Our Nurse Practitioners

NP Viv Feldman is a board-certified adult/gerontology nurse practitioner on the CUIMC ventricular assist device team since 2019.  She first began working with mechanical circulatory support devices in 2014 as a critical care RN in Columbia’s medical ICU and later in Columbia’s cardiothoracic ICU. She holds a Master of Science from Hunter College and a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University, NJ.  She has special interest in ethical decision making, patient determination, and palliation as it relates to mechanical circulatory support devices.

Briella is an adult nurse practitioner, with a focus in the treatment and chronic management of patients in all stages of advanced heart failure. She is ANCC board certified as an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP-BC).

 After graduating magna cum laude from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Briella first began her career as a registered nurse on a hematology/oncology step-down unit at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Iriving Medical Center. After completing 8 years working as at the bedside, she received her Master's of Science in Nursing (MS) degree from New York University and began her career as a nurse practitioner.  

Briella joined the CUIMC Center for Advanced Cardiac Care team in 2022 and works closely with collaborating physicians, Dr. Melana Yuzefpolskaya and Dr. Paolo Colombo. As an adult-gerontology nurse practitioner, she cares primarily for adults while focusing on health promotion, disease management, and chronic care. 

NP Cuomo is a board-certified family nurse practitioner specializing in the care of heart failure patients. She joined the team in the Center for Advanced Cardiac Care in 2019 after graduating Summa Cum Laude from Georgetown University with a Master of Science in Nursing. Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, Margie worked as an ICU bedside nurse.  

Margie’s primary clinical interest is cardiac amyloidosis. She serves as sub-investigator on numerous clinical trials involving patients with cardiac amyloidosis. She is passionate about advancing the care of her patients through research, advocacy, and clinical practice.

Byron Fuselier Jr., MSN, FNP-BC, PCCN, is a Post-Heart Transplant Nurse Practitioner at the Center for Advanced Cardiac Care at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Born and raised in southwest Louisiana, Byron graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Additionally, he is certified in Progressive Care by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. He received his Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, from Long Island University- Brooklyn.  

Jordan Lindekens is a board-certified Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner who started at the Center for Advanced Cardiac Care in December of 2022. She completed her undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Pennsylvania and was awarded the Amy Gutmann Leadership Scholarship. She has previously worked in Cardiology as a Registered Nurse at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and Cooper University Hospital. She has a special interest in Cardiology and the Transitional Care Model. 

Jennifer Murphy is a board certified Acute care nurse practitioner on the CUIMC ventricular assist device team since 2007. Prior to this, she was a critical nurse for ten years in both the Medical and Cardiothoracic ICU settings. She holds a Masters of Science in Nursing from NYU and a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from William Paterson University.

She has a special interest in the development of new VAD technologies and managing VAD patients in the outpatient setting. 

NP Melie Tiburcio joined the Mechanical Circulatory Support Program in 2012. 

She is a board-certified family nurse practitioner. She earned her BS in nursing at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines and completed family nurse practitioner education at Dominican College New York.

She spent the former portion of her nursing career working in variable intensive care units as a bedside critical care nurse, was a nurse educator and nurse manager.    She has expertise in managing patients diagnosed with heart failure and left ventricular assist device. She is de dedicated to improving patient’s quality of life, personalized care and engaging family in patient care.

Outside of work, she loves travelling, hiking and enjoys spending time with family and 3 dogs . She was born and raised in the Philippines.