Meet the Faculty
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Gary Olds, MD
TRANSITIONAL YEAR PROGRAM
EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN
Medical School: Oregon Health & Sciences University
Residency: University of Arizona, Tucson
Interests: My interests in emergency medicine includes medical resuscitation, orthopedic injuries, and COVID…and then more COVID, after that COVID. Sometimes influenza, then COVID again. Sometimes I also enjoy procalcitonin and lactic acid.
Outside of the hospital I enjoy breakfast foods, college football, video games, warm weather, and free some. My dislikes included water chestnuts, taxes, cold weather, and drivers who don’t use their blinkers.
I am indifferent on cilantro, as I don’t suffer from this single-nucleotide polymorphism. I am also indifferent to people with poor spelling, as I suffer from this affliction.
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Brian Wood, MD
EMERGENCY MEDICINE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN
Medical School: University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
Residency: Yale New Haven Hospital
Fellowship: Yale New Haven Hospital - Medical Education Leadership
Interests: Outside of work, I enjoy gardening, baking bread, paddle boarding, hiking, and spending time with my wife, newborn son, family and dog.
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Zack Haberman, MD
EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN
Medical School: University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
Residency: LA General + USC EM
Interests: Skiing, slow pitch softball (now that my baseball days are behind me), ping pong, traveling off the beaten track, finding the best cheap eats. Somehow, I wound up a huge fan of three of the most heated teams in sports - the USC Trojans, New England Patriots, and New York Yankees.
Fun Fact: In order to support myself as a pre-med ski bum, I worked as a subway mascot. Yes, I danced around in a giant sandwich costume. The highlight of my career was offering a coupon for a “buy one, get one free” 6 inch sub to a former Yankee 1st Baseman and LA Dodgers manager Don Mattingly (he totally declined). Sadly, I got a job as an EMT in Snowmass, Colorado and had to retire from mascothood.
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Pallavi Pothuri, MD
INTERNAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN
Medical School: Gandhi Medical College
Residency: Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine
Interests: I enjoy the challenge of dealing with complex patients, coordinating care with different specialties and working on Quality Improvement projects. I am passionate about teaching both medical students and residents as this is a a memorable and impactful part of a physician’s life. It gives me immense pleasure to guide young learners through this journey and help them become a compassionate patient’s doctor.
Outside of the hospital, I spend quality time with my family. My two energetic boys keep me busy every minute of the day. My hobbies include cooking, traveling, listening to classical music.
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Kandria Ledesma, MD
EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN
Medical School: Medical school: American University of Antigu
Residency: St. Joseph’s Medical Center
Interests: East coast born, West coast trained. I enjoy the California fresh produce and the lack of humidity, but you will not find me eating a West coast pizza or bagel.
If I’m not in the emergency department, I am probably running a half marathon/marathon, at a music festival, hanging out with my cat-dog Koda and fiance Jordan, or napping while watching Netflix/Hulu.
My professional interests include ocular and lung ultrasounds, QA, and also trying ot get better at VexUS.
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Matt Kiefer, MD
Medical School: University of Pennsylvania
Residency: Highland Hospital, Oakland
Fellowship: University of California Davis – Medical Simulation
Interests: Rock climbing, skiing, playing the banjo, sailing, outdoor work (I live on 40 acres in the foothills east of Stockton) and spending time with my family
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Emily Surzyn, MD
FAMILY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN
Medical School: Poznan University of Medical Sciences
Residency: WVU Wheeling Hospital
I choose to come to St. Joe’s for its cultural diversity, excellent specialist support and quality health care.
I like to spend my free time hiking, playing volleyball, spending time outdoors, and reading novels. My best cooked meal is chicken parmesan. It’s a great comfort meal!
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Sana Chaudhary, DO
INTERNAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN
Medical School: M.B.B.S: CMH Lahore Medical College, Pakistan Nov, 2008- June, 2015
Residency Information: Internal Medicine Residency UHS Wilson Hospital, NY; Psychiatry Resident Physician Rochester Regional Health Rochester, NY; Transitional Year Resident St. Joseph’s Medical Center Stockton, CA
Support Staff
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Jessica Oliveira
PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR
Bio: I am the Transitional Year and Emergency Medicine Program Administrator. I onboard and off board new residents every academic year. Keep track of the residents' block schedule, work hours, and evaluations. As of this date I have had 76 residents and every year has been the best year. I am currently in the process of obtaining my Masters in Health Administration. I am a mother of four kids. Oldest is 25 years old and the youngest is 16 years old. Outside of work I like to attend my child's sporting events and my husband's semi pro football games. In my free time, I always try to go to Disneyland every other month.