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

Before my medical career, I was in the clinical research world in Boston. I quickly learned that clinical research was insufficient to feed my passion, as I was more interested in interacting with the research subjects than the data itself, and thus transitioned into medicine. When I entered medical school at UCI, I fell in love with internal medicine and focused on expanding my skills as a physician. It was not until my time in residency that I found something I am even more passionate about: teaching and mentoring medical students and residents. I was so excited to join the UCI hospitalist family, where the residents are the heart of the hospital. I am even more thrilled to join the Internal Medicine Residency program leadership as an associate program director. I am dedicated to creating a positive learning climate that allows for both personal and professional growth. I am delighted to help create new programming opportunities for UCI internal medicine residents. On a personal note, my door is always open, and I love to hear from residents to just chat or help with any problem as best I can. I genuinely believe we have the most dedicated and empathetic residents, and it is my honor to serve on the program’s leadership team!

Program Coordinator

I can’t help but smile every June as I watch our residents begin their next journey. I reflect back on the time I have spent with these physicians and what they have accomplished to get where they are today. It is a joy and privilege for me to be part of a team whose passion and aspiration is to discover, teach and heal.

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 Assistant

I have been with the program for almost a year now, but it has been a pleasure to work alongside wonderful individuals. The program leadership are genuine and strive to always provide their residents quality in all that they do.

"I am originally from the Bay Area and completed medical school at Saint Louis University. Completing residency at UCI has been so rewarding! We get such excellent training through UCI's high volume and diverse patient population and its breadth of medical pathology. I have also had the opportunity to train with some of the most amazing colleagues.
 
As a chief resident, I hope to improve our residency program by expanding upon our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) curriculum and by improving resident wellness through program-level change.
 
While in SoCal, I have had ample time to soak in the California sun, check out the beaches/tidepools, and explore the area's diverse food scene with my wife. Outside of medicine, some of my passions include cooking, barbecuing, gardening, and bouldering. "
 
Medical School: Saint Louis University School of Medicine

I was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Growing up, I enjoyed inshore and offshore fishing adventures, and lately, I've been making sushi with my catch. I moved to Arizona, where I completed high school and studied Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona. Afterward, I returned to Florida for medical school at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Now, I’ve come full circle, training in Internal Medicine at UC Irvine, where I am currently the Chief Resident in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. Among my many roles, the one I am most excited about is working with residents on QI projects. Living in California has allowed me to enjoy the best of both Florida and Arizona—hiking, skiing, and fishing. Every outdoor adventure is available to me. At the same time, my training experience has been incredible. I’m passionate about Cardiology, and by the end of my training, I feel confident in my skills with ultrasound-guided procedures and cardiac US. Training here has been one of the highlights of my medical career.

"I am born and raised in Southern California and attended UCLA for college before moving to Vermont for medical school. I was then able to return to SoCal to complete my medical residency here at UCI. The past three years of residency were both challenging and extremely rewarding, offering me substantial growth both personally and professionally. I feel privileged to continue at UCI as a chief resident and am excited for the opportunity to contribute to the continual growth of our program in fostering outstanding residents through comprehensive training. 

Outside of medicine, I'm fully immersed in sports as a diehard Lakers fan and Chelsea soccer fan. I enjoy taking advantage of the beautiful weather by staying physically active outdoors, largely so I can continue to enjoy all the amazing food in the area."

Medical School: The University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine

"Hi, I’m Jeni! I grew up in Redlands, CA, which is about an hour away from UCIMC. I attended UC Berkeley for college and spent several years working in the Bay Area before applying to medical school, where I was lucky enough to return back to Southern California to attend UC Riverside. I am grateful to have stayed on as chief resident, where I am able to focus on learner education and mentorship, in addition to honing my clinical skills as an attending. I am currently applying to Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship. Outside of work, I enjoy reading, exercising, baking/cooking, and hanging out with my cat."

Behdad was born and raised in Irvine, CA, and stayed close to home for his undergraduate studies at UC Irvine, where he received a degree in biological sciences. Interested in the impact of the social determinants of health on patient care, he pursued a Master's in Public Health at the University of Southern California, specializing in epidemiology and biostatistics. He attended Stony Brook University School of Medicine in Long Island, New York. He returned to UC Irvine as an internal medicine resident to serve the community that raised him. His interest in academic medicine inspired him to pursue a chief resident year, where he is spearheading the educational curriculum. He plans to continue his training by pursuing a career in cardiology. You can catch Behdad playing soccer.

Medical School: State University of NY at Stony Brook School of Medicine

"I was raised in Lakewood, California and also spent half my life growing up in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I attended UCLA for undergrad and Tulane for medical school.  Being able to complete my residency training at UCI has been a great honor. I continue to have the privilege of serving communities that are close to my heart, while working alongside an incredible team of co-workers who have quickly become close friends.  As chief I am eager to continue to advocate for the residents, to serve as a mentor, and to continue my efforts to improve the community around me. My future career goal is to one day serve as an academic cardiologist. My hobbies include photography, playing tennis, going on local hikes, and trying new food with friends."

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.

Watch the Video

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. 

Watch the Video

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. 

Watch the Video

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.

Watch the Video

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. 

Watch the Video

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. 

Watch the Video

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. 

Watch the Video