Year 4. June 30.
[INTRO]
Vanessa Galvan Elected President of Association of Med-Peds Program Administrators (AMPPA)
Our staff and faculty are exceptional LEADERS both in and out of the workplace. This is evident in the recent election of Vanessa Galvan, internal medicine-pediatrics (med-peds) residency program coordinator, as president of the Association of Med-Peds Program Administrators (AMPPA). The AMPPA is designed to share knowledge among med-peds program administrators so they can better support the education of med-peds physicians.
“I was genuinely honored and humbled to be elected president of AMPPA. This community has played such a meaningful role in my professional development over the years, and I’ve always admired the passion and dedication of our members,” Vanessa said. “To be entrusted with leading this group is both an incredible privilege and a responsibility I take very seriously.”
Vanessa is most excited about the opportunity to advocate for and elevate the work of meds-peds program administrators across the country. She aims to create more spaces for collaboration, mentorship and innovation, and looks forward to empowering AMPPA members to become leaders.
“My top priorities are centered around connection, inclusion, and sustainability. I’d like to focus on expanding professional development opportunities, increasing member engagement — especially from newer administrators — and ensuring our resources and programming are accessible and responsive to the evolving needs of our community,” Vanessa said. “Additionally, I hope to strengthen our partnerships with other meds-peds organizations and amplify the vital contributions of administrators within academic medicine.”
For Vanessa, the best part of her job in the DoM is being able to support residents during such a transformative part of their journey in medicine. She enjoys helping them navigate challenges and watching them grow into compassionate, skilled physicians.
"The med-peds community at UCLA is truly special — collaborative, mission-driven, and full of heart —and I feel grateful every day to be part of it,” Vanessa said.
Please join me in congratulating Vanessa on her role with AMPPA! The organization has much to look forward to under her leadership.
Internal Medicine Residents and Faculty Collaborate on Education Insights at APDIM
The DoM and DGSOM are a force in physician education; insights from our programs and research into medical pedagogy influence institutions around the world. One recent example of this is our presence at the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM) Academic Internal Medicine Week April 6 through 9 in New Orleans, where faculty and residents in the internal medicine program shared and collected knowledge that will further our success in the field.
“We are so fortunate to have been able to participate in the APDIM conference this year,” Mina W. Ma, MD, director of the UCLA Internal Medicine Residency Primary Care Program, said. “This national meeting of program directors in internal medicine is a great opportunity for our leadership to connect with other program leadership across the country to discuss best practices, learn about innovative education strategies, and obtain updates in program requirements for residency training.”
Hospitalist Alexandra M. Glaeser, MD, co-chair of the 4th year capstone course at DGSOM, presented a poster at the conference describing research she conducted with Edward Ha, MD. insights on the impact of the course, which involves assessments of students on managing core complaints, appropriate handoffs, obtaining informed consent and basic procedures. Their findings showed that the 4th year capstone course prepared medical graduates well for these activities, making the course a potential model for other schools.
Dr. Glaeser found APDIM to be a wonderful venue to exchange ideas with faculty from across the nation.
“I came away with more ideas for a longitudinal 4th year curriculum as well as signaling strategies for internal medicine applicants. It was encouraging to see that UCLA is at the forefront of both mentoring and curricular innovation,” Dr. Glaeser said. “Most of all, it was great to spend quality time with incredible UCLA faculty, many of whom have been my informal mentors through the years, and welcome the next generation of chiefs!”
The DoM's new internal medicine chief residents participated in the meeting as well. During the portion of the meeting dedicated to chief residents, they exchanged ideas on curriculum development and program innovations as well as shared some of the exciting initiatives happening at UCLA.
“APDIM was a fantastic opportunity to connect with chief residents from internal medicine residencies all across the country,” Alexander T. Pham, MD, inpatient chief resident, said. “Networking with peers in similar leadership roles was invaluable, and it inspired us to bring home new ideas and enhancements to our own program this year.”
Congratulations to all the faculty and staff who participated the APDIM conference!
DoM Stands Out at American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions
Rockstars from the DoM had a great showing last week in Chicago at the 85th annual American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions. Fellows, faculty and residents showcased their research in posters, panels and oral presentations.
Among the faculty who gave oral presentations were Estelle M. Everett, MD, who spoke about her research on diabetes technology; Kenrick Duru, MD, MS, who also chaired a session; and Carol M. Mangione, MD, who appeared on a panel about testing for lipid disorders. Lauren Wisk, PhD gave a talk and presented a poster on the impact of a diabetes prevention program for undergraduate students. First-year fellow Diana Torres Pinzon, MD presented a poster as well.
