Words from our Fellows

Why did you come to Harbor-UCLA?

I did residency at Harbor-UCLA and loved my time here. It is an honor to treat this patient population and the learning is second to none. All the attendings here are supportive of the fellows career goals and support us both clinically and in our research endeavors. The continuity clinic that we have here prepares you for clinical practice, and allows for continuity. The fellowship is like a family and everyone is so supportive of your growth as a fellow. Also the diversity in our training is amazing as we go to City of Hope and Kaiser.

Why did you come to Harbor-UCLA?

I did my internship & residency at Harbor-UCLA and had a great experience rotating on the hematology/oncology consult service and clinics. Our attendings are easy to approach with questions, and even as a resident, are eager to teach and share their enthusiasm for the field. I’m an experiential learner and knew I wanted to go to a fellowship program that emphasized clinical training. Having my own continuity clinic starting as a first year has been invaluable — I’ve learned so much from the diversity of pathology within my own panel and feel confident that I will have the skills to work independently as any attending in any setting.

What do I like most about the fellowship program?

Everyone has been incredibly supportive- attendings and senior fellows are very approachable and always open to answer questions, which especially helped during the transition from residency to fellowship. Even though fellows have a lot of autonomy even at the beginning of fellowship, we are well supported by our attendings and senior fellows. Importantly, all our attendings are invested in our education and are open to feedback from fellows on how to improve the fellowship experience.

We also have a great co-fellow community and regularly get together outside of the hospital to enjoy local cafes, restaurants, and our almost-always-sunny SoCal weather.

Raisa Epistola, M.D.
Class of 2024

Why did you apply to Harbor-UCLA?

I applied to Harbor UCLA because I heard so many great things about the program’s leadership and work culture. I felt like it also matched my residency program’s underserved patient population which led to some of the best clinical training I could have asked for. After my interview, my takeaways were that the faculty would do whatever they could to support me, the program would continue to grow, and that I’d be exposed to everything clinically imaginable in the realm of Hematology and Medical Oncology. The LA weather was an added bonus!

What I like most about the program thus far?

When learning the workflow, chemotherapy orders, and EMR in clinic, our Program Director, Attendings, and fellows, would literally sit next to us in our clinic room and put in orders with us and teach us all these tricks to make things easier. They were very patient and it was something all of us new fellows definitely appreciated. It was a hallmark example of the supportive culture here. The program also facilitates a safe learning environment. Seniors and Faculty are great about utilizing teaching moments to make us better physicians and have never put us down or made us feel incompetent. Everyone is approachable and supportive, it makes you want to come to work everyday and allows us to enjoy what we do. The patients here are also very grateful to receive care which makes taking care of them even more rewarding. The workload is manageable and resembles what most setups at community or semi-academic institutions are like, giving us all great reassurance we will be ready for anything that comes our way after training. Our past and current seniors are always in demand and are landing great jobs. Finally, my co-fellows are some of the coolest people I’ve met in my medical career. The program takes a lot of things into consideration to put together a team that can have fun and work hard together.

Mahboub Noori, M.D.
Class of 2024

Why I came to Harbor:

I had a great experience rotating with heme/onc as a resident. The staff, fellows, and attending immediately welcomed me and patiently taught me even as a resident. The patients were immensely grateful for their care. The 3 very different experiences at Harbor-UCLA, City of Hope, and Kaiser stood out to me as a way to receive a well-rounded training and to also help me figure out where I wanted to eventually practice.

What I liked most about the fellowship:

The patients are truly your patients and you have autonomy in caring for them, but also an appropriate amount of guidance from the attendings. The continuity clinic through all 3 years gave me a great exposure to a variety of diseases as well as seeing patients through their entire care. Having the ability to work at all 3 hospital settings is a truly unique and valuable experience that I cannot overemphasize.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about our program?

