Our Faculty

Dr. Guzman is Chief, Division of Vascular Surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital. He is also Surgeon-in-Chief, Vascular Surgery, Heart and Vascular Center for the Yale New Haven Health System. He came to Yale from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. Prior to moving to Boston, he spent the early portion of his career at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee where he served for several years as Chief of Vascular Surgery at the Nashville VA Hospital. He received his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. After completing his residency in general surgery, he undertook research training in the Cardiology Branch of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD and subsequently completed a fellowship in vascular surgery at Stanford University Hospital. He currently serves as a permanent member of the Bioengineering, Technology, and Surgical Sciences Study Section of the NIH. His clinical interests relate to patients with diabetic vascular disease and ischemic foot ulcers. His research focuses on the role of arterial calcification in lower extremity ischemia.

Edouard Aboian, MD, is a vascular surgeon who specializes in aortic and limb preservation procedures, offering endovascular and open surgical solutions—sometimes a combination of the two—as well as medical therapies depending on the patient’s needs. “I try to work not just with the patient, but with the entire family to put them at ease in what can be a difficult situation,” he says. “In many cases, I want them to understand that they have something that is treatable. We deal with these things every day, and we often can improve or completely reverse the problem that they have. It can be fixed.” In many cases, treatment for aneurysms and other vascular problems has become easier with minimally invasive endovascular approaches, which involve working through small incisions in the groin or sometimes the arm, Dr. Aboian says. “Inside the body there is big work done, but outside, you only see little incisions.” Endovascular techniques often allow patients to recover quickly and even go home the next day after an aortic aneurysm repair, although some stay longer if the operation was complex, he says. Dr. Aboian has been involved in research and quality improvement in vascular surgery on a national level. “This gives us granular data to analyze our work and see what we are doing well and what we can improve,” he says. But he says the best part of his work is always making a patient better. “Years after treatment, a patient will come back for a follow-up appointment or send me a card, and say, ‘Thank you very much. Because of you, I'm alive today.’ This is the most rewarding thing,” he says.

Dr. Arhuidese is a vascular and endovascular surgeon who is certified by the American Board of Surgery. He is highly specialized in the use of medical, endovascular and open surgical therapies for the treatment of vascular diseases. He holds concurrent appointments in the Department of Surgery in the Yale School of Medicine, Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology in Yale School of Public Health, and in the Section of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science in the Yale School of Medicine. His clinical interests include aortic aneurysms and dissections, peripheral arterial disease, carotid disease, creation and maintenance of durable access for hemodialysis, renal and mesenteric ischemia, thoracic outlet syndrome as well as the spectrum of venous diseases. He promotes communication strategies that facilitate shared decision making by patients, their families and the health team. Dr. Arhuidese pays meticulous attention to detail to ensure that patients have a safe and positive experience in the pre-, intra- and post- operative/procedural periods. He applies current research evidence in determining: if and when patients require surgery/procedures; and the surgery/procedure that best fits each patient based on their unique characteristics. He promotes disease prevention strategies that help patients avoid surgical procedures if possible. Dr. Arhuidese obtained his medical degree from the University of Benin in Nigeria. He served as Speaker of Congress and subsequently President of the Medical Students Association. He completed a Master’s in Public Health with a focus in Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He also underwent a Research Fellowship in Vascular & Endovascular Surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He was recipient of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Capstone Research Award. He completed Vascular & Endovascular Surgery Residency at the University of South Florida where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and awarded the Larey C. Carey Best Resident Research Award twice! His research is focused on understanding how pre- and peri-operative patient, provider and system based factors affect short and long term outcomes after vascular interventions. His research has been presented at numerous local, regional and national meetings; and published in national and international journals. He collaborates with experts across disciplines in medicine, public health, engineering, computer science and others to identify and promote novel solutions to vascular problems at individual and population levels.

