It took Humzah Iqbal, MD, only a few weeks in residency at the UCSF School of Medicine Regional Campus at Fresno (UCSF Fresno), to find a specialty to pursue – and the fellowship program for advanced training.
“My very first rotation of residency was GI (gastroenterology) at the VA,” Dr. Iqbal said. “I was sold after that. I really loved it. I loved working with the fellows and with the attendings. I felt like I could do this for the rest of my life and never get bored.”
It takes 10-11 years to produce a practicing physician after high school, and fellows like Dr. Iqbal continue their education, essentially going back to school for an additional one to two years or even five years or longer, to fine-tune their clinical knowledge and skills.
Dr. Iqbal completed his three-year residency program in Internal Medicine this summer and has continued at UCSF Fresno as a fellow in Gastroenterology. “I knew I would get amazing training here,” he said.
When researching UCSF Fresno for residency training, several aspects attracted him. “They have an affiliation with UCSF, one of the top universities in the world. They have all the fellowships I would consider in-house. They have research they put out every year; they have well-known attendings. And it seems like everybody is very positive about the program.”
UCSF Fresno’s Gastroenterology Fellowship thus far has more than exceeded his expectations, he said. “It’s been hectic, and a very steep learning curve, but I’m enjoying every second of it.”
UCSF Fresno trains approximately 260 residents in eight medical specialties and one dental surgery residency, and has about 50 fellows in approximately 20 sub-specialty fellowship programs. These programs contribute to UCSF Fresno's medical education portfolio, making it the largest physician training program between Sacramento and San Francisco to the north and Los Angeles to the south.
It’s widely accepted that where physicians train after medical school is one of the best predictors of where they will ultimately practice, and fellowships at UCSF Fresno increase the likelihood of physicians staying in the region and in California. Specialists are particularly needed in the Valley, which has the lowest number of specialists in the state (83 per 100,000 population), according to the 2025 edition of the California Physicians Almanac, produced by the Healthforce Center, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. California recommends 85-105 specialists per 100,000 population.
“We are excited to welcome our newest cohort of fellows this academic year,” said Stacy Sawtelle Vohra, MD, assistant dean for Graduate Medical Education. "Fellowship training programs at UCSF Fresno ensure access to highly skilled sub-specialty medical care in the San Joaquin Valley, both through retention of the graduates of our programs and the faculty physicians whom we are able to recruit to the area as clinician educators. Fellows enhance the learning environment for residents and improve patient care."
Mandeep K. Gill, DO, UCSF assistant clinical professor at UCSF Fresno, is a graduate of UCSF Fresno’s Internal Medicine residency and its Endocrinology fellowship program. For professional and personal reasons, she wanted to remain in the community.
She considers herself fortunate that UCSF Fresno initiated a two-year ACGME-accredited Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Fellowship in 2023, of which she was the first graduate in 2025. “I have always been drawn to endocrinology starting in medical school, and continuing throughout residency. I developed a strong interest in diabetes. I knew that if I wanted to specialize, it would be endocrinology.”
Originally from Bellingham, Washington, Dr. Gill also had personal reasons to apply for the fellowship and to join the faculty. “I really did not want to move out of the area. My husband, (Amitpaul Gill, MD, a gastroenterologist), is from Fresno and did his training at UCSF Fresno. So, we wanted to start a family; we wanted to proceed with a personal life.”
The opportunity to have training uninterrupted by a relocation also appealed to Dr. Iqbal. “The transition between residency and fellowship can be kind of daunting if you also have to move to a different state or city, particularly if you have a family.” His wife, Nida Aftab, is a student at Fresno State.
Both residency and fellowship programs at UCSF Fresno provide comprehensive training with a multifaceted patient population and a volume of patients that is unparalleled, Drs. Gill and Iqbal said.
“Logistically, it made the most sense to stay here, but also compared to all the other programs I interviewed at, the procedure volume, the pathology that we see here is second to none. So, overall, it was just the best of both worlds,” Dr. Iqbal said.
