Year 5. March 23. We Knocked It Out of the Park on Residency Match Day!
This past Friday was one of the most exciting events of the year for our medical students, faculty and the future of our profession: residency match day! The UCLA Department of Medicine (DoM) Internal Medicine Residency Programs consistently match the top medical students in the country, and just like the L.A. Dodgers at the World Series, this year was another home run. Our match rate was 100%!
Our 83 new residents hail from 21 different states. Fourteen of them self-identify as belonging to a group that is underrepresented in medicine, and nine hold advanced degrees in addition to their MD. Among our graduating medical students at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 30% of the class will enter internal medicine, with 25% of them in categorical internal medicine; the other 5% will go into specialty programs within IM. Sixty-six percent will stay in the west, and 25% will train in the University of California system.
Our residency program directors cannot wait to welcome the new residents into their programs this fall. Lisa J. Skinner, MD shared that getting to know the incoming intern class through the residency recruitment process has given her a renewed sense of optimism not only about medicine, but about the future.
“I can’t wait to welcome the newest members of our UCLA Department of Medicine family this June,” Dr. Skinner said. “In these early months, they will begin to see themselves as physicians; by the time they graduate from our program, they will have become a family. Watching that transformation is a privilege I never take for granted.”
Of the two new residents who will be joining STAR PSTP, Residency Program Director Amy L. Cummings, MD, PhD said, “We’re thrilled to welcome an exceptional group of recruits whose talent, vision, and dedication will help shape the future of medicine within our program and beyond.”
UCLA Division of Dermatology Residency Program Director Marcia Hogeling, MD is overjoyed at what she described as a “truly terrific match.”
“We look forward to fostering strong teamwork, sharpening our eye for morphology, mastering the art of spotting the difference and delivering exceptional dermatologic patient care together,” Dr. Hogeling said.
Graduating DGSOM student Grace Boyd, who also attended college at UCLA, will be part of Dr. Hogeling’s program as an incoming dermatology resident.
“I'm most excited about being a triple Bruin and meeting my future co-residents,” she said.
Match Day Celebrations with Our Future Colleagues
UCLA Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program Director Gifty-Maria J. Ntim, MD, MPH feels that the program had another fantastic year.
“We are super excited about the six amazing doctors who will be joining our med-peds family,” Dr. Ntim said. “I can’t wait to see what impact they have on our program and the broader med-peds community."
Additionally, the UCLA-VA Greater Los Angeles Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Program learned of the residents who will start their program in 2027.
“Our UCLA-VA Greater Los Angeles PM&R Residency is thrilled to see another fantastic group of bright, enthusiastic, well-rounded, and team-spirited additions join our crew!” Program Director Dixie Aragaki, MD said. “We are eager to welcome them all with open arms in 2027!"
Congratulations to all of our new residents, our program directors, the education team and the faculty volunteers for another fantastic recruitment season!
Internal Medicine Residency Program
Lisa Skinner, MD
Mina Ma, MD
Rachel Brook, MD
Kelley Chuang, MD (Recruitment Committee Co-Chair)
Kristin Schwab Jensen, MD (Recruitment Committee Co-Chair)
Casey Kaneshiro, MD
Edward Lee, MD
Wendy Simon, MD
Shatara Townes, MD
Arash Nafisi, MD
Ariana Wilkinson, MD
Tricia Barrow, Mdr
Education Team
Internal Medicine-Preventive Medicine Residency Program
Alice Kuo, MD, PhD, MBA
Hannah Kwak, MD, MPH
Amanda Patrick
Dermatology Residency Program
Marcia Hogeling, MD
Laura Bernet, MD
Christopher Song
Julie Lopez
Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program
Gifty-Maria J. Ntim, MD, MPH
Vanessa Galvan
Heather Martinez-Acedo
STAR Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP)
Quen Cheng, MD, PhD
Amy Cummings, MD, PhD
Nadia Barreda
Alexa Gatti
UCLA/VA GLA Physical Medicine Program
Dixie Aragaki, MD
Kim Vu, MD
Quynh Pham, MD
Sara Flores, MD
Elite Ben-Ozer, MD
Rebecca Ovsiowitz, MD
Resa Oshiro, MD
Mike Tran, MD
Teri Johnson
Incoming Chief Residents Reach Out to Incoming Interns in Match Day Calls
Among the many special traditions shared by our chief residents is an annual ritual to jumpstart community-building with first-year trainees. Each year on residency match day, the chief residents for the coming year make phone calls to new interns to welcome them to the DoM.
“Hearing the excitement on the other end of the line brought up so many emotions,” Katya Lavine, MD, who will be primary care chief resident next academic year, said. “Mostly I’m just excited to welcome this new class of interns to our program.”
Though the chats were brief, her conversations on the phone with 10 of the 12 new primary care residents brought her back to the rush of her own match day three years ago and the feeling of seeing UCLA’s name when she opened her envelope.
“It was nice to have a moment of reflection on how much has happened in these three years,” she said.
