Our Faculty and Leaders

Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency

I am excited to welcome you to the UCI Internal Medicine Residency program! I have had the honor of serving as the residency program director since July 2020, a few months into the COVID pandemic. It was amazing to guide our residents as they served the needs of our patients and community throughout the pandemic. It is a pleasure to reshape our program through the evolving landscape of healthcare and medical education in the post-pandemic world. I love creating innovations in medical education with our leadership team, rounding on our incredibly diverse patient population and restructuring our training program as we continue to expand at UCI Health. The best part of my job is our trainees. Watching their personal and professional growth over their three years with us makes me proud and continuously humbles me. Outside of the hospital, you will find me exploring the great OC outdoors with my husband and our young son and daughter.

Program Director’s Message

Associate Program Director
Program Director, Preliminary Medicine Program

In my pre-medicine life, I was a junior high school teacher. It was a job I loved, but it failed to challenge my intellectual side. As a former UCI resident, chief resident, faculty of UCI and now associate program director, I have been able to fulfill all my passions. I love caring for patients daily, but even more, I love teaching and mentoring the future of medicine. I pride myself on leading by example, and physician wellness is a special passion of mine. I believe you can’t truly care for others’ well-being unless you first address your own. Being an internal medicine physician is an amazing job that many strive for, yet few bring to fruition. I am honored to be part of the UCI Internal Medicine Residency leadership, and I look forward to changing the world of medicine for the better through you.

Associate Program Director

As a resident, chief resident and now faculty member at UCI, it has been a wonderful pleasure to learn from and teach the residents in our program. The joy is in seeing each of them grow into independent, empathetic and scholarly physicians. My hope for you is that you can sense our positive, encouraging and collegial environment leading to this maturation. If you can sense that, then you have gotten the main drive of our program. Welcome to UCI, and I can’t wait to meet you!

Associate Program Director
UCI Ambulatory Clinics

As an associate program director, I find joy in knowing that I am helping to shape the next generation of physicians. As I strive to perfect my relationship with our residents, I am mindful of the awesome responsibility I have undertaken. I believe it is imperative to not only impart knowledge or relay facts, but to instill a love of learning and to develop critical, analytical thinking skills in our residents. I’m proud to be part of the UCI Internal Medicine Residency program’s commitment to producing lifelong learners.

Associate Program Director
Site Director, VA Long Beach

As a graduate of the residency program here, it is my honor and dream come true to continue working alongside our amazing faculty to guide future generations of young physicians through their residency. I hope to continue to foster the culture of camaraderie and education for you all that made my own residency experience so amazing. Come join me to learn not only the nuances of medicine, but how to approach and succeed in this new chapter in your life that, for many of you, will be your first official real experience working. I look forward to meeting you!

Associate Program Director
Site director, Long Beach Memorial

I joined the program leadership in 2019, and it has been a great opportunity. As a former UCI undergraduate student, medical student, resident, fellow and staff physician, I have enjoyed my training at UCI. My goal is for you to have as good an experience as I did. You will interact with me on your Long Beach Memorial rotations, our community-based tertiary care center. Looking forward to meeting you!

Associate Program Director

Hello and welcome to UCI IM! I’m a hospitalist and one of the Associate Program Directors at UCI Medical Center. I was born and raised in upstate New York then moved with my family to Irvine, CA as a teenager — and I’ve never looked back. I attended UCLA, where I earned my BS in physiology and continued on to the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA for medical school. I completed my internal medicine residency at UCLA Medical Center and had the honor of serving as a Chief Resident in 2019.

After five years at UCLA as an academic hospitalist, proceduralist and core faculty member, I was excited to join UCI as an APD. When I’m not attending on the inpatient ward teams at Orange and Irvine, my academic interests include medical education, clinical reasoning, simulation, high-value care, quality improvement, and resident and student mentorship.

Outside the hospital, you’ll find me spending time with my wife and chasing around our young son Lucas and our dog Holly. I also enjoy running, basketball, snowboarding and cheering on the Lakers.

Program Administrator

It’s an honor to work alongside the exceptional individuals in the Internal Medicine Residency Program and the Department of Medicine. My favorite part of doing what I do is being able to witness the incredible journey of personal and professional growth of every resident, fellow and beyond. It is truly exciting to see and makes my heart happy to be a part of it!

Program Analyst

Being part of the Internal Medicine Residency program has been one of the best experiences. I get to work with some of the kindest and most hardworking individuals. I began with the program in 2022 and have been able to witness the passion and drive our leadership has for teaching and mentoring our residents. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to be part of the team!

Program Analyst

I have been with the program since 2023, and it has been a pleasure working alongside such dedicated and talented individuals. The program’s leadership is genuine and continually strives to provide residents with the highest quality experience in all aspects of the program.

Hi, I'm Shoujit! Originally from New York, I grew up in St. Louis, MO and Tucson, AZ before heading to UC Berkeley (Go Bears!) for undergrad and University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson for medical school. I loved being a resident at UC Irvine, where I received exceptional clinical training, learned from dedicated faculty and worked with the best co-residents. I'm passionate about medical education, healthcare policy, community service, and will be going into Gastroenterology. Outside the hospital, you can find me hiking beach trails with my wife and puppy, experiencing OC's incredible food scene, practicing my pickleball skills or enjoying a day at Disneyland!