What I will remember most is that Harbor feels like family. I have become close to so many patients and their families over the past 3 years. I have gone through great successes with them as well as mourning the loss of their loved ones. They have welcomed me into their lives and even their homes. I have always felt supported by my co-fellows and many have helped me when I get busy or feel overwhelmed without any prompting. I have had attendings stay late to help me through difficult conversations, encourage me after a long week, or even help me with procedures when I first started. Once you come to Harbor-UCLA, you are part of the family. If you were to ask me if I would choose Harbor again, I would most definitely say yes. I have received amazing training and forged unforgettable friendships.

Daniel Wu, M.D.
Class of 2020

Shelly Gupta, M.D.
Class of 2021

What do I like most about the fellowship?

What I enjoyed the most about my fellowship experience at Harbor-UCLA is having my own patient panel of diverse patients and getting the privilege to not only make clinical decisions that impact their care but also forming long-term relationships with my patients and their families. I also greatly appreciated the opportunity to learn from world-renowned clinical experts and scientists at the City of Hope and taking the knowledge I gained to help me care for my own patients at Harbor-UCLA.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about our program?I feel confident that I have developed a strong foundation during my time in training to be able to continue to learn and grow in the next phase of my career.

Jeremy Chuang, M.D.
Class of 2022

Why did I come to Harbor?

I came to Harbor-UCLA because I wanted to receive a strong clinical training that would prepare me to be a competent community/clinical hematologist/oncologist. I wanted to be trained at a place where fellows have their own continuity clinic and the autonomy to make medical decisions for their patients. But most importantly, when I was reflecting on the different places that I interviewed to make my ranking list, Harbor was the one place where I felt most “at home” with as the program leadership was open, honest and very friendly/supportive and I felt that I could thrive here.

What do I like most about the fellowship?

Our continuity clinic.

Fellows have the autonomy to make decisions for their patients.

Three different training settings: county (difficult cases, high volume of patients at continuity clinic), tertiary cancer center (research opportunities, BMT training) and Kaiser (“real world” experience, future job opportunities)

Very supportive attendings

The camaraderie: our fellows do really like each other and support each other

Is there anything else you’d like to say about our program?

Dear future hematology/oncology fellows, I am sorry this year’s interview season will be so different for you with virtual interviews. Good luck with interviews and the match! Just as any training program, Harbor-UCLA has its strengths and things that it can improve on. But, as someone who is finishing up her training, I can honestly tell you that I feel so blessed to have trained at Harbor.  If you come to Harbor, be assured that you will become a very competent heme/onc doc by the end of your training and that you will be very well prepared for any jobs that you desire. Moreover, our program leadership is extremely supportive, open to suggestions and willing to make changes that benefit fellows – this is important and it is something you might not find at every program. But most importantly, while you will work hard at our program, you will also have the most fun – what other programs have movie nights on the beach (while making biryani) and have a band with monthly music performances!

An Uche, M.D.
Class of 2020

Why did you apply to Harbor-UCLA for fellowship?

I applied to Harbor as my primary interest is to excel clinically in a supportive environment and also due to location. I felt harbor gives you the best opportunity to gain clinical experience as well as getting involved with research but most importantly I felt the faculty especially Dr. Yeh will help tailor the schedule to my interest. For example i wanted to gain more experience with transplant, and I was able to get more time in transplant rotation through city of hope

What do you like the most about your fellowship experience?

I like the fact that I have a continuity clinic, I was able to follow the patient throughout the 3 years, which is great as I was able to connect and develop a rapport with the patient and follow the patient’s disease course. Also rotating in Kaiser gave me great confidence as I got the right amount of supervision, and I felt more independent and confident to practice on my own.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about our program?

Overall I had a very positive experience, i would definitely come back to Harbor if I were to pick again, as I feel like I got exposure to a community practice, private, and academic setting. Most importantly the faculty is very supportive and helped me reach my goals, as well as being extremely approachable and friendly. The environment that is setup by patients, cofellows, nursing, and faculty makes it the most memorable and the best learning experience time any fellow can have.

