Shiraz Buhari, MD

Associate Program Director

Hometown: Stockton, California 

Medical School: University of The East/Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center  College of Medicine

Residency: University of Alabama Hospital/ Selma Family Medicine

Professional Goals: Provide high quality compassionate care to his patients. He is passionate about inpatient medical care both in the hospital and skilled nursing settings. He enjoys serving on committees at SJMC with the desire to help maintain the high quality care that patients receive.

Hobbies: Enjoys traveling with his wife and spending time with his family. He also enjoys reading, movies, exercising and target shooting.

Juan Lopez Solorza, MD

Associate Medical Director, Continuity Clinic

Hometown: Stockton, California

Medical School: University Illinois, Chicago 

Residency: Stanislaus Family Medicine Program, Modesto CA.  Currently VCME

Professional Goals: Educate residents in full scope outpatient family medicine learning all facets of a therapeutic patient- provider relationship. 

Hobbies: Yoga, HIIT workouts, guided meditation, audible, puzzle building and pain by numbers kits, and mentoring young pre-health students.

Vanessa Armendariz, MD

Hometown: Stockton, California

Undergrad: Bachelor of Arts, Public  Health, Johns Hopkins University

Medical School: University of Kansas School of Medicine

Residency: Sutter Santa Rosa's Family Medicine Residency Program

Professional Interests: Help patients who don’t have access, Help young people overcome barriers similar to those she faced, Practice outpatient full scope family medicine, train medical doctors in hopes that they stay local to serve the community.

Hobbies: Traveling, spending time with her friends and family, crafting, and spoiling her cat, Ed. 

Rodney Deguzman, MD

Anchor Family Medical Group

Hometown: Stockton, California 

Medical School: University of the East College of Medicine

Residency: Carilion Clinic-Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

Professional Goals:  Provide high quality compassionate care to his patients and participate in the education of future physicians.

Hobbies: Traveling with his family, going to new restaurants and outdoor activities, including skiing, running and golf.

Anuja Oza, MD

Hometown: Fremont, CA

Undergrad: University of CA, Berkeley

Medical School: Boston University School of Medicine

Residency: University of Pittsburgh, St. Margaret Family Medicine Residency

Fellowship: San Joaquin General Hospital Advanced Obstetrics Fellowship 

Professional Goals: My goal is to improve the health and well-being of the underserved population in Stockton with a special focus on women’s health, prenatal care, and continuity newborn care.

Hobbies: Dancing, yoga, going for walks/runs, and spending time with my family.

Emilia Surzyn, MD

Hometown: Toronto, Canada

Medical School: Poznan University of Medical Sciences

Residency: WVU Wheeling Hospital - Family Medicine Residency Program

Professional Interests: Medical Education, Leadership, Exceptional and Equitable Care, with a focus on Inpatient Medicine 

Hobbies: Hiking, volleyball, spending time outdoors, reading novels 

Clinical Faculty

Loui Abdelghani, MD

Critical Care Medicine / Pulmonary, Stockton Pulmonary Doctors

Hometown: Stockton, California

Medical School: Jordan University of Science and Technology

Residency: University of Illinois at Chicago Medical College

Fellowship: St Louis University Medical Center/ Marshall Univ Joan C Edwards School of Medicine

Professional Goals: Pulmonary Hypertension, advanced bronchoscopy and hemodynamic monitoring and mechanical ventilation and bedside ultrasound use in critically ill patients. Enjoy teaching future generations of physicians by helping to train medical students, residents and fellows.

Hobbies: Traveling, exploring new restaurants, and reading lots of books and magazines. I love my family and community; and I am always looking for ways to contribute to a better society and world.

Anil Andani, MD

David Araiza, MD 

Cyrus Buhari, DO

Cardiology, San Joaquin Cardiology Medical Group
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine 

Hometown: Stockton, California 

Medical School: Western University of Health Sciences

Residency: University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Fresno 

Fellowship: University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Fresno

Josebelo Chong, MD

Critical Care Medicine/Pulmonary, Stockton Pulmonary Doctors

Hometown: Lodi, California

Medical School:  De La Salle University College of Medicine, Philippines 

Residency:  Spectrum Health/ Michigan State university 

Fellowship: Allegheny Health Network Medical Education Consortium 

Professional Goals: Provide the highest quality evidence based pulmonary and critical care to all patients. 

Hobbies: Running, travel, chasing Michelin stars and Batman. 

