Resident Spotlights
Thuan Diep – Categorical Pediatric Intern
• Brief overview of your life: I was born in San Diego, CA as
the firstborn to two Vietnamese refugees who fled from
Vietnam following the Fall of Saigon. My family lived in a
single-bedroom apartment in City Heights for much of my
school-age years, and it wasn’t until high school that I
moved to the North County, ultimately graduating from
Scripps Ranch HS. I attended college at UC San Diego,
where I majored in Biochemistry & Cell Biology (and also
where I met my fiancé!). I finally “left” home to attend
medical school at UCLA, but I couldn’t wait to get back to
my roots in San Diego!
• An interesting factoid about yourself: (or your past self):
I was born right next door to Rady’s at Sharp Mary Birch.
And intern year is my first year not being in school since I
was 4 years old.
• Why you chose pediatrics: The people. It’s not hard to want to help a child at any hour of the day,
regardless of how many hours of sleep you got, as those buggers are the cutest, most innocent, and
some of the most brilliant people I’ve ever been around. Kids aren’t afraid to tell you like it is, and that’s
what makes every day in pediatrics fun and rewarding. Likewise, I found that pediatricians were handsdown the friendliest people I got to work with in medical school, so given the oftentimes long hours of
our days as residents, why would anyone else not choose pediatrics??
• Why you chose UCSD: Coming from a program with a pediatrics floor-within-a-hospital, I knew that I
wanted to be at a large freestanding children’s hospital, where ALL of the resources and attention are
dedicated to kids 24/7. Likewise, I wanted to train at a place where I would be guaranteed to see and
learn everything during residency, from the bread-and-butter, to the bizarre, medically-complex zebras.
As the only standalone children’s hospital in San Diego County and within a 75-mile radius, UCSD/Rady
Children’s offers just that. We not only take care of all of the children in San Diego, the 8 th largest city in
the US, but also many referral cases from the surrounding region. I know that when I graduate from the
program, I’ll be ready for any type of career, be it as a general pediatrician or a subspecialist, inpatient or
outpatient, academic or private/community-based, locally or abroad. I also did a sub-I here during my 4th
year of medical school and saw how happy everyone was, so that only helped to solidify my decision.
• What you like doing in San Diego outside the hospital: I love how San Diego offers a little bit of
everything that anyone could be looking for. Beach? Check. Mountains and snow? Check. Desert? Check.
Want to get away? LA is close and can be done in a day (but get ready for much more traffic), and Vegas
can be done in a weekend. As for San Diego, there are museums for the artsy, ballgames for the sports
fans (go Chargers!), and amusement parks like the Zoo, Sea World, and Legoland for families. For me,
one of the biggest draws has to be the food; from fine dining or hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pop shops,
there’s an endless supply of great restaurants in the area. And NOWHERE does Mexican food quite like
San Diego (other than Mexico, of course, which also isn’t far away).
• Your career plans: Coming into medicine, I envisioned myself as a primary care physician, as that was my
only experience with doctors growing up. But throughout medical school (and thus far during residency),
the exposure to hospital medicine and subspecialization has definitely opened my eyes to different
avenues in medicine and pediatrics. So while I am still interested in primary care, I certainly won’t close
the door on subspecializing. As far as what subspecialty I might choose, only time will tell…
Jenny Koo – Categorical Pediatric 2nd Year
 Brief overview of your life: I was born in
Hong Kong and came to the US at the age of
5. My parents were always very supportive in
terms of education but overall I come from a
modest family background with no doctors in
the extended family. I grew up in Arcadia, CA
and went to UCLA for undergrad studying
Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, and
I practically lived in a lab for the last two years
of my college days doing bench research. I
came to UCSD for medical school!
 An interesting factoid about yourself: I
used to dance, a lot. I loved and still love
dancing, but I'm super out of practice and I
probably suck now (bugger). I did ballet first,
then did a lot of contemporary, jazz, was in a
hip hop team, and dabbled in some Latin
ballroom dancing for a while. Fun times :).
 Why you chose pediatrics: Kids are so resilient and I truly feel like I am making a huge impact when I help
and treat children. Both acute care and preventative care mean so much to me with the pediatric population
because of how many years they have ahead of them. Moreover, I actually love working with families, even
though I used to be scared of "dealing with parents." I've learned to love working together with parents as a
whole treatment team, as we are on the same side and wish the best for the child.
 Why you chose UCSD: I came here for med school and part of why I chose to pursue Pediatrics is because
of how much I enjoyed my peds rotation as a third year medical student. I didn't do great during that rotation
(because I scheduled it as my very first rotation) but for the remainder of the year I didn't find myself quite as
passionate about the other rotations as I had felt about peds. Ironically, the runner up to pediatrics in my career
planning was surgery.
