Our dedicated team of GME wellness administrators, well-being champions, and resident and fellow peer supporters are here to listen, provide guidance, and support to GME physicians facing challenges of the medical profession.
Peer supporter interactions are confidential and judgement-free.
Julie Çelebi, MD, is the director of wellness for Graduate Medical Education (GME) and an associate clinical professor of family medicine, with a secondary appointment in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health. She completed her residency in family medicine at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose and earned her medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She also holds a master of science from Wayne State University. She practices the full breadth of primary care for patients of all ages and genders, with special interests in reproductive health, LGBTQ+ health care, and care for the medically underserved. She is passionate about educating and mentoring the next generation of physicians. Çelebi co-directs the Compassionate Action and Real Engagement in the Community (CARE) course at the School of Medicine and is an affiliate faculty member of the Sanford Institute's Center for Compassionate Communication.
Çelebi enjoys hikes with her partner and two young children, crafting poetry and reflective writing, and finding clarity and peace through yoga, dance, and meditation. She is grateful for the opportunity to advocate for a comprehensive approach to medical trainee well-being and promote a culture of inclusivity and belonging.
Emeline Beltran is a house officer administrative program manager in the Office of Graduate Medical Education (GME), where she supports Julie Celebi, MD, in all GME wellness initiatives and programs. She has worked in hospital settings since 2019 and joined UC San Diego Health in 2022. Emeline holds a BA in photo communications from California State University, Fullerton and an MA in health communication from California State University, Los Angeles. Her training in visual storytelling and health communication informs her career in disseminating complex health information and improving health care operations and systems for all audiences. In GME, she enjoys leading wellness initiatives that remind trainees, her team, and herself to make space for rest and self-care amid the demanding, important work of health care.
Emeline is a Filipino American who grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and has made San Diego home. Outside of work, she enjoys drawing, playing the ukulele, exploring libraries and museums around San Diego, traveling, and reading.
GME Cohorts: Infectious Disease, Pulmonary Critical Care Medicine, Hematology Oncology
Nancy Law, DO, MPH, is an associate professor of medicine and co-program director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program at UC San Diego. She specializes in transplant and oncology infectious diseases and is passionate about fostering trainee well-being, compassionate leadership, and creating learning environments where physicians can thrive. She previously served as the Infectious Diseases Division Wellness Representative and was honored with the UC San Diego Infectious Diseases Fellowship Well-Being Champion Award twice in the past in recognition of her dedication to supporting fellow wellness. She is also a graduate of UC San Diego Health's Leading the Way to Wellness leadership program and serves as affiliate faculty in the Sanford Compassionate Communication Academy. Through these roles, she is committed to advancing wellness initiatives that promote resilience, empathy, psychological safety and meaningful connection throughout graduate medical education. Outside of work, Nancy enjoys planning romantic adventures for her husband and creating memorable family outings and travel experiences with their two children, always looking for the next family adventure together.
GME Cohort: Obstetrics & Gynecology
Ariana Melendez, MD, is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/GYN) who works as a hospitalist, caring for patients at UC San Diego Health's Hillcrest and Jacobs Medical Center locations. Melendez completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at UC Irvine School of Medicine. She attended medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. She enjoys building relationships with patients and their support people, thinking through complex interpersonal dynamics, bonding with other staff on care teams, and ensuring an open learning environment for our trainees built on psychological safety. Her academic interests include physician wellness, peripartum mental health, medical ethics, perinatal loss, patient advocacy, diversity initiatives, and curriculum development. She serves on the health system Ethics Committee and is an affiliate faculty member of UC San Diego's T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion, where she is involved in the development of evidence-based training in interpersonal communication in order to promote compassionate relationships in health care. She is proud to be involved with the UC San Diego School of Medicine across multiple levels of training and looks forward to building a supportive and engaged future for our trainees. In her free time, she can be found spending time with her family, doing a variety of fiber arts, reading, cooking and enjoying good food.
GME Cohorts: General Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Tatyana (Tanya) Vayngortin is a physician in the Emergency Medicine Division at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego and an associate clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego. She immigrated from Ukraine at five years old and grew up in San Francisco. Vayngortin completed her pediatrics residency at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and was part of an advocacy track. She completed her PEM fellowship at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland and San Francisco. Vayngortin is board-certified in pediatrics, pediatric emergency medicine, and lifestyle medicine. She serves as the Pediatric ED Wellness Director and is passionate about physician well-being and burnout prevention. Outside of the ED, Vayngortin enjoys spending time with her family and friends, visiting all the beautiful San Diego beaches and delicious restaurants, hiking, yoga, and travel.
GME Cohort: Emergency Medicine
Frannie Rudolf is an assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine and an assistant program director for the Emergency Medicine Residency. She earned her medical degree at Northwestern University and completed her emergency medicine residency at UC San Diego, where her continued presence allows her to serve as a natural bridge between trainees and leadership. A dedicated well-being champion, Rudolf completed the Leading the Way to Wellness leadership curriculum and has helped to incorporate a longitudinal wellness curriculum into the emergency medicine didactic program. Her goals center on partnering with residents and fellows to identify the key drivers of well-being and to build practical, sustainable initiatives that strengthen communication, connection, and professional fulfillment.
