St. Luke’s Medical Group welcomes five new physicians: Aloka Amarakone, MD; Elie Chahla, MD; Ayman Daoud, MD; Meena Murugappan, MD; and Michael Ryan Reidy, MD. All five are accepting new patients.

Aloka Amarakone, MD, is a board-certified neurologist with an emphasis on treating patients in the hospital and outpatient setting. He treats a variety of neurological diseases including epilepsy, headaches, stroke, movement disorders, neuroimmunological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, autonomic neuropathy, dementia (Alzheimer’s and other dementias) and neuromuscular disorders among others. After attending Washington University for his undergraduate studies, he earned his medical degree at the Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, West Indies. He completed his neurology combined residency program at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick and University Hospital in Newark, N.J.

Board-certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine, Elie Chahla, MD, has expertise in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of digestive tract and liver disorders. This includes conditions involving the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, pancreas, liver and gallbladder. After earning his medical degree from the American University of Beirut, he completed his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He offers services in English, Arabic and French. 

Ayman Daoud, MD, is board-certified in neurology. He is skilled in diagnosing and treating neuromuscular conditions including myopathy, neuropathy, myasthenia gravis and ALS, cerebrovascular disorders, headaches, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, movement disorders, dementia, infections of the nervous system and spinal cord disorders. Dr. Daoud earned his medical degree, completed his neurology residency and received his master’s degree in neurology at Al-Minya University, Egypt. He participated in a stroke research fellowship and completed his neurology residency as a chief resident and clinical neurophysiology fellowship at Saint Louis University. 

Meena Murugappan, MD, FCCP, is a board-certified pulmonologist with a special interest in asthma, COPD, pulmonary hypertension and interstitial lung disease. She is skilled at advanced bronchoscopy with endobronchial ultrasound and superDimension™ navigational bronchoscopy for diagnosis and management of lung cancer as well as pleural and parenchymal lung disease. After earning her medical degree from Creighton University School of Medicine, she completed her residency and fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in pulmonary and critical care medicine.

A board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon, Michael Ryan Reidy, MD, treats a variety of conditions related to the heart, lungs, chest and blood vessels utilizing coronary artery bypass, valve repair and replacement, and surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation (Maze procedure). Utilizing video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), he also treats a variety of chest pathology including lung cancer as well as disorders of the esophagus. After earning his medical degree from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, he completed his general surgery residency at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center Mercy and a thoracic surgery fellowship at the Texas Heart Institute/Baylor College of Medicine.