 What you like doing in San Diego outside the hospital: Be with my significant other, eating lots of food,
trying to exercise, watching animated films and bawling because Pixar/Disney like to mess with my emotions. I
love to try anything and everything so I also dabble in various sports/activities!
 Your career plans: Neonatology. I like higher acuity settings and I love procedures.
Andrew Ng – 2nd Year Pediatric-Neurology Resident
 Brief overview of your life: I grew up in Los Angeles. I
wanted to become independent so I moved far way to Johns
Hopkins where I majored in neuroscience. I did research with
a neurologist on muscular dystrophy and that introduced me to
the field of child neurology. I packed my bags and moved
further northeast where I went to University of Vermont for
med school. Along the way, I learned to become independent
and fend for myself during the winters.
 An interesting factoid about yourself (or your past self):
During my first year of med school, I managed to run a full
marathon without needing IV fluids. My favorite part during
the run was when I ran through neighborhoods and got
sprayed by little kids with their garden hoses.
 Why you chose pediatrics: I enjoy seeing sick children get
better and reassuring worried parents. Giving kids high fives makes me feel young again. Plus, I get to bribe
them with stickers!
 Why you chose UCSD: I loved my interaction with the faculty and residents on my interview. The
tremendous patient diversity is an invaluable quality for my training. I do not know Spanish but I know how to
communicate with help of in person or phone interpreters. The faculty are supportive and promote an
environment conductive for learning.
 What you like doing in San Diego outside the hospital: I enjoy playing basketball at the local park,
taking advantage of my 2 year Costco membership 24 hour fitness pass, jogging along Crown Point beach, going
to concerts, and checking out local popular food spots (Phil's BBQ, Lucha Libre, Snooze, Cottage, George's at the
Cove, the list goes on...)
 Your career plans: I will stay in San Diego to complete my child neurology residency.
Solomon Greenberg – 1st Year Medicine-Pediatrics Resident
 Brief overview of your life: I was born and raised in New York
City--specifically in Queens, birthplace of such luminaries as 50 Cent
and the New York Mets. I went to a tiny high school in Harlem,
where I was part of the second-ever graduating class. I took my first
big step west at 17, when I enrolled in the University of Chicago as a
wee ickle pre-med German major. After graduating with a degree in
cell and molecular biology (oops), I stayed at UChicago for med
school and got involved with the Student National Medical
Association. Now I've taken another giant step west, and here I am.
 An interesting factoid about yourself (or your past self): I
didn't have a driver's license until after I took Step 1; growing up in
NYC and living in Chicago, it would actually have been a hindrance to
own a car. So if you see someone in a blue Civic swerving around
like a 16-year-old who's literally been driving for less than three
months...that's me. Sorry.
 Why you chose pediatrics: I'm actually med-peds. Couldn't
decide by the AMCAS deadline so I just split the difference. No, just
kidding (mostly). Honestly, I would feel incomplete as a physician if I couldn't take care of kids. I'm a firm
believer in "the child is the father of the man"--what happens to us when we're young has lasting ramifications
throughout our lives, and I want my training to reflect that.
 Why you chose UCSD: As part of my med-peds training, I thought it was very important to see as many
challenging pediatric cases as possible. I wanted to work at a tertiary care center without a safety net--the sickest
kids in the region come here, and it's our job to fix them. How else will I get good at it? Maybe it's my inner New
Yorker talking, but since I've been here I've been very pleasantly surprised by how friendly and down-to-earth
everyone is. Everyone I've met, from tenured faculty members to stressed-out med students, is willing to teach
and learn whenever the opportunity comes up.
 What you like doing in San Diego outside the hospital: Sorry...there's an outside the hospital? Is it nice
there? Do they have graham crackers in the call rooms? Just kidding again. (Again, only mostly.) Whatever you
do here, do it outside. I've been spending my free time hiking, running, and just walking around exploring. It's
super rewarding--the houses are beautiful, the weather is absurd, and every single storefront is either a craft
brewery or a cool hipster tattoo parlor. I've also expanded my cooking game a little, mostly because of all the
awesome farmers markets and nifty little produce stores.
 Your career plans: I'm very interested in transitional care, which is just about the med-pedsiest thing in the
world. I describe my favorite patient population as "sick kids who turn into sick adults," particularly specialty
patients like kids with IBD, CF, and childhood cancer survivors. I'd really like my career to involve transitioning
them from their pediatric specialists to their adult specialists, although I'm not sure what specific role I would
have in that transition. I know that for the next four years my job is to learn as much as possible about taking
care of them, and I can definitely see myself using that knowledge to teach my colleagues as a major part of
my work. Stay tuned, I guess.
