UCSF San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (SJV PRIME) students shared tears of joy, hugs and shouts of excitement on Match Day 2026, when they learned, along with medical students across the country, where they will complete their residency training and take the next step in their medical careers.
On March 20, at noon ET (9 a.m. PT), 50,000 medical students nationwide opened envelopes that held their residency matches. For Austin O’Callaghan Langhoff, the moment was one of happy relief. “Once you open the letter, all your anxiety goes away, and you can finally start planning where you’ll be. It’s another part of the journey.”
O’Callaghan Langhoff, who grew up in Redding, California, feels fortunate to now call Fresno home. After graduating from Fresno State, he joined SJV PRIME at UCSF Fresno. On Match Day, he learned he matched with his top choice: the UCSF Fresno Internal Medicine Residency Program.
“I really want to be a great clinician, someone who takes excellent care of patients and who applies everything I’ve learned from mentors and faculty at UCSF and UCSF Fresno,” O’Callaghan Langhoff said.
UCSF Fresno, a regional campus of the UCSF School of Medicine and largest academic physician training program in the San Joaquin Valley, filled all available residency positions this year. During a breakfast celebration, the SJV PRIME students—including Langhoff and Alyssa Rivera—opened their Match Day envelopes, surrounded by family, friends, faculty, and staff.
“I’ve worked hard for this moment for the past eight to nine years, the day when I finally found out where I will be a doctor,” said Rivera. She was excited to match with the UCSF Fresno Emergency Medicine Residency Program.
O’Callaghan Langhoff and Rivera were among six students of the 14 SJV PRIME students who matched residency programs in the Central Valley. Thirteen of the students matched in California and 12 matched with UC campuses.
“My heart was pounding but I felt a big sense of relief when I opened my letter and saw my number one choice,” said Rafael Verduzco Guillen, another SJV PRIME student who participated in Match Day at UCSF Fresno. “My commitment to medicine has always been to return to my community and help uplift underserved populations.”
Guillen will return to his hometown of Bakersfield, CA, to complete an Emergency Medicine residency at Kern Medical.
“One thing I’ll carry forward is what UCSF instilled in us: to care for everyone, regardless of their background,” he said.
The day’s celebrations continued with a campus community lunch, where UCSF Fresno program directors announced the names of all incoming interns and fellows.
Emily Fourt, DO, will complete chief residency in June and is thrilled to join UCSF Fresno’s Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship Program.
“I worked with the pulmonary and critical care fellows and attendings in the ICU over the three years of my residency which inspired me to continue my training,” said Fourt, currently an Internal Medicine chief resident at UCSF Fresno. “The excellent exposure to pathology and the support of a familiar community made me choose to stay at UCSF Fresno for three more years.”
UCSF Fresno Vice Dean Jose M. Barral Sanchez, MD, PhD, attended the celebration to thank staff, residents, fellows, faculty and program directors of all Graduate Medical Education programs for their commitment to recruiting top candidates.
“Today marks the culmination of months of dedication recruiting applicants to join our outstanding medical education programs to serve our communities right here in the Central Valley,” said Barral Sanchez. “Our collaboration with clinical partners and shared commitment to exceptional patient care are the foundation of who we are and our training programs.”
Stacy Sawtelle Vohra, MD, UCSF Fresno Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education, presented the numbers of the Match Day statistics.
The UCSF Fresno medical residency programs that participated in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) received 7,187 applications and conducted 1,128 interviews for 81 positions. The UCSF Fresno fellowship programs that took part in the October/December NRMP match received 2,132 applications and conducted 407 interviews for 25 positions. Non-NRMP programs filled available positions through another matching service or through interviews and offers.
UCSF Fresno will welcome over 100 new trainees later this summer.
A regional campus of the UCSF School of Medicine, UCSF Fresno plays a vital role in expanding access to health care in the San Joaquin Valley and Central California; training residents, fellows, and medical students for the region and state; conducting research that addresses regional health issues; and academically preparing students from the Valley to pursue careers in health and medicine. Established in 1975, UCSF Fresno celebrated 50 years of training doctors and improving health in the heart of California in 2025.
