Year 5. October 5. It Sometimes Feels Like We Are Always in Award Season in the DoM
It is a privilege to lead such a remarkable group of faculty, trainees and colleagues in the UCLA Department of Medicine (DoM). As such, few days pass when I am not made aware of yet another series of accolades. This week, I summarize a few recent ones from some of our LEADERS.
Alejandra Casillas, MD, MSHS, Named Chief Marshal of Alumni for the Harvard College Class of 2001
The Harvard College Class of 2001 elected Alejandra Casillas, MD, MSHS, as chief marshal of alumni, a historic honor recognizing her distinguished career in medicine, research and education, as well as her dedication to service and community. Dr. Casillas is the first Latina to serve in the role, which represents university alumni during Harvard Alumni Day.
For Dr. Casillas, associate vice chair for community impact in the UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Community Engagement and Inclusive Excellence and associate professor of medicine in residence in the UCLA Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, being selected by her classmates was both humbling and deeply moving.
“It really touched me beyond words that this group elected me as chief marshal,” she said. “I was just trying to survive back then. I could have never imagined that I would one day be chosen by my peers, decades later, as a representative of our class and the institution. It will always be the honor of my life.”
The recognition brought her journey full circle, from once feeling like an outsider on campus to representing what education can make possible. At the chief marshal’s luncheon, Dr. Casillas reflected on the complex emotions of being the first in her family to attend college. She recalled struggling to explain that her father, who had a sixth-grade education and worked as a waiter, was “the smartest and most determined person” she knew. Her Harvard experience opened remarkable possibilities while deepening her appreciation for the sacrifices, hopes and dreams that made her education possible.
The response to her election reinforced the collective significance of the honor. After the announcement, a Latino physician from the Harvard Class of 1977 sent Dr. Casillas a photograph of his 1973 acceptance letter and shared that her election had moved him to tears. Although they had never met, his message helped her see the moment as part of a larger story spanning generations.
“This all really felt like such a collective win,” Dr. Casillas said. “Empathy and connection are our superpowers to uplift and change the lives of others.”
That belief has shaped her career in the UCLA Department of Medicine. As a primary care physician, educator and health services researcher, Dr. Casillas works to address health inequities and improve care for underserved and limited-English-speaking populations. She also teaches UCLA medical students and internal medicine residents at Simms Mann in the Venice Family Clinic.
For Dr. Casillas, leadership means bringing her full experience to her work and using the opportunities she has received to create possibilities for others.
“My service and mission are born out of lived experience,” she said. “I always tell my mentees in medicine that ‘your story is your greatest asset.’ My leadership journey is really centered around: How do I make myself of service? How do I multiply what has been created for me?”
Mentors and classmates helped Dr. Casillas recognize the many ways she could contribute, encouraging her to make intentional career choices and “claim a seat at the table.” Today, she offers that same encouragement to students, trainees and early-career faculty.
“A win is never individual,” she said. “Our degrees and careers belong to our family and community. I carry dreams that started generations before me.”
We proudly congratulate Dr. Casillas on this extraordinary and historic honor. Her election celebrates a career devoted to improving health, educating future physicians and expanding opportunity, while honoring the communities that shaped her journey and the people who will carry its impact forward.
Arun S. Karlamangla, MD, PhD Receives IIT Kharagpur’s Highest Alumni Honor
When Arun S. Karlamangla, MD, PhD returned to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur for its Platinum Jubilee, he did so as a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, one of the institution’s highest alumni honors. His sister joined him for the occasion, and together they revisited their childhood home, schools and neighborhoods surrounding the campus, where their father worked as an assistant maintenance engineer.
The celebration brought together IIT Kharagpur alumni from around the world and opened with a welcome address from Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and a fellow alumnus. For Dr. Karlamangla, the occasion carried a more personal connection to the institute’s history. Fifty years earlier, during IIT Kharagpur’s Silver Jubilee, he was a student and Air Force cadet serving in the honor guard that welcomed India’s prime minister. This time, he returned to the campus to be honored for a career that began in engineering and ultimately led him to medicine.
“For me to receive the award at the Platinum Jubilee was special,” he said.
IIT Kharagpur marked the beginning of Dr. Karlamangla’s professional life, but his career would eventually take him from engineering research to medicine and geriatrics. Reflecting on those changes, he acknowledges that neither came without risk.
“The switch from engineering research to a career in medicine took courage,” Dr. Karlamangla said. “Embarking on research in geriatric medicine, a field I was very new to and not trained in, was also risky.”
He did not make the transition alone. Dr. Karlamangla credits mentors across each chapter of his career - In engineering: Sun Yuan Kung, PhD, his doctoral advisor, and Thomas Kailath, ScD; In medicine and research: Teresa Seeman, PhD and Gail Greendale, MD at UCLA, along with Burt Singer, PhD, and Bruce McEwen, PhD; and DoM Senior Executive Academic Vice Chair Gregory Brent, MD. Their support helped shape not only his career, but also the kind of mentor he would become.