James Friedman, MD

Alpine Orthopedic Medical Group

Hometown:  Stockton, CA

Medical School:  Duke University 

Residency: University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania  

Fellowship: Orthopedic Sports Medicine at UCSF, California 

Hobbies: Spending time with his family outdoors including hiking, running, rock climbing and snowboarding.

Cristina Funghi, MD

Pediatric Hospitalist/ Chair of Pediatric Department at SJMC

Hometown: Stockton, California 

Medical School: Temple University School of Medicine, PA 

Residency: Penn State Health Pediatrics Program, Hershey, PA

Professional Goals: Providing pediatric education to residents and future medical providers and encouraging compassionate care

Hobbies: Cooking and baking, especially cookies and sweet breads. Puzzling activities including trivia, mystery novels and escape rooms.

Elaine Ho, DO

Hometown:  Stockton, CA

Medical School:  Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency:  PIH Health Hospital - Downey, Family Medicine Residency Program

Professional Goals: Underserved medicine, Osteopathic medicine, Medical education, Preventive medicine, Advocacy

Hobbies: Tai chi, art, food, travel, adventure/mystery books and movies, spending time with family and friends. 

Jaicharan Iyengar, MD

Alpine Orthopedic Medical Group

Hometown: Stockton, California

Medical School: University of California, San Francisco

Residency: University of California, San Francisco

Fellowship: Charles Neer Fellowship in shoulder, elbow, and sports medicine surgery, Columbia University, New York

Professional Goals: Clinical focus includes sports medicine/arthroscopy, rotator cuff repair, total shoulder replacement, shoulder instability, shoulder/elbow ligament reconstruction, and upper extremity fracture care. He has a special interest in injury prevention and treatment of the throwing athlete.

Hobbies: Avid traveler, having visited 30 countries on six continents. He has also participated in orthopedic medical missions in Uganda and South Africa.

Smija Jayaprakash, MBBS

Pediatrician at Community Medical Centers

Hometown:  Stockton, CA

Medical School:  University of Kerala Medical College 

Residency: Sparrow Hospital, MI 

Professional Goals: Provide the highest quality evidence in treating pathologies in the pediatric population in the outpatient setting.

Paul Lee, MD

Touro University Medical Group-Urology 

Hometown:  Stockton, CA

Medical School:  Rutgers Medical School, New Jersey 

Residency: Surgery at John Hopkins University, Urology at UMass Chan Medical School 

Professional Goals: Provide the highest quality evidence in treating conditions affecting the urinary tract in men and women.

Bhagya Nakka, MD

Bhagya Nakka, MD, Incorporated

Hometown: Stockton, California

Medical School: Kempegowda Institute Of Medical Sciences, Rajiv Gandhi, University Of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India

Internship: Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, NY, USA

Residency: Flushing Hospital Medical Center, Flushing, NY, USA

Professional Goals: She has experience in normal and high-risk obstetrical management and gynecological surgeries including minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures and treatment for various women’s health issues.

Hobbies: Spending with family and friends, cooking, reading, exercising, yoga and practicing Heartfulness Meditation.

Subrahmanyam Nasika, MD

Nephrology, San Joaquin Kidney Clinic 

Hometown: Stockton, California

Medical School: Guntur Medical College, Guntur, India

Residency: Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York

Fellowship: Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York

Professional Goals: Be a good physician and help my patients to the best of my ability. 

Hobbies: Traveling and gardening. 

Bao Nguyen, MD

Hometown: Stockton, California

Medical School: St George's University School of Medicine 

Residency: Arrowhead Regional Medical Center

Professional Goals: Teaching and leadership development 

Hobbies: Meditation, travel, watching TED talk, white coat investor YouTube, reading entrepreneur and personal development books.

David Russell, DO

Gill Obstetrics and Gynecology Medical Group Inc.

Hometown: Stockton, CA

Medical School:  Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency: Oakwood Southshore, Michigan  

Professional Goals: Provide the highest quality evidence based Obstetrics and Gynecology Care 

Rajashekar Yeruva, MD

Hometown:  Bodhan, Telangana, India

Medical School:  China Medical University, Shenyang, China

Residency:  Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Round Rock

Fellowship: Geriatrics-NYU Langone School of Medicine  

Professional Goals: As a physician specializing in Family Medicine with a focus on geriatrics, I strive to deliver holistic healthcare to patients of all ages, with a special emphasis on addressing the complex needs of the elderly population. I focus on educating my patients about their medical conditions, ensuring personalized treatment plans that cater to the unique needs of each patient and empowering them with tools to improve their quality of life.

Hobbies: Hiking, traveling, cooking and OTT