Liana Milanés, MD, FAAFP, a UCSF Associate Professor in the UCSF Fresno Department of Family and Community Medicine and a recipient of the Henry J. Kaiser Excellence in Teaching Award, knows the day she realized that teaching medical students and residents was a dream within reach.
Ten years ago, as a chief resident at the UCSF School of Medicine Regional Campus at Fresno (UCSF Fresno), she accepted an invitation to a faculty development seminar and felt camaraderie with the professors. She had been drawn to teaching during medical school and residency and held faculty in the highest esteem, so much so that she had hesitated to consider pursuing academic medicine. After the seminar, she decided to apply to join the Family and Community Medicine faculty.
“I knew I could really work with this group of people,” she said, and teaching then became more than “a dream that I hadn’t even let myself dream.”
Today, as the residency program advisor and mentor, and chief resident leadership coach, she maintains an exuberance for teaching, which she attributes to an intangible quality. “Teaching has always felt like magic to me.” Beyond its mystical element, Milanés finds a scientific side to teaching that fascinates her. “It used to be old thinking that if you could do the work of doctoring, you could teach it. Now, we’re in a philosophically different place. There actually is evidence for teaching, and we should be as evidence-based in our teaching as we are in our clinical practice.”
For her educational skills. Milanés was bestowed the 2025 Henry J. Kaiser Excellence in Teaching Award last spring, and it was announced at the UCSF Fresno Commencement. She will give this year’s Commencement address on June 11.
Since 1969, UCSF has given the Awards to only four UCSF professors annually, who are recognized as exceptional faculty instructors. One of the Awards is bestowed upon a faculty member who teaches at UCSF Fresno.
2025 Recipients
Excellence in Classroom Setting: Lundy Campbell, MD, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care
Excellence for Inpatient Care Setting: Nancy Choi, MD, Department of Medicine
Excellence in Ambulatory Care Setting: Mimi Lu, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine
Excellence in Teaching at UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program: Liana Milanés, MD, FAAFP, Department of Family and Community Medicine, UCSF Fresno
Excellence for Volunteer Clinical Professor (Posthumous): Brian W. Lin, MD, FACEP. Department of Emergency Medicine
In 2025, Milanés was also inducted into the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The Academy, established in 2000, fosters excellence in teaching, supports medical educators, and promotes innovation in curriculum development.
Milanés’ recognitions are well deserved, said Jose M. Barral Sanchez, MD, PhD, Vice Dean at UCSF Fresno. “UCSF Fresno is fortunate to have Dr. Milanés among our faculty. She is an outstanding teacher and role model, and her teaching skills, hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm are so appreciated by her residents, fellows, and students.”
Her approach to teaching can best be described as flexible. Over the years, she has learned to adapt her methods to meet the needs of individual learners. “I think the best teachers teach differently in every scenario,” Milanés said. “That sounds really hard, but the idea is to learn enough about the person you're interacting with, be flexible, and have different skills so you can meet their needs and be the teacher they need.”
Only students and residents can nominate faculty for the Kaiser teaching award, and comments on the nomination form, submitted anonymously, reveal Milanés’ commitment to her learners.
Dr. Milanes is the kindest, most patient person I have ever worked with. She always goes the next step to make sure all your questions are heard. I have never felt so safe in a teaching space as I have with her. I strive to be an attending just like her.
Milanés encountered challenges along her path to becoming a physician. Born in Cuba, she immigrated with her family to the United States when she was nine years old and struggled to learn English. She aims to be a role model of humanism in medicine because, she said, it is a key to a rewarding practice. She encourages mentees to develop problem-solving strategies, be self-reflective, and monitor and maintain their wellness.
Her mentor during residency, Alex Moir, MD, taught her the importance of fostering empathy and compassion, and receiving the Alex Moir Inspirational Leadership Award in 2019 was an honor. The award is presented by the UCSF Fresno Family and Community Medicine department to honor Moir’s legacy. Moir was chief of the department when he died in a skiing accident in 2015.
