Kudos
UCSF Fresno named Vipul Jain, MD, as Chief of Medicine. The decision followed a diligent search in collaboration with Talmadge E. King, Jr., MD, dean, UCSF School of Medicine; Robert Wachter, MD, chair, UCSF Department of Medicine; and Central California Faculty Medical Group (CCFMG). Dr. Jain will also serve as Vice Chair for the UCSF Department of Medicine. These appointments are effective immediately.
Dr. Jain has served as interim chief since September 2022. During his time as interim chief, Dr. Jain developed the Department of Medicine Cabinet, a team of leaders who contributed individual expertise and leadership to the Department in their roles as Vice Chairs in the areas of Education, Faculty Affairs, External Affairs, and Outpatient Operations. In addition, he appointed four “advisory council” members from the department who provided further knowledge and advice in their clinical areas and began holding regular, all-faculty meetings for the Medicine Department.
Prior to assuming the Interim Chief position, Dr. Jain served as the Executive Vice Chief for the Department of Medicine at UCSF Fresno since 2018. In 2019, he was appointed Division Director for Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Division and effectively led the division through the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. During his tenure on the faculty, he directed the Chronic Lung Disease Program and served as president of the California Thoracic Society. He has authored many book chapters and published over 30 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Jain was recognized with the UCSF Fresno Research Award in 2016. In addition to Dr. Jain’s dedication to the department and divisions, he has served on the CCFMG Executive Committee and Board of Directors since 2019 and has been a valuable leader and advocate for the department.
Congratulations to Narayana S. Ambati, MD, FACS, urologist and volunteer faculty in the UCSF Fresno Department of Surgery. Dr. Ambati was recognized with the 2022-2023 Charlotte C. Baer Memorial Award presented by the UCSF School of Medicine Volunteer Clinical Professor Advisory Board. This award is named in honor of Dr. Charlotte C. Baer, who was a practicing internist in San Francisco and a member of the volunteer clinical professors for almost 30 years. She was an outstanding clinician with exceptional humanistic qualities who served as a role model and teacher to hundreds of UCSF students and residents. Dr. Ambati exemplifies these same qualities and his contributions to UCSF Fresno echo what Dr. Charlotte Baer represented. This award recognizes Dr. Ambati’s contributions since joining the faculty at UCSF Fresno in 1986.
Kudos to John E. Garry, MD, FACS, a colon and rectal surgeon and volunteer faculty with the Department of Surgery at UCSF Fresno since 2007. Dr. Garry was selected by the Volunteer Clinical Professors Advisory Board at the UCSF School of Medicine as a recipient of the 2022-2023 Special Recognition Teaching Award. The Special Recognition Teaching Awards are presented to volunteer clinical professors who have made contributions through excellence in teaching and significant contributions in the field of medicine.
Congratulations and best wishes to Francis Fung, Senior Graphic Designer, on his retirement in June after nearly 22 years with UCSF Fresno.
Kudos to Lynn Keenan, MD, faculty in the Department of Medicine and former director of the UCSF Fresno Sleep Medicine Fellowship, and Karl Van Gundy, MD, also faculty in the Department of Medicine specializing in Pulmonary Critical Care Medicine and Sleep Medicine. Both retired recently. We thank them for their years of caring for patients and their contributions to UCSF Fresno. We wish them well.