Dr. Gill appreciates the different settings where she sees patients. She primarily sees private-pay patients at the Inspire Health Endocrinology clinic. Also, she has patients at United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley, a federally qualified health center that accepts government insurance plans, including Medi-Cal. She also sees patients who are hospitalized in the ICU at Community Regional Medical Center (CRMC), the flagship hospital of Community Health System and the primary clinical partner for UCSF Fresno. Dr. Iqbal sees patients at CRMC but also has rotations at Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center and at the VA Fresno Medical Center.
The doctors emphasized that fellowship programs improve both accessibility to care and the quality of care.
“In the absence of a fellowship, you don’t have a structured academic training program that adds high-quality care to the community, because we’re working on research to improve patient care. We’re attending conferences, learning the newest, latest advances in care,” Dr. Iqbal said.
Among specific health needs in the Valley are those for physicians to provide diabetes care. One study estimates that almost half of Fresno County adults have pre-diabetes. Dr. Gill said UCSF Fresno’s Endocrinology Fellowship helps to address this problem. “We can have more endocrinologists stay in the area, which allows us to better serve a large population of patients in need of care."
Overall, UCSF Fresno fellowships prepare physicians for outstanding careers as clinicians in private practice and as teachers of the next generation of physicians. Or as Dr. Gill said, “This is such a unique place because you see things that you may never encounter elsewhere. “If you can train here and succeed, you can practice anywhere.”
The first patient to be treated in Fresno with a transformative immunotherapy for blood cancer rang a victory bell this summer, the culmination of a four-year effort led by Haifaa Abdulhaq, MD, director of Hematology at UCSF Fresno, to bring CAR T-cell therapy to the San Joaquin Valley.
CAR T-cell therapy is a revolutionary treatment for certain types of leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, in which the patient’s immune T lymphocytes (white blood cells) are genetically adapted to identify, target, and kill cancer cells.
The treatment can offer a cure or long-term remission for patients who do not respond to other therapies or have blood cancers return. “For lymphoma, for example, the complete response varies based on the product between 50% to 60%, and you can cure about 40% to 50% of patients who otherwise would have lived for only months,” said Abdulhaq, an Inspire Health Medical Group oncologist, UC San Francisco professor of Medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine regional campus at Fresno (UCSF Fresno), and director of the Community Medical Centers Cellular Program.
The closest CAR T-cell therapy had been hours away from the Valley, at UCSF in San Francisco, UC Davis, and UCLA.
“We’re just so excited for our patients because this is truly a transformative treatment that will change the lives of so many patients in the Valley, and they will be able to get treatment close to home,” Abdulhaq said.
Starting a CAR T therapy program in the Valley involved collaboration with Community Health System (CHS), the primary clinical partner for UCSF Fresno; Thomas G. Martin, MD, the associate chief hematology/oncology and director of hematology transplant and cell therapy at UCSF School of Medicine; and with Novartis, a Swiss medicine company that manufactures CAR T-cells.
UCSF shared standard procedures with Abdulhaq, which streamlined the process of getting a CAR T-cell (chimeric antigen receptor T cell) program in Fresno. Still, Martin credits Abdulhaq for bringing all the parties together. “She is very collaborative and really wants to do the best for the patients and for UCSF Fresno,” he said. “It’s not just a collaboration amongst doctors; it’s a collaboration of taking care of patients; it’s a collaboration between facilities.”
To start a CAR T-cell therapy program at UCSF Fresno, Abdulhaq said three components were necessary: An apheresis machine to collect a patient’s T cells, a laboratory to process and engineer the CAR T-cells and preserve them until the patient is ready for infusion, and clinical expertise to take care of a patient for the apheresis procedure, at the infusion of the CAR T-cells, and for monitoring and after care.
Abdulhaq began discussions with CHS in 2021 to secure an apheresis machine for collecting a patient’s T cells, and with Novartis, which manufactures one of the CAR Ts for lymphoma and leukemia. She started building the team at CHS and contacted Martin at UCSF in 2022. In addition to sharing UCSF standard procedures for laboratory and pharmacy, nursing procedures and training were provided. “That actually sped up things by at least a year,” Abdulhaq said.
