2021-2022 ITSP Scholars
Department of Radiology, Division of Vascular & Interventional Radiology, UC Davis Health
Amol Shah is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Radiology, Division of Vascular & Interventional Radiology. He completed medical school at the University of California San Diego and residency and fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined UC Davis as faculty in 2020. His academic interests include medical education and quality improvement.
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, UC Davis Health
Archana Reddy is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases within the Department of Internal Medicine at UC Davis Health. She cares for patients with various infectious diseases in the inpatient and outpatient settings, and has special clinical interest and expertise in HIV medicine. She sees patients at both UC Davis Medical Center and at One Community Health in Sacramento. Her academic interests include medical education, quality improvement, and HIV medicine. She enjoys teaching and learning from trainees from all levels and disciplines.
Elenitsa (Nitsa) Sebat, M.S., P.A.-C
Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis
Elenitsa "Nitsa" Sebat is an assistant clinical professor at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. As a clinician educator, Sebat precepts and mentors physician assistant and family nurse practitioner students.
A certified physician assistant, Sebat has been in practice since 2009 and has worked in health care since 2006. Her recent work as a part-time instructor at Sierra College in Rocklin, California, led her to pursue a role in teaching to apply evidence-based practice to prepare future providers.
Her health care career launched when she served as a medical assistant at a community women’s health clinic on the south side of Chicago as she completed prerequisite classes in preparation for a physician assistant degree. She has worked as a dermatology physician assistant in both Auburn and Roseville, California.
Sebat earned a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Chapman University in Orange, California. She was also awarded the title of Society of Dermatology Physician Assistants (SDPA) Diplomate for completing over 70 hours of dermatology coursework through SDPA and has been a local representative for the Society of California Dermatology Physician Assistants.
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine, UC Davis Health
Dr. Agrawal is a hospitalist that prioritizes high-value, comprehensive, and patient centered adult care. She is also interested in quality improvement and transitions of of care to help patients succeed in the community after they discharge from the hospital. She works in both the inpatient setting and also in the community skilled nursing facilities to combine these interests.
Department of Neurology, UC Davis Health
Philosophy of Care: I believe that everyone is unique and patients' individual experience is important. Professional care with compassion and respect is very important to help patients. We are here as a team to offer service of excellence.
Clinical Interests: Dr. Xiong is interested in neuromuscular diseases such as neuropathy, myopathy, neuromuscular junction disorders, motor neuron diseases, et al.
Research/Academic Interests: Neuropathy, Myopathy, Myasthenia gravis, Motor neuron disease
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine, UC Davis Health
Huixia Wei, M.D. is a hospital medicine physician at UC Davis Health. She completed internal medicine residency training at George Washington University in 2019. Her interests include medical education, healthy policy, and global health. She is inspired to work on improving access to care for underserved populations through health advocacy and global health involvement.
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medication, UC Davis Health
After attending medical school at USC she completed her residency training in Anesthesiology here at UC Davis.
She is the Director of OB Anesthesia and the Associate Residency Program Director for Anesthesiology. Her interests are in high risk obstetrics and ensuring safe and comfortable birth experiences for moms and babies, as well as resident education and wellness.
Kaiser Permanente North Valley, Obstetrics and Gynecology
I am an OB-GYN at Kaiser Permanente North Valley and currently serve as the Kaiser Site Director for our UC Davis OBGYN residents. I graduated from the UC Davis OBGYN residency program in 2017, joining Kaiser upon graduation and have loved continuing my involvement in the residency through my positions at Kaiser. I look forward to learning more about medical education in order to best support the residents as they rotate with us at Kaiser.
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine, UC Davis Health
Lauren Damon is a hospitalist at UC Davis Medical Center. She earned her medical degree at UC San Francisco and completed her internal medicine training at the UC Davis residency program. She is dedicated to providing quality, patient-centered care to hospitalized patients, and is passionate about medical student and resident education.
