An Army medic turned emergency medicine physician from southern California and a psychiatrist from Fresno, who is answering the call for more mental health professionals in California, are among approximately 100 residents and fellows who are completing training this year at the UCSF School of Medicine Regional Campus in Fresno (UCSF Fresno). Some of the graduating residents and fellows have trained at UCSF Fresno for five or more years and started during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UCSF Fresno celebrated the graduates on Thursday, June 12, at Fresno City College’s historic Old Administration Building Auditorium. More than 500 people, including the graduates, their family and friends, and faculty and staff, attended the ceremony, which also commemorated UCSF Fresno’s 50th anniversary.
“I am delighted to celebrate this joyous occasion because of the incredible achievement it represents for our graduates,” said Jose M. Barral Sanchez, MD, PhD, UCSF Fresno Vice Dean, who was appointed in February and started on May 1, 2025. “You are graduating in a special year – this is UCSF Fresno’s 50th anniversary.
For five decades, UCSF Fresno’s mission has been to train physicians, expand access to care, and improve health,” Dr. Barral Sanchez added. “You will forever be a part of UCSF Fresno’s legacy.”
With support from the Veterans Administration and the California Legislature, UCSF Fresno was established in 1975 as a graduate medical education campus of the UCSF School of Medicine. The regional campus has grown significantly since then and is now the largest contributor to the physician workforce in the region.
The UCSF Fresno Class of 2025 includes residents in eight medical specialties, fellows in 14 sub-specialties, residents in an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery dental program, and physician assistants in an Emergency Medicine Postgraduate Training Program. Graduates from the Community Medical Centers General Dentistry Residency Program also participated in the commencement ceremony.
“Our community is strengthened by the energy, innovation, and talents of our trainees at UCSF Fresno. Their extraordinary contributions deepen our long-standing mission of improving the health of the San Joaquin Valley,” said Stacy Sawtelle Vohra, MD, Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official at UCSF Fresno.
The recipient of the 2024 Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching, Gregory Simpson, MD, Division Chief, Dermatology, UCSF Fresno, delivered the keynote address. He offered words of wisdom, pointed out how being an attending is like being a parent in some ways, and answered a question he’s often asked about whether he would encourage his own children to go into medicine.
“Without a moment of hesitation, I say absolutely, ‘yes’, it’s a chance to make the world a better place,” he said. “You work and study your entire life for that really hard moment when you get to shine — whether it be a surgery or a diagnosis or a treatment plan or just offering a shoulder to cry on — and it was all worth it.”
He concluded by encouraging the graduates to pause for a moment to be proud of themselves.
“I want all the graduates to take a moment tonight and look in the mirror, forget all your worries for a moment, and just be proud of yourself. You did it, and you’re ready,” said Dr. Simpson.
Highlights:
- 100% of graduating Psychiatry residents are staying in California for the second year in a row. Nearly one in seven adults in the state experiences mental illness, and one in 26 has a serious mental illness, according to the California Health Care Foundation.
- 50% of graduating Emergency Medicine residents are staying in the Valley; 40% are staying at UCSF Fresno as faculty.
- 40% of Family and Community Medicine graduates are staying in the Valley.
- Almost 40% of Internal Medicine graduates are staying in the Valley.
- UCSF Fresno’s first Endocrinology fellow is graduating this year and is staying to join the faculty in the division. Almost half of the adults in Fresno County show signs of prediabetes, according to a UCLA Center for Health Policy Research study.
- Nearly 25% of graduating fellows are joining the faculty at UCSF Fresno or are continuing their medical education in another UCSF Fresno fellowship.
- Nearly 40% of graduates are staying in the Central Valley to provide care, teach the next generation, or continue their education.
- About 60% of graduates are staying in California.
Among the graduates:
While serving as a medic in the U.S. Army, Delvin J. Akins II, MD, from southern California, found deep purpose in caring for others in high-stakes situations. He was promoted six times in seven years in the military, served as a staff sergeant leading other combat medics, and was a Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year candidate. But becoming a physician felt out of reach. Thankfully, senior leaders recognized his commitment and discipline and encouraged him to take his training further. Today, Dr. Akins is completing a four-year residency program in Emergency Medicine at UCSF Fresno and is staying on as faculty.
Mandeep K. Gill, DO, originally from Bellingham, Washington, is the first fellow to graduate from UCSF Fresno’s two-year Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Fellowship. After graduation, she will join the faculty in the Endocrinology fellowship program as part of Inspire Health Medical Group. According to a GoodRX report, nearly 70% of U.S. counties lack access to an endocrinologist. Dr. Gill completed residency training in Internal Medicine at UCSF Fresno prior to entering the fellowship program.
