For UCR Health physician Janet Cruz, MD, the best part about working with patients is conducting their postoperative visits, when she can compare their condition before and after surgery and see their reactions. For one patient with advanced endometriosis, “the before and after was night and day,” Cruz said. Her...

The UCR School of Medicine Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hosted the second annual National Latino Physician Day celebration on September 28 to honor the contributions of Latino/a/e/x physicians and work to improve quality of care for Latino populations in the U.S. According to Michael Galvez, MD, creator of...

Moazzum Bajwa, MD, MPH, an associate clinical professor in family medicine for the UC Riverside School of Medicine, has been named the California Academy of Family Physicians 2024 Family Physician of the Year. Bajwa is the director of the school's Longitudinal Ambulatory Care Experience (LACE) and sees patients at the...

Recently, a first-time foster mother visited UCR Health with two neglected and withdrawn children. Pediatrician Tejal Khandhar, DO, worked with her to provide nutrition guidance, updated vaccinations, speech therapy, and additional resources. Within a few months, Khandhar recalled, the children acted healthy and playful on their visit—and the foster mother...

UCR School of Medicine alumnus Kishan Patel, MD will join the cast of the 47th season of Survivor. The season will premiere on September 18 on CBS with streaming on Paramount. Patel, who graduated from the SOM in 2022, is currently an emergency medicine resident at UC San Francisco. The...

On Tuesday, the UCR School of Medicine hosted the 2024 Celebration of Women in Medicine & Science, honoring women's contributions to science while looking to the future. The annual event, which was held in a remote, online format this year because of smoke from the nearby Line Fire, featured a...

As a local community activist, Jorge Delos Santos, director of Community Health Programs at Riverside-based nonprofit TruEvolution, heard rumors about a new master of public health (MPH) program at the UC Riverside School of Medicine. Yet despite his interest and qualifications, Delos Santos initially lacked the confidence to apply when...

Hanh Nguyen, MD, has been appointed as the associate dean for career advising at the UC Riverside School of Medicine, beginning Oct. 1, 2024. His position also includes a faculty appointment as clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine. Nguyen is the associate chief medical officer at UCR Student...

UC Riverside School of Medicine Professor of Biomedical Sciences Scott Pegan, PhD, has been named associate dean for preclerkship medical education beginning Sept. 2, 2024 In his new role, Pegan will work closely with Sherif Hassan, MD, the executive associate dean for pre-clerkship medical education to enhance the pre-clerkship medical...

Linda Reimann, assistant dean for Strategic Initiatives and chief of staff of the UC Riverside School of Medicine, has been selected to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Institutional Planning (GIP). The award recognizes the contributions of members of the GIP...

The UCR School of Medicine’s 2024 White Coat Ceremony, held on Friday, August 9, welcomed 87 new medical students and five PhD candidates in biomedical sciences. The annual event presents each incoming class with white coats to symbolize the beginning of their journey into medicine. Deborah Deas, MD, MPH, the...

As a postdoctoral researcher, Emma Wilson, PhD, a professor of biomedical sciences at UCR and associate dean for Graduate Division, recalled being in a male-dominated science environment. “I think at the time, I wasn't fully aware of what a boys club I was in,” she recalled. “I did well there...

The first time Madison Critcher, a cadet at the United States Military Academy (West Point), made gels to visualize proteins in a UC Riverside lab, they didn’t work. But to her surprise, no one was upset. “We just learned how to do it and tried again, and were much more...

The University of California, Riverside School of Medicine has been ranked seventh in diversity in the US News and World Report’s annual Best Medical Schools rankings that were released on July 23, 2024. UCR SOM tied with the University of New Mexico and was second among University of California medical...

Meera Nair, PhD, has been appointed as the new associate dean for biomedical research at the UC Riverside School of Medicine. In the position, Nair will provide strategic leadership to support, enhance, and expand biomedical research at the school and will be responsible for oversight and operations of research facilities...

As a child, Sika Zheng, PhD, founding director of the Center for RNA Biology and Medicine and a professor of biomedical sciences at the UC Riverside School of Medicine, was fascinated by the cycle of life and death. While he initially planned to become a physician, his curiosity about the...

The UC Riverside School of Medicine has received continued full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the school announced Tuesday, June 18, 2024. “This would not have been possible without the hard work and collaboration of many, including faculty, staff, and students,” said Deborah Deas, MD, MPH...

Three cadets from the US Military Academy at West Point will be conducting research internships in the University of California Riverside School of Medicine’s Biomedical Sciences program as the inaugural participants in a new program designed to build research-based bridges between the institutions. Scott Pegan, PhD, a professor in the...

A pair of School of Medicine staff members received awards from the UC Riverside Staff Assembly at their annual end-of-year awards ceremony at the Barn on Monday, June 3, 2024. Stephanie Sandoval of the School of Medicine's Department of Social Medicine, Population, and Public Health was presented with the People...

The UCR School of Medicine class of 2024 began their medical school journey online during the COVID-19 pandemic, but finished it on Friday surrounded by cheering family and friends. 66 students received their degrees in the ceremony, which was held on May 31, 2024 in the Student Recreation Center on...