Primary Care Conference Hawaii

Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine  

Naureen Rafiq is an assistant professor of family medicine and a core faculty in the Creighton University Department of Family Medicine Residency Program. Her clinical practice is with the CHI Health Nebraska Family Medicine Clinic in Bellevue, Nebraska.  

In 1996, she received her medical degree from King Edward Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan. She practiced medicine there for several years before moving to the United States. In 2010, Rafiq completed her family medicine residency with the Creighton University Department of Family Medicine as chief resident. Since graduation, she has served the department as a faculty member. She currently serves as the program director for the Primary Care Update Conference that is held annually.  

Rafiq’s clinical interests include women’s health and geriatric medicine. These interests have shaped her research and specialized proficiencies. Rafiq takes a holistic view of patient wellness into her family medicine practice. 

Associate Professor and Chair, Nephrology, Department of Medicine

Khalid Bashir is an associate professor and chief of nephrology at Creighton University School of Medicine. He also serves as an associate director for renal and dialysis services at CHI Health Nephrology in the greater Omaha area as well as Council Bluffs, Iowa. Bashir is board certified in internal medicine, nephrology and hypertension as well as critical care medicine.  

His academic interest includes chronic kidney disease, its early detection and management and its impact on various patient outcomes and population health. 

Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Medicine, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions and School of Medicine

Keith Christensen has been a member of the faculty since 2002. He currently practices family medicine at CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center – Bergan Mercy. He graduated from Creighton University in 1994 with his Doctor of Pharmacy degree and subsequently completed a PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Medical Center in 1995.

After working as a clinical pharmacy specialist in pulmonary/critical care medicine for five years at UAMS, Christensen became an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the UAMS College of Pharmacy in 2000. He became board certified as a pharmacotherapy specialist in 1998 and has re-certified three times, most recently in 2019. He has completed a one-year faculty development eFellowship at Creighton University on the incorporation of technology into teaching.

His research interests include pulmonary medicine, medication use in the inpatient setting, and teaching pedagogy and effectiveness with an emphasis in the use of technology in teaching.

Dean, School of Medicine

Robert W. Dunlay, MD’81, was named dean of the Creighton University School of Medicine in December 2013.  

Dunlay, chief medical officer of CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center and professor of medicine and pharmacology, is a Creighton-educated nephrologist who has served as a clinician and educator since 1990. He served as interim dean of the School of Medicine from January through December 2013.    

Dunlay completed his premedical studies at Creighton in 1977 and earned an MD degree from the School of Medicine in 1981. He fulfilled his internship and residency in internal medicine, also at Creighton.  

Dunlay completed fellowships in nephrology at Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, and in nephrology research at Jewish Hospital at Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis. In 2008, he earned an MBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 

Director, Global Surgery Fellowship Program, Co-Medical Director ILAC, Site Director Arrupe Global Scholars and Partnership Program, Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology

Caron Gray is a professor in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Clinical Research and Public Health at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. Since joining Creighton in 1999, she has served as residency program director for 15 years as well as interim chair.  

She received her MD from Northwestern University in 1991 and completed her internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology in 1995 at David Grant USAF Medical Center, Travis AFB in California. She is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  

Gray applies most of her time and energy into the education of medical students and residents and serving the under-resourced. Other passions include global health and menopausal medicine. 

Director, Residency Program, Department of Family Medicine, Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine

Michael Greene serves as the director of the Family Medicine Residency Program. He also serves as an assistant professor of family medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine. Greene’s particular clinical interests are pediatrics, maternal care, inpatient hospital care and hospice medicine, truly a family physician.  

Greene earned his medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical College in Syracuse, New York, in 2006. He completed his family medicine residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2009. Prior to joining Creighton, Greene served in the U.S. Air Force as the medical director at Misawa Air Base in Misawa, Japan, and as a hospitalist at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.    

Greene is board certified by the American Academy of Family Physicians and a member of the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians. He has authored peer-reviewed journal articles on aseptic meningitis and urolithiasis.   

Assistant Professor, Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine  

Jeffrey Macaraeg is an assistant professor of medicine in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, Department of Medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. He graduated from the Ross University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine, where he also served as chief resident for the Department of Medicine. He subsequently completed his pulmonary medicine and critical care medicine fellowships at Creighton University School of Medicine.  

Macaraeg is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary and critical care medicine. His current areas of interest include quality improvement, patient safety, post intensive care syndrome, simulation and nutrition. 

Program Director, Endocrine Fellowship, Assistant Professor, Endocrinology, Department of Medicine

Avin P. Pothuloori is an accomplished endocrinologist specializing in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism. He earned his medical degree from St. Matthew's University School of Medicine, completed his internal medicine residency at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, and pursued a fellowship in adult and pediatric endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.  

Pothuloori currently serves as the program director for the Endocrine Fellowship Program and the Endocrine Block Director at Creighton University School of Medicine. He is actively involved with the ACGME Endocrine Fellowship Recruitment Committee and has made significant contributions to the Endocrine Society as a past panel member of the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee and former chair of the Patient Voice Committee.  

Associate Program Director, Gastroenterology Fellowship, Assistant Professor, Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine  

Having successfully completed internal medicine training in the UK, Aun Shah moved to the U.S. to pursue further training and completed further internal medicine residency at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland followed by GI fellowship at University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.  

Presently, he holds a position as a staff gastroenterologist at CHI Health in Omaha and serves as an assistant professor of medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine (CUSOM). His areas of interest in clinical practice and research include GI neuromotility disorders including Gastroparesis, IBS, GERD, Functional Dyspepsia amongst others.  

Shah also serves as the associate program director of Gastroenterology Fellowship at CUSOM. This role affords him the rewarding opportunity to closely mentor fellows and residents, significantly contributing to the education of the next generation of medical professionals. As an associate program director, he is committed to fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration and diversity within the program.

Assistant Professor, Cardiology, Department of Medicine  

Joseph Thibodeau has over 17 years of experience in full-time invasive cardiology practice with CHI Nebraska and recently served as the Cardiovascular Service Line Clinical Director. His background includes clinical research, leadership roles and cardiovascular education.  

Thibodeau received his MBA in Healthcare Administration from Creighton University in 2023. He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska School of Medicine, completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Arizona, and he served as the chief fellow during his Cardiology Fellowship at St. Luke's/ Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City.  

He is board certified in cardiology, cardiac pacing and defibrillation, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, and he is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology. 

Assistant Professor, College of Nursing  

Trina Walker is an assistant professor in the Family Nurse Practitioner Doctoral Program at Creighton University College of Nursing, where she holds the Lenke Scholar Endowment. Her research trajectory includes incorporation of pharmacogenomics into clinical practice, as well as integration of genetics/genomics into nursing curricula. She has developed an interprofessional pharmacogenomics webinar and is working on development of an interprofessional pharmacogenomic testing process in primary care.  

Walker is chair of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics (ISCC-PEG) Nursing Genomics project group and is part of the steering committee for the ISCC-PEG Pharmacogenomics project group’s learning series. Walker is also a member of the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) which develops pharmacogenomic guidelines for drug administration.