Residents

Class of 2021

Shirin Aghazadeh, D.O.

Shirin Aghazadeh, D.O. Shirin was born and raised in upstate New York. She went to undergrad at University at Buffalo and medical school at Touro University Nevada. In her free time, she enjoys being with family and friends, traveling, singing, and hiking.

Jamshid Akhavan, M.D.

Jamshid was born and raised in McKinney, Tex. He then went on to study molecular biology at the University of Texas at Dallas, followed by medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch. In his free time he enjoys hiking, cooking, movies and bird watching.

Isabel Bedoyan, M.D.

Isabel was born and raised in Glendale. She studied Physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, earned her Master’s degree in Kinesiology at California State University, Northridge, and attended medical school at St. George’s University on the beautiful island of Grenada. With excitement, she returned home to Glendale for residency, where she is completing her third year as Chief Resident. Outside of work, she loves to spend time with her husband, 1-year-old daughter Olivia, and doggie Tommy. Whether it’s playing (and mostly winning) at board games, attending live sporting events, or watching competitive cooking shows like Beat Bobby Flay, Isabel loves a good game of anything really, where her competitive nature can run wild.

Karissa Chow, M.D.

Karissa was born in Connecticut, grew up initially in North Carolina, but mostly in Orange County, California. She studied Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, and then attended medical school at Wright State University BSOM in Ohio. She is now living out her residency years happily in Southern California, where she is completing her last year as Chief Resident. Her professional interests include women's health and preventative medicine. During her spare time, she enjoys watching Netflix, weightlifting, going to aquariums, and drinking smoothies.

Stephen Huynh, D.O.

Stephen is a third-year resident who was born and raised in the Bay Area. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, for undergrad – Go Bears! He went to Touro University California for medical school where he found his passion for preventative medicine. Pre-COVID, he spent his spare time hiking, camping, traveling, and exploring Los Angeles.

Jhonatan Leal, M.D.

Jhonatan was born and raised in Mexico. He attended medical school at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo Facultad de Ciencias Medicas. In 2016, he moved to Los Angeles, where he is currently completing his family medicine residency. In his free time, he likes to watch movies, work out and spend time with family and friends.

Talin Meshefedjian, D.O.

Talin has spent all of her life in Southern California in order to stay close to her family, which she values most. She went to Pepperdine University for her undergraduate studies and graduated magna cum laude in Biology. Between college and medical school, she worked as the head of management at a Porsche design company, where she developed her passion for business, law, and cars. One of her favorite responsibilities was to represent the company in legal suits against large corporations; she never lost a single case. During this time, she was accepted at Western University College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, Calif. She graduated in 2018 and matched into her top-choice family medicine residency program at Adventist Health Glendale. During her free time, she enjoys mastering the fine line between humor and professionalism, actively avoiding exercise, going to her favorite local restaurants to eat ad nauseam, and most of all spending time with her family.

Narek Torosyan, D.O.

Narek was born and raised in Glendale. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles, for his undergraduate degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He attended the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine for medical school and is now happy to be back in his hometown serving the community. In his free time, Narek enjoys playing guitar and piano, listening to and discovering new music, hanging out with his dog and cheering on the Lakers.

Class of 2022

Mane Aleksanyan, M.D.

Mane was born and raised in Armenia, went to the University of California, Los Angeles, for undergrad, then worked as Polysomnographic technician and clinical research coordinator before starting medical school at St. George's University. She is enjoying every bit of the Adventist Health Glendale residency program. Outside of work, she enjoys art, hiking, biking, and most of all, she enjoys being a mom to two mischievous boys.

Natalie Boone, M.D.

Natalie was born in Dallas, spent her childhood in various places in the United States, and ended up back in Dallas. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied Biomedical Engineering and English. She then attended medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where she also completed the Medical Ethics Pathway. Having checked various Texas cities off her list, she ventured out to California with her two cats for her family medicine residency. She enjoys traveling, exploring new cities, reading, playing the piano, attending Orange Theory classes (pandemic permitting), cross-stitching, and baking for her co-residents.

Brooke Harmssen, D.O.

Brooke completed her undergraduate education at the University of California, Santa Cruz, as a game design major before coming to the realization that she wanted to be a doctor and, therefore, did not need to know how to code a calculator. After graduating with considerable debt, and a BS in a major that no longer exists, she went on to work as a gaming specialist at Best Buy, which she rather liked. In 2014, she was miraculously accepted into medical school and began studying at Touro University California. After graduating, she was accepted into a general surgery residency program and trained for one year as a surgical resident before deciding that this was a horrible mistake. In 2019, she serendipitously accepted a position at Adventist Health Glendale's family medicine residency, which was a great decision and she has been happy ever since.

Adanma Nwachuku, M.D.

Adanma came all the way from Los Angeles. She got her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside. She then decided to return to Riverside for medical school where she was highly involved in the wellness department and Student National Medical Association. When she finishes residency, she hopes to pursue an OB fellowship. In her spare time she loves to watch Asian dramas, eat French fries, and travel all over the world (if there’s a long weekend she’s gone)!

Daisha Ortega, M.D.

Daisha was born and raised in Los Angeles. She earned her undergraduate degree in biological sciences from California State University, Fullerton. Daisha worked as an EMT before attending medical school at Ohio State University College of Medicine. After barely surviving Ohio’s winters, Daisha is extremely happy to be back at home in sunny California. In her free time, Daisha enjoys caring for her animals, listening to music, dancing and going on adventures.

Anita Sahagian, D.O.