CAR T-cell treatment is an intensive procedure. The patient’s T cells are removed through apheresis in the hospital, and the remaining blood is returned to the body. The collected T cells are sent to the laboratory for processing, where a gene for the special chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) is inserted into the cells. Millions of lab-grown CAR T-cells are infused back into the patient for an effective treatment.
Five days before the infusion, the patient receives a low dose of chemotherapy as an outpatient to create a more favorable environment for the infused CAR T-cells to expand. Patients are admitted to the hospital to receive the infusion of CAR T-cells and can remain there for two weeks or up to a month to monitor any side effects from the treatment. Patients are followed for a year or longer for infections or other immune system effects.
Abdulhaq’s first CAR T cell therapy patient, Christine Quintero of Fresno, received treatment on May 27, 2025, at Clovis Community Medical Center (CCMC) in Clovis. A PET scan (a positron emission tomography scan) in June to look for cancer cells showed she was cancer-free.
“I was really happy, and I texted my family and my kids, and we’re just happy,” Quintero said on July 18, before ringing a bell at the Community Cancer Institute (CCI) in Clovis in celebration of the end of her cancer treatment.
Quintero is grateful she did not have to travel outside of Fresno. “I would have had to stay in the hospital for 15 days and another 15 days on the site, which, financially, would have cost us,” she said. “So, I am really happy … about being able to come to the Community Cancer Institute and be able to see Abdulhaq.”
Martin said blood cancer patients in a large catchment area around UCSF Fresno now have treatment available close to their homes. “This will dramatically increase access,” he said. “This is really enhancing the lives of patients with cancer in the UCSF Fresno area.”
UCSF’s expertise was invaluable for mentoring and guidance in bringing CAR T-cell therapy to UCSF Fresno, Abdulhaq said. “We had to satisfy requirements for quality, training, standard operating procedures, and meet quality measures in apheresis, the nursing aspect, and the hospital facility aspect.”
Martin said Abdulhaq had laid the groundwork. “The credit there, of the opening of CAR T-cell therapy, is directly on Abdulhaq,” he said. “She is a tremendous asset for UCSF Fresno.”
Said Abdulhaq, “It really takes a village to build the CAR T program. We were able to build that here at UCSF Fresno and the Community Cancer Institute, and this is only the start; we plan to keep building and expanding this program.”
Valley fever, also known as coccidioidomycosis or “cocci,” is a serious illness that affects thousands of Californians each year, and researchers at UCSF Fresno, a referral center for Valley fever, are studying ways to improve disease diagnosis, treatment, and patient outcomes.
Geetha Sivasubramanian, MD, FIDSA, Associate Professor of Medicine and Division Chief of Infectious Diseases at UCSF Fresno, emphasized that the UCSF School of Medicine Regional Campus at Fresno is uniquely positioned to be a hub for Valley fever research. The San Joaquin Valley has the highest burden of the disease, and Fresno serves as a referral center for the diverse populations most affected. Given that Valley fever derives its name from the region, it is both historically and scientifically appropriate for Fresno to lead in advancing research and innovation.
Valley fever causes flu-like symptoms for many, but also serious lung infections, such as pneumonia, and in some cases, serious long-term symptoms that require lifelong treatment. Importantly, the disease is on the rise, with 12,500 cases reported in the state in 2024, the highest year on record in California. This year, the number of cases is expected to be at least as high as the previous year, if not higher. The disease is increasing in areas beyond the Valley, including the north Central Valley and the Central Coast.
As a referral center for Valley fever, UCSF Fresno has three affiliated clinics for patients. Inspire Health Specialty on Kashian Lane, Fresno; United Health Centers Ambulatory Care Center, Wayte Lane Fresno; and United Health Centers Specialty Clinic, Bullard Avenue, Fresno. Many of the patients have severe Valley fever illness with chronic health conditions, such as diabetes.