GME Cohort: General Surgery
Hannah Hollandsworth is a faculty member in the Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery. She acts as an associate program director for the general surgery residency, with a special emphasis on surgical resident well-being. She completed her residency and fellowship at UC San Diego and was involved with wellness initiatives during training, which started her passion for trainee well-being. In her free time, she enjoys reading, camping, hiking and traveling.
GME Cohort: Anesthesiology
Minh Hai Tran is an associate professor of Anesthesiology at UC San Diego and a neuroanesthesiologist with an international background in medical training and education. She trained in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, bringing a global perspective to teaching and mentorship. She has been the Department of Anesthesiology Wellness Director since 2022 and hopes to extend her passion for promoting well-being and community to all trainees within graduate medical education.
About me: PGY-3 Resident, Psychiatry
Talk to me about: Burnout, communication, social isolation, patient care, LGBTQ+ issues, self-compassion, and work-life balance
About me: Mandeep Bajwa is originally from a small town in Northern California, but has found himself in San Diego for all of his advanced training (since medical school to fellowship). He is a current fellow in pediatric gastroenterology and was a previous chief resident of the Pediatric Residency Program. He loves to hike, camping, skimboarding, SUP, and all things Harry Potter.
Talk to me about: Transitions in training, professionalism incidents, acute clinical stressors, and burnout
About me: My passions in medicine are primary care behavioral health, physician wellness, sports medicine and athlete mental health, palliative care, adolescent medicine, and addiction medicine. My passions outside of medicine are trying new restaurants and coffee shops, spending time outside and at the beach, watching as many sports as possible, and hanging out with family, friends, and my dog, Rory!
Talk to me about: Having a partner not in medicine, having a family member with a chronic health condition and the impact it has on you as both a source of support and, countertransference-wise, challenges of being the only medical professional in your family and imposter syndrome.
About me: I’m currently a PGY4 in Emergency Medicine. I grew up in Colorado and went to University of Denver for undergrad and University of Colorado for medical school. I traded my love of the mountains for the ocean as Residency brought me to San Diego. I’m planning on staying at UC San Diego to do a fellowship in Wilderness Medicine. I love being outside, in the ocean, surfing, mountain biking, and exploring San Diego.
Talk to me about: Managing burnout and supporting wellness, relationships in residency, tough cases, overwhelm and stress. Would love to talk through anything on your mind.
About me: I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, then spent time in Baltimore for undergraduate studies, and finally made it out to California for medical and graduate school at UCSF. I am now a psychiatry resident with an interest in geriatric psychiatry and research. During residency, my husband and I welcomed our daughter into the world. In my free time, I love to be with my family, play violin, and explore new cities/neighborhoods through food.
Talk to me about: Being a parent during residency; life and career transitions; challenging patient encounters; finding your professional identity; any other topics you are interested in talking about, I am here to listen and support you.
About me: Hi, my name is Sid (he/they)! I’m currently a psychiatry resident at UC San Diego with interests in neuromodulation, psychotherapy, women’s mental health, and early psychosis. After growing up in Columbus, OH, my journeys have led me to Berkeley, San Francisco, Boston, and San Diego. Aside from work, I love to spend quality time with my husband and cat, watch reality TV with friends and co-residents, host dinner parties and wine nights, get outside for some sunshine, and try new restaurants.
Talk to me about: Passions outside of medicine, AAPI and LGBTQ+ identities/experiences, microaggressions, physician burnout, loss and grief, prioritizing relationships during training
About me: Hi! My name is Rohini, and I’m born and raised in San Diego. So naturally, I’m a big fan of the San Diego Zoo (more specifically the Safari Park - I love the Okapi exhibit!). If I’m not at the zoo or the hospital, then you can probably find me wandering around Costco with my husband. I went to USC for college, University of Arizona for medical school and now I’m completing my last year of general surgery residency at UC San Diego with plans to stay here for a vascular surgery fellowship. I also completed an MPH at UCI after college.
Talk to me about: Real Housewives (any location), imposter syndrome, dessert preferences, self-confidence, anything that’s on your mind.
About me: My path to and through medicine has been an unusual journey! My first career was in fashion as a hairstylist and make-up artist where I loved and worked in some of the world’s fashion capitols: London, Milan, and New York City.
Several years into my fashion career, someone very dear to me was diagnosed with breast cancer. I chose to take some time to be with them through this process. After facing the medical world and experiencing the confusion and frustration of the healthcare system, I decided that I wanted to be a physician and focus on patient education and advocacy. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from the University of Southern California and my MD from Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.
For a quick minute, I thought I might be a breast surgeon and completed an intern year in general surgery. I realized that although I loved the OR and wanted to be able to give back to the breast cancer community, my heart and soul were in primary care, patient education, and disease prevention. I completed family medicine residency at UC San Diego and am now doing additional training in preventive medicine.
