2015. Dr. Wai received the “Golden Apple Award” in the 2013-14 academic year as the top clinical educator across all clerkships from the VCU School of Medicine-Inova Campus. Dr. Wai holds faculty appointments with Georgetown University, George Washington University and University of Virginia schools of medicine.

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Dr. Bradley Nitta

Bradley Nitta, MD, FACP

Associate Clerkship Director, 3rd Year Medical Students

Dr. Nitta is a hospitalist and core teaching faculty member who enjoys working with residents and medical students. He graduated from Saint Louis University School of Medicine and completed his residency at Inova Fairfax Hospital where he also served as chief resident. He has been recognized for excellent teaching including the “Inpatient Attending of the Year” award from the residency program. Dr. Nitta is board certified in internal medicine and an assistant professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He was appointed as the associate director of the internal medicine clerkship in 2021. He feels privileged to care for the diverse patient population seen in the hospital. Outside of practicing medicine, Dr. Nitta enjoys skiing, mountain biking, and walking the dog with his wife.

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Kristina Krecko

Kristina Krecko, MD

Advanced Clinical Elective Director, 4th Year Medical Students

Dr. Krecko received her medical degree from Penn State College of Medicine in 2014. She completed her residency training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School in 2017. Because of relocations related to her husband’s active military status, she has experience working in a variety of hospital settings. She worked as an academic hospitalist at Massachusetts General Hospital from 2017 to 2019, where she enjoyed working with medical students and residents and pursued interests in Quality Improvement by leading the hospitalist group M&M conference. Dr. Krecko worked at a community hospital in White Plains, New York, for three years before moving to northern Virginia, where she has been a hospitalist at Inova Fairfax since 2022. She holds a faculty appointment at the UVA School of Medicine. Outside of work, Dr. Krecko enjoys spending time with her husband and two young daughters. 

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Tejasri Chandrabhatla

Tejasri Chandrabhatla, DO

IMRP Director of Quality Improvement

Dr. Chandrabhatla is a hospitalist and part of the teaching faculty. She graduated from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her residency at Inova Fairfax Hospital. She then served as a chief resident and stayed at Inova as a hospitalist. Dr. Chandrabhatla is board certified in internal medicine and holds a faculty appointment as assistant professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She is currently appointed as the quality improvement director for the internal medicine residency program. Dr. Chandrabhatla is a native of Northern Virginia. Outside of medicine, she loves to travel, cook and spend time with her family and cats. 

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Larry Istrail

Larry Istrail, MD

IMRP Director of POCUS Education

Chief Medical Residents

Dipam Shah, MD

Dipam Shah, MD

Dr. Dipam Shah was born and grew up in India and moved to the United States at the age of 8. He grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he attended the University of Scranton and majored in biochemistry and molecular biology and then obtained his medical education from the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, also in Scranton.

Residency brought him to Northern Virginia, where he developed a strong interest in point-of-care ultrasound and medical education, prompting him to stay on as Chief Resident. Throughout his residency, Dr. Shah has published several papers on topics in gastroenterology and hepatology, as well as on the utility of point-of-care ultrasound in gastrointestinal setting.

Following his chief year, Dr. Shah plans to pursue a fellowship in gastroenterology. Outside of medicine, he enjoys playing tennis, cooking, spending time with his co-residents, and exploring the diverse food scene in the DMV area.

Allison Vlach, MD

Allison Vlach, MD

Chief Medical Resident, Internal Medicine

Dr. Allison Vlach grew up in Topeka, Kansas, but has always been a Nebraskan at heart. She became a true Cornhusker when she attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and earned her degree in biochemistry. She then studied at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha, for medical school.

Allison moved to the DMV area for Internal Medicine Residency at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus and was recruited as Chief Resident because she loves the program, residents, and wants to learn more about the medical system. She is passionate about health policy, advocacy, and helping others learn to navigate the healthcare system.

In the future, Allison hopes to work in health policy and medical education. She also has an interest in palliative care and is considering fellowship down the road. She is an avid dog lover and hopes to adopt her own dog soon. Allison enjoys video games, spending time with her husband and family, and trying new foods.