UCSF Fresno is a special place for teaching and patient care, Milanés said. “There are big academic institutions that work with lots of residents, and then smaller programs that have very dedicated one-on-one faculty, and you get to do a lot of procedures.” UCSF Fresno is the best of both programs, she said. In addition to precepting and teaching, Milanes has a family practice and is board-certified in Addiction Medicine.
Her trainees recognize her skills in teaching and clinical practice.
She is an outstanding mentor and physician who balances patient care and physician education seamlessly.
Milanés has found support as a medical educator. Soon after her faculty appointment, she took advantage of a year-long faculty development fellowship at UCSF in San Francisco. For three days a month, she attended intensive sessions and workshops on teaching semantics, best practices for giving feedback to trainees, and writing evaluations. “That was invaluable and incredibly formative,” she said.
She has become an enthusiastic proponent of professional development programs, including sessions for residents. “As residents go through their program and become more senior, they’re then expected to teach the juniors and medical students, so they also need teaching skills.”
Teachers need ongoing education themselves, and she co-chairs the UCSF Fresno Educators Essentials, a series of two full-day workshops covering topics such as curriculum development, assessment, feedback, and learner support.
A quarterly faculty dinner is a specific teaching event that has received positive feedback, and that Milanés is particularly proud to help facilitate. “We gather for community and relationship building. In these sessions, I present on topics like educator identity, crucial conversations, managing microaggressions, navigating challenging feedback conversations, and other faculty development topics.”
Her message to faculty: “We should constantly be evaluating how we’re teaching and making sure we are as evidence-based in our teaching as we are in our practice, our clinical practice, and not assume the way I learned it is the way it has to be taught or learned.”
Dr. Milanes’ teaching style is accommodating and thorough in a way that makes the audience want to learn.
Overall, she’s a cool 10/10 would recommend.
Selfishly, Milanés said teaching makes her a better clinician. “It keeps me fresh and learning new things constantly.” It’s also heartening to think former trainees are practicing now, and “some of my values, some of my philosophy, is out there in the community. It feels more impactful than just me practicing.”
Looking ahead, Milanés sees herself continuing to teach and learn from trainees. “I just hope to stay flexible. To stay visible also. To be present and visible as myself here.”
Charney Burk, MD, assistant program director and assistant clinical professor of Emergency Medicine at UCSF Fresno, recalled a time during residency when she was unable to end a pediatric resuscitation attempt.
“I was a third-year resident, and it was the first time I led the team in pediatric resuscitation efforts,” Burk said. “I found myself unable to stop. It was emotionally wrecking. My faculty member was cognizant and stepped in and called it for me.”
That experience was the inspiration behind Burk starting Caring for the Caregiver at UCSF Fresno. Modeled after a similar program at UCSF with the same name and other programs across the U.S., Caring for the Caregiver is a peer-support program for supporting physicians through the challenges of residency training and practicing medicine, including second-victim syndrome, the severe emotional and physical trauma experienced by health care providers following an unanticipated or adverse patient outcome.
“After that code, I was nauseous and felt terrible,” said Burk. “My faculty member was wonderful, but there didn’t seem to be a good avenue for reckoning with the feelings and the shame that comes with having such intense feelings. What I realize now is that everybody has those feelings. We just don’t talk about it.”
Burk, working with Stacy Sawtelle Vohra, MD, Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official at UCSF Fresno, applied for and received an Innovations Funding Award from the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators. In 2024, Caring for the Caregiver was launched at UCSF Fresno. The program, now funded by UCSF Fresno Risk Management, works by training faculty members and residents to serve as peer supporters to provide confidential assistance and a safe space for trainees to talk through their emotions and feelings.
The program is hybrid, offering in-person and on-call support. Trainees log into the website to submit a request for peer support. Support may be requested anonymously if desired. Trainees can also reach out directly to the on-call peer supporter.
In addition, many conversations happen organically. Peer supporters wear Caring for the Caregiver badges, and trainees may approach them any time to talk. Peer supporters are also encouraged to reach out to trainees who have recently had a particularly challenging patient care case or encounter.