Ritika Vankina, M.D.
Class 0f 2020

Why I applied to Harbor-UCLA for fellowship:

I knew I wanted to stay in Southern California… my 4 years living in Ohio during medical school taught me to never underestimate location. Harbor-UCLA is also 20 minutes away from Redondo Beach which is where I lived the first 2 years of fellowship. This was my one chance in life to live right by the beach with an ocean view! I even picked up surfing as a hobby and go surfing any weekend I have off. Finally it was exciting to see the graduates of Harbor-UCLA go on to do anything they want, whether it be a prestigious career in academics, continuing on with Kaiser Permanente, working in industry, or private practice.

What do I like most about fellowship?

I love having my own panel of patients because I learn so much more compared to shadowing. I also enjoy having the opportunity to work at City of Hope and learning with the cancer subspecialists. City of Hope is a phenomenal cancer hospital. I have not yet started my 3rd year rotation at Kaiser, but I feel well prepared with my training. Most of all I enjoy my co-fellows: we spend a lot of time outside of the hospital together even when we live far apart. Many of us own pets and we often have puppy playdates!

Is there anything else you’d like to say about our program?

I was told by the heme/onc fellows at my residency program that the program director of Harbor-UCLA, Dr. Yeh, is amazing. People would say, “He is so efficient and knowledgeable that he is equivalent to 2 or even 3 attendings.” When I met Dr. Yeh at my interview I knew instantly by feel that this would be the right program for me. I laughed and smiled more at this interview than any other interview.

Pete Pow-Anpongkul, M.D.
Class of 2021

Why did you apply to Harbor-UCLA for fellowship?

I had the opportunity to work with the hematology oncology department faculty at Harbor-UCLA as a resident and would say the attendings and fellows are a major reason I applied. I believe the people in the program are phenomenal teachers and fun conversationalists. Everyone is so openly friendly, helping, and supportive. I believe its a great location for strong clinical training and has opportunities to explore practicing in other locations such as City of Hope and Kaiser. I also really enjoy working at a county hospital with a diverse underserved population!

What do you like the most about your fellowship experience?

Although my fellowship experience has just begun, I’m excited for what unravels. I really like the bootcamp series when starting, its a supportive transition from residency to fellowship.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about our program?

This close-knit program has the supportive backbone and rigorous training while keeping it fun that I was searching for — looking forward to the next 3 years!

Tiffanie Do, M.D.
Class of 2023

Why did I apply to Harbor-UCLA for fellowship?

Harbor is the best place to get hands on experience. I appreciate having the autonomy to make decisions while also having very supportive attendings. I feel comfortable managing complex cases due to the variety and volume of cases I’ve seen. This is a great place to train!

I interviewed at almost all of the programs in Southern California and this program stood out to me because of the people in the division.

The attendings were approachable and relaxed yet had a passion for teaching and delivering high quality patient care.

The program balances fellow wellness while also providing hands on experience to prepare strong clinicians.

I also liked the idea of experiencing a variety of practice locations since we rotate at Harbor (county hospital), City of Hope (Cancer Institute), and Kaiser Permanente (managed care).

And lastly (but importantly!) the South Bay is a fun and beautiful place for young adults as well people starting families.

Jeena Chorath, M.D.
Class of 2023

Why I chose Harbor-UCLA for fellowship:

I wanted to train at a place with high clinical volume and variety of pathology and have a continuity clinic

What I like most about fellowship:

The variety of pathology, the continuity clinic, the camaraderie of my co-fellows

Jennifer M. Lee, M.D.
Class of 2018

Why I chose Harbor-UCLA for fellowship:

Even though I trained in Chicago, I had heard great things about this fellowship from a former Harbor-UCLA resident

What I like most about fellowship:

My co-fellows, faculty and clinic staff

Eric Imoto, D.O.
Class of 2017

Why I chose Harbor-UCLA for fellowship:

County based program, so high volume, high acuity, lots of autonomy.

Access to City of Hope

NSY, Surg Onc, CRS, Rad Onc services available here

Stronger and lengthier relationship with Kaiser than other programs

Openness to fellow feedback and willingness to make changes to program.

More structured research opportunities for clinical track fellows (moreso than some other programs).

What I like most about fellowship:

My cofellows.

The autonomy.

Clinic continuity.

Easy access to attendings.

EMR.

Call schedule is very reasonable.

Phyllis Kim, M.D.
Class of 2017