“I was supported by tremendous mentors and was able to contribute meaningfully, I think, to the field, and to mentor many junior, and not so junior, colleagues along the way,” he said. “I am proud of what I have done at UCLA.”
Receiving the Distinguished Alumnus Award offered Dr. Karlamangla a chance to celebrate all that has unfolded since his years at IIT Kharagpur. Fifty years after standing in the honor guard during the institute’s Silver Jubilee, he returned for its Platinum Jubilee to be recognized for a distinguished career that has crossed disciplines and helped others grow. When asked what advice he would share with early career faculty, he noted, “let your passion for new knowledge drive your career choices and seek out mentors who are selfless and get pleasure from seeing you grow.”
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Karlamangla on this well-deserved recognition!
Nisha Viswanathan, MD, Named a 2026 John Wooden Leadership Fellow
When patients with Long COVID began seeking care, many had symptoms that did not fit neatly within a single specialty. They moved between specialists looking for answers at a time when the medical community was still learning how to understand and treat the condition.
For Nisha Viswanathan, MD, director of the UCLA Long COVID Program, leadership meant stepping into that uncertainty.
“The biggest lesson is that leadership in complex care is less about having answers and more about refusing to look away when there aren’t any,” Dr. Viswanathan said. “I learned that my job was to build the home that didn’t exist, and to hold a team together around a problem none of us fully understood.”
That approach to leadership is now being recognized beyond medicine. Dr. Viswanathan, who is currently enrolled at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, was selected as a 2026 John Wooden Leadership Fellow. The fellowship recognizes UCLA Anderson students who demonstrate leadership grounded in ethics, team spirit, hard work and loyalty, along with an ability to manage change and a commitment to learning and innovation. Dr. Viswanathan said she was in disbelief when she learned of the recognition and felt “extremely happy and incredibly grateful.”
However, it is another aspect of Coach John Wooden’s philosophy that especially resonates with her: defining success not by the scoreboard, but by helping people become the best versions of themselves. She sees a parallel in her work with patients living with Long COVID.
“I feel like the Long COVID program’s existence isn’t the win,” she said. “Helping our patients find the quality of life they are looking for while living through a disabling chronic condition is our version of success.”
Building the program has also shaped how Dr. Viswanathan thinks about collaboration. Bringing specialists together around patients whose needs cross traditional boundaries requires intention and persistence. As she puts it, “coordination is a leadership act in itself.”
She credits Sun Yoo, MD, former extensivist medical director, as an important influence in that work. Dr. Yoo advocated for resources for medically complex patients and demonstrated how a multidisciplinary program could gain institutional support. Her early advocacy helped Dr. Viswanathan build the Long COVID Program, and now she hopes to provide similar support to other emerging leaders.
That idea of paying opportunity forward is particularly meaningful as Dr. Viswanathan continues developing her own approach to leadership through the Wooden fellowship. It also informs the advice she offers physicians and trainees who want to make a difference in academic medicine.
“If you see a problem, fix it,” she said. “Do the unglamorous work because it’s the right thing to do.”
For Dr. Viswanathan that mindset helped turn an unmet need into a program designed to help patients live with greater dignity. Her experience also carries a simple reminder for those beginning to see themselves as leaders: “You don’t need a title to make that shift; you just need to be willing to own the problem.”
We congratulate Dr. Viswanathan on this well-deserved recognition and celebrate her commitment to developing as a leader while continuing to put patients at the center of what success means!
Cross-Campus Collaboration Earns BSPA Best Publication Award
A collaboration bringing together expertise from UCLA Health and the UCLA Anderson School of Management has earned national recognition for research testing how behavioral science can be used to improve vaccination rates. The paper, published in Nature Human Behaviour Field Testing the Transferability of Behavioural Science Knowledge on Promoting Vaccinations, received the Best Publication Award from the Behavioral Science & Policy Association (BSPA). Jeffrey Fujimoto, MD, MBA, FACP, medical director for ambulatory quality and assistant clinical professor of medicine, is among the paper’s authors. For Dr. Fujimoto, the recognition reflects what can happen when colleagues with different areas of expertise come together around a shared goal.
“Receiving the BSPA Award is an honor and it reflects what is possible when departments work together,” he said. “Collaborating with our colleagues at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and our Office of Population Health and Accountable Care has been deeply rewarding. This recognition belongs to the entire team that worked on this effort.” The study addressed an important question in behavioral science: Do strategies that appear promising in theory or surveys actually work when put into practice?