“Physician wellness is a priority at UCSF Fresno,” said Sawtelle Vohra. “In addition to training residents and fine-tuning their clinical expertise within their fields, we strive to equip trainees with the tools and resources to help them thrive as clinicians and as individuals. The very best patient care happens when those two aspects are in harmony. I applaud Dr. Burk for making Caring for the Caregiver available at our campus.”
Currently, Caring for the Caregiver is open to residents and medical students at UCSF Fresno, but the program is in the process of expanding to include UCSF faculty at the Fresno Regional Campus as well.
A needs assessment survey of residents at UCSF Fresno prior to starting Caring for the Caregiver revealed that 85% of them experience second-victim syndrome. A recent survey of faculty indicated they experience second-victim syndrome about 84% of the time.
It’s a side effect of being a physician, said Burk. The adage is very clear; you must care for yourself to successfully care for others.
Flight attendants instruct passengers to put the oxygen mask on themselves first before helping those around them. That’s because in the sudden loss of cabin air pressure, a person has seconds before losing consciousness, rendering them unable to care for themself much less anyone else. Physician wellness is a similar concept. Caring for the Caregiver at UCSF Fresno strives to help doctors balance providing the very best care for patients while caring for themselves.
Caring for the Caregiver is available online for the UCSF Fresno regional campus community at: https://fresno.ucsf.edu/caring4caregiver
A UCSF Fresno hepatology fellow’s retrospective chart review of a large cohort of bariatric surgery patients shows obstructive sleep apnea warrants attention as a potential risk factor for fatty liver disease, and bariatric surgery for severe obesity confers long-term benefits for liver health, among other findings.
Significant reductions over time in steatosis (accumulation of excess fat in the liver) and fibrosis (scar tissue) were documented in patients undergoing bariatric surgery with severe obesity, as reported in an abstract presented by UCSF Fresno Hepatology Fellow Kazi Haque, MD, at the Northern California Society of Clinical Gastroenterology earlier this spring.
The abstract on the long-term impact of metabolic and bariatric surgery on fatty liver disease was selected as the top abstract at the conference and has been accepted for presentation at Digestive Disease Week, a global meeting of hepatologists and gastroenterologists, to be held this May in Chicago.
The study involved a retrospective chart review of 632 patients who underwent surgery for severe obesity from January 2020 to August 2021 and confirmed that the procedure has a significant impact on reducing scarring and loss of fat in the liver.
Three additional abstracts were presented by Haque at the Northern California conference and will be submitted to the American College of Gastroenterology later this year.
One of the abstracts shows obstructive sleep apnea as a possible underlying risk factor for the development of fatty liver disease. The known risk factors for the disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and obesity. “We’re not saying it (obstructive sleep apnea) is causative, but it could be a potential link to developing fatty liver disease if you have other risk factors as well,” Haque said.
For another abstract, he looked at the cumulative effect of multiple risk factors, including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and obesity, for developing fatty liver disease and steatosis. The results show that the more risk factors you have, the greater your risk of developing steatosis and scarring.
A surprising result from the study was that diabetes was the predominant predictor of fibrosis, and Haque said more focus should be paid to educating patients about the effects of diabetes. “It’s important for us to contribute to the care of our patients,” he said.
The fourth abstract presented shows results from an assessment of the limitations of vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) for measuring fibrosis and fat. The non-invasive procedure has been studied widely, but not in the severely obese population.
Haque and Morgan McGrath, MAS, an analyst and statistician at Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital, created a logistic regression model to evaluate the accuracy of VCTE in heavier individuals. The results suggest that higher steatosis and Body Mass Index levels may contribute to inaccurate VCTE results. There is a need for caution in interpreting VCTE liver stiffness measurements in patients with severe obesity, Haque said. “We need to look at the whole picture and determine whether a patient has liver disease.”
Haque’s research findings presented in the abstracts are important for clinicians, said Marina Roytman, MD, FACP, UCSF clinical professor at UCSF Fresno, interim chief for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, director of the Liver Program, and Inspire Health hepatologist.
“Knowing these results will certainly help us take better care of our patients,” Roytman said. “Doing research like this and presenting it at national conferences and eventually publishing it in full papers, which Kazi is working on, will also make an impact not only on our population but on the population at large.”
