Heart Rhythm

Dr. Sengupta is a graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine and completed residency training in Internal Medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis. He did his Fellowship training in Cardiology and subsequently Cardiac Electrophysiology at the Cleveland Clinic. 

Dr. Sengupta is board certified in Cardiac Electrophysiology; he specializes in the treatment of arrhythmias and performs procedures including catheter ablation and cardiac rhythm device implantation and management. He is Director of the Joseph F. Novogratz Family Heart Rhythm Center at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation where the mission is to improve care for patients with heart rhythm disorders through innovation and research that advances the field of cardiac electrophysiology.

He is Director of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Genetic Arrhythmia Center and Co-Director of the Cardiac Pacing and Device Clinic at Abbott Northwestern Hospital (ANW). He is involved in educating future cardiologists and physicians as faculty in the Hennepin County Medical Center/MHI Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship and a yearly mentor for MHI summer research interns. 

Recent awards include the Ray Bentdahl MHIF Distinguished Service Award, Distinguished Teaching Award in the Hennepin County Medical Center/MHI Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship, and Rising Star/Top Docs in MPLS. St. Paul Magazine.

Dr. Abdelsayed earned his MD in 2023 from South Valley University, Egypt, with a strong passion for cardiology. After completing the USMLE, he joined the Magdy Yacoub Heart Foundation, where he received a Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award from the AHA and a Travel Grant from the ESC-HFA while leading and coauthoring multiple peer-reviewed publications in the field.

Besides managing his ongoing research, Dr. Abdelsayed enjoys mentoring USMLE students from diverse backgrounds since he was an active member of the International Federation of Medical Students Association. 

Director Research, MHI East at United Hospital
Associate Professor, Cardiology, University of MN
Associate Member, Graduate Faculty, Biomedical Engineering, University of MN

Dr. Alan Bank has directed the research division and the echo core laboratory at MHI East (formerly UHVC) for over 20 years.  He has been the Principal Investigator in >100 research studies and has published >100 papers.  His clinical interests are heart failure and echocardiography.  His current main research interest is in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT).  He has developed a novel noninvasive technology for measuring electrical dyssynchrony in heart failure patients with CRT and has submitted 5 patents on this technology.  He is currently directing several clinical studies utilizing this technology to optimize programming in CRT patients and plans to utilize data from these studies to assist in commercialization of this technology.  Dr. Bank is a founding member and serves on the board of the Joseph F. Novogratz Family Heart Rhythm Center.

Kevin Burns serves as a Research Scientist on the Heart Rhythm Science Center team. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. After working as an engineer for ten years, he returned to the University of Minnesota and received a PhD in Kinesiology in 2010 with an emphasis in exercise physiology and a minor in biomedical engineering. His thesis work used echocardiography to study the synchrony of cardiac contractions in patients with pacemakers. Kevin continues to perform echo analysis for industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated trials, and has authored over 25 peer-reviewed journal articles.

Educational institutions

• University of Missouri
• Kansas City School of Medicine

Fellowships

• St Louis University, University of Wisconsin Medical School

Julianne Feola, PhD, CCRP, serves as the Clinical Research Manager for the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation’s Heart Failure and Electrophysiology team. Julianne has an extensive background in clinical research and her credentials as a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) make her an exceptional addition to the team.

Julianne previously worked at the University of MN where she served as a program manager within the University’s Medical School’s Research department. She earned a BS in Chemistry and Psychology from the State University of New York at Geneseo and went on to receive her MS and PhD in Neuroscience from University of Rochester in 2017.

Andrew Garner serves as a Research Coordinator on the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation’s Heart Failure and Electrophysiology team. He most recently graduated from North Dakota State University with a Masters in Exercise Science and Nutrition, and worked as the principal investigator and research coordinator on his thesis project to complete his degree. Prior to joining our team, Andrew worked as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist in Nuclear Medicine at CentraCare in St. Cloud and in Cardiac Rehab at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo.

Emily Halvorson serves as an Associate Research Coordinator II on the Heart Rhythm Science Center team. Joining the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation in summer of 2023, Emily has played an important role for the team, contributing to abstracts, abstracting patient data, preparing protocols, maintaining regulatory documents, and supporting the success of multiple hybrid studies. Emily received her bachelor’s from University of Minnesota in Sociology in 2022, and is passionate about patient care, public health, and healthcare equity.

Dr. Hauser retired from the Minneapolis Heart Institute in 2015 where he was a Senior Consulting Cardiologist. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, former Professor of Medicine at Rush Medical College in Chicago, and Chairman and CEO of Cardiac Pacemakers (now Boston Scientific) in St. Paul.  Dr. Hauser is currently a founding member and serves on the board of the Joseph F. Novogratz Family Heart Rhythm Center at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.

Efrah serves as an Associate Research Coordinator III on the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation’s Heart Failure and Electrophysiology team. Most recently, Efrah was a Research Associate at Children’s Minnesota, and previously worked at Regions Hospital in the Emergency Department screening patients for eligibility in Neurology and Cardiology trials.

