FRESNO – The San Joaquin Valley has the lowest ratios of licensed medical doctors and doctors of osteopathic medicine per 100,000 people in California, according to a July 2017 report from the Healthforce Center at UCSF.
More than 100 medical residents and fellows along with three oral and maxillofacial surgery dental residents and five physician assistants will graduate from UCSF Fresno this year. Of the 107 graduates, 44 percent will stay in the Central Valley to care for patients, teach future physicians or continue their medical education.
Graduation will be held Thursday, June 14, at the William Saroyan Theatre, 730 M Street, in downtown Fresno. The event will begin with a social hour at 5 p.m., followed by the graduation ceremony at 6 p.m.
Media: The best time for interviews is during the social hour from 5 to 6 p.m. or during interviews scheduled in advance of the June 14 graduation ceremony.
The 2018 graduating class includes:
Andres Anaya, MD, is a Fresno native, Hoover High School alum and graduate of the UCSF School of Medicine. Dr. Anaya is completing a four-year residency in emergency medicine. As a medical student, Anaya conducted third-year rotations in obstetrics/gynecology and surgery at UCSF Fresno. After earning his medical degree, he returned in 2014 for residency training. Anaya’s path to becoming a physician was anything but typical. He is the eldest son of Mexican immigrants, both of whom are deaf. His first language was American Sign Language. At the age of 5, Anaya began translating for his family. Economic, cultural and social challenges soon led to academic difficulties for him at school. Following high school, he took a job in a tire factory where he suffered an industrial accident. The accident landed him in the emergency department, leaving him temporarily paralyzed and physically and emotionally traumatized. It took several years to overcome his injuries, but from then on, he set his mind to becoming an emergency medicine physician. Fast forward to today, Anaya realized his goal. After graduation, he will stay in the San Joaquin Valley to care for patients at Saint Agnes Medical Center.
Jaimie Brandley, DO, graduated from Marin High School in Novato, California, went to UC San Diego and graduated from medical school at Touro University California in Vallejo. Dr. Brandley’s father was a bench scientist and her mother was a teacher. After earning an undergraduate degree, Brandley taught high school science in Washington, D.C., as part of Teach for America. A love for both science and teaching and a desire to merge the fields motivated her to become a physician. As a medical student, Brandley completed fourth-year clinical rotations at UCSF Fresno. The welcoming and positive learning environment and the opportunity to work with diverse and underserved patients like the students she taught in D.C. inspired her to come back for residency training. A fondness for children and fulfillment of working with the whole family to improve health drew her to pediatrics. Brandley is completing a three-year residency in pediatrics, and after graduation she will join the UCSF Fresno Department of Pediatrics as faculty. While in Fresno, Brandley met the “love of her life,” Kelty Lanham, and married him. Lanham is an F-18 pilot currently stationed at Naval Air Station Lemoore. While it will be necessary for them to relocate where the Navy sends them, Brandley says they are seriously considering making the Valley their “forever home.”
Karndeep Samran, MD, graduated from Madera High School, attended UC Berkeley and earned his medical degree from Michigan State University. Early on, Samran was drawn to the field of science. Having grown up on his family’s small vineyard in Madera, he originally envisioned a career in agriculture and plant sciences. However, he soon realized he enjoyed interacting with people and began focusing on a career in medicine. Psychiatry was a good fit because it allowed him to hear personal stories and see patients from a holistic perspective. Samran is finishing a four-year residency in psychiatry. Throughout residency training, Samran started each day by tending plants on his family’s vineyard then headed back to Fresno to take care of patients. After graduation, Samran will grow his roots locally and give back to the community by working in the substance use department at the VA Central California Health Care System in Fresno. Frustrated by the stigma involved with mental illness, especially within communities of color, one of Samran’s goals is to promote mental illness awareness.