Dr. Cai joined Yale School of Medicine from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston. Before moving to Boston, he was a Postdoctoral Associate and then a junior faculty in Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of Rochester. Dr. Cai is a Principal Investigator at Yale. His overall research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of cyclic nucleotide signaling in the pathogenesis of arterial and venous disorders. He has a longstanding interest in investigating the function, molecular mechanisms, and therapeutic potential of phosphodiesterase (PDE) in cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Cai has expertise in the areas of inflammation, extracellular matrix, and lysosome function related to vascular diseases. He uses multiple approaches including RNA-Seq/bioinformatics, proteomics, in vitro primary cell culture, state-of-art in vivo rodent surgical models of diseases, human specimens from patients, and transgenic mice, and collaborates with vascular biologists, vascular surgeons, bioengineers, gene/drug delivery experts, and bioinformatics experts to achieve his research goals.

Dr. Jonathan Cardella is a vascular and endovascular surgeon who specializes in advanced endovascular and open surgery for critical limb ischemia and diabetic atherosclerotic disease. He also has extensive experience in complex endovascular surgery for aortic aneurysms and lower extremity occlusive disease, as well as hybrid surgical techniques for PVD, varicose veins, and dialysis access.Dr. Cardella earned his undergraduate degree at Wilfrid Laurier University and his medical degree at the University of Toronto. He completed his endovascular surgery training at the Cleveland Clinic and fellowship training in vascular surgery at the University of Toronto. After completing his training, he joined the University of Toronto as a staff vascular and endovascular surgeon. Dr. Cardella’s research interests include surgical education, simulation, course design, and milestone skill training. He has written numerous research publications and given many presentations on his work. Previously, he chaired the Canadian Endovascular Skills Summits at the University of Toronto as well as served on its residency committee.

Dr. Alan Dardik is a surgeon-scientist who harnesses the power of molecular biology to achieve a modern understanding of vascular disease, and then use the basic science laboratory to ultimately benefit patients with vascular diseases. Dr. Dardik trained at Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Johns Hopkins Hospital before his appointment to the Yale faculty in 2001. Dr. Dardik focuses his clinical practice on teaching at the VA Connecticut, where he was formerly the Chief of Vascular Surgery and currently serves as the Chief of Surgery. Dr. Dardik has won the C. Elton Cahow Award for Outstanding Faculty Teaching from Yale’s Department of Surgery and the Faculty Teaching Award from St. Mary’s Hospital. Dr. Dardik has served Yale’s Department of Surgery as a Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs, as well as Interim Division Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. The Dardik laboratory studies the healing and function of blood vessels, fistulae and vessel patches that are used in patients having vascular surgery. The laboratory is trying to understand the fundamental molecular mechanisms by which vein graft adaptation and arteriovenous fistula maturation result in positive remodeling and successful adaptation to the arterial environment, yet often proceed, in the long-term, to neointimal hyperplasia and failure. The laboratory also studies novel methods to deliver stem cells to diabetic wounds. The laboratory is funded from the NIH as well as Yale's Department of Surgery. Dr. Dardik currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the translational science journal JVS-Vascular Science; he is the past President of the New England Society for Vascular Surgery, the Association of VA Surgeons as well as of the International Society for Vascular Surgery. Dr. Dardik has run several national and international meetings, including the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Research Initiatives Conference, and has served on numerous peer review committees including review for the NIH, the VA, and Vascular Cures. Dr. Dardik has edited several textbooks including “Vascular Surgery: A Global Perspective” and “Stem cell therapy for vascular diseases.”

Uwe Fischer, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor of surgery in the vascular division. He is seeing patients at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, Westerly Hospital, Rhode Island and additional offices. He is a board-certified general surgeon and board-certified in vascular surgery, and is a registered vascular specialist in the interpretation of vascular laboratory studies. Dr. Fischer’s clinical interests include varicose veins, aneurysms, carotid disease, peripheral arterial disease, peripheral venous disease, dialysis vascular access, endovascular surgery and lower extremity limb preservation, particularly in diabetic patients. He completed his graduate and medical degrees at the University of Mainz, Germany. He spent his general surgery residency at the Memorial Hermann Hospital, University of Texas-Houston – Medial School at Houston, and subsequently finished a fellowship in Vascular and Endovascular surgery at The Houston Methodist Hospital.