Anita was born and raised in Redlands, Calif. She earned her Bachelor's degree from California State University, San Bernardino, while working as a research assistant at the Loma Linda Veterans Affairs hospital, which she loved. She inched her way west for medical school at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif., before settling in Glendale for residency to stay close to family and friends. In her free time, she loves attending rock concerts, taking too many pictures of her dog, and making poor attempts at learning the ukulele.

Maria Teresa Sanchez, M.D.

Maria was born and raised in Pasadena, Calif. Maria went to Johns Hopkins University for undergrad and The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for graduate school. Maria then moved to San Francisco to conduct public health research, but soon realized she would rather focus on the health of individuals than populations. Maria went to University of Illinois at Chicago for medical school where she developed a strong interest in family medicine. She matched at Adventist Health Glendale and now works only minutes from her childhood home. Shortly after starting residency, Maria gave birth to a sweet baby girl who fills her life with so much love, happiness, and laughter!

Molly Wilkerson, M.D.

Molly grew up in the wonderful college town of Bloomington, Ind. She left the humidity and snow of the Midwest to attend Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., where she majored in Neuroscience and fell in love with living in near-constant sunshine. She went straight from college to the Keck School of Medicine of USC where she co-founded the Geriatrics Student Interest Group. Pre-pandemic she enjoyed taking dance classes around Los Angeles, going to the beach with friends and getting double digit hours of sleep each night. Now she spends much of her free time on Etsy looking at outfits for her future greyhound(s) and still gets an absurd amount of sleep.

Class of 2023

Jaehee Choe, D.O.

Jae was born in South Korea, but grew up in New York and Connecticut. When he was 13 and just learning to talk to girls, his father thought it would be a wonderful idea to move the family back to rural South Korea so Jae could spend his teenage years in an all-boys school learning calculus. (Love you dad!) He went to undergrad at Sogang University in Seoul where he majored in political science and learned important life skills, such as deflection and procrastination. After his parents talked him out of becoming a professional martial artist, he moved to San Francisco and worked as an accountant before being accepted at Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine. He loves being back in California, living close to Koreatown and training alongside his fellow residents. In his free time, he enjoys chilling with his dog, dabbling in Olympic weightlifting, and eating. Sometimes, he does all three things at the same time.

(Alice) Xianzhang Geng, M.D.

Alice Geng was born in China and raised in Alhambra, California. She was part of a high school choir that toured in Thailand and Indonesia, and played violin out of parental expectations. She went to Westmont College in Santa Barbara and developed a love of boogie boarding and social dancing (swing, salsa, and bachata). She acted in college and directed a student production of Himmelweg during a study-abroad program in Europe. Throughout medical school at Loma Linda University, she volunteered at a summer camp for Central Alaskan Yup’ik teens in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta as a first aid provider and camp counselor. There, she became interested in the field of adolescent medicine and changed her desired specialty from ophthalmology to primary care. Her favorite shows are Archer and Community, and she enjoys doing DIY home decor.

Aris Melkonian, M.D.

Aris Melkonian is a third-generation Iraqi-Armenian who was born and raised in Iraq. He graduated from University of Baghdad College of Medicine and practiced medicine in his home country for six years. In 2016, Aris immigrated to the United States, where he immediately started working hard to complete his U.S. medical licensing qualifications. His goal for residency was to stay as close to the great community of Glendale as possible and, thankfully, he was able to achieve that by matching at his top-choice program: Adventist Health Glendale. Aris speaks fluent English, Armenian and Arabic. He enjoys volunteering at the Glendale Free Clinic in his spare time. He also spends his weekends exploring new restaurants and outdoor activities.

Andrew Nguyen, D.O.

Andrew was born and raised in San Jose, Calif. He completed his undergraduate degree in biological sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He then attended medical school at Touro University California in the Bay Area. He is excited to be back in SoCal to experience the weather and beaches (with social distancing of course). His hobbies include traveling, hiking, weight lifting and playing badminton.

Naira Sargsyan, D.O.

Naira was born in Armenia and raised in Glendale. She attended the University of California, Irvine for her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences. She then went on to pursue a Master’s degree and ultimately her medical degree from the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine where she also founded the university’s first arts and humanities journal, Thrive. Naira is happy to be back in Glendale, providing care for the city that helped shape her. She is especially interested in women’s health and pediatrics. She enjoys spending time with her family, binge-watching shows, and being outdoors.

Laura Spanko, D.O.

Laura was born and raised in San Jose, Calif. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of Oregon where she also played club lacrosse. She moved to New York City after college to perform virology research at Mount Sinai before going to medical school at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harlem. She is excited to be back in California and to have the opportunity to provide medical care and resources to the community of Glendale. Laura likes to spend her free time outdoors - hiking, biking, playing tennis and relaxing on the beach.

(Sophia) Yifei Sun, D.O.

Sophia was born in Beijing and raised in Chino Hills, Calif. She completed her undergrad at the University of California, San Diego, with a degree in Physiology & Neuroscience and worked for a couple of years prior to attending Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif., for medical school. Her hobbies include: sleeping, eating good food (Korean BBQ), taking her two golden retrievers out to hike or a playdate, and driving to Mammoth Mountain for weekend snowboarding trips.

Victor Tin, D.O.

Victor is a first-year resident who was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. He went to the American Jewish University in Los Angeles for undergrad, where he majored in Bioethics. He then attended the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Maine, while spending his third and fourth years in New Jersey. He decided he didn't want to be a popsicle every winter, so he moved back west and is now happy to be part of the Adventist Health Glendale Family Medicine Residency Program! His interests include drawing, movies, listening to music, going to shows, working out, outer space, social justice, playing with his dogs, and cheering on the Los Angeles Lakers.