EXECUTIVE HEALTH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ( JEDI )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Informatics
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
Benjamin J. Ansell, MD, received a dual undergraduate degree with distinction in Biology/Genetics and as a College Scholar in Music from Cornell University, followed by his Doctor of Medicine from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine. He subsequently performed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Ansell currently serves as Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in the Divisions of General Internal Medicine and Cardiology. He is Director of UCLA Individualized Healthcare and Co-Director of the Cholesterol, Hypertension, and Atherosclerosis Management Program (CHAMP).
Dr. Ansell has been elected as a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Cardiology, and the National Lipid Association. He is a member of the American Heart Association Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, and certified by the American Boards of Internal Medicine and Clinical Lipidology. Dr. Ansell is the founder and director of the Cardiovascular Discovery Fund, which supports promising novel developments in heart disease and related conditions. He has also served as a director of the Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE: AHT) since 2009, and its lead director from 2013-2019.
Listed among US News & World Report and Castle-Connolly's "America's Top Doctors" and chosen by Town & Country magazine as one of the "Best Physicians in America," Dr. Ansell has a range of clinical and research experience relating to cholesterol treatment strategies in preventing and managing cardiovascular diseases. He has been principal investigator of the hs-CRP and HDL Effects of Statins Trial (CHEST), the Statins/HDL Increased Function Trial (SHIFT), and the Statin Anti-Rheumatic Activity (SARA) Trial.
He has delivered more than two hundred invited lectures, as well as published 40 peer-reviewed papers in the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, Archives of Internal Medicine, and the American Journal of Cardiology, among others. His publications have focused on HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and inflammation, cholesterol management, stroke reduction, cardiovascular risk reduction in women, and cholesterol treatment guidelines. He is on the review boards of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, The American Journal of Cardiology, and the Journal of General Internal Medicine, among others. He has also been featured by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio, Glamour Magazine, ABC World News Tonight, MSNBC, and Dateline NBC. He can be followed on Twitter @drbenansell.
Previously from New York state and Colorado, Dr. Ansell has lived in Los Angeles for over 30 years. He is married with three grown sons. He supports the performing arts and is a member of the Board of Overseers for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Dr. Ansell's medical philosophy favors evidence-based practice, early disease detection and prevention. It is his professional goal to translate the frontiers of medical knowledge into benefits for patients today.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Cancer Population Genetics
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, UCLA Comprehensive Health Program
Brian Morris, M.D. earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude. In 1992, he received his Doctorate of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he graduated with distinction. He then completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Morris is board certified as a Diplomate by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Morris practiced for five years in the Harvard Medical School system at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center serving as Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Clinical Director of his full-time clinical practice. While there, he created a lifestyle management program to help patients adopt healthy nutritional and exercise changes. In 2001, Dr. Morris joined the Harvill-Tschumy Clinic, a widely respected internal medicine practice in Dallas, and became a full partner in 2005. In Dallas, Dr. Morris was recognized as an expert in preventive care and was often sought by specialists to help their most challenging patients lose weight and develop healthy lifestyles.
In 2008, Dr. Morris, his wife, and their four children moved to Los Angeles and he joined the Faculty of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Morris was appointed Associate Director of the Comprehensive Health Program and Asst. Professor of Medicine at UCLA in its Division of General Internal Medicine. For many years, he has been selected by peers and patients as one of "America's Top Doctors" as recognized by both U.S. News & World Report and Castle Connolly. He has been selected as a "Top Doctor" by The Hollywood Reporter and as one of "America's Top Physicians" by the Consumers' Research Council of America.
Dr. Morris is the author of the national bestseller The Wellness Code: The Evidence-Based Prescription for Weight Loss, Longevity, Health and Happiness. The book, which reached #1 on Amazon, is a practical guide to why diets don't work and how to effectively lose weight, improve health, and find lasting happiness. He also teaches the principles of The Wellness Code to companies, organizations, and individuals. He previously authored a chapter for the premiere edition of the textbook "Primary Care: A Multidisciplinary Approach" (which was selected as book of the year by the American Journal of Nursing).
Dr. Morris is also the author and host of the award-winning iTunes podcast Five Minute WellCast which teaches important topics related to nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, and other healthy lifestyle practices. The podcast was named by iTunes as one of the best new podcasts of 2014 and has ranked as the #1 most listened to medical program on all of iTunes. In addition, he is the author and host of the iTunes podcast Five Minute DocCast which teaches optimal patient care practices for the medical community. This podcast was named by iTunes as one of the best new podcasts of 2014. His third health podcast, Five Minute WeightCast launched in late 2015. All of the podcasts are also featured on SoundCloud.
Dr. Morris has written and consulted on numerous articles in the lay press including The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Know More TV, Men's Health, UCLA Healthy Years, The Saturday Evening Post, The Robb Report, and Delta Sky Magazine. These articles have focused on educating and empowering patients about the practices of healthy living.
