Meet the Faculty

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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! 

  • 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

  • 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.