Resident Stories

Amal’s path to medicine began with her family. Before his untimely death from heart disease in Pakistan, her maternal grandfather urged Amal’s mother to teach her future children that “health is power.” Her paternal grandfather insisted that Amal and her sisters get the best education possible, even if it meant that his son would live in a distant country.

First of their family to immigrate to the United States, Amal’s parents navigated uncertainty. In Pakistani culture, names should have meanings; they chose “Amal” – which means “hope” – as a daily reminder to believe in a better tomorrow. Growing up in the U.S. and spending summers in Pakistan, Amal became aware of the deep inequities that shape people’s lives across borders. She saw how the right to health was often unrealized. These experiences sparked a commitment: to use the privilege of her education to make the world a healthier place.

At Wellesley College, Amal majored in Biochemistry and Political Science, an academic foundation that helped her understand health as both a biological and social reality. As a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, she explored how cultural and religious beliefs shape organ donation across Southeast Asia and Europe – a project that drew on her interests in global health, journalism, and interfaith dialogue. She continued this work at Mayo Clinic, conducting empirical bioethics research before pursuing an MD at Dartmouth and an MPH at Harvard Chan. She chose Internal Medicine because of its broad professional training, one that focuses on caring for the whole person and helping patients navigate complex decisions in ways that best align with their values and goals.

Amal was drawn to UCSF for its dynamic, values-driven approach to health – a community where equity, kindness, and scientific excellence guide both thought and practice. Working within a three-hospital system, Amal is grateful to learn from outstanding faculty, staff, and co-residents on delivering compassionate and scientifically sound care to the broadest range of patients.

In practicing medicine, Amal carries the hope of a better tomorrow in which our healthcare system can fulfill the needs of our patients and their communities. She plans to leverage her training and education aligned with that future – by leading with compassion in caring for patients, developing medical educational frameworks that foster scientific curiosity and innovation, and advancing ethical systems that empower patients and populations to achieve their highest attainable health.

In Amal’s experience, UCSF is a program that supports residents in learning and pursuing their passions, but also in living life well. Off the wards, Amal enjoys writing, sunsets at Ocean Beach, bike rides around Golden Gate, a good view-to-hike ratio, art projects, and quality time with loved ones. ​​​​​

Harry Cheung is from Farmingdale, Maine and is the son of Chinese immigrants. He grew up speaking his family’s native Cantonese while also working at their small Chinese restaurant. He liked growing up in a small town where he got to know everyone. He remembers his first biology class in high school and being fascinated by how weird the body is! He then attended Boston College where he majored in Biology and Psychology. While there, he was part of the Gateway program, which was a mentorship program for first generation college students majoring in STEM.

He then attended Yale for medical school, where he was fortunate to meet many wonderful friends and mentors. While there, he volunteered for a patient navigator program and worked with refugees and immigrants to help them connect with the medical system. He was also involved in a community group for first-generation and low-income students. During his clerkship year, he was fascinated by internal medicine and the chance to learn a little bit of everything. He later had the opportunity to lead small groups for preclinical students, which helped foster a passion for medical education.

He was drawn to UCSF for residency because of its diverse patient population and clinical experiences. He loved the idea of a program that had three different hospital systems – a major academic center, a VA hospital, and a county hospital – because of the wide breadth of training opportunities he could be exposed to. Since being at UCSF, he has cherished being able to have a primary care panel of predominantly Cantonese speaking patients while also caring for a wide range of patients. He has also enjoyed the emphasis on medical education and being a part of the Health Professions Education pathway and has been lucky to learn from incredible students, co-residents, and teachers.

After residency, he hopes to pursue a career in hospital medicine while working in medical education. He is looking forward to being able to learn with others for the rest of his career. Outside of medicine, he enjoys playing/watching basketball (go Celtics!), running, reading, eating, exploring San Francisco, and spending time with his friends and family.

Kaitavjeet was born in India and immigrated to the US at age five with his parents. He grew up mostly in Connecticut and learned the value of service to others early on from his parents and local Sikh community. Experiences with illness in family and close friends motivated him to learn how to apply science to disease-relevant problems. This led to an early experience in a microbiology lab in high school, which sparked a wonder for the scientific process and its power to alleviate human suffering. ​​​​

In college at Harvard, he continued research work in a stem cell biology lab, where he encountered inspiring physician-scientist mentors and witnessed the potential of research to bridge basic and clinical science. Meanwhile, time spent volunteering with patients in nursing homes and hospitals convinced him of his desire to work directly with and build longitudinal relationships with patients.

