Medical Team

Chokri Alioua, M.D., a native of Tunisia, where he completed medical school. He served internships at the European Med-Surg Center in Paris and Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.,  and completed residencies in anesthesia and internal medicine at the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Alioua completed a nephrology fellowship at the University of Illinois, then received training in interventional nephrology at the Dialysis Access Care Center, Alta Bates, Berkeley, CA.

Istvan G. Bognar, M.D., was born in New York, a first-generation Hungarian-American. He graduated medical school in Hungary and returned to the U.S. for residency in internal medicine at Stamford Hospital. He completed a fellowship in nephrology at Montfiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Dr. Bognar lives in Greenville with wife Kim and five children.

Kaye R. Christopher, M.D., joined Carolina Nephrology in May 2010. She received her undergraduate degree from Tulane University in New Orleans and went on to New York Medical College to get her Medical degree in 1992. Dr. Christopher served her Internal Medicine residency at University of Florida as well as her Nephrology and Hypertension Fellowships. She and her husband live in Greenville.

Barry Gorlitsky, M.D., was born in Ohio and grew up in SC. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the USCin 2004 and went on to get his Medical Doctorate at St. Georges University where he graduated laude in 2009. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at the University of Arizona in 2012, and went on to be a Chief Resident from 2012-2013. He completed his Nephrology fellowship in 2015 at Yale.

Kelly Heegard M.D., received his medical degree from the University of South Alabama, after getting his B.S. in Zoology from Auburn University. He completed his residency and nephrology fellowship in the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, and served in the Air Force for 4 years.  Dr. Heegard brings his unique military experience and leadership skills to our practice.  He recently moved to Greenville with his wife and three children.

Victor A. Klimas, M.D., earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from John Carroll University, University Heights, OH, and graduated from medical school at Ohio State University in Columbus. He completed his internship, medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He has two grown children. He and his wife reside in Greenville.

Chitra Nathan, M.D., earned her Bachelor in Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from Stanley Medical College in India. She then went on to earn her Masters of Public Health at Western Kentucky University, followed by her Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She completed her nephrology fellowship at the University of Miami / Jackson Memorial Hospital. Dr. Nathan is board certified in Nephrology and has conducted extensive research on lupus nephritis.

Mark D. Purcell, D.O., received his Medical Degree from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He continued on to his residency at Mount Clemens General Hospital in Michigan and completed his Nephrology Fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital.  Dr. Purcell is also a clinical assistant professor at both the USC School of Medicine and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Spartanburg.

Tarak Shah, M.D., completed his residency at the Department of Internal Medicine at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC. He then completed a Fellowship within the Department of Nephrology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem, NC. Dr. Shah is certified on the American Board of Internal Medicine. Shah serves as a professional member in the American Society of Nephrology and has co-authored multiple medical publications.

Blake D. Shusterman, M.D., joined Carolina Nephrology in August 2009. He received his Medical Degree from Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. He continued on to his residency and Nephrology Fellowship at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. Dr. Shusterman resides in Greenville with his wife and child.

Willy C. Tsai, M.D., is a native of Taiwan but has been in the US since he was seven years old. He is married and has one son. Dr. Tsai completed his Nephrology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. He completed both his residency and medical degree at the University of Maryland and did his undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Tsai, his wife, and child reside in Greenville.

Abhay Varma, M.D., received his Bachelor of Science in Forestry at the Kerala Agricultural University in India, followed by a Bachelor in Surgery (MBBS) from the Government Medical School Kozhikode. He went on to complete his residency in Internal Medicine at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center and was a fellow in nephrology at the Oregon Health and Science University. Dr. Varma is board certified in internal medicine and fluent
in four languages.

William Brian Ward, M.D., grew up in Anderson, SC. He attended USC and the Medical University of South Carolina, and returned to the upstate after his internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at MUSC in Charleston. Dr. Ward and his family live near Mauldin.

Carlos attended the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine Residency, Nephrology Fellowship and Transplant Nephrology Fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. After his fellowship, he joined Dallas Nephrology Associates and Baylor Transplant Institute in Dallas Texas for almost three years before he moved permanently to Georgia, where he served as Medical Director of the three Georgia Renal Adult Programs at Emory University, Piedmont Healthcare and Augusta University- Medical College of Georgia. Most recently Carlos was the Director of Transplant Outreach at Medical University of South Carolina.

Jordan Crosby joined Carolina Nephrology in March 2016. Previously, she worked as a nephrology physician assistant in Charleston, SC, where she specialized in chronic kidney disease and acute renal failure.

Charis Ellington joined Carolina Nephrology in March 2017.  A Furman University graduate, Charis received her nursing degree at the Union University in Tennessee and her Masters in Nursing from Clemson.  Prior to joining Carolina Nephrology, she worked at Bon Secours St. Francis.

Pamela joined Carolina Nephrology in 2022. She began her nursing career in 1997 when she graduated from Our Lady of the Lake College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In her 20-year nursing career, she specialized in critical care and dialysis. In 2017, she received her master’s degree in nursing from Walden University. Prior to joining our team, she worked as a family nurse practitioner providing retail health care in Clemson, SC. Pamela resides with her husband in Liberty, South Carolina.

Gail Kirby joined Carolina Nephrology in July 2011. She graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina with a Masters in Nursing in May 2003, and received a Post-Master’s degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in May 2004. Gail lives with her husband and two children in Greer.

Kansas earned her BSN at Georgia College and State University in 2010 then went on to achieve her MSN from the Medical College of Georgia in 2014. She has been a nurse practitioner for 8 years and previously worked in infectious disease.

Dan Lukovic  joined Carolina Nephrology as a Nurse Practitioner in May 2018 with over 11 years of experience in the healthcare industry.  He received his nursing science degree from Greenville Tech and went on to get his Masters degree in nursing science with a focus in adult acute care from Walden University.

Karen Robertson has been with Carolina Nephrology since 2005. She graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and continued on to get her Master’s in Nursing. In 2013, Karen furthered her medical expertise by completing her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the University of South Carolina. Karen, her husband and daughter live in Simpsonville.

John Sharkey IV joined Carolina Nephrology in 2016. In 2012, he received his Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from USC Upstate and went on to complete the Adult-Geriatric Practitioner program at Maryville University in 2014. John began in healthcare as a nurse with Cleveland Regional Medical Center. He moved back to Greenville in 2013 and joined GHS as a nurse, prior to Carolina Nephrology.