Dr. Lavine greatly looks forward to supporting residents as they navigate the waters of residency. She is thankful for the chiefs who guided her through the successes and challenges of her own residency journey and hopes to do the same for the new class of interns.
“I see this as a great honor and responsibility,” she said.
Tyler Morad, MD, incoming chief resident for Ronald Reagan and Santa Monica UCLA Medical Centers, spoke with six incoming residents who hail from medical schools in Chicago, where he himself completed medical school.
“Listening to the sheer excitement in their voices, I was catapulted right back into their shoes when I got a call from one of the rising chief residents,” Dr. Morad said. “I felt like I was matching all over again!”
Dr. Morad also is eager to support residents as a new chief, whether it’s while he is on wards, facilitating morning report or taking questions from the chief’s office.
“I am also excited to help ensure the residency transitions are as smooth and stress-free as possible, namely for the interns starting residency and the second years starting senioring,” he said.
Dr. Morad now has two unforgettable match days on the books: his own and the one he celebrated with our new interns.
“Match day was one of the best days of my life, and it is an absolute honor to be a part of the 2026 Match Day,” he said. “I cannot wait to watch the incoming intern class start this new, exciting journey.”
I share Katya and Tyler’s excitement and am also looking forward to supporting our new residents when they join us in the coming months! Thank you to our incoming chief residents for welcoming our Bruin trainees with open arms!
Winter Fellowship Matches Bring Talented Fellows to UCLA
As we celebrate another successful residency match, I would like to take a moment to recognize the new pool of fellows who matched into our dermatologic oncology, pediatric dermatology and clinical informatics fellowship programs this past winter. We also learned today of the new trainees who will be joining the UCLA Preventive Medicine Fellowship Program this coming year.
Meet our new fellows below!
Clinical Informatics
The UCLA Clinical Informatics Fellowship Program trains physicians on how to effectively use biomedical information and knowledge in health care. This year’s incoming fellows are Kevin Hong, MD, a pediatrician at Kaiser who has been involved in optimizing the electronic health records user experience, and Christyn Beal Randolph, MD, a DGSOM graduate and family medicine physician from the Air Force who currently serves as the CMIO for her Air Force base. They will join us on July 1.
“I’m excited about their potential to make substantive contributions to improving patient care with information technology, both locally and nationally,” Douglas S. Bell, MD, PhD, program director, said.
Dermatologic Oncology
The highly competitive UCLA Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology Fellowship Program trains physicians to perform Mohs surgery, reconstructive surgery and cutaneous cosmetic surgery. This year’s new fellow is Albert E. Zhou, MD, PhD, a University of Maryland Medical School alum who is currently completing his chief resident year at the University of Connecticut. He has more than 140 peer-reviewed publications, and fellowship program director Jenny J. Kim, MD noted that he has been described by his mentors as a “hard worker, compassionate physician, community advocate, and a natural leader” who “embodies the values of integrity, excellence and service.”
“We are very excited to have Albert join us,” Dr. Kim said. Please say hello to him when he begins his fellowship on Aug. 1!
Pediatric Dermatology
The UCLA Pediatric Dermatology Fellowship Program gives physicians world-class hands-on training in caring for a diverse population of pediatric dermatology patients. This year’s new pediatric dermatology fellow is Sameeha Husayn, DO.
“Dr. Husayn brings a wonderful combination of clinical insight, curiosity, and compassion to pediatric dermatology. She is deeply committed to her patients and is always going the extra mile for our families,” said Carol E. Cheng, MD, program director. “She is also a fantastic teacher, always taking the time to explain and support our residents and medical students in clinic and on consults. We are so lucky to have Dr. Husayn on our team!”
Preventive Medicine
Physicians who enter the UCLA Preventive Medicine Fellowship Program emerge as public health LEADERS who are ready to design interventions that advance health for all. This year’s new fellows are Sneha Dilip, MD , a graduate of Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo who completed residency at UCLA-Harbor Medical Center, and Arianne Sacramento, MD, MBA, MPH, who obtained her medical, business and public health degrees from Tulane University and trained at the University of California – Davis for residency.
“I'm truly excited and look forward to welcoming our two new preventive medicine fellows next year, Dr. Dilip and Dr. Sacramento,” Priyanka Fernandes, MD, MPH, program director, said. “At a time of uncertainty, when public health and health care are undergoing extreme changes, they bring fresh energy to the field. Their enthusiasm, commitment and resilience give me hope for the specialty and the future!”
Let me close by thanking our program directors, chief residents, current residents and Interviewing faculty, who worked tirelessly to recruit the next class of LEADERS to UCLA.
Dale
P.S.
In reflecting on our success in recruiting, I have been thinking about all the aspects of our community that makes UCLA so attractive to the best and brightest. I was sitting in the Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome (CKM) Symposium this weekend, hosted by the nephrology division, and while listening to a talk by UCLA Division of Clinical Nutrition Chief Zhaoping Li, MD, PhD, I finally understood why….
Food and lifestyle??
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