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Sultana Afrooz, DO, is a holistic and integrative medicine physician at Be The Change Health & Wellness, located in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Afrooz specializes in diagnosing and treating highly complex health challenges confronting many patients and providing them with the in-depth, compassionate, and individualized care they deserve.

Dr. Afrooz has practiced osteopathic medicine since receiving her doctorate from Des Moines University – Osteopathic Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2002. Her training included an osteopathic internship and family practice residency at the Frankford Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Afrooz was board certified in family practice from 2005 to 2014 and is currently board-eligible. She has successfully completed the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners NBOME Part I, II, III Boards, the State Osteopathic Licensing Examination, and is licensed to practice medicine in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

Dr. Afrooz is committed to evaluating and treating the individual while improving their physical health and spiritual well-being. She is well-versed in testing and discovering environmental, genetic, and infectious factors connected to chronic health issues. Dr. Afrooz utilizes the best available integrative laboratory evaluations to get to the root cause of disease and help patients regain their health. Dr. Afrooz brings to her practice of medicine a history of continued excellence in her training and education, an intellectual curiosity that's motivated by compassion, and a life-long commitment to learning. Dr. Sultana Afrooz specializes in treating patients who have been chronically ill from the effects of tick-borne infection, mold toxicity, and environmental toxicity.

Dr. Afrooz uses an integrative approach to treatment using prescription antimicrobials, herbal supplements, and nutritional supplements. She has an exceptional knowledge of mind-body medicine, food as medicine, and other integrative functional approaches to health and healing. Dr. Afrooz is dedicated to helping her patients achieve wellness and healing in all aspects of their lives. She believes that the body has an inherent ability to heal itself and that it is her goal as a practitioner to guide patients in their journey to healing. Dr. Afrooz has had extensive training in the treatment of tick-borne infections and has attended annual ILADS conferences to keep up to date on the latest research and treatments in tick-borne infections and Multiple Infectious Disease Syndrome. With this training, she has become extremely involved in learning about the systemic effects of mold toxicity and treating the chronic systemic effects of mold illness. Dr. Afrooz has also spent years studying the various methods of persistence in chronic infections.

Dabo Xu, MD, is a board-certified physician in gastroenterology, hepatology, and internal medicine at the Gastro Center of Maryland, with locations in Annapolis, Columbia, Olney, Riverdale, Timonium and Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Dr. Xu treats a wide variety of conditions at the practice, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), celiac disease, colon cancer, liver disease, and other gastrointestinal conditions. 

Dr. Xu completed his medical residency at St. Agnes Hospital, as well as a gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Michigan. He has conducted clinical and translational research on several topics, such as GERD, intestinal inflammation, liver diseases and cancers, and gastrointestinal pharmacology. His works were published in the most prestigious gastroenterology journals and presented at national and international medical conferences.

He has more than 20 years of clinical experience in gastroenterology and hepatology. Dr. Xu has a special interest in preventive care, often working alongside patients to prevent disease and improve their quality of life through precise and effective personalized treatments.

With a passion and dedication to patient experiences, Dr. Xu believes it’s important to build relationships with those in his care and enjoys helping patients find better health and wellness.

Dr. Thi Khuc, MD, is a board-certified physician specializing in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Gastro Center of Maryland's location in Riverdale, Maryland. Trained with expertise in evidence-based medicine and clinical research by national and international authorities in the field, Dr. Khuc is committed to providing quality, personalized patient care. Dr. Khuc values her patients’ opinions in the medical decision-making process.

Dr. Khuc completed her medical degree at the University of Virginia, followed by an Internal Medicine residency at Loma Linda University in California. Thereafter, she completed her Gastroenterology and Hepatology fellowship under the Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Maryland and Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, MD. She was elected as a 2023 American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Innovations Fellow for the Center for GI Innovation and Technology and is currently a member of the AGA and American College of Gastroenterology (ACG).

