Core Faculty | Internal Medicine
Nicholas Sells, M.D. is the Section Chief of the Department of Internal Medicine as well as the Director of Infectious Diseases and our HIV and Viral Hepatitis Programs here at University Hospital and Clinics.
Clinical Interests : HIV, Viral Hepatitis, HIV/Hep C Coinfection, HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, GLBT Medicine, Antimicrobial Stewardship and General Infectious Diseases. Dr. Sells attends on Infectious Diseases Consult Services, Antimicrobial Stewardship Services, General Medicine Wards Services as needed and Outpatient Infectious Diseases Clinic, HIV clinic, PrEP Clinic and Hepatitis C clinic. He serves on several committees in the health system, hospital and community.
Research Interests : HIV/Hep C coinfection, graduate medical education, viral hepatitis and healthcare disparities, fosfomycin and urinary pathogens.
Nicholas Sells, M.D.
Infectious Disease
Section Chief, Department of Medicine
Director of Infectious Diseases, HIV and Viral Hepatitis Clinics
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics
Karen Curry, M.D. graduated from LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans in 1991. She completed her residency in Pathology for three years at Oschner Medical Center in New Orleans until 1994, then decided to spend at least one year in clinical medicine. After her first six months of training here in Lafayette in the Department of Internal Medicine, she knew she needed to stay on the tract of becoming an Internist. Dr. Curry has enjoyed meeting patients when they first present to our Emergency Room and following them through the years.
After completing her residency training in Internal Medicine in 1998, she stayed at University Hospital and Clinics as an Assistant Professor in Internal Medicine and has been a key clinical faculty in our department for 20 years. She enjoys the intellectual curiosity of our residents. Over the years at UHC, she has been the Medical Director for Disease Management programs of asthma, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. She has also held the position of assistant program director for a number of years.
Karen Curry, M.D.
Internal Medicine
Program Director, Department of Internal Medicine
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics
Originally from Rayne, LA, Tina Benoit-Clark, M.D. graduated from of UL Lafayette. After attending medical school at LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans, she completed her residency in Internal Medicine at University Medical Center, which is now University Hospital & Clinics, in Lafayette, LA, and has been an academic faculty member since completing her training.
She is currently the Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Program at UHC. Over the years she has been the clinical lead physician for the Renal Beginnings Clinic at UHC and is now the Outpatient Clinics Medical Director and the Medical Student Site Director at UHC. She takes pleasure in teaching students and residents who challenge her with their enthusiasm and inquisitiveness.
Medicine is changing and with her recent MBA degree, she is prepared to share what she has learned about the business aspect of medicine to residents, students, and colleagues.
Tina Benoit-Clark, M.D., FACP
Internal Medicine
Associate Program Director, Department of Internal Medicine
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics
Farha Khan, M.D., MHA graduated from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and subsequently pursued a Research Fellowship at the National Institute of Environmental Health and Sciences, Research Trinagle Park in Durham, NC. She completed her residency program in Internal Medicine at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL. After residency, Dr. Khan served as Chief Resesident and as an Attending Physucuab at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.
In addition to Louisiana, she's lived, worked and studied in North Carolina, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Dr. Khan is ABIM certified and is currently the Associate Program Director for the Department of Internal Medicine, Lafayette and the Amblatiory Medical Director for Internal Medicine Clinics here at the Ochsner University Hospital and Clinics.
Dr. Khan is passionate about academics and believes that learning is a two-way street where faculty and residents learn from one another.
Farha Khan, M.D., MHA
Associate Program Director, Department of Internal Medicine
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics
Daniel Stout, M.D. graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette before earning his Doctor of Medicine from the LSUHSC School of Medicine in New Orleans. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at Earl K. Long Medical Center in Baton Rouge, and then proceeded to fellowship in Endocrinology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Upon completion of his post-graduate training, he worked in private practice for six years in the Lafayette area.
Dr. Stout serves as a member of our core faculty and as an Associate Program Director. He attends on both general medicine wards and the inpatient Endocrinology service as well as general outpatient Endocrinology clinics. He is the Director of the Diabetes Education Program as well as the Clinical Competency Director, the coordinator of the department's faculty research and scholarly activity program and the Endocrinology course director. His interests' include diabetes mellitus and primary hyperparathyroidism. He is experienced in performing ultrasound guided fine needles aspiration of the thyroid
Daniel Stout, M.D.
Endocrinology
Associate Program Director, Department of Internal Medicine
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics
Dr. Greg Ardoin was born and raised in Ville Platte, Louisiana. He grew up on a farm, graduated from Sacred Heart High School and then earning his Bachelor of Science degree from LSU in Baton Rouge, he went on to LSU Medical School in New Orleans. After earning his Doctorate of Medicine, he went on to complete an internship and residency at UAB hospitals in Birmingham, Alabama in Internal Medicine. He then returned to New Orleans to complete fellowships in both pulmonary and critical care medicine.
After fellowship, Dr. Ardoin returned to his home town of Ville Platte and practiced pulmonary/critical care medicine and internal medicine in a rural setting for 20 years. In 2010, he accepted a position as Head of the Pulmonary Department for Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria and developed their Lung Center where he remained for 7-1/2 years.
Dr. Ardoin joined the Internal Medicine Core Faculty at Ochsner University Hospital and Clinics in 2018 and has enjoyed helping mold students and residents into physicians.
Gregory Ardoin, M.D.
Internal Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics
Melanie Bienvenu, M.D., MPH
Gastroenterology
Department of Internal Medicine
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics
Shantell Ceaser, M.D.
Internal Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics
Ann Chauffe, D.O., MPH
Rheumatology
Department of Internal Medicine
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics
Melisa Harrington, M.D.
Nephrology
Department of Internal Medicine
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics
Jay Jaikishen, M.D., FACP
Internal Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics
S. Patrick Walker, D.O.
Internal Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
LSUHSC-University Hospitals and Clinics