In order to teach children about healthy lifestyle practices, he created the "Healthy Habits for Children Educational Outreach Program" which is a community outreach program for elementary schools. This program teaches basic healthy lifestyle principles related to nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management to help children. Dr. Morris teaches this program at elementary schools throughout Southern California.
Dr. Morris is passionate about working in partnership with patients to design individualized, comprehensive healthy lifestyle programs that allow them to optimize their health and wellness.
Brian Zunner-Keating is a registered nurse with clinical expertise in public and community health. As a nurse, he began his career with Boston Healthcare for the Homeless in their medical respite center. This experience inspired him to pursue a degree in public health nursing from the University of California, San Francisco. Prior to joining UCLA Health, Zunner-Keating worked on a mobile clinic in Los Angeles where he worked as a nurse while also improving program evaluation, optimizing the electronic health record system, and helping design two brand new mobile units. His passion for advocacy and system-level improvements led him to health care administration. Since joining UCLA Health in 2016, Zunner-Keating has worked in the Quality and Performance Excellence departments. He has facilitated a variety of institutional initiatives including readmission reduction initiatives, clinical denial prevention, and the implementation of UV germicidal irradiation for N95 reuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. During his spare time, Zunner-Keating enjoys playing saxophone, working on cars, tinkering, and spending time with his family.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Professor of Medicine
Dr. Davtyan is a Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at UCLA and Faculty at the Iris Cantor UCLA Women's Health Center, one of the 14 Centers of Excellence in Women's Health in the United States. She serves as the Director of Women's Health of the Comprehensive Health Program at UCLA and Associate Medical Director of the UCLA Medical Hospitality Program.
She received a Baccalaureate in Chemistry and Biology in her native Romania where she became a Doctor of Medicine in 1988. She was awarded a World Health Organization scholarship in 1990 in "Human Resources for Health" at the University of York, England. She pursued her post-graduate specialty training in the United States, at the University of Texas Houston, where she completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine in 1996.
Women's health has been the primary focus of her practice since 1996. She has published and lectured on Women's Health topics for health professionals and the general public and was featured on Lifetime Television and CNN. Dr. Davtyan is Board certified as a Diplomate in Internal Medicine. She has received many teaching awards at UCLA, where she is involved in medical student teaching as well as teaching in the Internal Medicine residency program and various continuous medical education programs. She serves as a reviewer for medical journals in the field of contraception.
Dr. Davtyan has consulted for International Women's Health projects in Romania and Armenia. She serves as a member of the UCLA Healthcare Utilization Review Committee and Quality Management Committee. She is a member of the American Medical Women's Association and the American College of Women's Health Physicians and has been elected Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
Dr. Davtyan is fluent in five languages. She is married to a surgeon who specializes in weight loss and cancer surgery and she has two children. She is interested in classical music and classical ballet.
Her practice goals are to individualize the principles of preventive medicine to the needs of her patients and provide excellent primary medical care.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Clinical / Translational Research
Dr. Daryl Lum graduated from Stanford University, with a degree of Honors in Biology in 1991. He subsequently obtained his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine, graduating in 1995. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at UCLA Medical enter. His clinical interests include primary care and cancer screening, and during residency, obtained additional training in flexible sigmoidoscopies. He subsequently joined the faculty at UCLA in 1998, where his practice has focused on primary care and he presently serves as Professor of Clinical Medicine.
At UCLA, Dr. Lum has been involved in medical student and house staff education. Since 1998, he has been a highly sought-after instructor physical examination in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been a preceptor in the UCLA internal medicine residency training program, and has served as ward attending at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Originally from Central California, Dr. Lum enjoys swimming, running, and biking during his free time. He is also a competitive triathlete. His goal is to provide medical care and education to his patients to allow them to live healthy and productive lives.
Originally from Central California, Dr. Lum enjoys swimming, running, and biking during his free time. He is also a competitive triathlete. His goal is to provide medical care and education to his patients to allow them to live healthy and productive lives.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences
- Vice Chancellor, UCLA Health Sciences / CEO of UCLA Health
Dr. John C. Mazziotta has been Vice Chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences and CEO of UCLA Health since 2015. A member of the David Geffen School of Medicine faculty since 1983, Dr. Mazziotta also has served as Dean of the medical school, Associate Vice Chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences and Executive Vice Dean. In addition, he was chair of the Department of Neurology and founding director of the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center.
Dr. Mazziotta earned his MD and PhD in neuroanatomy and computer science from Georgetown University. Following an internship at Georgetown, he completed neurology and nuclear medicine training at UCLA.
Dr. Mazziotta has published more than 260 research papers and eight texts. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Oldendorf Award from the American Society of Neuroimaging, the S. Weir Mitchell Award and the Wartenberg Prize of the American Academy of Neurology, and the Von Hevesy Prize from the International Society of Nuclear Medicine. Dr. Mazziotta has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine and the Royal College of Physicians.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Associate Director for Cancer Education, Training and Mentoring
- Director, Cancer Research Career Enhancement
- Professor
Dr. Maie St. John is a professor and the Thomas C. Calcaterra Chair in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery. As Associate Director of Education, Training and Mentoring for the Cancer Center and Director of the Office of Cancer Training and Education, she provides direction and works closely with her staff to identify, develop, implement and run cancer-focused education and training programs across the training continuum.