There is no question that Valley fever is a well-established disease in the state and region. There is much more to learn about it, said Dr. Sivasubramanian, an Inspire Health Medical Group infectious diseases specialist, who is a national expert on Valley fever, and who is a part of the clinical consortium advisory panel to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding Valley fever.
“We don’t yet understand why Valley fever can cause such severe illness in some otherwise healthy individuals. We often see young patients with no prior medical problems who present with an unexpectedly aggressive form of the disease, leaving them with lasting, life-altering complications”, she said.
“While medications are available to treat Valley fever, important questions remain. We don’t fully understand why therapies fail to work in some patients with the most severe disease. We also lack a highly sensitive and specific point-of-care diagnostic test. And here in the Central Valley, many of our patients face significant barriers that limit their ability to access and complete treatment.”
She added, “The bottom line is that there are still many unknowns about this disease, particularly as it affects the Central California population.”
And UCSF Fresno is involved in research to help answer some of those questions.
Research to understand how underlying medical conditions affect patients with Valley fever has already yielded important findings. Working with Mohamed Fayed, MD, a pulmonary and critical care physician and associate clinical professor at UCSF Fresno. Dr. Sivasubramanian has published on the severe forms of Valley fever seen in ICU patients. She has also collaborated with Seema Policepatil, MD, a primary care physician and associate clinical professor at UCSF Fresno, to examine the impact of comorbidities such as diabetes, noting that most patients in her study had very poorly controlled diseases.
“We found that many of these patients lacked access to primary care or endocrinology, and their average A1C, which measures glucose control, was significantly high,” she said. “As expected, they did not do well. They experienced more lung complications from Valley fever, had slower recovery, and many suffered relapsing infections when their blood sugar was not controlled. What we saw was a linear correlation: the higher the A1C, the worse the outcomes with cocci.”
Dr. Sivasubramanian is also collaborating with Dr. Marina Roytman, MD, FACP, professor and director of the UCSF Fresno Liver Program, on a study of Valley fever in patients with severe liver disease.
For patients with chronic diabetes and liver disease, “these are two distinct conditions that intersect, with each one influencing the course of the other,” she explained.
These findings highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, Dr. Sivasubramanian emphasized. “We need to collaborate closely with endocrinologists, hepatologists, and primary care physicians, because managing this cannot be done in isolation.”
Patients from small towns across Kings, Kern, Tulare, and other nearby counties in Central California come to the UCSF Fresno Valley Fever Center for care. Many are diagnosed with the most serious form of the illness, Valley fever meningitis, a dangerous infection that affects the brain and spinal cord.
Valley fever meningitis, the rarest and most severe form, requires lifelong treatment. In a published study of 133 patients, UCSF Fresno found that more than 40% struggled to stay current with their medications. “They were either unable to adhere to treatment, experienced medication failure, or were lost to follow-up,” Dr. Sivasubramanian said. Many required multiple surgeries and repeated hospitalizations.
To build on these findings, an implementation research project is now underway in collaboration with Nancy Burke, PhD, professor of Public Health and Anthropology at UC Merced. Dr. Burke, who focuses on health challenges at the population level, is working with Dr. Sivasubramanian to study patient outcomes in Valley fever meningitis.
Results from the first phase of the pilot study, where researchers sat down and interviewed patients, will be presented in October during the annual meeting of the Infectious Disease Society of America, in Atlanta, Ga.
“What we found was a huge knowledge gap,” Dr. Sivasubramanian said. “Many patients did not realize how serious this infection can become or that it requires lifelong treatment. More patient education is clearly needed.”
The pilot study also revealed significant delays in diagnosis. “Patients were often told they had bronchitis or pneumonia, given antibiotics, and sent to urgent care after urgent care before finally being diagnosed with Valley fever,” she explained. “Even here in Central California, where the disease is well known, these delays are still happening.”
This pilot work dovetails with another project Dr. Sivasubramanian is leading at UCSF Fresno which aims to educate urgent care providers about Valley fever testing and to connect patients with UCSF Fresno clinics for timely care.