Hi, I'm Vishnu! I grew up in Denville, New Jersey and completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Washington, where I developed a deep passion for chemistry. I returned to New Jersey to attend medical school at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine before moving to sunny Southern California to begin my residency journey at UC Irvine. Serving as Chief Resident has been a rewarding way to mentor others, strengthen our culture of learning and contribute to the growth of our amazing IM program! I’m passionate about medical education and exploring new innovations in healthcare. Outside of medicine, I love to play guitar, record music, dive into astronomy, and spend time with family and friends. I also enjoy hobbies like tennis, 3D printing and laser etching.

Hi there! I’m Tyson Burnham. Although I moved around quite a bit growing up, I consider Utah home. I earned my undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University and went on to complete medical school at the University of Utah. The Match brought me to sunny Orange County, where I’ve had the privilege of training in Internal Medicine at UC Irvine.

Residency here was an incredible experience. Our residents are not only hardworking and dedicated but also know how to have fun and support one another. This year, I’m honored to serve as a Chief Medical Resident, a role that allows me to dive deeper into my passions for patient care and medical education, especially in the realm of clinical reasoning.

Looking ahead, I am applying for a fellowship in Cardiology. I have a particular interest in arrhythmia diagnosis and management, so my long-term goal is to become an Electrophysiologist where I can combine my love for complex problem-solving with impactful patient care.

Hello! I’m Jen Kim. I consider myself a proud Californian at heart but grew up as an Army brat, moving frequently and living in places such as Washington, Oklahoma, Texas, South Korea and Germany. I earned my undergraduate degree in Microbiology and Immunology at UCLA, then trekked over to the East coast and attended NYMC for medical school. I happily trekked back to California to complete IM residency at UC Irvine. I am thrilled to now serve as one of the Chief Residents. My focus lies in planning and developing our educational curriculum, including didactics and conferences. Outside of medicine, I enjoy hiking and exploring the outdoors, finding new restaurants, hosting dinner parties, and spending hours exploring Barnes and Noble. 

I grew up in Stockton, California, and completed my undergraduate studies at UCLA before attending medical school at California Northstate University. I'm grateful to be back in beautiful, sunny Southern California and have truly loved my time at UC Irvine. Staying on as a Chief Resident was an easy decision — I'm passionate about contributing to a program that prioritizes excellent training and supports our incredible residents. My academic interests include medical education, evidence-based medicine and running a fun journal club. Outside of medicine, I enjoy reading, staying active, playing tennis and basketball, hitting the gym, and exploring new restaurants and breweries.

Hi everyone! I'm Kevin, originally from the Bay Area and one of the current chief residents at UC Irvine. I completed my undergraduate and medical school at Brown University in Rhode Island, taking a year in the middle to also pursue a Master of Management Science at Tsinghua University in Beijing through the Schwarzman Scholars Program. I was happy to return to California for residency and am now applying to cardiology fellowships. I have loved my time at UC Irvine for its strong clinical training, collaborative environment and unbeatable location in Orange County. I have maintained strong interests in preventive cardiology, medical education and international health policy, with my research focusing primarily on cardiovascular disease outcomes in the context of hypertension and risk factor optimization. Outside of medicine, I keep myself busy through dance (there are so many world-class hip hop companies in Socal and OC!), foodie exploration, video games, and brewing Chinese tea for friends and family.

I grew up in Portland, Oregon, and went to medical school at Loma Linda University before coming to UC Irvine for residency. My time here has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, both professionally and personally. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside incredible colleagues who have become lifelong friends.

What makes this program stand out are the people. The support, collaboration and sense of community make every day meaningful and the weather and location are a nice bonus. My career goals are in pulmonary and critical care medicine, and I have a strong interest in medical education. I especially enjoy teaching through simulation, POCUS and procedural training.

It’s an honor to serve as chief resident, and I’m excited to help guide and support the next group of residents as they grow into compassionate and capable physicians. Welcome to UC Irvine, I look forward to meeting you!

Program Director Afshan Baraghoush, MD, interviews Department Chair Alpesh Amin, MD, about what UCI has to offer trainees, faculty and staff, and the community, and what makes the Internal Medicine Residency program special.

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Masha Barsky, MD, a hospitalist at UCI School of Medicine, talks to Program Director Afshan Baraghoush, MD, about coming back to UCI as a faculty member after completing her MD at UCI, the Resident as Teacher curriculum and the simulation curriculum for the residency. 

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Garrett Cohen, MD, former chief resident for the Internal Medicine Residency program, speaks with Program Director Afshan Baraghoush, MD, about why he came to UCI for residency, what he enjoyed during his experience as a trainee and the role of the chief residents in the program. 

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Program Director Afshan Baraghoush, MD, speaks with Omar Darwish, MS, DO, director of point-of-care ultrasound for the Department of Medicine, about training opportunities for residents in point-of-care ultrasound and future program goals.

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Israel De Alba, MD, MPH, speaks with Program Director Afshan Baraghoush, MD, about his background and journey to medicine, why UCI is a good fit for him, his research in health disparities and barriers to care, and his work volunteering in the community. 

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Cameron Harding, MD, third-year medicine clerkship director, speaks with Program Director Afshan Baraghoush, MD, about what brought him to UCI from Kentucky, his expertise in opioid use disorder, the UCI Medical Center addiction consult service and recent innovations in the clerkship. 

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Program Director Afshan Baraghoush, MD, interviews Bindu Swaroop, MD, chief of medicine at the VA Long Beach Medical Center and former residency program director, about curricular enhancements in the residency program, the strength of the program and her views on mentorship. 

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