To find out, researchers conducted three preregistered randomized controlled trials involving more than 314,000 participants and tested text-message interventions designed to increase COVID-19 booster vaccination. The approaches included simple reminders, language encouraging people to “claim your dose,” messages bundling COVID-19 boosters with flu shots and messages addressing common misconceptions.
What the team learned underscored the value of testing assumptions. Simple reminders and messages framing the vaccine as belonging to the patient increased booster uptake, consistent with earlier research. However, bundling vaccines and addressing misconceptions, two approaches that online prediction or intention surveys had identified as promising, produced no detectable benefit over a simple reminder.
For Hengchen Dai, PhD, associate professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management and co-director of the UCLA Nudge Unit, the findings point to an important lesson about translating research into practice.
“Our research highlights the importance of learning from evidence generated in similar real-world settings, while having the humility to test whether promising ideas actually work in a new setting,” Dr. Dai said. “I feel incredibly fortunate to work with UCLA Health, whose commitment to rigorous experimentation and continuous learning is the hallmark of a true learning health system.”
The study’s authors cautioned that their findings are specific to efforts to increase COVID-19 booster uptake, but the work reinforces the importance of evaluating behavioral interventions in real-world settings before adopting them more broadly. BSPA’s award committee praised the “scope and importance” of the research, and a panel of 10 judges selected the paper as one of two publications sharing this year’s Best Publication Award. For Dr. Fujimoto, the experience has also been a reminder of the value of learning alongside colleagues across UCLA.
“The opportunity to learn from and collaborate with such talented colleagues has been incredibly rewarding and genuinely enjoyable,” he said. “I look forward to continuing this work together.”
Congratulations to Dr. Fujimoto and the entire research team on this well-deserved recognition and their collaborative work to translate behavioral science into meaningful improvements in healthcare.
Jagrup Kaur Builds on Leadership Through UCLA Emerging Leaders Program
When Jagrup Kaur took on management of UCLA’s Companion Care Program, the volunteer initiative was rebuilding following the pandemic. Today, the program has more than 200 active volunteers, with more than 400 applicants interested in joining. Its continued growth has expanded support for hospitalized older adults while creating meaningful opportunities for students and other volunteers to serve patients across UCLA Health.
Behind that growth is the day-to-day work of recruiting and retaining volunteers, coordinating with hospital staff and building relationships across UCLA and the community. Jagrup, program manager for Companion Care and program assistant for the UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program, has helped lead those efforts while continuing to invest in her own development.
Most recently, she completed the UCLA Leadership Development Program for Emerging Leaders. “The success of any brilliant idea depends as much on the strength of its execution as the greatness of the vision,” said Maristela Garcia, MD, medical director of the Santa Monica Geriatrics Unit and Companion Care project director. “Jagrup has done a phenomenal job bringing the Companion Care vision to fruition through her skillful oversight of the program’s day-to-day operations and expansion, robust volunteer recruitment and retention efforts, and effective collaboration with our hospital staff.”
Through Companion Care, specially trained volunteers provide individualized companionship to hospitalized older adults who may have limited social support during their stay. Jagrup has supported the program’s expansion to additional UCLA Health locations and developed relationships with local colleges and universities to strengthen volunteer recruitment.
Her collaborative approach also extends to her work with the UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program, where she has helped strengthen partnerships within UCLA Health and the broader community, including relationships with organizations that provide home safety services and mental health professionals who conduct capacity evaluations. Completing the Emerging Leaders program is one of several ways Jagrup has continued to build on the skills she brings to this work. She also represented UCLA Health by presenting on Companion Care at the Intergenerational Programming Conference in Santa Monica, attended the UCLA Administrative Management Group Leadership Conference and completed additional training in public speaking. For Nelva MacDonald, division administrator for the UCLA Division of Geriatrics, those accomplishments are only part of what makes Jagrup an important member of the team.
“While Jagrup’s accomplishments are impressive, it is her character that truly sets her apart,” Nelva said. “She embodies the department of medicine’s LEADERS values through her curiosity, accountability, respect for others and unwavering commitment to service. Jagrup leads through action, and consistently brings kindness, integrity and excellence to everything she does.” That combination of continued learning and leadership in practice makes Jagrup’s latest accomplishment especially meaningful. As she develops new skills, she is putting them to work in programs that support older adults, caregivers, volunteers and colleagues across UCLA Health.
Please join us in congratulating Jagrup on completing the UCLA Leadership Development Program for Emerging Leaders and celebrating the contributions she continues to make across the UCLA Division of Geriatrics.
Kisa Hilliard Receives Paul Torrens Scholarship to Advance Her Public Health Education
Kisa Hilliard is building on her work in geriatrics research with an opportunity to deepen her knowledge of public health and healthcare leadership. Kisa, a study coordinator with the Anna and Harry Borun Center for Gerontological Research in the UCLA Division of Geriatrics, has received the $5,000 Paul Torrens Scholarship from the UCLA Health Policy and Management Alumni Association.