Christine Rukasin – 4th Year Medicine-Pediatrics Resident
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Brief overview of your life - I was born and raised in Flagstaff,
AZ. Attending 3 different colleges so I could play intercollegiate
softball including Hawaii Pacific University, Pima Community
College and finally Creighton. I took 3 years off after undergrad
and coached softball, worked in a medical office and hospital
before attending Creighton for medical school.
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An interesting factoid about yourself (or your past self) - I have
played softball with Olympic players.
Why you chose pediatrics (or med/peds) - I love med peds
because of the variety of patients, pathology and colleagues. I
enjoy the joy you see in children and the impact you can make on their lifetime, but enjoy the bonds you can
build with families and adults.
Why you chose UCSD and why it was the right choice for you - UCSD was a good fit for me because of the
people and the location is close enough to family, plus you can't beat the weather. I also liked that we rotate
through different facilities so you get the opportunity to see how different places run. Everyone I met during
the interview was enthusiastic and nice, people I saw myself working well with. Ultimately, during my
interview, UCSD was the program that felt most comfortable.
What you like doing in San Diego outside the hospital - enjoying the outdoors, exercising, watching sports
and spending time with family. There's a lake near by my apartment that I love to walk or run around.
Your career plans - most likely primary care with some balance of peds and adults. Maybe adolescent if I
decide on doing a fellowship.
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Lauren Steele – 3rd Year Pediatrics Resident
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Brief overview of your life: Born and raised in Centennial,
Colorado; undergraduate degree in Modern Languages at Kenyon
College in Ohio; medical school through the Humanities and Medicine
program at Icahn School of Medicine (aka Mount Sinai) in NYC;
traveled a lot as a young'un (my dad was a pilot) and still have that
itch as an older kid. I spent a lot of time in California growing up but
never officially lived here until residency.
An interesting factoid about yourself (or your past self) When I
was little, I loved animals and really wanted to be a vet or a
professional jockey-- until I realized that a) people are way too crazy
about their pets, and b) being a jockey is not glamorous.
Why you chose pediatrics (or med/peds): Because it's fun-- I love
working with kids and their families, and I wanted to be working with
both sick and well patients over a period of time. I love that kids can
rebound from serious illness in amazing ways. Also, adults have
gross toenails.
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Why you chose UCSD and why it was the right choice for you: I wanted a program at a stand-alone
children's hospital which would give me a good balance between academic/subspecialty/super strange
pathologies and regular ol' bread and butter pediatrics. My husband and I also really wanted to be in
California, and since he's a neuroscientist, San Diego was a prime spot for him to finish up his postdoc.
What you like doing in San Diego outside the hospital: spending time outside in/around/near the
ocean (running, surfing, brunching); reading and baking (not San Diego-specific, mind you)
Your career plans: Chief year, then gen peds for at least two years... then maybe fellowship in
Rheumatology? TBD.
Nik Shalygin – 3rd Year Pediatrics Resident
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Brief overview of your life: I was born in Moscow, Russia
then moved to Seattle when I was 8 years old and stayed
there for 20 years until finding the light (literally...sun) in San
Diego for residency. I did my undergrad and med school in
Seattle at the University of Washington. I was a semi-pro
skier doing X-Games slopestyle/half-pipe skiing and almost
went that route but got into med school on the first interview
so figured I would give it a try and here I am. That
experience shaped me into a die-hard, competitive, hardworker. I volunteered for an organization called Outdoors for
All where we taught kids with disabilities how to wake board,
mountain bike, go hiking, camping...etc. That experience
shaped my decision to ultimately focus on pediatrics.
An interesting factoid about yourself: My favorite smell
is dill. Also...I'm obsessed with nutrition and knowing what
food items are made of so I bake my own bread, hamburger
buns, granola bars, make pasta from scratch, make pizza
dough/sauce from scratch, make tortillas from scratch, ketchup, mayo, salad dressings, jams...basically
anything I want to eat I make from raw ingredients vs buying the ready-made product.
Why you chose pediatrics: I love the pediatric population in general and especially the pathophysiology of
disease we deal with compared to adult medicine. I always knew I would end up doing a pediatric fellowship
regardless of what specialty I chose so in the end it just made sense to choose pediatrics from the get-go.
Also, I am, and always will be, a big kid.
Why you chose UCSD and why it was the right choice for you: Just felt right after the interview
day. UCSD being in San Diego is kind of a huge plus. All in all it was a high volume residency with chances to
see lots of different disease presentations in a medium size program.
What you like doing in San Diego outside the hospital: Anything outdoors...hanging out with my
awesome dog at the beach, surfing, running, hiking, mountain biking, road biking, checking out local
breweries, paddle boarding, swimming, getting lost in the mountains...you name it. I run marathons and trail
races competitively so living in SD is perfect for training as the weather is never a deterrent.
Your career plans: Neonatology