Dr. George D. Bittar is currently the Chairman of the Department of Medicine at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center. Originally a native of New York, Dr. Bittar attended the University of Pennsylvania where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. After his medical school graduation from Cornell University Medical College, he and his wife moved to Baltimore to complete their respective residency programs at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Bittar subsequently pursued a cardiology fellowship at George Washington Medical Center where he trained to be an interventional cardiologist.
He returned to Baltimore in 1989, joining the staff of MedStar Union Memorial Hospital and established both a consultative as well as interventional cardiology practice. He was a founding member of Heart Associates, serving as president of that group practice and was Chief of Staff at Union before joining the MedStar Medical Group as Medical Director of Ambulatory Cardiology in Baltimore. During that time, he also obtained his MBA from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
In October 2022, he transitioned to his current role as Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Franklin Square while still maintaining his clinical cardiology practice, specializing in ischemic heart disease and preventive cardiology. Dr. Bittar is a member of the Board of Directors of the Maryland chapter of the American Heart Association and is soon to be the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Maryland chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
When not working, he enjoys traveling with his wife, cooking, and spending time with his children and grandchildren.
Dr. Shams Tabrez Quazi currently serves as Chairman of the Department of Medicine for MedStar Union Memorial and Good Samaritan Hospitals. In addition, he also serves as the Physician Executive Director for MedStar North Hospital Medicine service line and as Chief of Medical Staff at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital and represents at the Board of Directors for MGSH and MUMH.
Dr Quazi was born and raised in a small town called Jamshedpur in India and completed his medical school from Pune University in 2002. He moved to the United States to pursue research and further clinical training in 2003. He obtained a master’s degree in molecular biology from University of Cincinnati, Ohio. Immediately after, he transitioned back to clinical medicine and completed his residency in Internal Medicine from MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital in 2009. After graduating, he joined the Hospital Medicine team at MGSH and became part of the faculty. He has continued to serve in that role for 14 years while acquiring other administrative and leadership responsibilities over those years.
His focus is hospital medicine and optimizing hospital operations. He is the executive sponsor of the Hospital Medicine Clinical Practice Council and Chairs the Informatics and Data Committee where he continues to lead efforts to optimize EMR workflow and navigation to enhance provider efficiency and improve patient safety. In these roles, he has led the service line in identifying best practices and share them at the system level. He has created a strong and resilient system of Hospital Medicine leadership under him by recognizing those skill sets and creating opportunities for younger physicians. He also leads various pilot projects and initiatives across all MedStar hospitals and works collaboratively with hospital leadership.
In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, and participating in outdoor sports activities.
Dr. Gregory Nizialek is Program Director and was born in Buffalo NY. He attended Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland OH. After graduation and completion of his internship at Metrohealth Medical Center he started radiology residency at University Hospital Case Medical Center. He was ultimately drawn back to internal medicine due to his desire to provide direct patient care and remain involvement in education. He subsequently completed his residency in internal medicine at University Hospitals Case Medical Center.
After graduation, Dr. Nizialek joined the faculty at Metrohealth Medical Center in Cleveland and served as Associate Program Director and director of the inpatient curriculum prior to moving to Baltimore. He currently attends on the inpatient teams at MedStar Franklin Square and MedStar Harbor Hospital working directly with the housestaff. His clinical interests include evidence-based hospital medicine, high value care, and consultative and perioperative medicine. As an educator, he strives for his residents and students to ask questions and constantly learn more about their patients and the conditions they see. In addition, his radiology background offers a unique perspective into the diseases that we encounter.
Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his family and enjoying the great outdoors. His three boys keep him busy with their limitless energy.