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 Marie. I grew up in Coronado, California, and am thrilled to be back in my home state for residency at UC Irvine after completing my undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley (Go Bears) and medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin. UC Irvine has been a wonderful place to train because of its collaborative culture, exceptional mentorship, meaningful research opportunities and the exciting growth of our health system as we expand the UC Irvine family of hospitals.

As one of the UC Irvine Quality Improvement Chief Residents, I am passionate about quality improvement, community engagement and medical communication. I am grateful for the opportunity to help advance initiatives that improve patient care while supporting resident education and professional development. Following residency, I plan to pursue fellowship training in Gastroenterology.

Outside of the hospital, you'll most likely find me in the ceramics studio, relaxing at the beach, watching scary movies, exploring new restaurants, cheering on the Bucks and the Packers, traveling, reading or trying to master the art of growing lemons. I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of the UC Irvine community and look forward to continuing to welcome future residents to our program. 
 

Hi everyone I'm Ruby, originally from the Bay Area and one of the current chief residents at UC Irvine. I completed my undergraduate education at UC Berkeley and went to medical school at the University of Illinois, Chicago. I was delighted to return to California (and its weather) for residency and am now applying to Endocrinology fellowships. I have loved my time at UC Irvine for its strong clinical training, collaborative environment and all the friends I've made along the way. My primary focus is advancing medical education, developing curriculum through Sims and Morning Reports and maintaining the wellness of our residents. Outside of medicine, I enjoy trying new restaurants (OC has so much good food), cooking, exploring breweries and cocktail bars and spending time with my golden retriever puppy. 

Hi everyone, I'm Spencer, I am originally from San Diego but completed undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz and medical school at St. Louis University prior to returning to UC Irvine for residency. I have loved my time here for many reasons including the strong clinical training and all the amazing people I have met (one of my co-chiefs is officiating my wedding and another is a groomsman.) I am passionate about teaching and medical education and am looking forward to working with everyone during didactics and conferences. Ultimately, I plan to pursue a fellowship in oncology after chief year and hope to stay in academics. Outside of medicine I enjoy staying active, spending time with my fiancé, hanging out with my dog Dutch who is a rescue pit bull, playing video games and hanging out with all the amazing people I have met in residency. 

Hi everyone, I’m Anish. I grew up in San Diego, completed my undergraduate degree at Washington University in St. Louis and finished medical school at the Netter School of Medicine in Connecticut. After medical school, I was excited to return close to home in Southern California. I have enjoyed my time at UC Irvine because of the incredible clinical training we receive, the outstanding faculty we work with and most importantly, the relationships I have formed with my co-residents. A few of my academic interests include cardiology, medical education and quality improvement. Outside of medicine, I love watching sports, visiting the beautiful beaches of Orange County, staying active through running and boxing classes and spending time with my wife and two cats.

Hi, I’m Trevor. I was born and raised on the island of Kaua`i in Hawai`i. I feel incredibly fortunate to have grown up in paradise, where I learned to surf and developed a love for the outdoors. After high school, I moved to California to attend UCLA - (Go Bruins) - where I studied Geography because of my longstanding passion for the environment. I returned to Hawai`i for medical school at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawai`i. Now, I’m back in California, where I recently completed my internal medicine residency at UC Irvine before I apply to gastroenterology fellowship. I’m delighted to serve as one of the chief residents this year, which has given me the opportunity to pursue my interests in professional development, medical education and resident well-being. Outside of the hospital and my chief resident duties, I love spending time at Newport Beach, hiking in Crystal Cove and trying new foods throughout Orange County,

I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and completed both my undergraduate studies and medical school at the University of Arizona (Bear Down.) My time as a resident at UC Irvine was highlighted by the exceptional clinical training we received, the personal growth I experienced and the lifelong friends I made along the way. Staying on as a Chief Resident was an easy decision — I'm passionate about giving back to a program that prioritizes excellent training and supports our incredible residents.

Outside of medicine, I enjoy playing basketball, following my favorite sports teams, spending time at the beach, traveling and hunting down the best slice of pizza in Southern California.
 

I grew up in Yorba Linda, California and completed my undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley (Go Bears). Before medicine, I worked in consulting and in strategy and operations for a healthcare data science company. I later attended Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, New Jersey, where I became an Eagles fan (Go Birds) and met my best friend and wife.

I chose UC Irvine for its rigorous clinical training, diverse patient population and culture of curiosity and collaboration. Caring for medically complex patients here has challenged me to grow into a more thoughtful and capable physician. As Chief Resident, I am excited to support our residents, advance medical education and strengthen our quality improvement curriculum. Outside the hospital, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, watching sports, exploring local breweries and learning something new.
 

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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