To combine these interests, he entered a combined MD-PhD program at Harvard Medical School, where he became fascinated by the power of the immune system and the mysteries of autoimmune disease. During his PhD in immunology, he combined computational biology with experimental bench research to investigate how immune cells maintain a balance between homeostasis and autoimmunity. When he returned to the clinic, he was drawn to internal medicine because it centered patients and their stories and for its unique blend of integrative thinking, puzzle-solving, and human connection.

Kaitavjeet was drawn to UCSF for its strength in clinical training with exposure to diverse patient populations across three training sites with a strong emphasis on clinical teaching through excellent educators and programming such as morning reports, noon conferences, and grand rounds. On the research side, he was attracted to the robust basic and translational scientific research community which could support his goal of a physician-scientist career through the Molecular Medicine program. Beyond the clinic and lab, being in SF has allowed him to be near important loved ones and close friends. He enjoys exploring new hikes across the stunning beauty of the Bay area, playing tennis with friends, and learning to cook new recipes.

Zach was born and raised in Connecticut, having grown up on a wooded dirt road in the state’s aptly named “Quiet Corner”.  The only member of his family to attend a four-year university, he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Connecticut and subsequently attended the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. While in college, Zach worked as both a research technician in the university’s Department of Kinesiology, his first exposure to research, as well as at a local daycare, the latter of which he did for about seven years in total. Given that he first began working at the daycare in high school, and many of the children stayed longitudinally throughout his seven-year tenure, his role was more akin to that of a surrogate older brother and to this day he describes that experience as one of his most meaningful. While in medical school, he furthered his research training as a postgraduate fellow at the Yale School of Medicine, spending three years studying stroke genomics and personalized medicine.

Zach’s interest in medicine developed indirectly from his mother’s experience navigating the healthcare system as a patient when he was growing up. Her journey was fraught with uncertainty and difficulty accessing care in their rural New England town, but there was also a tremendous amount of compassion, reliability, and humanity from the physicians that they met, which inspired him to follow in their footsteps despite the educational barriers as a first-generation student. Prior to medical school, he had never heard of the field of internal medicine, though, shortly after starting school, more senior medical students and faculty alike began to tell him how much they thought he’d enjoy it. His third-year clerkship affirmed their suspicions, as he loved the integration of complex physiology needed to unravel the more challenging problems.

Having never visited California prior, Zach applied to UCSF as he admired the program’s mission of clinical and educational excellence, scientific innovation, and steadfast dedication to equity. In addition to living up to his expectations of world class clinical training, education, and access to mentors who are leaders in their fields, he has fallen in love with the program’s warm, supportive, and growth-oriented culture. Additionally, he loves spending time with his co-residents, who are some of the most intelligent, passionate, and kind individuals that he’s ever had the privilege to meet.

After residency he plans to pursue cardiology fellowship and a career as an academic cardiologist. Outside of medicine, Zach tries to spend as much time as possible exploring California and its nature with his fiancée, Rachel. So far, his favorite places he’s visited are The Presidio of San Francisco, Muir Woods National Monument, and Yosemite National Park, though there are still many more places that he’s eager to explore.

I’m from the beautiful island of Jamaica, I moved to the USA at 12, & lived in upstate New York for the majority of my American life. Besides a year in Connecticut, San Francisco is my first time living in a new state, & what a wonderful risk it was to make the move to California!

I actually had an interest in medicine & science since I was a little girl (there's even a news clipping of it!) but it was actually after graduating from college that (a) I got the opportunity to work in the ER and became so truly curious about medicine, and (b) saw Black physicians. I was so shocked and lucky,  because they and many others gave me the confidence and courage to transform my life and go after my dreams.

Internal medicine was not where I thought I would end up, I was going to apply Vascular Surgery! But after finishing my 3rd year rotation in IM, I just could not stop thinking about the rotation. I felt like I found my community, both in thought and in the way that we cared for our patients and each other.

