Biography
Dr. Natalie Mariam Salas is an Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases. Dr. Salas has been faculty at the University of New Mexico since 2017. She received her MD at Dubai Medical College for Girls in Dubai, UAE. Dr. Salas completed residency in internal medicine with an additional track in integrative medicine at the University of New Mexico followed by a fellowship in infectious diseases also completed at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Salas is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Salas currently provides primary care for people living with HIV at UNM Truman Health Services and is the Program Director for the Infectious Diseases Fellowship.
Personal Statement
My primary academic interest is education. I have a deep interest in fostering love and understanding for Infectious Diseases at all stages of medical education. This is reflected in my work in both the medical school and multiple residencies across campus, but my main focus is the infectious diseases fellowship. The University of New Mexico has all the necessary elements to create a nationally acclaimed infectious diseases fellowship. It is my goal to make this vision a reality by developing and implementing a curriculum built on patient centered clinical excellence, with a focus on healthcare equity, diversity and reducing healthcare disparities. I have redesigned our yearly curriculum and conference schedules to align with this. I now plan to create national and international institutional alliances to provide educational excellence in the fields of transplant and tropical medicine as well as pioneer frontiers such as rural infectious diseases and LGBTQ health. Simultaneously, I will be involved in the divisional effort to implement clinical trials in the HIV and Outpatient Antimicrobial Therapy Clinics which will give our fellows unique research opportunities. My second academic and research interest is in healthcare disparities and clinical outcomes as they pertain to retention in HIV care. It is well demonstrated nationally that minorities living with HIV have poorer healthcare outcomes and less retention in care. At UNM we have the unique opportunity to care for many underrepresented minorities at Truman Health Services. I am focusing my research on developing effective methods for retaining vulnerable populations in care, including those with substance use disorders, unstable housing and the recently incarcerated, with a sub-focus on underrepresented minorities such as African and Native Americans. I plan to demonstrate the effective use of wrap around services to reduce hospital visits and improve HIV outcomes such as HIV viral suppression and increases in CD 4 counts.
Areas of Specialty
HIV and STIs: prevention, diagnosis and treatment Medical Education and Curriculum Design Opportunistic Infections
Certifications
HIVMA Provider Stanford Excellence in Clinical Teaching Course UNM Integrated Medicine Residents as Educators
Achievements & Awards
Learning Environment Office: Exemplary Teacher - Medical Student Teaching Learning Environment Office: Exemplary Teacher - Resident Teaching Patient Advisory Committee: Recognition for Physician Excellence UNM HSC Department of Internal Medicine Residency Research Award
Languages
- Arabic
Courses Taught
Director of the ID curriculum for Internal Medicine Residency: Design, integrate and implement an infectious disease/HIV curriculum for internal medicine residents, including board review Director of the ID curriculum for Neurology Residency. Design, integrate and implement an infectious disease/HIV curriculum for neurology residents Director of the HIV and ID curriculum for the Emergency Department. Design, integrate and implement an HIV/infectious disease curriculum for the Emergency Department including residents, faculty, nursing and advance practice providers Director of the ID Division Educational Program. Design, arrange and schedule the ID Division’s weekly educational conference. This includes the ID fellowship didactic curriculum as well as ACGME required curricula for faculty development, professionalism, wellness, patient safety and QI. Regular lecturer in the ID Division weekly conferences Program Director - Infectious Diseases Fellowship: Continually design and update curricula for ID fellowship rotations, develop online didactics, and board preparation materials. Create and reinforce anti-racist fellowship curriculum and educational materials.
Research and Scholarship
Shekhar,R., Barton, A., Sheikh, A. B., Upadhyay, S., Salas, N. M., Coronavirus Disease of 2019 in Patients With Well-Controlled Human Immunodeficiency Virus on Antiretroviral Therapy. Journal of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndromes. 2020 Jun 18. PMID: 32568765 Salas, N. M., Byrd, T. F., Granulomatous Interstitial Nephritis in the setting of Disseminated Mycobacterium simiae: A Rare Presentation of Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 2020 Jul 1. PMID:32605502 Kalunian, A., Salas, N. M., Silent but Deadly: Legionella maceachernii causing culture-negative bioprosthetic mitral valve endocarditis complicated by stroke. Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice. 2020 May 18, online ahead of print. Saadatzadah, T., Wilson, C., Salas, N.M., Walraven, C., Sarangam, P., Cameron, C., Crook, J., Sarangam, D., Yaple, C., Stafford, A., Page, K., Carvour, M. Improving Emergency Access to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prophylaxis for Patients Evaluated after Sexual Assault. Journal for Healthcare Quality. 2020 March 18, online ahead of print. PMID: 32195742