At just 20 years old, Joslyn Conchas is already on a clear path toward becoming a physician.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in Human Biology from University of California, Merced next year, she will continue her training through the San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education+ (SJV PRIME+) and complete the full UCSF School of Medicine curriculum in the San Joaquin Valley.
“I don’t see myself in any other field other than medicine and being a physician; I know I was meant for this,” said Conchas. “It’s freeing to know I have people who want me to succeed and will help me.”
The path to becoming a physician is often long and demanding, but Conchas feels confident knowing she has support every step of the way as an SJV PRIME+ student.
After earning a bachelor of science, she will complete the first year and a half of the UCSF School of Medicine coursework at UC Merced, followed by two and a half years of clinical rotations at the UCSF School of Medicine Regional Campus at Fresno (UCSF Fresno). She will then apply for medical residency.
SJV PRIME+ is the first BS-to-MD program in the San Joaquin Valley. Developed through a partnership between UC Merced, the UCSF School of Medicine, and UCSF Fresno, the program recruits high school graduates from across the region and trains them entirely within the Valley. The goal is to prepare a new generation of physicians who come from the communities they serve and understand the region’s unique health challenges.
Conchas is one of six children in her family and the first to pursue a career in medicine. A Fresno native, she attended Sunnyside High School where she participated in the Doctors Academy.
“My grandpa was really sick and was in and out of the hospital. I want to help people going through the same challenges I did. I want to be a part of the change and improve health care,” said Conchas.
In 2023,15 students, including Conchas, were accepted into the inaugural SJV PRIME+ cohort. Since then, the program has admitted 15 students each year. When fully scaled, SJV PRIME+ will enroll up to 60 baccalaureate students across cohorts.
“Together, UCSF, UCSF Fresno, and UC Merced are uniquely positioned to transform medical education in the San Joaquin Valley, uniting top-tier biomedical research, a mission-driven approach to health care, and deep regional ties to train the next generation of doctors and health leaders who reflect and serve their communities," said Margo Vener, MD, MPH, Chair and Assistant Dean of Medical Education at UC Merced and Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine at UCSF.
The San Joaquin Valley faces one of the most severe physician shortages in the nation and has among the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios in the country. Many Valley communities experience significant health disparities, with life expectancy in some areas up to 20 years shorter than in other parts of California.
Vener emphasized that strong internal support from UC Merced leadership, faculty, and staff – through teaching, mentorship, outreach, and advocacy – is essential to the program’s success and to improving health outcomes across the Valley.
“Research shows that physicians are most likely to practice where they complete their training ‒making it essential to educate and train future doctors here. By cultivating a locally rooted medical workforce, SJV PRIME+ directly addresses this critical shortage and improves access to care for Valley residents,” said Vener.
Since 1975, UCSF – one of the country’s top-ranked medical schools – has played a central role in expanding medical education in the San Joaquin Valley through UCSF Fresno, now the largest physician training program between Sacramento and Los Angeles.
Building on this legacy, UCSF partnered with UC Merced, a university nationally recognized for innovation, inclusive excellence, and strong support for first-generation college students.
Once Conchas completes her education under the SJV PRIME+ program, she will be an SJV PRIME medical student with medical rotations at UCSF Fresno.
“The existence and excellence of this program is a testament to the vision of the educational leaders at UCSF, UCSF Fresno, and UC Merced and to the vision and dedication of the students who have chosen this path to serve their communities in the San Joaquin Valley,” said Loren Alving, MD, SJV PRIME director. “We are excited to welcome them to our campus and we look forward to strengthening our partnership with our other campuses as we work toward expansion of the program in the future.”
For Conchas, the program makes a long-held dream feel within reach. She says SJV PRIME+ makes the journey to becoming a doctor more attainable through consistent faculty guidance and the close support of her cohort.
“I can’t even describe it in words. Sometimes I can’t believe I actually have conditional acceptance into medical school,” said Conchas. “It’s nice to know I’m doing what I want to do.”
She hopes to begin residency within five years and become a practicing physician before the age of 30 – serving patients in the San Joaquin Valley.
