University of California, Los Angeles Scholars

Rhondee Benjamin-Johnson, M.D., M.A.
University of California, Los Angeles

Rhondee Benjamin-Johnson, M.D., M.A., graduated Summa Cum Laude from Spellman College in Atlanta with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. She later attended The London School of Economics and Political Science where she earned a masters degree in anthropology and development. She completed her undergraduate medical training at Harvard Medical School and then completed her residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is interested in examining and creating access and quality measures for HIV care in underserved populations.

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Nazleen Bharmal, M.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

Nazleen Bharmal, M.D., M.P.P. completed her internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She completed medical school at Harvard Medical School, her masters in public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and was awarded the Massachusetts Medical Society scholars award. She completed her undergraduate studies at Brown University receiving her bachelor's in Neuroscience. Her areas of interest are chronic disease prevention in racial/ethnic minorities. Potential projects include healthy lifestyle interventions among low-income South Asian immigrants and assessing risks for premature mortality among African-American men.

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John Gore, M.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

John Gore, M.D. is a urologist who is a Veteran Affairs Fellow in the Clinical Scholars program.  He graduated summa cum laude in chemistry and biology at the University of Minnesota and then received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine.  He then completed his residency in urology at UCLA.  His research interests focus on quality and access to care among patients with bladder cancer.

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Patrick Link, M.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

Patrick Link, M.D. finished his bachelor degrees in chemistry and philosophy at the University of North Carolina. He also received his medical degree at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and his master’s degree in public health at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health. He completed his training in general psychiatry at UCLA and the West Los Angeles VA. His current research interest is focused on studying how illness self-management, psychoeducation, and recovery orientation affect the clients’ psychiatric health and their use of psychiatric services.

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Gerardo Moreno, M.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

Gerardo Moreno, M.D. completed his undergraduate studies in environmental studies and chemistry at San Jose State University. He then attended the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA for his medical degree. He completed his post-doctoral training in Family Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital/UCSF. Dr. Moreno’s current research interests include healthcare access and delivery to uninsured and immigrant populations.

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Kara Odom, M.D., M.P.H.
University of California, Los Angeles

Kara Odom, M.D., M.P.H. is a family physician who was raised in Newark, Delaware where she obtained her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at the University of Delaware.  While earning her medical degree at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, she took a year to complete a master’s degree in public health at John Hopkins School of Public Health with an emphasis in health policy and management.  She has served the Student National Medical Association as National President and also the National Medical Association as Postgraduate Physician Trustee.  During residency at UCSF, she also was involved in research examining issues in physician workforce diversity.  Her research interests are social determinants of health and their impact on access to healthcare for vulnerable populations.

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Joan Ryoo, M.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

Joan Ryoo, M.D. attended Harvard University to complete a joint degree in fine arts and anthropology. Prior to matriculation at Harvard Medical School, she attended the University of Cambridge, England on scholarship to study geography. She is in the midst of post-graduate training in general surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. As a Clinical Scholar, she would like to investigate gastric cancer understanding and health care utilization in the Korean American community of Los Angeles.

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Jamila Davison, M.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

Jamila Davison, M.D. is an emergency medicine physician who is a Veterans Affairs Fellow in the Clinical Scholars program. She completed residency in emergency medicine at Emory University, and received her undergraduate degree at Xavier University in New Orleans where she majored in biology. Dr. Davison completed her medical degree at Meharry Medical College in Nashville. She is interested in studying the effects of social determinants on health outcomes for vulnerable populations.

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Anish Mahajan, M.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

Anish P. Mahajan, M.D. is an internist who completed his residency at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He received both his B.A. in public policy and a medical degree from Brown University. Prior to residency, he also completed a master’s in public health at Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Mahajan’s previous research work was focused on developing low cost monitoring strategies for HIV therapy and characterizing the response of the private sector to AIDS in southern Africa. As a RWJ Clinical Scholar, he is studying the implementation of routine HIV testing in healthcare settings among vulnerable minority populations from clinical and policy perspectives.

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Anisha Patel, M.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

Anisha Patel, M.D. is a pediatrician who completed her residency and chief residency at Stanford University. She completed her undergraduate degree at North Carolina-Chapel Hill where she was both a chemistry and anthropology major. She also completed her medical degree and M.S.P.H. in maternal and child health at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Dr. Patel’s current research interests are in partnered research with parents and families to prevent childhood obesity. In particular she is working with the Latino community in Los Angeles.

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Rashmi Shetgiri, M.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

Rashmi Shetgiri, M.D. is a pediatrician who completed residency at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She received her undergraduate degree in biology from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. She completed her medical degree at UMDNJ Medical School in Newark. Dr. Shetgiri’s research interests are to develop and evaluate community-based interventions to decrease youth violence. She also has a strong interest in childhood nutrition and food insecurity.

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