FRESNO – The UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program will graduate 79 medical residents and fellows in a ceremony to be held Thursday, June 3, beginning at 6:30 p.m., at the William Saroyan Theatre (700 M Street) in Fresno. A social hour for the graduating fellows and resident physicians, their families and friends and UCSF Fresno faculty and staff members will be held at 5:30 p.m.
Thirty-five percent of the graduates are expected to stay in the Fresno vicinity and Central San Joaquin Valley to care for area residents.
Among them:
- Cyrus Buhari, DO, of Stockton is completing a fellowship in adult cardiovascular disease and will stay with UCSF Fresno as a faculty member. In addition, he will continue his training as a UCSF Fresno interventional cardiology fellow in 2011.
- Omar Chowdry, DO, was raised in his Fresno by his mother. He attended Manchester Elementary, Computech Middle School and Edison High School. Chowdry is completing an internship residency in internal medicine and will continue his medical education with a residency in anesthesiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. His hope is to return to Fresno to practice and establish an anesthesiology residency program locally.
- Firdose Gill, DO, originally from Chicago, chose UCSF Fresno because of the program’s outstanding reputation, the opportunity to work with diverse populations and because her husband grew up here. Gill is completing her residency in internal medicine and plans to stay with UCSF Fresno as a chief medical resident next year.
- Ila Naeni, DO, immigrated with her family to the United States from Iran at a young age and grew up in San Diego. Her husband, also a physician, was raised in Fresno. The couple moved here to complete residency programs at UCSF Fresno. Naeni, who is a co-chief resident, is finishing her training in family and community medicine and will be staying in Fresno to work at Clinica Sierra Vista.
- Geeta Ramesh, MD, who served as co-chief resident in her third year, will be completing her residency in family and community medicine. Originally from India, Ramesh will stay in Fresno to work at Clinica Sierra Vista and plans to continue her involvement with UCSF Fresno.
- Mandeep Singh, MD, is completing his residency in internal medicine after having served as chief resident. He will stay at UCSF Fresno to complete a three-year fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology.
“Congratulations to all the graduating residents and fellows and best wishes for continued success in your careers,” said Joan Voris, MD, associate dean at UCSF Fresno. “I am especially pleased to see that so many of the physicians trained here are staying in the Valley to provide care.”
“As we conclude another academic year, this also is a time to recognize the dedication of the UCSF Fresno faculty and staff members and thank those who have supported and helped grow our program, including Community Medical Centers, Veterans Affairs Central California Health System and Children’s Hospital Central California along with many others,” added Voris.
Graduation highlights include:
- Welcome remarks by Joan Voris, MD, Associate Dean, UCSF Fresno
- Graduation address by Robert Tevendale, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Family Medicine, UCSF Fresno and recipient of the 2009 Henry J. Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching
- Presentation of the prestigious 2010 Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching. Of the four Kaiser awards presented by the UCSF School of Medicine, one is given to an outstanding faculty member in the Fresno program.
- Other honors include: Outstanding First-Year Resident, Outstanding Resident Teacher, Outstanding Attending Teacher, Outstanding Non-Physician Teacher, Borba Award for Outstanding Research, the UCSF Fresno Community Service Award, the Global Health Curriculum Award, and Excellence in Physician Values Award.
For more information about the UCSF Fresno graduation ceremony, please call (559) 499-6518.