“QUOTE,” Tannaz Moin, MD, MBA, professor of medicine in the endocrinology and general internal medicine and health services division, said.
Congratulations to all of the many faculty, fellows and residents who took part in the conference! Your work makes all of us in the DoM very proud. Enjoy the photos below!
American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions Demanding — and Rewarding — for DoM Cardiology
The UCLA Division of Cardiology brought high-impact research and exceptional LEADERShip to the Windy City for the 75th annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Sessions, a prolific conference held in late March that brings together thousands of health professionals every year to discuss advances in cardiovascular medicine. Fifteen cardiology fellows and 12 internal medicine or surgery residents shared posters, presentations or chaired sessions at the event, with many taking on multiple roles.
“UCLA representation at the ACC 2025 Scientific Sessions was not only a huge success given our number of housestaff presentations, but also it is a continuing tradition of success that our faculty and fellow mentorship has allowed for so many trainees to delve into their curiosities and passions to help advance the field of cardiovascular medicine,” said Eric Yang, MD, director of the UCLA Cardio-Oncology Program and associate program director of the UCLA Cardiovascular Diseases Fellowship.
One especially bright star at ACC Scientific Sessions was Aleesha Shaik, MD, a cardiology fellow on the clinical track. In addition to presenting three case studies as part of core educational programming sessions — one involving hypertension, one on metabolic syndrome and another on microvascular disease — Dr. Shaik also collaborated with residents, fellows and faculty on three moderated posters. Two of these described cardiomyopathy cases, while a third was on the VALOR-QI project at the VA, a program aimed at improving cholesterol management through provider and patient education and outreach.
But that was just the start: Dr. Shaik also helped organize the conference’s leadership programming. She moderated and co-chaired three sessions, including a panel on leadership in cardiovascular medicine that featured DoM cardiologist and researcher Karol E. Watson, MD, PhD. Although she has been active in professional organizations since medical school, including holding national leadership positions in the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians, she described this year’s ACC Scientific Sessions as her most demanding — and rewarding — conference to date.
“I presented to audiences of hundreds, which was a new and exhilarating challenge for me in an academic setting. The positive feedback I received gave me a huge boost in confidence and affirmed my ability to teach and speak at that scale,” Dr. Shaik said. “Managing such a wide range of responsibilities — from program development to presentation creation — was an invaluable learning experience in organization, communication, and leadership.”
For Dr. Shaik, the most rewarding part of the conference was having the chance to witness the incredible work her co-fellows are doing.
“Their talent and dedication continually inspire me,” Dr. Shaik said. “I’m deeply grateful for the mentorship and sponsorship from our cardiology faculty that made this experience possible.”
Congratulations to our cardiology fellows, residents and faculty on your successful conference! Please visit this page to see all the posters, presentations and participation at the ACC by the DoM.
DoM Shines at SLEEP and ATS Conferences
The innovation and excellence of faculty and staff in the UCLA Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine was on full display at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) conference in May and the Associated Professional Sleep Societies’s SLEEP conference in June.
At the ATS conference, pulmonary and critical care medicine fellow Anna Fretz, MD, MHS presented research on the care of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a dangerous lung condition that requires ICU care. Under the mentorship of Ana Costa Montiero, MD, PhD, Dr. Fretz looked at the link between ventilatory ratio — an index used as a marker of lung injury — and enteral feeding, or the use of a gastric feeding tube, in patients with ARDS. They found no link between the strength of enteral feeding and ventilatory ratio.
“This demonstrates that in patients with ARDS, when we use ventilatory ratio as marker of lung injury and risk of mortality, the presence or absence of feeding does not impact either the measurement of VR or its association with risk of death,” Dr. Fretz said.
Dr. Fretz found ATS to be a fantastic opportunity to network and learn from other clinicians and scientists who are interested in the future of ARDS research. As a physician who spends most of her time on the “bedside” rather than the “bench” end of translational research, she found it especially interesting to learn more about the applications of data and basic science.
“It is exciting to be a part of a field that is at the cusp of major paradigm shifts in the way understand risk categories of ARDS, which will eventually translate into more tailored and better care for critically ill patients,” Dr. Fretz said.
