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Dr. Jeffrey Lester graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor degree in finance in 1996. He returned to USF in 1997 to earn a degree in chemistry, completed in 2004. Dr. Lester attended Ross University School of Medicine and graduated with a doctor of medicine degree in June 2004. In July 2004 he started his internal medicine residency at the University of Oklahoma in Tulsa and became board certified in internal medicine in 2007. He completed his training in medical genetics at the University of Miami in 2009. In November 2009 Dr. Lester moved to Maryland and worked for Family Health Centers of Baltimore, a small community health center serving with the National Health Service Corps for three years treating low income, indigent patients in internal medicine. In September 2013 Dr. Lester joined the Tampa General Medical Group to open the Sun City Center location. He is a general internist and sees patients 18 years of age and older.

Dr. Lester treats patients 18 years of age and older.
Dr. Lester is recognized by the NCQA Diabetes Recognition Program.

Dr. Walgampaya is a board-certified internal medicine physician. After completing his undergraduate studies in biology and pre-medicine, Dr. Walgampaya received his medical degree from St. George's University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies. He completed his internal medicine residency program at Seton Hall University/St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark, NJ. Previously, Dr. Walgampaya served as a medical director, chief medical officer and coroner, worked in an emergency room, and practiced both traditional and outpatient internal medicine. In his spare time, he enjoys volunteering, reading, traveling, gardening, cycling and running. Treats patients 18 years of age and older.

Esmeralda Young is a nurse practitioner certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She graduated from St. Petersburg College with a degree in nursing and received her master of science degree in nursing from South University.

Prior to joining Tampa General Medical Group, Esmeralda worked in Tampa General's Medical and Surgical Oncology Unit providing acute nursing care to medical, surgical and oncology patients. Most recently, she practiced with the Community Health Centers of Pinellas in St. Petersburg, FL, providing primary care services and working to maintain continuity of care for patients by establishing diagnosis and treatment of common acute and chronic illness with health promotion and disease prevention.

Esmeralda is a member of the Florida Nurse Practitioner Network, Tampa Bay Advanced Practice Nurses Council, West Coast Council of Advanced Nursing Practices and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Esmeralda treats patients 18 years of age and older.

Dr. Farrales is a medical graduate of Manila Central University in the Philipines and completed his family practice residency at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He relocated to Florida after his residency and for over 15 years worked as a hospital-employed physician and a private practitioner in Ocala and Williston prior to joining the Tampa General Medical Group in January of 2013. His experience includes comprehensive, robust family care practice delivery in rural health clinic settings and excellent treatment of patients from all groups and diverse backgrounds. Dr. Farrales is board certified by the American Board of Family Practice and is a member in good standing of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Farrales treats patients of all ages.
Dr. Farrales is recognized by the NCQA Diabetes Recognition Program.

Francesca Dimou MD, MS, FACS, FASMBS, is a fellowship-trained, board-certified general surgeon offering expert bariatric and gastrointestinal surgery services at USF Health. Dr. Dimou is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. Within the GI Surgery division, Dr. Dimou specializes in primary and revisional bariatric surgery, foregut surgery, and endoscopy services. Dr. Dimou's goal is to help patients reach a healthier lifestyle while also improving their quality of life. She utilizes robotic technology to take on complex bariatric operations that may not be undertaken at other centers. She received her Medical Doctorate degree from USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, then completed her surgical residency with USF Health. During her residency she completed two years of research fellowship focusing on surgical outcomes at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. This training was followed by an advanced GI/minimally invasive surgical fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. Dr. Dimou previously served as faculty at Washington University in St. Louis where she performed the first robotic gastric bypass at that institution and built a robotic bariatrics program including complex robotic revisional bariatric surgery within the university. Dr. Dimou was then recruited back to USF Health in October 2023 to bring her expertise to the University of South Florida + TGH bariatric program.

As a researcher, Dr. Dimou has contributed to over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles, in addition to book chapters and editorials. Dr. Dimou is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. She is also involved in the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons and serves on the insurance committee for ASMBS. Dr. Dimou was born in New York but has lived in Florida most of her life. She originally wanted to pursue a career in medicine as she was interested in caring for those with autism as her younger sister is diagnosed with this disease. During her educational experience and training, however, she fell in love with surgery while offering lifechanging care to those in need, especially those battling the disease of obesity. In her spare time, she enjoys fitness and spending time with her husband, Scott, and their corgi pup, Giuseppe.

Dr. Hilal was born and raised in nearby Orlando, FL. He obtained his undergraduate and medical school degree down at the University of Miami. He then went on to complete his internal medicine residency at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, his GI fellowship training at the University of South Florida, and an additional GI advanced endoscopy fellowship at GI Associates, LLC in Milwaukee, WI. He returned to join the USF GI faculty in August 2019.

His areas of expertise include the management of biliary strictures, acute/chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cysts, large pre-cancerous colon polyps, and the complex endoscopic interventional procedures involved with the treatment of these diseases including Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS), and Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR).

Dr. Hilal has been a member of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), and the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) since 2016. He has multiple publications and has presented at national meetings including American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) and Digestive Disease Week (DDW) annual meetings.

He serves as the Vice Chief of Endoscopy at Tampa General Hospital. He enjoys being on faculty and teaching the gastroenterology fellows, residents, and medical students at USF. He received The Patrick Brady, MD GI Fellowship Teaching Award in 2022.

Dr. Huang is a fellowship-trained abdominal organ transplant surgeon. and is board certified by the American Board of Surgery. He earned his medical degree at Washington University in St. Louis, MO and completed his residency at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Dr. Huang then went on to complete a fellowship with the LifeLink Transplant Institute in Tampa.

He currently serves as the surgical director of renal transplantation for Tampa General Medical Group and is the vice chief of general surgery at Tampa General Hospital. Dr. Huang also holds an affiliate assistant professor appointment from the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, department of surgery. In his spare time, he enjoys tennis, basketball, violin and photography. Dr. Huang is also fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Spanish and French.