San Joaquin Valley-based high school students, who are interested in the opportunity to begin their pursuit of an MD degree at UC Merced can apply to the SJV PRIME+ program starting October 1, by selecting UC Merced and a qualifying major on their University of California application.
Applicants will also need to submit a supplemental application by the first Friday of December. SJV PRIME+ BS/MD is designed for high school students who are committed to pursuing a career in medicine and dedicated to serving the unique needs of the San Joaquin Valley.
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 Focus, we introduce you to the people and in this case, a four-legged friend, who contributes to the greatness of UCSF Fresno through informal interviews.
In this issue, we feature Jillian, DOG, UCSF Fresno’s Therapy K9, who "matched" with us earlier this year thanks to a Wellness Mini-Grant.
What is your name? Nickname?
My name is Jillian, but hoomans call me "Jilly Bean," too!
What is your hometown? Where did you go to School?
I was born and raised in Fresno. I went to school for my Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog certifications at Off Leash K9 Training in Fresno.
What is your current position at UCSF Fresno? And how long have you worked here?
I am the UCSF Fresno Therapy K9, I have been here since Feb. 18 of this year.
What does a typical day look like for you?
That depends, if I come to work with Tom Johnson, Public Safety Ambassador Supervisor at UCSF Fresno, I start my day early with a super special breakfast. Once we are at work, we start making our rounds to all UCSF Fresno departments. I love the smiles and affection (and sometimes snacks) that I get while doing this part of my job. I also get to run around outside in the Amphitheater. I enjoy making sure the squirrels know they are being watched and to stay in line.
The days that I don't work at UCSF Fresno, I go to the horse stables and run around with all the goats, horses and dogs there. The stable squirrels know I'm the boss there, too.
What is your favorite part of being the K9 therapy dog at UCSF Fresno?
The smiles. It is all the smiles I see when I walk into rooms and down the hallways. Hoomans seem to forget the stress of their day when they spend time with me, I love that! The scratches are cool, too. I do like those quite a bit.
Who is your favorite person at UCSF Fresno and why?
Don't tell him, but it's Tom. He spoils me on the days we spend together here at UCSF Fresno. He makes sure I get plenty of water and treats to keep me going. He lets me play outside on the grass all I want and helps me get into all the departments so I can spend time with all the other hoomans in the building.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I like to chat with neighbor dogs and sleep. I really love to sleep. Beauty sleep is very important, you know.
What is at the top of your professional and personal to-do lists?
I am currently working on my Advanced Canine Good Citizen certificate, because education and self-improvement are always important.
What would you like people to know about you that we didn't ask?
I would like everyone to know that I appreciate them just as much as they appreciate me. Tom and I are very thankful for the opportunity UCSF Fresno has given us, and we intend to bring smiles to work with us for a very long time to come. We truly love being part of this community.
Members of the UCSF Fresno campus community including clinical and educational partners: To schedule a visit with Jillian aka “Jilly Bean,” complete and submit a request form. Please submit requests at least 72 hours in advance. Email [email protected] with any questions or to re-schedule.
In emergency medicine, seconds matter. A collapsed lung, internal bleeding, or a failing heart can escalate from critical to catastrophic in moments. Now, thanks to a generous donation from the Isnardi Foundation, UCSF Fresno’s Clinical Skills and Simulation Center has acquired four state-of-the-art ultrasound devices. In the Simulation Center, physicians training at UCSF Fresno will have the tools they need to practice and refine lifesaving skills, learning to see what's happening inside the body — and act on it — precisely when it matters most.
A Partnership Built on Sustained Commitment to the Valley
The foundation's dedication to the UCSF School of Medicine Regional Campus at Fresno spans years of transformative support, reflecting an enduring commitment to medical education in the Central Valley. To date, the foundation’s generous contributions to the Clinical Skills and Simulation Center have directly impacted UCSF Fresno’s ability to deliver high-quality immersive education to trainees and community partners.
This latest donation strengthens an area where UCSF Fresno has already established itself as a regional leader.