Inspired by her family, mentors, and her own desire to create change, Cecilia Rangel-Garcia, MD, MPH, is completing a four-year residency program in Psychiatry at UCSF Fresno. After graduation, Dr. Rangel-Garcia, who is from Fresno, will stay in the Central Valley to complete a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at UC Davis in Sacramento. All six graduating psychiatry residents at UCSF Fresno are staying in California, where nearly 1 in 7 adults experience mental illness and 1 in 26 has a serious mental illness.
Growing up in Fresno, Liliana Samano, MD, noticed very few Latino physicians. As a child, Dr. Samano understood that by becoming a physician, she could help make health care more accessible. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, in 2022, about 6% of physicians in California were Latino, where the Hispanic/Latino population is about 39%. With her parents as inspiration, she set out to become a physician. This year, Dr. Samano is completing a four-year residency program in Emergency Medicine. After graduation, she is staying in the community to work at Clovis Community Medical Center.
In addition to the presentation of the graduates, several honors were awarded:
Jeff Thomas, MD, Chief Medical Quality Officer, Community Regional Medical Center, presented the Community Medical Centers Resident and Fellow Awards and Teaching Awards:
Outstanding First-Year Resident: Campbell Veasey, MD, MSPH, UCSF Fresno Emergency Medicine Residency Program
Outstanding Resident or Fellow Teacher: Lala Grigori, DMD, UCSF Fresno Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program
Community Health System Teaching Excellence Award: Robert Julian III, DDS, MD, FACS, Professor, UCSF Fresno Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS)
Outstanding Non-Physician Teacher: Kaitlyn Loi, PharmD, BCP, Community Regional Medical Center
Naman Jain, DO, Internal Medicine Resident and Resident Council Member, presented the Leon S. Peters Resident and Fellow Awards:
Leon S. Peters Resident of the Year: Victoria Ford, MD, UCSF Fresno Pediatrics Residency Program
Leon S. Peters Fellow of the Year: Ahmed Zaidi, DDS, MD, UCSF Fresno Head and Neck Oncology and Microvascular Reconstruction Fellowship
Wessel Meyer, MD, FACEP, MBChB, UCSF Clinical Professor, UCSF Fresno, and Acting Chief of Staff, Fresno VA, VA Central California Health Care System, presented the VA ICARE Award:
VA ICARE Award: Ashleigh Wong, DO, UCSF Fresno Internal Medicine Residency Program
Pamela Kammen, MD, President, Fresno Madera Medical Society, presented the Steven N. Parks Leadership Award:
Steven N. Parks Leadership Award (FMMS): Cecilia Rangel-Garcia, MD, UCSF Fresno Psychiatry Residency Program
Eyad Almasri, MD, Assistant Dean for Research at UCSF Fresno, presented the Borba Resident, Fellow, and Faculty Research Awards:
Borba Faculty Research Award: Laxmi Ghimire, MD, Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Fresno Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology
Borba Fellow Research Award: Faisal Nasrawi, MD, UCSF Fresno Department of Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship
Borba Research Award, Kadee-Kalia Tamashiro, MD, UCSF Fresno Surgery Residency Program
Stacy Sawtelle Vohra, MD, Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education, UCSF Fresno, presented the Outstanding Program Director Award
Outstanding Program Director Award: Kathryn Bilello, MD, Health Sciences Clinical Professor, Program Director, UCSF Fresno Pulmonary Critical Care Fellowship Program, UCSF Fresno Department of Medicine
Jose M. Barral Sanchez, MD, PhD, Vice Dean, UCSF Fresno, announced the Henry J. Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching:
Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching: Liana Milanes, MD, Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF Fresno Department of Family and Community Medicine
As a regional campus of the UCSF School of Medicine, UCSF Fresno carries out its training and patient care through a network of affiliated partners, including Community Health System, VA Central California Health Care, Inspire Health Medical Group, United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley, and many other clinical sites.
UCSF Fresno is committed to developing an outstanding physician workforce that reflects Valley communities and improves patient care and access to health care in the region and state. Offering Valley students, medical residents, and fellows opportunities to complete their education and training in the San Joaquin Valley increases the likelihood they will stay to practice where they are needed. The goal is to recruit and train highly skilled clinicians and patient advocates who will remain in the region and in California.
