Meet Our Faculty

I have been at UCI since 2015, focusing on hospitalist, contraception and preoperative care. I have dedicated most of my career to teaching and focusing on cognitive frameworks and analytical thinking.

Why I like working with residents: Residents keep me feeling young, inspired, and optimistic and I am so appreciative of the opportunity to practice medicine while enjoying such energy.

Beyond Medicine: Time permitting, I like to surf, run, cycle, listen to sci-fi audiobooks, photograph, play with my kids, go to dinner with my wife, hang out with friends and occasionally play board games… but time permitting now means I mostly just hang with the kids.

I have been at UCI since 2017 and I do broad spectrum outpatient Family Medicine at one of the FQHCs. My passions are Latinx Health, outpatient procedures, and Women’s Health.

Why I like working with residents: I love working with the residents. It is fun, they keep me on my toes, and I learn so much more when working with them. Having the privilege of working with them gives me the biggest job satisfaction.

Beyond Medicine: I have 3 little ones so pretty much all of my time is spent with them (including nights). We like going to Disneyland, eating out when we can, watching soccer together, but I CANNOT wait to travel again. One day, one day…

I've been at UCI since 2020. My main role has been medical director of our primary clinic site in Santa Ana, where my focus has been expanding the services we provide our patients while improving clinic workflows and team-based care. I also round on our inpatient service and attend deliveries with our residents as one of the FM OBs.

Why I like working with residents: Working with residents is a powerful reminder of the impact family physicians can have on patients and their communities. Learning from residents as they become well-rounded, compassionate physicians is equal parts fun and inspiring.

Beyond Medicine: On weekends, you can find me (and the family) exploring LA and OC counties in search of good food, coffee, beer (for the parents, not kids), and urban hikes. I grew up in Italy in my early youth and am half Colombian, and travel to both countries every year- though we are also meeting our goal of visiting a new destination each year!

As a family physician and psychiatrist, I focus on the intersection between primary care and behavioral medicine. This includes patient-centered care, the incorporation of motivational interviewing and managing mental illness and addiction within primary care.

Why I like working with residents: It is inspiring to see residents gain the knowledge and skills to transform the aspiration to help underserved communities into concrete action.

Beyond Medicine: I’m a diehard Liverpool Football Club fan who hopes to make it to Anfield at some point…

My career focus has been underserved medicine, now including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, specifically Down syndrome.

Why I like working with residents: Resident education – I learn as I teach. Residents keep me updated on the latest, not just in medicine, but the lingo such as LMAO. They inspire me to continue being a life-long learner.

Beyond Medicine: I have an insatiable curiosity about the world and love traveling and learning new languages. I also love cats (mom of two) and soccer. I’m a fan of Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur, and have even attended a game at Wembley Stadium at which they crushed Manchester United. 

I practice both outpatient primary care as well as inpatient rounding. I find that variety keeps me on my toes, and having the opportunity to work with many specialists at UCI pushes me to be a better physician. Additionally, I am particularly passionate in regards to advocacy, community outreach, and social determinants of health

Why I like working with residents: I was a resident here myself! I had great experiences learning from some of the best mentors and wanted to give back in the same way. I enjoy learning from resident's different perspectives to life just as much as I love teaching.

Beyond Medicine: I picked up long distance running during residency and have completed 4 half marathons and 1 marathon to this point. Additionally, my hobbies include passionately cheering for my favorite Cleveland sports teams, listening to hip-hop and R&B, and spending time with my rescue pup, Vinny.

My clinical focus is incorporating medical humanities in underserved medicine. My academic focus is student interest in Family Medicine and teaching on campus for MS1's and MS2's.

Why I like working with residents: I enjoy working with residents because I love seeing them absorb and grow while they care for our patients in need. The residents also teach me in return, so it makes mentoring enjoyable.

Beyond Medicine: I completed FM Residency here at UCI in 2009. I love making movies and music videos. I'm into all kinds of arts and would love to get residents involved in art projects with medical students as their outlet for wellness.

I joined UCI in 2009 and have practiced a wide scope of medicine which has included inpatient, low risk ob, pediatrics, sports medicine, urgent care, many outpatient procedures, and medical student education. Additionally I have training in ultrasound.

Why I like working with residents: Residency is such a unique time in a physician's career. For me, it was one of the hardest, yet most rewarding times in my life. I get to meet interns on their first day of residency and watch them develop into super capable senior physicians in just three years. To get a front seat to that every day and potentially play a small part in that transformation is such a privilege for me.

Beyond Medicine: Outside of medicine, you will find me playing beach volleyball, sailing, traveling around the world with my husband, planning other people's trips, or raising a monarch butterfly.

I'm passionate about obesity medicine, procedural medicine, gender-affirming care and ensuring our patients get the best care possible in the hospital setting. 

Why I like working with residents: It's an honor to be a part of a budding physician's growth and to be able to play a role in their development as a future leader in our community and beyond. 

Beyond Medicine: I have no shame nerding out to anything Pokemon related.

Inpatient medicine, reproductive health/family planning, FM obstetrical care, medical student education

Why I like working with residents: I enjoy working with residents because I like team-based care, the opportunity to train the next cohort of docs, and being in an environment of continued learning and growth.

Beyond Medicine: I enjoy food a lot. Cooking and baking with the kids, eating, trying new restaurants, TV cooking shows, etc. I'm obsessed with noodles. Discovering different groceries/produce at H-Mart, local vietnamese markets, Tokyo Central, 99 etc is really fun and easy to do in Orange County. 

My focus is on adult medicine, both inpatient and outpatient. I particularly like to take care of obesity-related diseases like diabetes, fatty liver disease and more.

Why I like working with residents: As they say, teaching is the best way to learn. Working with residents keeps me updated about the latest studies and drugs and makes me a better doctor.

Beyond Medicine: At age 15, I was selected for the county cricket team. I still follow cricket regularly. Also, I love classical music, both Indian and Western and hope to start traveling someday soon.