Over the past two years, the institution has made ultrasound education a strategic priority. It recently launched an Advanced Emergency Medicine Ultrasonography Fellowship — the first of its kind in the country — which trains physicians to serve as ultrasound leaders in academic and community hospitals nationwide. In addition, more than 50 faculty physicians have been trained in ultrasound, and ultrasound courses have been added to the curriculum across emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, OB/GYN, surgery, and pediatrics.
The Isnardi Foundation's gift ensures that the infrastructure matches this ambition, providing the necessary equipment to offer robust, hands-on training to residents, fellows, and faculty members, and cementing UCSF Fresno's position as a center of excellence in point-of-care ultrasound.
“Partnership between the Isnardi Foundation and UCSF is essential because it allows academic expertise to synergize with flexible funding and mission-driven support, promoting health care education, research, and community impact to advance faster and in a manner that is pertinent to the Central Valley,” said José M. Barral Sánchez, MD, PhD, Vice Dean for the UCSF Fresno regional campus.
“Throughout the years, support from the Isnardi Foundation has allowed our Simulation Center to be a state-of-the-art facility, particularly in the areas of obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, interventional cardiology, and now ultrasonography,” Barral Sánchez said. “This latest gift will enable residents to master point-of-care ultrasound in the Clinical Skills and Simulation Center. In this controlled environment, trainees can learn before facing real-life situations.”
Seeing What Matters When It Matters Most
Ultrasound in the Emergency Department is a quiet revolution. Unlike traditional imaging that can require transporting unstable patients to radiology, point-of-care ultrasound brings real-time imaging directly to the bedside. In the hands of a skilled clinician, it is almost like a direct window into the inner structures of the human body; it can reveal internal bleeding, a collapsed lung, heart failure, or pregnancy complications within minutes — information that can mean the difference between life and death.
Research supports this finding: Point-of-care ultrasound shortens the time to diagnosis and treatment, reduces the length of stay in emergency departments and intensive care units, and in many critically ill patients, improves survival. It's no longer an optional choice.
Emergency medicine residency programs across the country now recognize ultrasound as a core competency, essential to modern practice. At UCSF Fresno, an ultrasound course is a requirement for all medical students. Having the new equipment permanently available in the Clinical Skills and Simulation Center will enhance the campus’ ability to offer the course more frequently and to more students.
Another benefit of the new machines, says Lee Hagerty, simulation education coordinator, is that they are identical to those used in the local hospital where UCSF Fresno residents and fellows practice.
“This ensures continuity between practice and patient care,” Hagerty said. “Trainees build skills on the same equipment they use with patients, which gives them confidence and competency, and better prepares them for high-quality patient care.”
Building Confidence Before the Stakes Are High
Learning ultrasound isn't just about understanding the technology; it's also about developing the judgment to interpret what you see under pressure and the confidence to act on it. That's where simulation training becomes so valuable.
At the Clinical Skills and Simulation Center, residents practice on ultrasound-compatible mannequins and standardized patients in scenarios that reflect real-world patient care. Studies show that when residents train with ultrasound in a structured, hands-on way, their diagnostic accuracy and procedural skills improve dramatically.
Even with these benefits, in busy clinical settings, opportunities for supervised ultrasound practice can be limited. With four dedicated machines in the Simulation Center, every resident across multiple specialties — including emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, and pediatrics — will now have the opportunity for repeated, deliberate practice.
This broad integration ensures learners across patient populations can build skills throughout their training — not just occasional exposure when time and equipment happen to align.
A Gift That Multiplies Across the Valley
The Isnardi Foundation's donation does more than upgrade equipment. It invests in a pipeline of highly skilled physicians who will care for patients throughout the Central Valley and beyond for decades to come.
“Having state-of-the-art equipment in our Simulation Center enables us to develop innovative curricula and pedagogical approaches, which, in turn, help us recruit physician educators of a high caliber,” says Barral Sánchez. “This investment also ensures that more physicians are trained in point-of-care ultrasound, a skill that can save lives. This gift extends far beyond our campus. It strengthens the health of the entire Central Valley.”
For more information about supporting UCSF Fresno visit fresno.ucsf.edu/give.
UCSF Fresno recognizes innovative ideas that foster wellbeing, strengthen connections, and support a healthier workplace at UCSF Fresno through Wellness Mini-Grants.