A first-year student in UCLA’s Executive Master of Public Health (MPH) program, Kisa was recognized for her commitment to translating public health research and evidence into meaningful improvements in care. The scholarship honors students who demonstrate a commitment to advancing public health, healthcare leadership and evidence-based practice. For Kisa, those priorities are closely connected to the work she is already doing at the Borun Center. The center develops, tests and disseminates interventions aimed at improving quality of life and care for older adults and individuals with long-term care needs, with research focused on person-centered care, quality improvement and better outcomes for frail older adults. As she balances graduate studies with her professional and family responsibilities, Kisa continues to expand the skills she brings to that work, with a particular commitment to health equity and evidence-based approaches that improve care for aging and underserved populations. Deb Saliba, MD, director of the UCLA Borun Center, sees the scholarship as recognition of both what Kisa already contributes and her commitment to continued growth.
“Kisa Hilliard brings enormous talent and critical thinking skills to every activity she undertakes,” Dr. Saliba said. “She has been a vital part of the UCLA Borun Center’s work. It is gratifying that the UCLA Health Policy and Management Alumni Association’s Paul Torrens Scholarship recognizes her commitment to expanding her already considerable skill set and improving community health.” Dr. Saliba added that Kisa embodies the qualities the scholarship’s namesake sought to encourage throughout his career: “Ms. Hilliard is exactly the type of dedicated scholar that Dr. Torrens worked to develop and encourage.” The scholarship celebrates Kisa’s accomplishments while supporting her continued development in public health. As she brings what she is learning through the Executive MPH program back to her work in geriatrics research, her professional growth and commitment to evidence-based care reflect the value of continuing to invest in the people who advance our mission.
Please join us in congratulating Kisa on this well-deserved recognition and celebrating her continued contributions to the UCLA Division of Geriatrics.
Angel Burrell Completes GME Mentorship Program
For Angel Burrell, completing the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Program Coordinator Leadership Council Mentorship Program meant more than reaching a professional development milestone.
The experience gave her a trusted mentor, a broader network of colleagues and new perspectives she could bring to her role as fellowship coordinator for UCLA Geriatrics. The professional development program pairs program coordinators across UCLA Health to strengthen skills, improve workflows and encourage collaboration across departments. Angel was paired with Heidi Martinez from UCLA Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Their monthly conversations created space to work through challenges, clarify expectations and discuss the realities of the program coordinator role. Over time, the experience helped Angel deepen her understanding of her responsibilities, strengthen her confidence and develop day-to-day practices that support her work. Just as valuable were the relationships she built with program coordinators and other professionals across the health system, creating a network she can continue to turn to for collaboration, resources and professional support.
“I had the pleasure of mentoring Angel Burrell over the past year through the GME Program Coordinators Leadership Council Mentor/Mentee Program,” Heidi said. “Our time together was both meaningful and impactful. Angel has a genuine passion for graduate medical education and a strong commitment to continuous learning and professional growth.”
For Angel, the experience shows how professional development can extend beyond the skills gained during a formal program. The guidance and relationships she developed through the mentorship have provided a foundation for continued growth in her role and greater connection to the broader GME community. Congratulations Angel on completing the mentorship program! We celebrate your continued commitment to learning and collaboration, and your commitment to our fellowship training programs.
We are a department of LEADERS. Your mentorship and commitment to excellence do not go un-noticed.
Dale
P.S.
Continuing on the theme of awards, over the Labor Day Weekend, I traveled to Jamaica to receive the Wolmer’s Old Boys Association (WOBA) Gold Award: the highest honor bestowed by WOBA on alumni who have achieved exceptional national or international distinction. A few words about my high school, Wolmer’s Boys School, it is one of the oldest public grammar schools in the western hemisphere. The school traces its origins to May 21, 1729, when goldsmith John Wolmer, a Scotsman living in Jamaica, who was troubled by the potential legacy of slavery, bequeathed the bulk of his estate for the establishment of a free school in the parish of Kingston, Jamaica. Wolmer’s Boys School was established on principles of equity and inclusion. The law established in the 18th century that governed the school made no distinction in respect of color, class or creed. After almost three centuries, my school continues to develop leaders who have served Jamaica and have been leaders in other parts of the world.
I share a press release from the event, and some pictures.
The citation was too large to fit in my luggage, so had to have it shipped back to LA!
The highlight of the night for me was to see my 8th grade biology teacher, whose influence and passion for biology reinforced my interest in medicine, some 50 years ago! Pictured with Mrs. Robb is one my classmates from high school and medical school, Dr. Shaun Wynter a Professor of OBGYN at the University of the West Indies.
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