Congratulations to Claire Gibson, MD, UCSF Fresno Department of Pediatrics, on receiving the Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching. Each year, the UCSF School of Medicine awards this prestigious honor to four members of the clinical faculty. These awards recognize outstanding teaching, motivational skills and communications abilities. One of these awards is reserved for a member of the clinical faculty at UCSF Fresno.
Kudos to all those who received awards at the 2026 Resident and Fellow Commencement.
The UCSF Fresno Center for Clinical Research recently announced the recipients of the 2026 Spring Inspire Health Medical Group/ UCSF Fresno Grants. Kudos to:
- Geetha Sivasubramanian, MD, UCSF Fresno Department of Medicine, “Valley Fever Community Health Worker Training Program for California Agricultural Workers”
- Lily Hitchner, MD, UCSF Fresno Department of Emergency Medicine, and Yolanda Tinajero, MD, UCSF Fresno Department of OB-GYN, “Impact of Culturally Tailored Valley Fever Education for Farmworker Communities in the San Joaquin Valley”
- Michele Maison-Fomotar, MD, Department of Medicine, “Implementation of an Evidence-Based Cryptococcal Meningitis OrderSet for patients living with HIV- Integrating AMBITION Trial Therapy and Quantitative CSF Culture Monitoring”
- Appajosula Sarada Rao, MD, UCSF Fresno Department of Surgery, “Teaching Across Different Training Stages in Surgery Clerkship: A Mixed‑Methods Study”
These competitive awards provide seed funding to support innovative projects that advance education, research, clinical care, and community engagement throughout the Central Valley.
Congratulations to Stephanie Huerta Alvarez, MPH, UCSF Fresno Office of Health Career Pathways, and Trina Hughes, UCSF Fresno Office of Undergraduate Medical Education, on completing the 2025-2026 UCSF School of Medicine Leadership Development Program.
Kudos to Robert Kollmorgen, DO, UCSF Fresno Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Inspire Health Medical Group provider, on his recently published article exploring the combination of two hip preservation surgeries: hip arthroscopy and periacetabular osteotomy.
Kudos to Kenny Banh, MD, UCSF Fresno Department of Emergency Medicine, and UCSF Fresno Mobile HeaL for being recognized by Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula for improving the health and wellbeing of the community by participating in Feria de Salud, an annual health and resource fair sponsored by Univision 21.
Congratulations and welcome to Kaomine Vang, who was named Administrative Manager for the UCSF Fresno Department of Medicine.
Kudos to Kelly Noorani, UCSF Fresno Facilities, on her recent retirement from UCSF Fresno after nearly 18 years of dedicated services.
Kudos to Kathleen Smith, University Development and Alumni Relations at UCSF Fresno, on her recent retirement after nine years of dedicated service.
Congratulations to Sam Schmitz, DO, 2026 UCSF Fresno Family and Community Medicine Residency Program graduate, and Julie Nicole, MD, volunteer appointment, UCSF Fresno Department of OB-GYN, for being among those honored with 2026 City of Fresno Harvey Milk Community Leader Awards presented by Councilmember Analisa Perea.
Kudos to Geetha Sivasubramanian, MD, UCSF Fresno Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, on being elected to the Board of Directors of the Coccidioidomycosis Study Group, a national organization focused on research, clinical care, education, and public health efforts related to Valley fever.
In addition, congratulations to Dr. Sivasubramanian on her recent publication, “Patient and caregiver experiences of barriers to longitudinal care in coccidioidal meningitis in California’s Central Valley: A Qualitative Study.”
Congratulations to Lourdes DelRosso, MD, UCSF Fresno Family and Community Medicine, for her publication, “Sympathetic Activation and Sleep-Related Movements: Integrating Autonomic, Dopaminergic, and Iron Deficiency.”
Kudos to Brian Chinnock, MD, UCSF Fresno Department of Emergency Medicine, on his recent publication, “Up to Date Status and Acceptance of the Influenza Vaccine among a National Sample of Emergency Department Patients.”
Kudos to Sharon McClain, MFA, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500,UCSF Fresno’s medical librarian, on graduating from Fresno State’s Master’s in Fine Arts Creative Writing Program.
Congratulations to the May Wellness Day Grass Games winners, Tony Santos, UCSF Fresno Office of Health Career Pathways; Daniel Akia, UCSF Public Safety; and Maiah Madrigal, Office of Health Career Pathways. These individuals posted the fastest times in the competition.
