Galya was born and raised in Israel. She spent her early childhood in Eilat, snorkeling in the Red Sea, and her formative years in Herzelia, sunbathing on sandy Mediterranean beaches (this perfection was disrupted by a 2 year unnecessary relocation to Johannesburg South Africa, which had nice Safaris and all, but no beaches, and a futile attempt to live in a Kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee). Like most Israeli girls, she was recruited to the military after high school, where she completed basic training followed by a 2-year service in a combat squadron of the Israeli Air Force. She followed this fun experience with a 6 month backpacking trip in Southeast Asia, and after meeting the love of her life in small Koh Pangan Island in Thailand, she thought she was finally ready to settle down. So...Galya attempted to realize the “Israeli dream” of raising a family and working in High Tech by enrolling in a Business and IT bachelor’s degree. But this alone was kind of dull, so during the days and nights, she also worked full time as a flight attendant in El Al. Those free flight tickets were so tempting that, soon enough, she and her husband found themselves on a year-long backpacking trip in South and Central America. And, according to legend, after traveling through half the world, they fell in love with small suburban Culver City, and finally settled down in a house with a fenced yard, and started a family. And yes, she went to UCLA Medical School, and yes, she fell in love with Psychiatry. Or else you wouldn't be reading this.

Education:
M.D.: University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine
M.S., Biomedical Engineering: University of California, Los Angeles
B.A., Business: The Inter-disciplinary Center, Herzelia, Israel

Career Goals:
I am still in the process of learning about the different fields and practice settings in psychiatry. I have always had an interest in mood disorders, but have also enjoyed my experiences in geriatric psychiatry as well as in addiction psychiatry. I enjoy teaching, research, some administration, and like both inpatient and outpatient work. So who knows at this point; luckily there are so many good career options from which to choose.

Why UCLA Psychiatry ?
Given that my husband and I were both perfectly happy with our family's life in LA, including his job and my daughter's school, I was focused on the psychiatry programs in the LA area. Though I was very impressed with the other LA programs and would have been happy as a resident in any of them, I finally decided on UCLA because of the diverse inpatient and outpatient experiences it offered, the awesome residents and faculty I met here, and academic/research opportunities. The three-day retreat in Lake Arrowhead, happy hours in Westwood, and sunny lunches or lunch seminars were actually not things I considered at all...This is a great program!

Micah attended college at the University of Tampa as a biology major, initially studying equine genetics. In his junior year at UT, he made the decision to attend medical school right after graduation. Much against the recommendations of his beach-going friends in sunny Florida, Micah made the move to attend medical school at Jefferson in Philadelphia. He was initially on track for a career in obstetrics and gynecology surgery, but found his true calling in psychiatry. While he enjoyed the great training that the City of Brotherly love afforded him, after digging his car out from under two feet of snow for the seventh time, he decided to look for residency locations in more temperate locations and found Southern California and UCLA to be the perfect fit.

Education:
M.D.: Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Doctor of Medicine
B.S., Biology: University of Tampa

Career Goals:
Private practice specializing in mood and anxiety spectrum disorders in combination with academic psychiatry, specifically emergency psychiatry and education.

Why UCLA Psychiatry ?
I think the more appropriate question is why not? Struggling between choosing a program on my native East Coast versus making the move to California, my interview day at UCLA was a breath of fresh air. World-class facilities, diverse patients, amazing residents, and top-notch education set in beautiful Southern California left me with only one choice for residency: UCLA. In my second year of training, UCLA has offered me all of this and more.