Dr. David Kuwayama is Director of Aortic Surgery in the Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy. He is distinguished nationally for his expertise in novel and minimally invasive treatment options for aortic aneurysms and dissections. “It is an honor to work with the exceptional team of scientists and clinicians at Yale in our effort to provide the highest-quality care to aortic patients,” said Dr. Kuwayama. In his leadership role at Yale, Dr. Kuwayama partners with faculty and clinical staff across the vascular and cardiac surgery specialties, overseeing the quality, safety and patient experience of complex, multidisciplinary aortic procedures. He is lead or senior author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and has authored three book chapters on aortic pathology. He has been Investigator in seven industry-sponsored aortic device trials, and is the Sponsor-Investigator of an FDA-approved Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) for physician-modified fenestrated-branched endovascular repair of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Kuwayama completed his residency in General Surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and a fellowship in Vascular Surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. A humanitarian, he has worked extensively with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, and holds a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University.

Cassius Iyad Ochoa Chaar, MD, MPH, MS, is an associate professor of surgery in the division of vascular surgery and endovascular therapy. He is seeing patients at the Yale Physicians Building. He is a board-certified in general surgery and vascular surgery, and is a registered vascular specialist in the interpretation of vascular laboratory studies. Dr. Chaar’s clinical interests include peripheral artery disease (PAD) focusing on patients with critical limb ischemia and limb salvage, varicose veins, aortic and visceral aneurysms, carotid disease, deep vein thrombosis, and dialysis vascular access. He completed his graduate and medical degrees at American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He spent his general surgery residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and subsequently finished a fellowship in vascular and endovascular surgery at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. As a recent graduate from the Yale School of Public Health (MPH 2023), Dr. Chaar has established extensive collaborations to study clinical genetics of vascular disease, explore applications of artificial intelligence to improve vascular care, and assess new technologies that enhance vascular surgery treatments. He mentors and trains MD/PhD students interested in surgical outcomes research, genetic research, and quality improvement related to surgical therapies.

Dr. David S. Strosberg is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital. He completed his vascular surgical fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, and general surgical residency at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH where he served as administrative chief resident.Dr. Strosberg’s clinical interests include open, endovascular, and hybrid treatment approaches to complex aortic disease, carotid artery stenosis, critical limb ischemia and limb preservation, dialysis access, thoracic outlet syndrome and vascular compression syndromes, and venous disease and reconstruction. He has a particular concentration in patients with degenerative aneurysmal disease and connective tissue diseases.Dr. Strosberg’s research interests include the role of simulation and curriculum development in medical student and resident education. He has received numerous teaching awards for his efforts on the institutional, regional, and national level.

Dr. Bauer Sumpio received his medical degree and his Ph.D. in Physiology in 1981 from Cornell University Medical College in New York. He was involved in post-graduate training in General Surgery at Yale University and from 1986 to 1987 he underwent fellowship training in Vascular Surgery at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Sumpio then returned to Yale School of Medicine, Section of Vascular Surgery, as a faculty member at the VA Connecticut. His professional society memberships include the American Surgical Association, International College of Angiology, Society for Vascular Surgery, American College of Cardiology, Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology, American College of Surgeons, Society for University Surgeons, European Society for Vascular Surgery, Biomedical Engineering Society, American Heart Association and the American Physiological Society. He is a past Chair of the Research Council of the Society for Vascular Surgery and Secretary of the Association of Program Directors of Vascular Surgery. He has been on the editorial board of several journals, including the Journal of Vascular Surgery, Journal of American College of Surgeons, and Cell Transplantation. He has had continuous research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Administration and the American Heart Association since 1988 for his studies on the role of hemodynamics and vascular disease. He has published over 345 peer-reviewed papers and has edited and authored 4 books on vascular surgery and biology. Dr. Sumpio is the proud recipient of many prestigious honors and awards such as Best Doctor in NY 2006-2016 -- just to name a few.

Dr. Tonnessen graduated from Brown University with honors in Neuroscience in 1994. She subsequently received her medical degree at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She completed a residency in general surgery and fellowship in vascular surgery at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, and has been a practicing vascular surgeon since 2006. Dr. Tonnessen is board certified in general and vascular surgery, and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Tonnessen has expertise in both open surgery and minimally invasive "endovascular" procedures for treating vascular disease. Dr. Tonnessen is also the co-author of the 5th and 6th editions of The Handbook of Patient Care Vascular Diseases, a popular "pocket" book for students and residents.