Additionally, UCSF Fresno is collaborating with researchers at UC Davis, UCLA, the University of Utah, the University of Arizona in Tucson, and the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, on a range of Valley fever studies. While some projects are testing new medications for the illness and others are exploring therapies that work through the immune system, still others are focused on genetic studies aimed at better understanding the fungus itself.
“There are many different facets to this disease, and it’s exciting to see so many research efforts underway here in Fresno,” Dr. Sivasubramanian said. “Through collaborative work, each study adds a piece to the puzzle, and together they are helping us learn how to diagnose earlier, treat more effectively, and provide better long-term care for our patients.”
UCSF Fresno Mobile Health and Learning (Mobile HeaL) and the Marjaree Mason Center partnered recently to provide primary care services to survivors of domestic abuse and their children in Fresno. The first clinic was held at an undisclosed location in August, and mobile clinics will be offered on an ongoing basis moving forward.
“Survivors of domestic violence who are being assisted by the Marjaree Mason Center are in transition,” said Kenny Banh, MD, director of UCSF Fresno Mobile HeaL and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education at UCSF Fresno. “These are high-need patients who do not have access to their normal routine including primary, pediatric, and sexual health care. UCSF Fresno Mobile HeaL is perfectly suited to help.”
According to California Department of Justice data, in 2023, the San Joaquin Valley had the highest rate of domestic violence calls of all regions in California, with more than 71 calls per 10,000 residents. A report by Tim Sheehan for the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative detailed the startling statistics.
UCSF Fresno Mobile HeaL was set up by Dr. Banh in 2018 as a mobile medical clinic to make health care more accessible to all in the greater Fresno County area and to provide clinical learning experiences for pre-health students and medical students.
Meribeth Wareham, FNP, UCSF Fresno Mobile HeaL, is humbled to be part of a program that recognizes community needs and works to build solutions such as the partnership with Marjaree Mason. “Ultimately, our goal is to help bridge the gap in access to care during a time of crisis, ensuring survivors and their families can maintain their health and have some basic needs met while they work to rebuild their lives.”
The Marjaree Mason Center, the Central Valley’s only comprehensive domestic violence agency, safely and confidentially houses individuals and their children in one of three safe houses and offers a range of other support and services.
This partnership exemplifies what’s possible when organizations come together with a shared vision of access to care, dignity, and healing.
“The impact of Mobile HeaL’s presence at MMC goes beyond checkups and lab work — it sends a powerful message to survivors: your health matters, your life matters, and you are not alone,” said Ashlee Wolf, director of Philanthropy and Communication, Marjaree Mason Center. “We are deeply grateful for UCSF Fresno’s leadership and compassion, and proud to be part of a collaborative effort that treats survivors not just as patients or clients, but as whole people deserving of care, safety, and hope.”
UCSF Fresno’s success and growth are a direct result of the dedication and inspiration of our faculty, staff, residents, fellows, students, alumni, partners, donors and friends. In each issue of Focus, we introduce you to the people who contribute to the greatness of UCSF Fresno through informal interviews.
In this issue, we feature Dimitris A. Sakellariou, MBA, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at the UCSF School of Medicine Regional Campus at Fresno.
Mr. Sakellariou joined UCSF Fresno on Aug. 18, 2025. He has more than two decades of leadership experience in higher education and academic medicine. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer at the USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He previously held a series of progressive leadership roles at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), including Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Operations and Chief Business Administrator.
What is your hometown? Where did you go to High School? Undergrad? Graduate school?
I was born in Athens, Greece, where I attended Athens College, a Greek- American high school. I attended ETH Zurich for my degree in Engineering. I then came to the U.S. and attended the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where I received an MS degree in Electrical Engineering as well as an MBA from the University of Southern California. I fell in love with California and never left.
Why did you choose UCSF Fresno and why did your current position appeal to you?
Over the past 25+ years working at Caltech and USC, I have been very fortunate to work in administrative operations across multiple areas, including Student Affairs, IT, Athletics, Auxiliaries, Academic Affairs, Research Administration, and Academic Health Education. I really enjoy working across diverse areas, and this position certainly allows me to deploy my entire skillset to support UCSF Fresno's mission.
