JAY H. GARTEN, MD
Board Certified, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
A graduate of Dartmouth College, Dr. Garten received his medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington, VT. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine as well as a fellowship in gastroenterology at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals in Atlanta.
Dr. Garten has been in private and group practices in the Atlanta area since 1986 and joined Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates in 2005. He is a member of the American College of Physicians, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American College of Gastroenterology, the Medical Association of Georgia, and the Cobb County Medical Society.
NEAL K. OSBORN, MD, MSC, FACG
Board Certified, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
Fellow, American College of Gastroenterology
Dr. Osborn is a summa cum laude graduate of Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., where he also attended medical school. Following his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., he completed a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
While in Rochester, Dr. Osborn earned a master’s degree in clinical science and research with a specialty concentration in noninvasive methods of colon cancer screening in average risk patients and inflammatory bowel disease. He has additional special interest and training in familial colon cancer syndromes and genetic counseling and non-surgical hemorrhoid treatment. Dr. Osborn is also a medical photographer and lecturer.
In 2005, Dr. Osborn was named International Health Professional of the Year by the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England, for outstanding contributions to medicine. For the sixth consecutive year, he was named to Atlanta Magazine‘s ‘Top Doctors’ – a list of top physicians in the metro area. He is a member of the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterological Association and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Dr. Osborn joined Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates in 2007.
ANUPAMA RAVI, MD
Board Certified, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
A graduate of Madras Medical College in Chennai, India, Dr. Ravi previously worked as both a House Staff Assistant at Emory University Hospital in the Department of Internal Medicine and as a Research Assistant in the hospital’s Pathology Division. Following her residency in internal medicine at Atlanta Medical Center, she returned to Emory and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in research in the Digestive Diseases Division and a fellowship in gastroenterology. In 2008, she received the GI Scholar Award from the American Federation of Medical Research.
Dr. Ravi has been widely published and her articles have appeared in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Gastroenterology, The Journal of Gastroenterology, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. In addition, she was the co-author of a chapter in the textbook Principles and Practice of Medicine. She has made numerous presentations at medical meetings and participated in several research studies during her training.
She is a member of the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the American Gastroenterological Association. Her areas of interest include women’s health, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), functional GI disorders, capsule endoscopy, and clinical research.
Dr. Ravi joined Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates in 2010.
NADIA S. SANFORD, MD
Board Certified Gastroenterology
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Dr. Sanford received a medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. While there, she served as vice president for the college’s chapter of the Student National Medical Association and was a recipient of both the Stoney Scholarship and United States Achievement Academy Collegiate Award. Dr. Sanford completed an internship and residency at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, where she served as assistant chief resident and was named Duke Service Champion in Patient Care twice. She continued her training at Duke, completing a fellowship in gastroenterology.
Dr. Sanford has lectured on various digestive topics, including irritable bowel syndrome, management of esophageal cancer, and colonic strictures, and has been published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. She is a member of the American Gastroenterology Association and Duke’s Minority Medical Retention and Recruitment Committee. Before joining Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates, Dr. Sanford practiced in Villa Rica, Georgia.
In addition to general gastroenterology, Dr. Sanford has a special interest in colorectal cancer screening, inflammatory bowel disease and helicobacter pylori. She joined the practice in 2013.
BASIL S. AL-AWABDY, MD
Board Certified, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
*Dr. Al-Awabdy is also available at the Woodstock location
Dr. Al-Awabdy is a graduate of Emory University in Atlanta, where he received a bachelor’s degree in computer science and completed post-graduate work in biochemistry. During that time, he worked at The Carter Center’s Mental Health Department overseeing various public health projects and volunteered at both Emory University Hospital and Egleston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Al-Awabdy completed his medical degree at Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Ga., where he was elected to the Gold Humanism Honor Society and served as vice president for the local chapter of the American Association of Family Physicians. He also chartered and led a student-run free clinic for uninsured workers and volunteered at other clinics during medical school.
Following his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, Dr. Al-Awabdy completed a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB). While at UAB, he served for three years as an instructor for the School of Medicine’s introductory course to clinical medicine. In addition, he presented at various national events and was published in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy for his collaborative research on the use of removable self-expanding metal stents for benign esophageal diseases.
He is a member of the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the American College of Physicians, and has held various leadership positions for local chapters of the American Medical Association.
In addition to general gastroenterology, Dr. Al-Awabdy has a special interest in liver disease and therapeutic endoscopy. He is fluent in Arabic and joined the practice in 2012.
ANNA V. LONGACRE, MD
Board Certified, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
Following graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Longacre attended medical school at the State University of New York HSC Brooklyn, where she graduated magna cum laude. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital, where she also served as Chief Resident.
While attending medical school, she received the Harold A. Lyons Award for Excellence in Clinical Medicine and the Dr. Lowell E. Bellin Award for Excellence in Preventive Medicine and Community Health.
During her fellowship in digestive diseases at Yale New Haven Hospital, she co-authored several papers which were published in Hepatology, The American Journal of Gastroenterology, and The Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, and presented abstracts at national meetings.
Dr. Longacre is a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the American Gastroenterological Association and the Cobb County Medical Society. She is Adjunct Clinical Professor of Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine where she regularly lectures to medical residents. Her particular areas of interest include acute and chronic liver disease, colon cancer screening and management of women’s gastroenterological issues.