Job Titles:
- He / Him / His )
- Strategic Adviser
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Administrative Director, Hematological Malignancies and Cellular Therapies
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Basic and Translational Research
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Clinical Director, Hematology / Oncology
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, UCLA Comprehensive Health Program
Karen Cheng, M.D. completed her undergraduate training at Princeton University and graduated cum laude with an AB degree in Molecular Biology. She then started her medical training at Tufts University and received her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1991. Family ties drew her to southern California where she completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the UCLA Medical Center. To further round out her medical expertise, she chose to do an Internal Medicine fellowship for an additional year focusing on sports medicine, dermatology, and women's health. Dr. Cheng is Clinical Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Her practice focuses on primary care and preventive medicine.
Dr. Cheng translated her extra training into teaching workshops for other physicians. Workshops on the evaluation of shoulder pain and the evaluation of knee pain were featured at the Society of General Internal Medicine's Annual Meeting. "Shoulder Pain - The Generalist's Approach" won a faculty education award. She continues to teach sports medicine workshops to residents, fellows, and other colleagues. She authored two chapters in the book Women's Health - Principles and Clinical Practice on ankle sprains and knee pain.
Nominated by her peers, she was voted one of the best doctors in Los Angeles by Los Angeles Magazine. She is a medical consultant on a series produced for the National Geographic Channel. Dr. Cheng has volunteered at the Westside Women's Health Center and abroad for Medical Ministries International.
She was named a 2014 "Best Doctor" based on peer selection, an honor that fewer than 5% of practicing physicians attain.
Dr. Cheng is married with three children. Her husband is a wealth management advisor. Her goal is to practice evidence based primary care and preventive medicine.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Cancer Molecular Diagnostics
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Executive Director, Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Clinical Affairs
Whittier also served as the coalitions director on the Healthcare for Missouri: Medicaid Expansion Campaign. The historic victory resulted from one of the most diverse coalitions in Missouri campaign history, with more than 350 organizations of various political affiliations, religions and community organizations across Missouri. Additionally, his experience spans various roles at Mercy Hospital St. Louis. He also served as an adjunct professor in the College of Public Health and Social Justice at Saint Louis University.
Monique is responsible for supporting a wide variety of education, training and mentoring activities and initiatives. As well as assisting in new program development, data collection, analysis, and reporting program outcomes tracking.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Director
- Dentist With a Master
Nishtha is a foreign trained Dentist with a Master's degree in Public Health. She oversees all office staff and daily operations of the Office of Cancer Training and Education. She's also responsible for overall strategic planning and supervision of all Cancer Center's education, training and mentoring activities including developing, implementing, and modifying strategies to meet goals and objectives.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Prevention and Control Research
Job Titles:
- Organizational Consultant
Patricia De Jesus Alberto is an Organizational Consultant and Lean Specialist in the Performance Excellence Department. De Jesus Alberto is a registered nurse with clinical experience in pediatrics hematology-oncology. She joined UCLA Health as a new grad nurse in 2010 and has progressively transitioned to healthcare administration roles. She leads various clinical and non-clinical cross-functional teams and leaders across the system through strategic deployment of quality, operational, and finance improvement initiatives that align with UCLA Health's objectives such as discharge planning, readmission reduction, clinical denials reduction, as well as change management, organizational development, and cultural transformation. She currently supports the development and deployment of standardized structures and initiatives that promote equity and inclusivity under the Office of Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (HEDI) in the UCLA Hospital & Clinic Systems.
Education
De Jesus Alberto received a master's degree in public health with an emphasis on health care management and a bachelor's in nursing, both from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a first-generation master's graduate and professional, Patricia is passionate about designing structures and systems that promote people's well-being, and she feels empowered to improve patient outcomes, care delivery and patient and employee experience. She also serves as the inaugural vice chair of the Asian American & Pacific Islander affinity group.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Cancer Data Science
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Disparities and Community Engagement, and Co - Director, Prevention and Control Research
Samone assists with coordinating and supporting education and training activities and programs as well as aid in collecting and organizing data for continual improvement on offerings.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Simms / Mann - UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Palliative Care Operations
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Radiation Oncology
Job Titles:
- Dean
- Associate Vice Chancellor and Senior Associate Dean for Translational Research
- Dean, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Steven M. Dubinett, Associate Vice Chancellor and Senior Associate Dean for Translational Research, was named Interim Dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA on September 1st, 2021, and named Dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA effective June 5, 2023.
Job Titles:
- Co - Director, Office of Cancer Training and Education
- Professor
William Lowry is a professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology. As Co-Director of the Office of Cancer Training and Education, he works closely with Dr. St. John and staff to help identify, run, and implement innovative and complementary cancer-related education and training programs for all trainee levels.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director, Shared Resources