Elana grew up in the Bay Area, California, and after spending her first 17 years spoiled by the perfect climate and laid-back attitude, had a rude awakening when she moved across the country to study at the slightly chillier, slightly more uptight (but amazing!) Harvard. Thinking herself a future surgeon, Elana nonetheless studied psychology and spent her early mornings and late afternoons playing water polo with Harvard's Division I team. After graduating, she took some time to travel (Israel, Mexico, Cuba... don't tell the NSA) and then spent a year doing psychiatry research at Stanford- all the while still thinking she would go into surgery. Elana moved down to LA for medical school at USC and it wasn't until her third year that she put two and two together and realized she really loved psychiatry and had no patience for disimpacting bowels or talking endlessly about DVT prophylaxis. Elana was thrilled to match at UCLA's psychiatry residency program and now spends her free time reading, writing, and entertaining fellow residents with hilarious ukulele songs. Her secret life goal is to move to Nicaragua and do telepsychiatry.

Education:
M.D.: University of Southern California
B.A., Psychology: Harvard University

Career Goals:
I haven't totally figured that out yet, but I love doing therapy and imagine setting up some type of psychotherapy private practice... especially if I can incorporate telepsychiatry so I can live on my Nicaraguan property part time! I would love to incorporate my interest in mindfulness and meditation into my therapy practice as well.

Why UCLA Psychiatry ?
For me, UCLA was an easy choice. Location was important to me, and I knew I wanted to stay on the West coast. And of all the great programs on the West coast, UCLA seemed to be the strongest program with the happiest residents--a combination that's not always easy to find. Now that I'm in my 3rd year, I see too that there are so many amazing things about this program apart from what led me here in the first place, such as an administration that seeks out feedback from residents to continuously improve, amazing outpatient specialty clinics, and a strong community of psychotherapy supervisors from which to pick. I couldn't be happier that I ended up at UCLA!

Jennifer was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She grew up in a farmhouse that had a wood-burning stove as its primary source of heat (seriously!). Highlights of elementary school included performing with a traveling jump rope team and learning to shoot a .22 in her backyard. High school brought her first trip to L.A., to march in the Rose Bowl Parade with her high school marching band. Indeed, with speech competitions and Academic Decathlon, the road to nerd-dom began early. The University of Iowa brought additional opportunities, including a semester abroad in Chile (amazing), meeting her husband at an oh-so-romantic committee meeting (also amazing), and ultimately deciding to major in Spanish and pursue medicine. She soon left the wind-swept farm fields of Iowa and headed north to the wind-swept farm fields of Minnesota, to begin medical school at Mayo Clinic. While there, among less important things, she searched in vain for the “week-aoke” (karaoke at different venues on seven consecutive days). Despite failure on this front, she persevered, and decided on a career in psychiatry. After graduation, it was time for a radical transition from eternal winter to the gentler climes of Southern California. Jennifer, Dan (her husband—a teacher who you may have seen on Jeopardy!), and Charlie (their beloved dog-son), couldn’t be happier with their westward move. They love living in Santa Monica, going to farmer’s markets year round, and exploring the stunning natural beauty of California.

Education:
M.D.: Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
B.A., Spanish: University of Iowa

Career Goals:
I love consultation-liaison psychiatry, and I love teaching, and plan to combine these two passions. I am currently the chief resident for the consultation-liaison psychiatry service at UCLA, and will complete my Psychosomatic Medicine fellowship at Mayo Clinic this coming academic year. I will subsequently pursue a position as an academic consultation-liaison psychiatrist, with a particular interest in psycho-oncology.

Why UCLA Psychiatry ?
Location was largely irrelevant for me. I wanted the best program, with the best residents. I didn’t know what to expect when I came to visit UCLA, and had never seriously considered moving to Los Angeles. I was so impressed by the talented, energetic, and passionate residents that I encountered on my interview day. This was ultimately a big part of my decision to come to UCLA—I wanted to be in a place where I knew I could count on my co-residents, and where my co-residents would become my friends, but also my teachers and collaborators. I have definitely found this at UCLA. This is, of course, in addition to our outstanding faculty and exhaustive training opportunities—anything you want to do, you can find a way to do it at UCLA. Oh, and regarding location…now that I am here, I love Los Angeles, and I am making plans to stay. This is truly a remarkable place.