Congratulations to UCSF Fresno’s Wellness Mini-Grant Winners:
Tom Johnson, UCSF PD, Public Safety
Seema Policepatil, MD, Department of Medicine
Hebah Ghanem, MD, Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases
Milena Ocon, Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery
Shreela Mishra, MD, Department of Medicine, Endocrinology
Leigh McCarthy, UCSF Fresno Neurology
Congratulations to Geetha Sivasubramanian, MD, chief of the division of Infectious Diseases at UCSF Fresno, on joining the Undergraduate Medical Education team as Inquiry Advisor.
Congratulations and welcome to Kao Houa Vang, MD, SJV PRIME Class of 2022, on joining the Department of Family and Community Medicine as faculty.
Congratulations to all recipients of the Innovations Funding for Education Grants awarded for 2026-2027. The Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators is pleased to announce 24 new Innovations Funding awards for the 2026-2027 academic year. Totaling just over $440,000, these intramural grants address a range of priorities in teaching and learning approaches and curricular content areas and are expected to make significant contributions to educational excellence at UCSF. “Stories of the Central Valley: Interdepartmental Workshops in Narrative Medicine at UCSF Fresno” was one of the projects funded. Principal Investigators: Dumindra Gurusinghe, MD; Jennifer Romo, MD, working with Carolyn Jameson, NP; Muhammad Khan, MD; Patrick Macmillan, MD.
Kudos to Leigh Ann O’Banion on the study “Unmasking the Silent Threat: Prevalence of PAD Among Patients of Indian Descent During Cardiovascular Screenings,” which was published in JVS-Vascular Insights, an open access publication from the Society for Vascular Surgery.
Congratulations to the 2026 UCSF Fresno Education Symposium Research Poster award winners:
Graduate Medical Education
- Carmen Estrada Huerta, MD, UCSF Fresno Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical Education fellow, “Using Artificial Intelligence to Improve Written Discharge Instructions for Spanish-Speaking Patients: An Evidence-Based Educational Series for Emergency Medicine Providers”
- Lillian Vang, SJV PRIME medical student, “Health Information Sources and Education Preferences Among Hmong Generational Cohorts: A Cross-Sectional Survey in the San Joaquin Valley”
Undergraduate Medical Education
- Sophia Church, UCSF Fresno Summer Biomedical Internship student, “By Teens, For Teens: Empowering Youth to Confront Human Trafficking”
- Christopher Crogan, MD, faculty in the UCSF Fresno Department of Emergency Medicine, “Dedicated Student Shifts, A Novel Curriculum for Medical Student Rotators.”
Congratulations and welcome to the following New Hires:
Jason Benham, AV Support Technician, ITS
- Samantha Gonzales, Academic Program Coordinator, UCSF Fresno Office of Health Career Pathways (OHCP)
- Catherine Lopez, Clinical Social Worker, UCSF Fresno Alzheimer & Memory Center
- Alyssa Maciel, Student Support Assistant, OHCP
- Jaqueline Magana, Student Support Assistant, OHCP
Palak Tohan, Student Support Assistant, OHCP
Rishita Pemminati, Student Support Assistant, OHCP
McKayla Sarmiento, Assistant Clinical Researcher, Clinical Research Center
Audrey Steele, Student Support Assistant, OHCP
Houa Vang, Lead Residency Coordinator, Department of Medicine
Kudos to the following Spot Award Winners:
- Lee Hagerty, Medical Simulation Coordinator, UCSF Fresno Clinical Skills and Simulation Center
- Marisol Vargas, Academic Program Coordinator, OHCP
- Nancy Xiong, Program Coordinator, Department of Emergency Medicine
- Maiah Madrigal, Academic Program Coordinator, OHCP
- Antonette Horacio, Administrative Assistant, Hematology/Oncology
- Evelyn Sandoval, AHEC Scholars Coordinator, California Area Health Education Center
- Marie Martinez, SJV PRIME F2 Coordinator, UCSF Fresno Undergraduate Medical Education (UME)
- Stephanie Covacevich, SJV PRIME+ Project Coordinator, UME