What has your experience been like at UCSF Fresno so far?
I am impressed by the skill with which everyone here wears their multiple hats. I'm also very quickly learning how close-knit this community is and how much they all care about supporting the mission. My family and I feel very welcome in Fresno.
What plans do you have as Chief Administrative Officer at UCSF Fresno?
I look forward to contributing to the team here in Fresno and supporting Vice Dean Jose M. Barral Sanchez’s vision of training and retaining more physicians in the San Joaquin Valley. We have a tremendous opportunity to make a positive change, and I'm thrilled to be part of the team.
What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of your job so far?
I really enjoy tackling different challenges and opportunities from various angles. As mentioned, this CAO role requires me to look at every situation differently and make the best decisions possible. I enjoy watching team members learn, grow, and be successful.
What is at the top of your professional to-do list right now? What is at the top of your personal to-do list?
My goal is to get up to speed quickly and to strengthen relationships with our current partners: Community Health System, our primary clinical partner, as well as with Inspire Health Medical Group, VA Fresno, United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley, and our many other valued partners. I also look forward to new collaborations. These partnerships are the foundation for our continued mutual success, along with a strong working relationship with our colleagues in San Francisco and UC Merced.
Personally, my family and I are looking forward to exploring the many culinary and nature sites around the area. Fresno is truly a hidden gem: there is so much to do within a relatively short distance. Thanks to everyone's recommendations, our list is already quite long.
If they were to make a movie about your life, what actor would you like to play you? And why?
I would choose Telly Savalas, both because of our mutual Greek heritage and because he was not only funny and follicle-challenged but also tough yet compassionate.
Anything else you'd like to share?
I spent the first part of my career in IT, so together with my engineering mindset, I'm always looking for the best way to leverage technology to be more efficient and to make life easier. As they say, engineers help you solve problems you didn’t know you had.
As UCSF Fresno marks the 50th year in its journey of medical education, patient care, research, and community service, the transformative power of philanthropy has never been more evident. The visionary generosity of donors who establish endowed gifts elevates the institution’s ability to attract exceptional faculty members and learners. The funding enhances training experiences and advances groundbreaking research directly benefiting the health and future of the San Joaquin Valley and other Central California communities.
Unlike current-use gifts, endowments provide annual funding in perpetuity. The UCSF Foundation strategically invests the full gift amount, and a percentage of the total endowment value funds the donor’s intended purpose every year thereafter.
At UCSF Fresno — a regional campus of the UCSF School of Medicine — endowments fuel progress while preserving the legacy of pioneering and passionate faculty members and learners. As Jose M. Barral Sanchez, MD, PhD, UCSF Fresno vice dean, explained, they provide the rare combination of permanence and flexibility.
“Unlike short-term grants, endowments provide a steady, predictable stream of funding without an end date, which is incredibly important for UCSF Fresno’s future,” Dr. Barral Sanchez said. “They help us pursue important research and enrich training programs that directly support our communities.”
Barral Sanchez also recognizes that endowments play a key role in recruiting and retaining faculty members and creating a learning environment that entices trainees to stay in the Central Valley.
“Endowments not only reflect that the community values UCSF Fresno but they are also a way of letting faculty members know they are valued here, which enhances our ability to recruit and retain outstanding people,” he said. “For trainees, endowments create a positive environment that compels many to stay and practice in the valley.”
Endowed gift enables training in lifesaving technology
That was the hope of Gene Kallsen, MD, a beloved faculty member known as the “father” of emergency medical services in Fresno County. Kallsen mentored hundreds of trainees during his 40-year career at UCSF Fresno. Colleagues, former patients, mentees, friends, clinical partners, and family established an endowment to keep his dream alive.
One of his mentees, Danielle Campagne, MD, FACEP, now serves as UCSF Fresno’s chief of emergency medicine and holds the Gene W. Kallsen, MD, Endowed Chair in Emergency Medicine. This recognition has deep personal and professional meaning for her.