Efrah received a double bachelor’s from the University of St. Thomas in Biology of Global Health and Public Health, and she is currently working towards her Masters in Regulatory Science.

Melanie is a key member on the Joseph F. Novogratz Family Heart Rhythm Center team. With over 20 years of nursing experience, she has been with the Minneapolis Heart Institute’s Pacemaker & Defibrillator Clinic since 2015. While there, Melanie played an instrumental role in the development and implementation of several implantable cardiac device related policies at Abbott Northwestern Holmes Heart Hospital. She is a board-certified cardiac device specialist (CCDS) with a master’s degree in nursing informatics. Melanie also brings unique expertise in making data accessible and actionable for clinicians and researchers.

Practice philosophy: In addition to continuing to improve medical management and procedural skills, I believe that patient education is one of the most important aspects of what I do.

What are you passionate about and why? Catheter ablation as every case is a little bit different which offers variety and challenges on a regular basis. I am also very passionate about patient education as I feel this gives patients some element of control over things and helps them make the right choices in their own management.

Why did you become a provider? When did you know this was the career for you? I think that patient care was the most important part of health care that attracted me. On some level, I knew I wanted to be a physician back in high school.

Tamara Langeberg RN, MSN, CNP is credentialed through the ANCC (American Nurses Credentialing Center) as a family nurse practitioner. She completed her BSN (bachelor of science in nursing) in 1995, and MSN (Master of Science in nursing) in 2002 at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has worked as a nurse practitioner with the Minneapolis Heart Institute since 2002, initially working with the general cardiology service, she has been with the electrophysiology group since 2004. As part of the Heart Rhythm Management Team, Tamara provides cardiac electrophysiology care for patients in the hospital and clinic setting, and performs direct current cardioversions, and tilt table studies. She has been instrumental in the development of the cardioversion program, as well as standardization of anticoagulation protocols.

Dr. Daniel Melby is Medical Director of the Electrophysiology Lab, with a special interest in and experience performing over 4000 complex catheter ablations for the treatment of fast heart rhythms, particularly atrial fibrillation. He is a recognized expert, speaking nationally on the latest ablation techniques and technology, and has participated in many national research studies of new ablation technology.

Educational institutions

• George Washington University

Current licenses and certifications

• Board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease
• Medical License in Ohio and Minnesota

Fellowships

• Cleveland Clinic (Cardiovascular Medicine and Electrophysiology)
• Fellow, American College of Cardiology

Awards and recognitions

• 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Mpls. St. Paul Magazine Top Doctors: Rising Stars

Educational institutions

• Marquette University - Biomedical Engineering
• University of Minnesota - Medical School

Fellowships

• Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship: University of Minnesota
• Electrophysiology Fellowship: University of Minnesota

Rachel serves as a Clinical Research Coordinator II on the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation’s Heart Failure and Electrophysiology team. She brings with her over 5 years of research experience, beginning her career as a Research Coordinator at the University of Minnesota in Psychiatry & Mental/Behavioral Health and was most recently a Clinical Research Associate for EarliTec Diagnostics, a medical device company in the autism field. Rachel has also worked as a Mental Health Specialist at Meriter UnityPoint Health in Wisconsin.
 
Rachel graduated from St. Olaf College with a BA in Psychology and also holds a Clinical Research Associate Certification through ACRP.

Dr. Fernando Santiago, PhD, MSc, serves as a Senior Scientist on the Heart Rhythm Science Center team with Dr. Alan Bank at United Hospital in St. Paul. Dr. Santiago is a molecular biologist with expertise in aging, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and stem cell biology. He comes from a medical family, with his father being a cardiothoracic surgeon and former Chief of Ambulatory Medicine at the Atlanta VA Hospital, and his niece is preparing to enter her residency.

Dawn Witt serves as Program Director II of the Joseph F. Novogratz Heart Rhythm Center and the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center. Having been with the organization for over 16 years in varying positions from research assistant to senior scientist, Dawn has vast knowledge of the clinical research work at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.

Prior to MHIF, Dawn was at the University of Minnesota as a research assistant, where she also earned her PhD, MPH, and BA. Dawn’s extensive education in public health and nursing has led her to projects that combine healthcare research with community-driven health interventions to move toward creating accountable care communities. She brings research skills, cultural competency, and a creative outlook to healthcare projects focused on cardiovascular disease in populations often underrepresented in research.

Educational institutions

• Cleveland Clinic

Fellowships

• Cleveland Clinic: 2003-2006 Cardiovascular Disease
• Cleveland Clinic: 2006-2008 Cardiac Electrophysiology

"I am interested in the unique aspects of each patient who suffers from cardiac rhythm problems. I do my best to tailor my approach to the individual needs and philosophy of care of each person I see. It is a privilege to help people with heart rhythm problems feel better and be well."

Dr. Edwin Zishiri is a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute. Dr. Zishiri received his MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) from the University of Zimbabwe. He then completed residency at the Boston Medical Center, followed by a fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic.

His clinical interests include catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias; pacemakers, ICD and BIV device implants; lead extractions and risk stratification; and prevention of sudden cardiac death. He also has additional training in complex arrhythmia ablation.