Mary Gallagher, M.S.N., M.P.H., C.P.N.P.-P.C
Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis
Mary Gallagher is an assistant clinical professor for the Master of Science — Family Nurse Practitioner and Master of Health Services — Physician Assistant Studies degree programs at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. In a unique clinician educator role, Gallagher divides her time between providing patient care at the Sacramento Native American Health Center and leading classroom instruction and mentoring for School of Nursing students.
As a board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner, Gallagher endeavors to provide family-centered, trauma-informed care to children and their families. She strives to work in partnership with families to promote the growth and development of their children, recognizing the unique needs and circumstances of each family. Her clinical interests include newborn care, early child development, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health. More broadly, she is interested in reducing health disparities and improving health equity by addressing the social and structural determinants of health. As an educator, Mary’s interests include the integration of the humanities in nursing education and opportunities for interprofessional education.
Prior to joining the School of Nursing, Mary worked in community health settings in Los Angeles County’s San Fernando Valley. At her prior clinical practice, she started a Reach Out and Read program to promote literacy and school readiness. She also served as a preceptor for California State University, Los Angeles’ nurse practitioner program. Gallagher earned a Master of Science in Nursing from Yale University and both a Master of Public Health and Bachelor of Science in Human Development from UC Davis. She is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at UCSF.
In addition to her clinical practice and teaching roles, Gallagher engages in service work with both the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP). She completed PNCB’s Item Writer training and served as an Item Writer for the Pediatric Primary Care Certification Exam and currently serves on the Pharmacology Pediatric Updates Committee. She is currently the Chair of NAPNAP’s National Conference Planning Committee and Secretary of the Adolescent Health Care Special Interest Group. Additionally, she is a member of the American Public Health Association and the California Association for Nurse Practitioners.
Department of Neurology, UC Davis Health
My name is Pasha Ansari and I grew up in Northern California including the Bay Area and Davis. I went to UC Davis for university, UTMB in Texas for medical school, back to UC Davis for residency, and then USC-Keck for fellowship. I am a neurologist practicing predominantly in the sub specialty of neuroimmunology. I also participated in the medical student curriculum as co-instructor of record for the NEU 420: Clinical Neurosciences course this year and will be serving as the Discipline Lead for Neurology and as a PBL facilitator in the new I-EXPLORE curriculum. My research interests are in quality improvement projects and clinical trials for MS and autoimmune encephalitis for which I am a sub-investigator for many MS clinical trials and the site PI for a trial on anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. Outside of medical practice I also write a newsletter on the intersection of medicine and politics and dabble in the same on YouTube. In this course I am looking forward to learning skills to better communicate with students, shape courses utilizing technology and in a format that is easier for students to digest.
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism
Dr. Polly Teng is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. She received her medical degree from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and completed both her Internal Medicine Residency and Endocrinology Fellowship at UC San Francisco. Since joining UC Davis, she is actively involved in teaching medical students, Internal Medicine residents, and Endocrinology fellows. Her interests include improving education and care of patients with Osteoporosis and metabolic bone disorders.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UC Davis Health
My educational background:
- Bachelors of Arts and Sciences in Biological Sciences and Psychology at University of California, Davis
- Medical Degree at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
- Completed residency in Obstetrics/Gynecology at Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Women’s & Children’s Hospital
After residency, I was in private practice as a general ob/gyn for the last 22 years. I practiced in Central Oregon before moving to Sacramento in 2016. I joined the Division of University Women’s Health/ UCD Department of Ob/Gyn in 2019. I currently work with Residents and Medical Students in clinic, Labor and Delivery and the Operating Room as a clinical instructor as well as seeing patients at the Primary Care Network in Davis.
I applied for the Teaching Scholarship program because I want to learn how to develop my skills to effectively communicate with adult learners. I want to keep up with the changes occurring with medical education curriculum, how to contribute and take a more active role with teaching.
Department of Neurology, UC Davis Health
Trishna Kantamneni is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Neurology, Division of Child Neurology and Epilepsy. She is a board certified pediatric epileptologist and serves as the program director for Epilepsy fellowship and Director of Pediatric Epilepsy at UC Davis. She completed her residency and fellowship at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio. Her academic interests include quality improvement, with focus on in-hospital care of patients with seizures.