“He was my first boss, my mentor, and a true visionary,” Campagne said. “Being the recipient of an endowed chair in Gene’s name is an honor. It motivates me to continue his legacy of helping trainees truly understand rural medicine, and to stay and practice emergency medicine in our community,” she said.
In the spirit of Kallsen’s foresight and ambition to be a leader in emergency medicine, Campagne uses funding from the endowed chair to train faculty members and learners on new lifesaving technologies.
Ultrasound, she explained, is becoming an always-accessible tool in the Emergency Department, allowing physicians to quickly assess, make a diagnosis, or rule out conditions at the bedside without waiting for traditional imaging. This can result in better outcomes for the patient. Campagne allocated some of the funds from the professorship to send Jeff Nahn, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, to an advanced ultrasound course. He brought back added expertise and trained more than 50 UCSF Fresno faculty physicians in the use of ultrasound technology.
The staff’s new ultrasound skills prompted Community Regional Medical Center to acquire state-of-the-art ultrasound machines that provide faster diagnosis and lifesaving measurements when a patient is in immediate danger.
This led to the launch of the UCSF Fresno Advanced Emergency Medicine Ultrasonography Fellowship — the first of its kind in our region — which trains physicians to serve as ultrasound leaders in academic and community hospital settings.
For Dr. Campagne, the ripple effect is the true power of endowed support.
“The money really matters because it trickles down to patients, faculty members, and learners here and across the country,” she said. “Training one person can mean that dozens of clinicians gain new skills, which improves patient flow, speeds diagnoses, and ultimately saves lives.”
Family and Community Medicine faculty members explore high-impact opportunities
Endowment funding also provides new opportunities for faculty members in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Recently, the Alex Moir, MD, Endowed Fund in Family and Community Medicine came to fruition. Named for the former chief of that department at UCSF Fresno, the fund advances work in rural medicine — the heart of UCSF Fresno’s mission and the lifeblood of Moir’s decades-long career, which was cut short 10 years ago by a tragic skiing accident.
Ivan Gomez, MD, chief of family and community medicine, reflected on Moir’s compassionate care, his connection with the Central Valley, and his notable impact on his trainees.
“Dr. Moir mentored me in my formative years in community medicine,” Gomez said. “What stood out was that he helped us really understand the community and rural medicine. It feels good to support initiatives that will continue to honor what he did for his patients and what he brought to his colleagues and mentees.”
The consistent funding stream provided by the endowment will empower the Department of Family and Community Medicine faculty to pursue community-driven research and initiatives. Gomez has requested proposals for research and programs that will honor Moir’s commitment to the community. The first round of proposals included developing multilingual maternal health education tools for new parents, piloting survival and heatstroke research projects, and supporting faculty-initiated studies that address the realities of rural practice.
“I would love to see the work supported by this funding directly impact our rural communities — whether expanding a clinical service line, creating a rural medicine track, or developing research that improves health outcomes,” Gomez said. “That would be the best way to carry forward Alex’s legacy.”
To learn more about the different types of endowed funds and other giving options, please contact Kathleen Smith, associate director of development for UCSF Fresno, at (559) 499-6426 or [email protected]
The Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators announced the Academy Class of 2025. Four UCSF School of Medicine faculty at the Fresno Regional Campus are among the new members.
Congratulations to:
- Varsha Babu, MD, Department of Medicine
- Lin Li, MD, Department of Medicine
- Liana Milanes, MD, Department of Family and Community Medicine
- Christine A. Nelson, MD, Department of Pediatrics
Drs. Babu, Li, Milanes, and Nelson join a distinguished group of health professionals and educators from the UCSF School of Medicine. Inductees in the Academy of Medical Educators demonstrate excellence in direct teaching of learners and/or faculty development for teachers and educators.
Kudos to the Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Awards recipients at UCSF Fresno.
