Sammy Zakaria, M.D., M.P.H.

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Associate Program Director, Johns Hopkins Bayview Internal Medicine Residency
Assistant Director, Johns Hopkins Bayview Cardiac Intensive Care Unit

Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology

4940 Eastern Avenue
301 Building, Suite 2400
Baltimore, Maryland 21224-2780
Office: (410) 550-5965
Fax: (410) 550-1183
Email: szakari2@jhmi.edu

Re:$Bruno$Bezerra$Lima,$MD$
AAMC$#:$13509883$
!
Dear!Program!Director:!
!
It!is!a!pleasure!to!write!a!letter!of!recommendation!for!Dr.!Bruno!Lima.!!I!first!met!Bruno!in!2009!when!he!
was!completed!his!sub?internship!within!the!Cardiology!Division!at!Johns!Hopkins!Bayview!Medical!Center.!!
As!part!of!his!rotation,!he!spent!four!weeks!on!the!consult!service,!and!four!weeks!in!the!Cardiac!Intensive!
Care!Unit!(CICU).!!I!was!his!teaching!attending!for!two!weeks!on!the!consult!service,!and!I!clearly!remember!
him!four!years!later,!since!I!was!clearly!impressed!with!his!intelligence,!work!ethic,!and!breadth!of!medical!
knowledge.!!He!participated!in!all!aspects!of!the!cardiology!consultative!experience.!!In!the!morning,!he!
would!assist!me!in!evaluating!2?3!new!outpatients,!and!would!also!see!2?3!new!inpatient!consults!in!the!
afternoon.!!During!this!time,!I!came!to!appreciate!his!drive!to!succeed!and!his!ability!to!efficiently!and!
comprehensively!take!care!of!patients.!!He!was!interested!in!learning!about!all!aspects!of!medicine,!and!
brought!up!a!number!of!practical!points!for!discussion!that!were!useful!in!patient!care.!!At!appropriate!
intervals,!his!suggestions!helped!guide!management,!and!I!greatly!enjoyed!it!when!he!initiated!friendly!
debates!on!patient!care!issues.!
!
In!reviewing!his!background!and!scholarship,!he!has!clearly!excelled!in!his!studies!at!both!the!undergraduate!
and!graduate!levels.!!He!was!the!valedictorian!at!his!medical!school!at!the!Federal!University!of!Ceará!in!
Brazil.!!While!still!in!medical!school,!he!was!asked!to!collaborate!with!several!of!my!colleagues!at!Johns!
Hopkins!on!research!projects,!and!ended!up!publishing!manuscripts!in!prestigious!journals,!including!the!
Journal(of(the(American(Medical(Association!and!American(Journal(of(Hypertension.!!After!graduation,!he!
continued!to!be!interested!in!research,!and!pursued!a!PhD!in!Pharmacology!focusing!on!C.(difficile!research.!!
In!addition,!he!continues!to!be!active!clinically,!and!currently!works!as!a!primary!care!physician!in!an!
impoverished!part!of!Forteleza,!Brazil.!!During!his!medical!school!training!and!beyond,!he!was!been!
continuously!involved!in!a!number!of!community!service!and!scholarly!research!activities,!especially!within!
the!fields!of!community!health!for!impoverished!Brazilians.!
!!!
In!summary,!I!am!honored!to!have!worked!with!Dr.!Bruno.!!He!will!be!an!asset!to!any!program!because!he!
has!a!strong!combination!of!scholarship,!intelligence,!compassion,!and!work!ethic.!!I!strongly!believe!that!
will!thrive!in!a!US?based!internal!medicine!residency!program!and!I!recommend!him!without!any!
reservations.!!Please!do!not!hesitate!to!contact!me!at!time!if!you!should!need!any!further!information,!as!I!
would!welcome!the!opportunity!to!further!discuss!his!qualifications.!
!
Sincerely,!
!
!
!
Sammy!Zakaria,!MD,!MPH!