The Internal Medicine Faculty

The physician faculty members of the Internal Medicine Residency program at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital program are all Board Certified in Internal Medicine and its subspecialties, and are recognized for their excellence in both clinical and academic medicine. The faculty maintains an open-door policy, allowing residents to meet informally should issues arise. Each faculty member is committed to the education of our physicians and students, preparing them for success in their future careers.

In addition to the core faculty, there are numerous clinical instructors who come from various practice settings to supplement medical education.  These include office-based internists and subspecialists, hospital-based internists, and specialists from the Colorado Permanente Medical Group, a large Denver HMO.  Physicians from other specialties outside of Internal Medicine participate regularly in the training program, including Radiology, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Surgery, and Obstetrics and Gynecology, to name a few.  Specialists also come from the University of Colorado and other academic institutions throughout the United States to teach and lecture in the program during the year.

Meet our core Faculty for the Internal Medicine Program:

Robert Gibbons, MD, MACP, FACR
Program Director

Originally from Utah and Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Dr. Gibbons received his medical degree from the University of Utah.  He completed his internship at Letterman Army Medical Center and his residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  Dr. Gibbons served as a staff internist and the Chief of the Department of Medicine at the US Army Hospital in Munich Germany.  He completed his Rheumatology fellowship at the University of Washington and Mason Clinic.  Prior to joining Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital as the Program Director in 1983, Dr. Gibbons served as the Chief of the Department of Medicine and Internal Medicine Residency Program Director at Madigan Army Medical Center.  He is also Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

Aaron J. Calderon, MD, FACP
Associate Program Director

Dr. Calderon is extremely involved in teaching housestaff in both the inpatient and outpatient arenas and is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado.  His interests include preventive medicine, evidence based-medicine, resident education, and mentoring.  He is Medical Director of the Residency Clinic and holds a number of leadership positions at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital including Director of Continuing Medical Education and Chair of the Ambulatory Medicine Section. Dr. Calderon is one of the inaugural Associate Editors for Journal Watch Hospital Medicine and is very active in multiple national leadership organizations including the American College of Physicians and the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine, where he serves on the Accreditation Committee and leads the West Special Interest Group. Dr. Calderon is dedicated to the education of the medicine housestaff, and in delivering the highest quality patient care. He is a graduate of State University Health Science Center at Brooklyn, New York, and completed his residency at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.

Michael T. Morton, MD, FACP
Director of Inpatient Services

Dr. Morton is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and is actively involved in teaching on the inpatient services, and also attends the outpatient clinic regularly.  His interests include physical examination skills and use of computers in practice. Dr. Morton is a graduate of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri.  He completed his Residency at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital where he also served as Chief Resident.  He spent five years in private practice in Manchester, New Hampshire before returning to Denver as a faculty member.

Elizabeth Cyran, MD, MSPH, FACP
Director of Medical Student Services

Dr. Cyran M.D., is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.  Dr Cyran coordinates medical student teaching and lectures, and is actively involved in medical housestaff education through precepting in the ambulatory clinic and attending on the inpatient services. Dr Cyran is a graduate of Albany Medical College and completed an Internal Medicine residency and Hematology-Oncology fellowship at the University Of Rochester School Of Medicine.  After moving to Colorado, she obtained her MSPH at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center where she was an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the University Medicine-Denver Internal Medicine Resident Clinic.  Her interests includes doctor-patient communication,  medical professionalism, and mentoring students and housestaff.

Cuong Doan, MD
Assistant Director of Inpatient Services

Dr. Doan is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and is actively involved in teaching on the inpatient services and also regularly attends the outpatient clinic .  He is also one of the hospitalists of the Colorado Permanente Medical Group and facilitates educational goals between the residency and the volunteer faculty members. Dr. Doan is a graduate of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.  He completed his Residency at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital.  His interests include evidence based medicine, cultural diversity and family dynamics. Dr. Doan's family owns and operates a Vietnamese grocery store and often brings in exotic treats.

Karen Weber, D.O.,  FACP 
Assistant Director of Outpatient Services

Dr. Weber is a graduate of the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed her training in Internal Medicine at the John's Hopkins Unversity/Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.  She practiced medicine in Aurora Colorado for seven years prior to joining the faculty at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital.  Dr. Weber aos serves as Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine.  Her interests include ethics, palliative care, and medical student education.

William Nelson, MD, FACP, FACC, FACCP
Director of Medical Education, Cardiovascular Services

Dr. Nelson received his medical degree from Georgetown University, and completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine, as well as a fellowship in Cardiology at Brooke General Hospital in Fort Sam Houston, Texas.  His past positions are highlighted by his tenure as Chief of Cardiology at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, and Director of Cardiology at University of South Carolina.  Dr. Nelson currently directs Cardiology teaching for residents and students, including a weekly EKG course, as well as bedside auscultation rounds. 

Michael L. Fisher, MD, FACC, FAHA, FACP

Director of Medical Education, Cardiovascular Services

Currently sharing directorship of the Cardiology Education program with Dr. William P. Nelson, Dr. Fisher has been on the staff of Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital since 2003.  In 2005, he assumed duties as administrative director of the cardiology section and continues to fill this role.  He also participates in, and helps to co-direct, the Heart Failure Governance Group for the Colorado Kaiser Permanente Group.  Having recently stepped down as a full time member of the Kaiser Permanent Cardiology Department, he continues to participate with the Heart Failure clinical team and is helping develop a program for multi-disciplinary pre-discharge rounds to coordinate care and improve transitions for hospitalized CHF patients..  Prior to coming to Denver, he was Director of Clinical Cardiology and Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.  He maintains a volunteer faculty position with the University of Maryland after being on their full time staff for 30 years.

Kathy Crabtree, M.D.
Chief Resident for Internal Medicine

Dr. Kozak Crabtree is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and is extensively involved in attending on the inpatient services as well as at the outpatient clinic.  Her role as Chief Resident also includes directing Morning Report, Morbidity and Mortality Conference, Flea Circus, and Journal Club.  Originally from Poland, she completed her medical education at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and her Internal Medicine Residency at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital.  As Chief Resident, she strives to be an effective role model for both residents and students while also serving as their advocate.  Her personal interests include substance abuse and quality improvement.

If you have further questions, please contact the program coordinator, Louann Mayes 303.837.7837 or email her at mayesl@exempla.org.