UCSF Fresno Department of Emergency Medicine
- Stephen Haight, MD
- Miranda Lewis, MD
- Fernando Macias, MD
- Scott Reichelderfer, MD
UCSF Fresno Department of Medicine
- Hiral Patel, DO
- Hebah Ghanem, MD
UCSF Fresno Department of Pediatrics
- Cynthia Curry, MD
- Janice Kezirian, MD
- Tamiko Kido, MD
These peer-nominated awards highlight outstanding front-line teachers of learners, mentors of learners and faculty at all UCSF teaching sites for the 2024-2025 Academic Year.
Academy of Medical Educators inductees and Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Awards recipients were recognized at the Celebration of New Members at UCSF Parnassus on Sept. 17.
Congratulations in advance to Gregory Simpson, MD, UCSF professor and division chief of Dermatology at UCSF Fresno. Dr. Simpson will be installed as the 2026 president of the Fresno Madera Medical Society (FMMS).
Kudos in advance to Alex Sherriffs, MD, who will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Fresno Madera Medical Society. Dr. Sherriffs is co-medical director of the UCSF Fresno Alzheimer & Memory Center and has a UCSF School of Medicine volunteer appointment with the UCSF Fresno Department of Family and Community Medicine.
Kudos in advance to Amir Fathi, MD, UCSF associate professor of Surgery, will receive the Fresno Madera Medical Society Community Service/Special Project Award for the Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Tumor Board, a multidisciplinary program that has transformed cancer care in the Central Valley.
Drs. Sherriffs, Simpson and Fathi will be recognized at the FMMS Installation & Awards Gala on Nov. 21.
Congratulations to Marina Roytman, MD, Department of Medicine and director of the UCSF Fresno Liver Program, for being named one of the Marjaree Mason Center’s Top 10 Professional Women. These awards honor women in the Central Valley who have made a significant positive impact in the community. Honorees were recognized at the 42nd Annual Awards Luncheon on Oct. 15.
Congratulations to Renee Kinman, MD, Department of Pediatrics, on receiving a Leonard P. Rome CATCH Visiting Professorship Award. The purpose of the award is to promote advocacy for children and advance the field of community pediatrics.
Kudos to Rais Vohra, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, and the Fresno County Department of Public Health, for being published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), Vol. 74, No. 24, the week of July 3, 2025. The team was recognized for their rapid response to save lives and protect public health during an outbreak from home-jarred prickly pear cactus that hospitalized eight patients in 2024.
Congratulations to the UCSF Fresno staff members who were honored with Milestone Service Awards. UCSF Fresno proudly recognizes those who have reached a service milestone of five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 or 50 years. Staff were recognized at an All-Staff Meeting and posed for photos with Vice Dean Jose M. Barral Sanchez, MD, PhD, (right) and Michael A. Chagoya, Human Resources administrative assistant III, (left).
25-Year Milestone
Brandy Ramos Nikaido, Public Affairs, Communications and Government Relations
20-Year Milestone
- Vanessa Gonzalez, Department of Family and Community Medicine
- Dieu Nguyen, Facilities
- Nancy Oloizia, Department of Medicine
15-Year Milestone
- Gerri Cortez-Ahart, Continuing Dental Education
- Sandra Ortega, Department of Medicine
- Valerie Pamatmat, Department of Surgery
10-Year Milestone
- Breana Dennie, OMFS
- Lee Hagerty, ITS, Clinical Skills and Simulation Center
- Barbara Price, Department of Psychiatry
- Ariana Zaghmouri, Department of Emergency Medicine
Five-Year Milestone
- Patti Bianchi, Department of Psychiatry
- Paz Delsid, Office of Health Career Pathways
- Marie Martinez, Undergraduate Medical Education
- Jeanette Naranjo, Department of Emergency Medicine
Kudos to the following staff for receiving
Spot Awards:
- Karina Reyes Banuelos, Office of Health Career Pathways
- Hope Delgado, Office of Health Career Pathways
- Trina Hughes, SJV PRIME, Undergraduate Medical Education
- Michelle Newman, Graduate Medical Education
- Seeka Yang, Clinical Research Center
Team Spot Award
- Leslie Irion and Patti Bianchi, Department of Psychiatry