At SLEEP, Hollyann F. Loui, MD, a fellow in the AIRE Integrated Sleep Medicine Track, presented research on the impact of a quality improvement initiative around candidate selection for hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HNS), a implanted device for patients with obstructive sleep apnea who are unable to tolerate other forms of therapy. They found that an HNS psychological evaluation to look for potential psychiatric and cognitive contraindications to HNS and an assessment of pre- and post-HNS impact procedures dramatically improved treatment adherence rates. Her SLEEP presentation was highlighted on MedPage.
“Presenting my research at the SLEEP conference was an exciting opportunity to connect directly with fellow researchers, dive into the latest developments in sleep medicine, and advance my growth as both a clinician and a researcher,” Dr. Loui said. “I'm excited to attend future conferences and remain actively involved in the sleep medicine community.”
Congratulations to Dr. Fretz, Dr. Loui and all of our fellows in the division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine on successful conferences!
Fellows’ Hard Work Stands Out at American Geriatrics Society Conference
The UCLA Geriatrics Fellowship Program has some of the best fellows in the country. Their excellence was on full display during the American Society of Geriatrics annual meeting in early May, where all 11 of our fellows presented posters. In total, the division was represented through 36 poster presentations and 10 session speakers.
“Having the opportunity to attend AGS gave me the opportunity to meet leaders in the field, learn about how other institutions are practicing geriatrics within their systems, and network/collaborate with other geriatric fellows and geriatricians,” said Jessica Phan, MD, who presented two posters from projects she worked on with co-fellow Elaine Deemer, DO. “It was a wonderful experience, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to attend with UCLA's support!”
Dr. Phan and Dr. Deemer’s projects assessed ways to increase dementia screening rates. Their first poster explained a research project that analyzed the results of a pilot program for the universal cognitive screening for dementia at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center — a safety net hospital — and whether it translated into earlier dementia diagnoses and improved health equity. They found that the pilot program did indeed increase early-stage dementia diagnoses, and that this reduced health equity gaps by linking under-resourced individuals to support.
The second study was a quality improvement project aimed at increasing universal dementia screening at Harbor-UCLA's continuity clinic, which included training for care teams on how to incorporate cognitive health assessments into the nursing workflow. The baseline screening rate was around 11% in August 2024; as of March 2025, it was up to 26.7%.
“We will be excited to see what our screening rate will be in the next coming months once we get screening rate data after the incorporation of the CHA into the nursing workflow,” Dr. Phan said.
Another fellow, Aaron Wang, DO, presented two posters as well. His research focused on education, both for physicians and patients: One project looked at best practices for teaching healthcare providers about challenges associated with controlled substance prescribing, while the other assessed the efficacy of an educational pamphlet about skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) upon admission was effective in improving patient and support system knowledge of different aspects of SNF care.
The first study found that instituting a streamlined prescribing manual and geriatrics on-call log improved physician and staff understanding of patient issues around controlled substance prescriptions. The second showed that while the pamphlet helped close the gap between expectations and reality with regards to SNF care quality, it might be more effective to educate patients prior their transition to the facility.
For Dr. Wang, one of the most impactful discussions at AGS was on the future of geriatric medicine. Medical conditions seen in the elderly are becoming more complex and treatment options are imperfect, and the necessity of the field is not always clear when metrics for success focus on quantity of visits, procedures and costs. This is reflected in the lack of interest for new physicians to pursue geriatrics.
But geriatricians are essential to the improving the lives of patients and their families.
“Geriatricians, at the head of interdisciplinary teams, are effective leaders in advocating for what our elderly seek: quality of life,” he said.
Congratulations to all of our fellows on their success at the ASG conference! I am proud of your exceptional work.
DoM Faculty Honored at Society of Hospital Medicine Conference
Some of our hospitalists traveled to Las Vegas in late April to share their excellence in research and patient care at the Society of Hospital Medicine’s (SHM) annual conference. They returned with accolades and new memories with old colleagues.
“These conferences are outstanding opportunities to get early feedback on this work that can inform how we implement this research at scale,” Richard K. Leuchter, MD, who received an award for having the top oral presentation at the conference, said. “We got to talk to internationally recognized experts in behavioral interventions and health system change, which was invaluable in shaping our dissemination and other next steps.”
Dr. Leuchter’s presentation described the care outcomes and cost savings from the Olive View-UCLA Next Day Clinic, an urgent-care style clinic launched in July 2023 to help reduce unnecessary hospitalizations. His team’s analysis showed that in its first year of operations, the Olive View-UCLA Next Day Clinic avoided more than 800 hospitalizations and saved over $1 million.