Dr. Khuc is skilled in colonoscopy, endoscopy, video capsule endoscopy and esophageal manometry and breath testing interpretation. She treats a wide variety of gastrointestinal disorders including colorectal cancer screening, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), acid reflux (GERD), peptic ulcer disease, microscopic colitis, eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), constipation, infectious diarrheal disorders, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

In her spare time, Dr. Khuc enjoys painting, traveling, and trying new ice cream flavors with her family and friends.

Mahadevappa Hunasikatti, MD, FCCP, is a board-certified pulmonary care, critical care, and sleep medicine specialist at Sleep Services of Maryland LLC. He provides high-quality sleep medicine to people of all ages in Germantown, Maryland.

Dr. Hunasikatti grew up in India. He began his career pursuits at the Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (formerly Government Medical College) in Ballari, Karnataka, India, earning his medical degree. He then completed a psychiatry residency at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bangalore.

In 1989, Dr. Hunasikatti moved to the United States. Before entering private practice, he completed a psychiatry internship, an internal medicine internship, and residency at the University of Toledo Health Science Campus in Ohio (formerly the Medical College of Ohio, Toledo) and a medicine-pediatrics internship at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan.

These experiences inspired Dr. Hunasikatti to pursue specialty training. He completed a critical care medicine fellowship at Shock Trauma | University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore and a pulmonary medicine fellowship at DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital (formerly Sinai Hospital Wayne State University) in Detroit, Michigan.

Dr. Hunasikatti has served in various roles throughout his career, including hospitalist, sleep medicine physician, and medical director. He diagnoses and treats most sleep-related health problems but has a special interest in sleep apnea, workplace fatigue, and restless legs syndrome.

Dr. Hunasikatti enjoys attending medical conferences, contributing to scientific journals, and speaking at sleep symposiums. He welcomes anyone experiencing insomnia or other sleep problems to Sleep Services of Maryland LLC today.

Dabo Xu, MD, is a board-certified physician in gastroenterology, hepatology, and internal medicine at the Gastro Center of Maryland, with locations in Annapolis, Columbia, Olney, Riverdale, Timonium and Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Dr. Xu treats a wide variety of conditions at the practice, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), celiac disease, colon cancer, liver disease, and other gastrointestinal conditions. 

Dr. Xu completed his medical residency at St. Agnes Hospital, as well as a gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Michigan. He has conducted clinical and translational research on several topics, such as GERD, intestinal inflammation, liver diseases and cancers, and gastrointestinal pharmacology. His works were published in the most prestigious gastroenterology journals and presented at national and international medical conferences.

He has more than 20 years of clinical experience in gastroenterology and hepatology. Dr. Xu has a special interest in preventive care, often working alongside patients to prevent disease and improve their quality of life through precise and effective personalized treatments.

With a passion and dedication to patient experiences, Dr. Xu believes it’s important to build relationships with those in his care and enjoys helping patients find better health and wellness.

Patricia G. Gao, MD specializes in primary care at her private practice in Glen Burnie, Maryland. She started the practice in 2004, affiliating with Baltimore Washington Medical Center also in Glen Burnie. Dr. Gao’s mission is to diagnose and treat acute and chronic diseases, and to help patients understand and maintain good health and make better lifestyle choices. Dr. Gao believes in the power of preventive medicine. She obtained certifications for dermatologic procedures at the National Procedures Institute, Austin, Texas in 2003 and at the International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine, Las Vegas in 2011. Dr. Gao is highly experienced at meeting a variety of dermatological needs including removal of skin tags, moles, cysts, and performing skin biopsies. She also has unique skills in Botox®  and filler injections.

Dr. Gao has seventeen years of experience practicing internal medicine as a primary care physician. After graduating from Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences, Guangdong, China, Dr. Gao came to the United States where she performed cancer research at MD Anderson Medical Center in Houston. She received a master’s degree in molecular biology from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas, Houston. She began her internship at Presbyterian-University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia. Dr. Gao completed her internal medicine residency and worked as a hospitalist and teaching physician at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore.

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