Luckily it was a close friend of mine that told me about UCSF and how the emphasis on health equity would highly align with my own. I was so impressed. Not only is it a fantastic place filled with all kinds of down to earth teachers that inspire me every day, but it is also such a beautiful city filled with such biodiversity. I get to learn in a very welcoming environment and have so much fun with my colleagues. Truly I could not ask for more.

I plan on applying for cardiology fellowship!  I look forward to being the kind of physician that is heavily involved in their community as well as staying connected to those coming behind me.

Outside of medicine I absolutely love to read random novels and fall into someone else’s world. I have also taken up tennis lessons and am always looking to have fun on the court! Otherwise you can find me on a sunny day at the park taking in the world around me.

Maria was born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, before moving to Missouri as a teenager. Moving internationally at a young age profoundly shaped her worldview. Growing up in a Spanish-speaking household in rural Missouri, while also witnessing the structural barriers to health and healthcare in Honduras, ultimately inspired Maria to pursue medicine with the guiding principle of providing excellent and dignifying care for all.

Maria’s first professional dream, however, was to be an advocate. She was deeply committed to addressing the social conditions that shape people’s lives, which led her to study Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis. Alongside her studies, she worked to expand access to medical care and legal services for children and immigrants in St. Louis. These experiences then stirred in her the will to become a doctor—she longed for the meaningful connections of direct patient care and recognized the immense potential for change within the clinical setting. This path led her to The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, where she earned her medical degree, and later to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she earned a Master of Public Health.

Maria chose general internal medicine as a specialty because of its focus on illness prevention, rich diagnostic thinking, and unique role as a trusted home base for patients. She was drawn to UCSF’s program specifically for its combination of outstanding clinical training with a longstanding commitment to serving people of all backgrounds through the three-hospital system. Now, after couple’s matching to UCSF (!!!), Maria is living out her guiding principle by delivering care in English and Spanish as a certified bilingual physician at San Francisco General Hospital. She is also constantly impressed by her teachers and co-residents, who are brilliant, caring physicians, and such interesting people!

Outside of the hospital, Maria loves sunset bike rides in the Presidio, running in Golden Gate Park, and getting people together for the “Runs of VTach” internal medicine residency run club.

Maria envisions a career as a general internist and medical educator. She is passionate about comprehensive primary care, with interests in contraceptive access and language-concordant care, and health policy. She hopes to combine clinical practice with teaching and advocacy to advance equity and empower patients in their health.​

Rachel is originally from Portland, Oregon, but grew up all across the United States, including in the Pacific Northwest, Las Vegas, New York City, South Florida, and Los Angeles. She attended UCLA for her undergraduate studies, graduating with a degree in Physiological Science and discovering an early passion for teaching while working as a Learning Assistant in Anatomy and Physiology courses. During this time, she also worked closely with individuals and families affected by bleeding disorders through volunteering with the Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California and conducting research in Hematology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. These formative experiences, along with her love for teaching and learning, ultimately led her toward a path in medicine.

Rachel went on to attend medical school at UCSF, drawn by the diversity of clinical experiences and the school’s mission to provide exceptional, equitable care for all patients. At UCSF, her enthusiasm for teaching continued to grow as an Instructor and Coordinator for the Peer Teaching Program, where she designed lessons to complement the medical school’s curriculum and help students learn complex material in a more approachable way. She also developed a passion for improving transitions of care, particularly for critically ill patients, which she continues to pursue through her research.

After having a wonderful experience in medical school, Rachel hoped to continue her training at UCSF for residency, where the three-hospital system offers incredible opportunities to learn medicine in diverse settings and from remarkable teachers and mentors. The residency program at UCSF also provided opportunities to continue building upon her interests in medical education, quality improvement, and research on transitions of care. Equally important, she truly values UCSF’s commitment to compassionate, patient-centered care, which mirrors her own belief that medicine is not only about clinical excellence but also about walking alongside patients and families through challenging and often meaningful moments. For Rachel, the trust patients place in her to honor their stories and center what matters most to them in their care is the most rewarding part of being a doctor, a sentiment that is strongly reflected by the residency program at UCSF.

Outside of medicine, Rachel grew up training in dance and acrobatics, and she continues to enjoy staying active. She also loves exploring the many special things San Francisco has to offer, from walks in Golden Gate Park to exploring new neighborhoods and restaurants with friends.