“This type of work is so important given the emergency department boarding and hospital occupancy crises we are facing nationwide,” Dr. Leuchter said.
Meanwhile, Evan M. Shannon, MD, MPH took to the big stage at the SHM meeting to give a plenary speech on the impact of the UCLA Homeless Healthcare Collaborative on several key health outcomes. His team’s research — which demonstrated that the program contributed to improved blood pressure and diabetes control and reduced emergency room use and hospitalizations — was selected as the top research abstract at the meeting.
“This research is important because it is among the first studies investigating how field-based homeless healthcare can lead to improved outcomes for people experiencing homelessness,” he explained. “Field-based homeless healthcare is a novel approach to improving the care for people experiencing homelessness, which is especially important given the scale of the homelessness crisis in LA.”
For Dr. Shannon, the presentation was also a full-circle moment.
“It was very special that I got to share the stage for the plenary talk with my primary research mentor when I was in my clinical and research training at Brigham and Women’s hospital,” he said.
Congratulations to Rich, Evan and all those who participated in the SHM annual conference!
Early-Career Faculty Recognized at SGIM Annual Meeting for Research and Education Excellence
From trainees to division chiefs, DoM faculty are LEADERS at every point in their careers. Three of our early-career faculty were recognized as such at the Society for General Internal Medicine (SGIM) Annual Meeting, which was held May 14 through 17 in Hollywood, Fla. Stephanie Y. Young, MPH, PsyD and Utpal N. Sandesara, MD, PhD received one of just two David E. Rogers Junior Faculty Awards in recognition of their outstanding workshop at the conference, while Dr. Richard Leuchter won the meeting's only award for the best oral presentation.
Dr. Young and Dr. Sandesara’s workshop focused on understanding patient psychology and on strategies to improve physician-patient communication. They shared a practical, accessible framework tailored to internal medicine physicians, the goal of which is to serve as a toolkit to recognize when certain patient personality traits might be influencing the clinical dynamic and respond with approaches grounded in day-to-day practice.
“We were thrilled to be recognized for our work—especially for a workshop focused on personality, a topic that shapes some of the hardest and most human moments in clinical care,” said Dr. Young, who serves as the director for mental health education for the primary care residency program. “It’s a topic that deeply affects physician-patient relationships, yet often lacks clear, teachable frameworks in medical education. Being able to share practical tools on a national stage felt like an important step toward closing that gap.”
Dr. Leuchter’s winning presentation described the results of research conducted by the UCLA Nudge Unit, a group that designs interventions to improve patient outcomes. In an effort to boost the number of patients who read their MyChart messages, his team redesigned the email notification system that patients receive when they get a message. The results of a randomized controlled trial showed that their new notification boosted the rates of breast cancer screenings by 12% and cervical cancer screenings by 7%.
“We are now working with health system leadership to make our new messaging system the default at UCLA Health, and if scaled nationally, this could have a profound impact on cancer screening initiatives,” Dr. Leuchter said.
Congratulations to Stephanie, Uptal and Rich on your much-deserved awards!
Robert Reiss, MD Named the 2025 Honored Hero for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Los Angeles Take Steps Walk
Now I am excited to share that Robert Reiss, MD was recently named the 2025 Los Angeles Take Steps Honored Hero at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Take Steps Walk, an event that raises funds for research, advocacy work and the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
“It was an amazing day,” said Dr. Reiss, an internist at UCLA Palos Verdes Primary & Specialty Care. His son and one of his daughters, David and Erica — both of whom were diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at 11 years old — flew in from Palo Alto and Madrid. His other daughter, who does not have the condition, attended as well.
“As a surprise they introduced me, and I was a tearful mess by the time I got up onstage to give my address,” Dr. Reiss recalled.
The Honored Hero award recognizes a healthcare professional who has demonstrated profound dedication to helping those with IBD through their fundraising efforts and work with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Dr. Reiss certainly fits the bill: This year he will surpass $1 million raised for the organization. He and his team, Team Reiss, raised $115,000 in 2024 and $135,000 this year. He also sits on the board of the organization and is a longtime member of the L.A. chapter.
“I want to fundraise to find a cure for this disease,” Dr. Reiss said. He noted that he is grateful that UCLA chose to be a sponsor this year.
Congratulations, Robert, on this special achievement! Your work embodies our mission to serve our community and advance health for all.
Dale,
P.S.
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