Second Year Residents
Bharath Karnati, M.D.
Dr. Karnati was born and raised in India. He graduated from Kurnool Medical College in 2007 & came to New Mexico to pursue his Master’s in Public Health at New Mexico State University. He has been living in Las Cruces for almost four years and has loved it so far. Dr. Karnati was interested in Family Medicine because it gives him the opportunity to see a variety of patients from different age groups with a broad spectrum of illnesses.
He got married recently and his wife who is from Philadelphia and a doctor as well loves Las Cruces. They both feel that Las Cruces has a lot to offer: rugged beauty with a view of the Organ Mountains in the background, a great climate, friendly people, a slower pace of life are just a start!! Las Cruces is a small treasure in New Mexico…but certainly not too small.
Both Dr. Karnati and his wife hope to settle down in New Mexico some day! His interests include watching football, playing volleyball, listening to good music, anything outdoors, traveling & spending time with family and friends.
Kyoung Ho Lee, M.D.
Dr. Lee originally came from South Korea and graduated from medical school there. During medical school in Korea, Dr. Lee participated in many medical volunteer works in Nepal and Indonesia. He loves to travel around the world, especially in the Himalaya countries. After graduation, Dr. Lee finished his internship in Korea and ran an ENT clinic with colleagues for 4 years. Dr. Lee has 2 boys and a beautiful wife. He loves traveling and mountain climbing. Dr. Lee especially fell in love with Las Cruces because of his interest in the study of pecans, which has a strong effect on lowering cholesterol levels. Dr. Lee is strongly interested in nutrition and preventive medicine, and would like to pursue his career in terms of nutrition. One of his goals is having a pecan orchard and researching about pecans in the future.
Pierrette Lenoir, M.D.
Dr. Lenoir was born in a small village in France. She graduated with a degree in physiology at SF State University and went to Medical School at St George’s University, Grenada. There she completed her basic sciences, and she opted to go to the UK and California to complete her medical training.
During her basic sciences years, Dr Lenoir experienced Hurricane Ivan, which devastated the Island of Grenada; instead of evacuating, she enrolled in a relief ambulatory clinic, which served the remote corners of the island. She liked it so much, that she wants to eventually be part of a disaster relief team in the US.
Her interests, beside family medicine are: cooking international dishes, shopping for local produce at the farmer’s market, watching scientific shows (especially astronomy.) When time permits, she likes to travel. Her dream destinations are the Greek Islands, Tahiti and the South Pole.
Rashmi Narasimhamurthy, M.D.
Dr. Narasimhamurthy was born and raised in Bangalore City, situated in the Southern part of India. Went to Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Medical college in Bangalore from where she graduated in 2008. She has always been interested in medicine and OB/GYN and felt Family medicine residency shall prove to be a great platform to gain knowledge in both. She likes Family medicine also because it creates an opportunity to treat patients belonging to various age groups and having a variety of ailments, in totality-not confined to one organ system or one particular kind of illness.
She likes the warmth and friendly nature of the people of Las cruces and absolutely loves the mountains. The cultural diversity of the place also interests her.
In the future, she would like to pursue Hospital medicine since she likes in-patient care a lot. Hobbies include: Music, reading books. She simply loves spending time with her family, especially her nephew who means the world to her.
Lilia Pedrego, M.D.
Dr. Lilia Pedrego was born and raised in the southwest. She was born in Douglas, AZ and attended high school in Silver City, NM and graduated as a foreign exchange student from Vordingborg Gymnasium in Denmark. After completing her undergraduate studies in Biology and Latin American Studies at the University of New Mexico, Lilia spent a year working for the National Institutes of Health in Phoenix, AZ researching diabetes in the Pima community. She then returned to her alma mater to begin medical training at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Through the provided learning opportunities and because of her southwestern roots, Lilia has nurtured a deep love and appreciation of the border area and has a special interest in border health. She defines it as “global health in our back yard” and feels privileged to be a resident physician in this community. During her residency, Dr. Pedrego has been allowed the opportunity to further explore border/global health by participating in activities such as the breast cancer research collaboration between New Mexico State University and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Ensenada, Mexico and attending the AAFP Global Health Conference in San Diego, CA. She feels that her training will provide valuable tools whether she continues in the border region, moves to the big city or ends up in a small hut in some remote village.
Aaron Pfau, D.O.
Dr. Pfau was born in Southern California and lived there for 12 years. He then moved to Tucson AZ and completed both high school and college there. He obtained a bachelors of science degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from The University of Arizona. He took a break from his studies and spent two years living in Hawaii on three different islands. Aaron was very interested in Osteopathic Medicine and attended his didactics studies at Nova Southeastern Medical School in Fort Lauderdale FL. He then moved back to Arizona to be closer to his family, graduating with his Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine from Midwestern University in Phoenix.
Dr. Pfau knew he wanted to be a Family Practice Physician and was very pleased to be accepted into the Southern New Mexico Family Residency Program. He moved with his wife and three children to Las Cruces and is enjoying both the program and a smaller town atmosphere. When Aaron is not at work he can be found outdoors either snowboarding, boating, or playing soccer.
Javier Salazar, M.D.
Dr. Salazar was born and raised in neighboring El Paso, Texas. After graduating from Hanks High School, he attended The University of Texas in Austin, Texas and received his degree in Biology/Pre-Med. Upon leaving Austin, he began medical school and made the long journey through many different cities in the US for clinical rotations including Dallas TX, Miami FL, New York NY, Las Cruces NM, St Petersburg FL, Albany GA, Atlanta GA, and finally back to Las Cruces. Dr. Salazar graduated from Ross University School of Medicine in 2010 and was accepted to the Family Medicine Residency program here in Southern New Mexico. While in residency, he is excited to provide quality patient care to the Las Cruces community. Dr. Salazar is considering a Sports Medicine Fellowship following residency. He is married and his wife is currently in her last year of law school at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. His interests include watching sports, playing sports, and anything else sports related (Hook Em Horns!!). Other interests include board games, video games, music, traveling, and spending time with family.