During this wild medical education journey, I have brought two beautiful boys into this world. In my free time, you can find me being a suburban mom, experimenting with plant-based cooking, doing yoga, keeping my cosmetology skills sharp, and occasionally tearing up a good night of bad karaoke.
Talk to me about: Non-traditional paths to medicine, changing specialties, having children during medical training, work-life struggles, infertility, pregnancy loss, navigating a loved one's illness, imposter syndrome
About me: As a Los Angeles native, I am so thrilled to be back in Southern California after a 5-year stint in New York City. I completed my B.A. in English Literature at Barnard College before pursuing my M.A. in English and Comparative Literature at the Columbia University School of Arts and Sciences. Following a one-year pre-medical post-baccalaureate program at Scripps College, I attended medical school at UC Irvine. A current psychiatry resident, I am interested in consult-liaison psychiatry, conversion disorders, and psychotherapy. When not working, I enjoy baking challah, listening to showtunes, taking exercise classes, and spending time with loved ones.
Talk to me about: Interpersonal conflicts, imposter syndrome, navigating burnout, experiencing medical issues as a trainee
About me: I completed my medical education at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and am currently undergoing residency in Neurological Surgery at UC San Diego. I also went to UC San Diego for my undergraduate training in Physics and Molecular Biology. I have a strong interest in spine surgery. My research include multiple spine surgery topics, and I am involved in several resident committees as well.
Talk to me about: Clinical stressors, burnout, professionalism, disputes with staff or trainees, time management
Talk to me about: Self-advocacy, self-judgment vs. self-growth, life balance, and the challenges of early career/residency life.
About me: Originally born and raised in Los Angeles area, I stayed in the area for college and went to USC where I studied Biology and Spanish. I moved up the coast to the Pacific Northwest for my medical training at Oregon Health & Science University. I am so happy to be back in So Cal training in psychiatry at UC San Diego. Outside of work, I love going to the beach, traveling, live music, and exploring all the great things San Diego has to offer.
Talk to me about: Physician wellness, navigating life stressors through residency, self-compassion, and anything else you may want to talk about
Talk to me about: Personal loss/grief, Fatigue or sleep disorders in medicine, being a woman in medicine/science, challenging patient interactions/outcomes, anxiety and catastrophizing/feeling spread too thin.
About me: Despite now loving San Diego… I’m a Texan at heart. I grew up and trained all over Texas before leaving to make a likely permanent move to the West Coast. I’m currently a maternal fetal medicine fellow, with a particular research interest in traumatic birth experiences and postpartum PTSD. My career interests include medical education, maternal mental health and labor/delivery outcomes, and my personal interests mostly include telling my dog how cute she is, running and cooking.
Talk to me about: Transitions in training, accepting feedback, dealing with loss during residency, navigating burnout and how cute other people’s pets are.
About me: I grew up in San Diego, went to Dartmouth for undergrad, and returned back home for medical school and residency. I am an OBGYN resident with plans to subspecialize in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. I am passionate about supporting others through life stressors during training- life doesn't stop just because you're in training! On a personal note, I lost my mom to cancer during my medical training and worked at the same hospital that she was being treated at. I also did five years of long-distance with my husband while we were completing our residencies in different states. Outside the hospital, you can find me going to yoga, baking, and spending time with family/friends.
Talk to me about: Work-life balance, navigating life stressors through training, dual physician-in-training couple, anything!
About me: I’m originally from the great state of Ohio, where I attended THE Ohio State University for undergrad and University of Cincinnati for medical school. I felt it was time to explore a sunnier part of the US and residency brought me to San Diego! Within family medicine, I’m currently interested in women’s health, geriatrics, and palliative care. Outside of work, I try to find time for daily movement and love indulging in a little sweet (or savory) treat.
Talk to me about: resident wellness, making friends in a new state outside of residency, burnout, difficult patients and/or attendings, feedback and communication, cafes and restaurants, travel and anything else on your mind!
About me: My name is Sina. I was born and raised in Iran, where I completed medical school, general surgery residency, vascular surgery fellowship, and earned a master’s in medical education and an MPH. After moving to the United States, I completed a four-year vascular surgery postdoctoral research fellowship at UC San Diego along with an MAS in clinical research. I began my vascular surgery residency at UC San Diego in July 2025.
Outside of medicine, I enjoy Persian poetry, literature, and traditional Persian music, and I value spending quality time with my wife. Since moving to San Diego in July 2021, I’ve had the chance to honor my Persian heritage while embracing American life. Both experiences have enriched my journey, personal interests, and commitment to maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Talk to me about: Residents’ wellness, managing burnout, integrating different cultures into physician life in the United States, navigating feelings of being judged as a resident-physician, managing different prior medical experiences within the U.S. healthcare system, transitioning into the resident-physician role, refining and realigning a career in academic medicine, handling workplace conflicts, and anything else that is on your mind.
