Congratulations to Cecilia Rangel-Garcia, MD, MPH, for receiving the Steven N. Parks, MD, Leadership Award presented by the Fresno Madera Medical Society.
Congrats to all the award winners who were recognized at the 2025 Resident and Fellow Commencement.
Kudos to Caroline Render-Teixeira, MD, who was recently named program director for the Family and Community Medicine Residency Program effective July 1. Thank you to Sireesha Reddy, MD, for having served as program director. Dr. Reddy will continue as faculty.
Congratulations to Hebah Ghanem, MD, who was recently named program director for the Infectious Diseases Fellowship effective July 1. Thank you to Geetha Sivasubramanian, MD, for having served as program director. Dr. Sivasubramanian will continue as division chief of Infectious Diseases.
Congratulations to Joshua D. Kamimoto, PhD. Dr. Kamimoto was appointed director of the Clinical Research Center (CRC), effective May 15. Joshua will dev
elop, manage, and oversee the organizational, strategic, and tactical aspects of the clinical trial services organization while working closely with the Assistant Dean for Research to facilitate projects conducted in the CRC.
Kudos to UCSF Fresno and thanks to City Councilmember Miguel Arias, Mayor Jerry Dyer and all the City of Fresno Councilmembers for recognizing UCSF Fresno on our 50th anniversary and proclaiming May 22, 2025, UCSF Fresno Day in Fresno.
Congratulations to the UCSF faculty at UCSF Fresno 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.
40-Year Milestone
Katherine A. Flores, MD, was recognized for 40 years of service as of 2024, and the campus community celebrated her retirement on June 25. During her tenure, Dr. Flores founded the UCSF Fresno Doctors Academy and has inspired and motivated thousands of students who are now working as doctors and other health professionals in the Valley and beyond. She serves on numerous boards and associations, is a prominent figure involved in physician workforce issues across the state and the U.S. and has been recognized with several awards.
Randall Stern, MD, was also recognized for 40 years of service as of 2024.
More faculty milestone awards:
30-Year Milestone
- Carolyn Chooljian, MD, Emergency Medicine, in 2024
- James Comes, MD, Emergency Medicine, in 2024
- James W. Davis, MD, Surgery, in 2024
- Helen Wong, MD, Medicine, Gastroenterology, in 2024
25-Year Milestone
- Loren I. Alving, MD, Neurology, in 2024
- Kathryn Bilello, MD, Medicine, Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care, in 2023
- Steven Stoltz, MD, Medicine, in 2023
20-Year Milestone
- Juan Ruvalcaba, MD, Family and Community Medicine, in 2024
- Aimee Abu-Shamsieh, MD, Pediatrics, in 2024
- Michael Tom, MD, Medicine, in 2023
15-Year Milestone
- Uzair Chaudhary, MD, Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, in 2024
- Wessel Meyer, MD, Medicine, in 2024
- Rawnica Ruegner, MD, Emergency Medicine, in 2024
- Jeanette Rylander, MD, Medicine, in 2024
- Susanne Spano, MD, Emergency Medicine, in 2024
- Rais Vohra, MD, Emergency Medicine, in 2024
- Hagop Afarian, MD, Emergency Medicine, in 2023
- Kenny Banh, MD, Emergency Medicine, in 2023
- Danielle Campagne, MD, Emergency Medicine, in 2024
- Vipul Jain, MD, Medicine, in 2023
- Cho Cho Khine, MD, Medicine, in 2023
- Armen Matirosian, MD, Orthopaedic Surgery, in 2023
10-Year Milestone
- Gail Ajanaku, MD, Medicine, in 2024
- Thianchai Bunnalai, MD, Pediatrics, in 2024
- Christopher Downer, MD, OB-GYN, in 2024
- Nathan Hoekzema, MD, Orthopaedic Surgery, in 2024
- Stutee Khandelwal, MD, Medicine, in 2024
- Manjit Singh, MD, Medicine, in 2024
- Michael Darracq, MD, MPH, Emergency Medicine, in 2023
- Kamell Eckroth-Bernard, MD, Surgery, in 2023
- Janice Kezirian, MD, Pediatrics, in 2023
- Ila Naeni, DO, Family and Community Medicine, in 2023
- Ivance Pugoy, Medicine, in 2023
- Rene Ramirez, MD, Emergency Medicine, in 2023
- Elbert Tun, MD, Medicine, in 2023
- Jeffrey Uller, MD, Emergency Medicine, in 2023
Five-Year Milestone
- Kulraj Dhah, DO, Family and Community Medicine, in 2024
- Karamjit Dhaliwal-Binning, MD, Medicine, in 2024
- Anil Ghimire, MD, Medicine, in 2024
- Daniel Kirsten, MD, Psychiatry, in 2024
- Alka Lamsal Ghimire, MD, Medicine in 2024
- Jeffrey Nahn, MD, Emergency Medicine, in 2024
- Arbi Nazarian, MD, Orthopaedic Surgery, in 2024
- Tim Nguyen, DO, OB-GYN, in 2024
- Richard Quan, MD, Pediatrics, in 2024
- Caroline Render-Teixeira, MD, Family and Community Medicine, in 2024
- Daa Xiao, MD, Family and Community Medicine, in 2024
- Varsha Babu, MD, Medicine, in 2023
- Jordan Beshore, DO, Emergency Medicine, in 2023
- Jason Gravano, PhD, Neurology, in 2023
- David Jeffcoach, MD, Surgery, in 2023
- Eyup Keles, MD, Pediatrics, in 2023
- Nicole Kopari, MD, Surgery, in 2023
- Lin Li, MD, PhD, Medicine, in 2023
- Jordan Lilienstein, MD, Surgery, in 2023
- Shreela Mishra, MD, Medicine, in 2023
- Almira Opardija, MD, Medicine, Infectious Diseases, in 2023
- Hiral Patel, DO, Medicine, in 2023
- Steven Ratcliff, DO, Medicine, in 2023
- Nitin Thinda, MD, Medicine, Cardiology, in 2023
- Antonio Toribio, MD, Medicine, in 2023
- John Tran, MD, Psychiatry, in 2023
- Jacquelyn Wagoner, DO, Pediatrics, in 2023
Kudos to the following UCSF Fresno staff members who were awarded UCSF School of Medicine Achievement Awards:
Individual Achievement Awards
- Lorena Davis, Orthopaedic Surgery
- Nicholas Dennie, Emergency Medicine
- Rebecca Miller, Surgery
- Anthony Sali, Graduate Medical Education
Team Achievement Award: Communications
- Barbara Anderson
- Lucero Benitez
- Brandy Ramos Nikaido
Kudos to the staff members who were recognized with Spot Awards:
- Angela Allison, April
- Summer Connery, April
- Stephanie Covacevich, April
- Trina Hughes, April
- Carmen Vargas, April
- Jeannette Naranjo, April
- Seeka Yang, April
- Shannon Kremer, February
- Jeanette Naranjo, February
Established in 1975, UCSF Fresno is celebrating 50 years of training doctors and improving health in the San Joaquin Valley this year. A regional campus of the UCSF School of Medicine, UCSF Fresno offers training in eight medical residency programs, one dental surgery residency program and 20 Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and non-ACGME sub-specialty fellowships. UCSF Fresno plays a vital role in expanding access to health care in the Valley, training physicians and medical students for the region and state, conducting research that addresses regional health issues, and academically preparing students from the San Joaquin Valley to pursue careers in health and medicine.