Dr. Longacre joined Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates in 2006.
TEJAS R. MEHTA, MD
Board Certified, General Pediatrics and Pediatric Gastroenterology
Dr. Mehta is an honors graduate of the University of Florida in Gainesville where he received a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience. He then received his medical degree from the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa. After completing his pediatric residency at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Dr. Mehta continued at Emory to complete a fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.
Prior to joining Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates, Dr. Mehta was a pediatric gastroenterology attending physician at Arnold Palmer Hospital Center for Pediatric Digestive Health and Nutrition in Orlando, Florida. While there, he also served as clinical instructor at both Florida State University’s College of Medicine and the University of Central Florida’s College of Medicine. In addition, he participated in the ImproveCareNow program, a nationwide collaborative of pediatric gastroenterology centers to improve the standard of care and outcomes of children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Board certified in pediatric gastroenterology, Dr. Mehta has presented nationally and locally on several pediatric digestive topics, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), IBD, and probiotics. He has also contributed book chapters on the manifestations and treatment of GERD. He is a member of The American Gastroenterological Association, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, and the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN).
Dr. Mehta’s primary areas of clinical interest include IBD, GI issues related to cystic fibrosis, and GI diseases resulting from food allergies, including eosinophilic esophagitis. He is fluent in Gujarati and joined the practice’s Pediatric and Adolescent Division in 2014.
GREGORY NESMITH JR., MD
Board Certified, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
Dr. Nesmith received his B.S. in biology from the University of South Florida in Tampa and received his medical degree from the University of South Florida School of Medicine. He completed both his residency in internal medicine and his fellowship in gastroenterology at the Emory University School of Medicine, where he served as Chief Fellow in gastroenterology.
He has made several presentations at conferences for the American College of Gastroenterology and during Digestive Disease Week, and has co-authored research on screening colonoscopies and the liver. Dr. Nesmith joined Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates in 2008.
BRUCE T. KALMIN, MD
Board Certified, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
Dr. Kalmin is a graduate of Princeton University where he received a bachelor’s degree in religion focusing on biomedical ethics with an emphasis on genetic engineering. After receiving his medical degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, he completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Emory University in Atlanta.
Dr. Kalmin completed his fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. While there, he received the Annenberg Center/Abbott Laboratories scholarship to participate in a mentoring program on inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Kalmin has been widely published on a variety of topics, including pancreatic disease, gastrointestinal bleeding, and enteral access.
In addition to general gastroenterology, Dr. Kalmin is specially trained in advanced endoscopic procedures, including endoscopic ultrasound, radiofrequency ablation of Barrett’s esophagus, and esophageal stenting. He has a special interest in the diagnosis and staging of various GI cancers as well as the diagnosis and management of pancreatic diseases. He is a member of the American Gastroenterological Association, the American College of Gastroenterology, and the American Society of Gastroenterological Endoscopy. He joined the practice in 2009.
NANDHA KANAGARAJAN, MD
Board Certified, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
Dr. Kanagarajan is a graduate of Madras Medical College in Chennai, India, where he received a combined bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery degree. After completing a resident internship at Government General Hospital in Chennai, he came to the United States and performed research in cell biology and molecular genetics at the University of Maryland in College Park. During that time, he taught a biology lab course and conducted advanced immunology discussion groups for pre-med students.
Dr. Kanagarajan completed his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at Drexel University College of Medicine’s Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa. While there, he served as chief fellow and assistant professor of medicine for the division of gastroenterology. He then entered the University of Massachusetts Memorial Health System in Worcester, and completed an additional fellowship in interventional endoscopy.
In addition to presenting on digestive topics at national conferences, Dr. Kanagarajan has been published in various medical journals including Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics of North America, Inflammation Research, and The American Journal of Gastroenterology. He is a member of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), the American College of Gastroenterology and the Pennsylvania Society of Gastroenterology. He is a two-time recipient of the ASGE Crystal Award for Outstanding Diversity Research.
In addition to general gastroenterology, Dr. Kanagarajan has a special interest in pancreaticobiliary endoscopy. His expertise in advanced therapeutic endoscopic procedures includes endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and enteral stent placement.
Dr. Kanagarajan joined Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates in 2012.
NEAL R. PATEL, MD
Board Certified, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
Dr. Neal R. Patel graduated with highest honors from Emory University in Atlanta, where he received a bachelor’s degree in biology. After obtaining his medical degree at Emory University School of Medicine, he continued at Emory University to complete both his internship and residency in internal medicine.
Dr. Patel completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta where he served as chief fellow. During that time, he received the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation IBD Fellow Grant and also moonlighted as an emergency room physician at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center.
His philosophy of care centers on providing an environment where patients are encouraged to ask questions in order to fully understand different treatment options. He also uses available resources to help tailor individualized treatment plans.
In addition to general gastroenterology, Dr. Patel has a special clinical interest in swallowing disorders, celiac disease, colon cancer, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as how proper nutrition influences irritable bowel syndrome.
He has been published in several medical journals, such as Gastroenterology, Cancer Research, and the American Journal of Physiology. He is a member of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the American College of Gastroenterology, and the American Gastroenterology Association.
Dr. Patel has been practicing in metro Atlanta since 2015 and joined Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates in 2018.