A Commitment to Healthcare: Paving the way for future generations
Kaveh Bahgeri, MD ’87
Strong Ties to Grenada
I was born in Shiraz, Iran in 1961 and in 1978, I immigrated to the United States. I am a proud graduate of SGUSOM class of 1987.
While in medical school, I experienced the invasion of Grenada in October 1983. In 1984, I was one of three medical students who were rescued from the ocean after having been missing for two and a half days. The United States Coast Guard found us 42 miles off the coast of Grenada during their rescue mission due to the capsizing of my catamaran. My time in Grenada was by far the most exciting times of my life. Upon graduation, I started my residency in internal medicine, followed by two fellowships: pulmonary and critical care in New Jersey (Seton Hall University School of Graduate Medical Education). Presently, I am in private practice in San Diego, California and have done so since 1994. I am the President and Founder of a Hospitalist and Intensivist group (San Diego Critical Care Medical Group). The group has over 50 full-time physicians.
Furthermore, I am the Co-Director of the Intensive Care Unit at Sharp Grossmont Hospital (SGH), as well as the Co-Director of the Pulmonary Department. Bringing new technology to our hospital has been my passion. I have brought many new technologies including Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) with Transbronchial Needle Aspiration Biopsy (EBUS & TBNABx) as well as Bronchial Thermoplasty (BT) to SGH. I was also able to successfully secure SGH as the first facility in San Diego to be equipped with Robotic-Assisted Bronchoscopy (RAB). I have been very involved with philanthropic efforts including regular lectures to the Better Breathers Club, and provide educational programs both at the local and regional level to nurses and also respiratory therapies (RT) in addition to the physicians. I was the organizer of the full day Pulmonary Symposium by SGH in 2019, and I was instrumental in opening of the Outpatient Pulmonary Clinic at SGH to provide pulmonary services to non-funded or under-funded patients who had no place to go to for their pulmonary diseases.
My son started medical school at SGU in 2020 and at that time I decided to become more involved with the school. Recently, I have made multiple trips to Grenada along with many of my old classmates and roommates and look forward to continuing this reunion. I am extremely proud of SGU and am humbled and happy to be able to provide a home for SGU graduates who want a hospitalist/intensivist career in San Diego. There are more than 15 SGU graduates who work in my hospital, and I look forward to growing our program with future SGU graduates.
Susan J. Dulkerian, MD ’87
A Leader in Children’s Health
“When I graduated from SGUSOM, it was a much different place. From the old True Blue dorms, no internet, no cell phones and the many power and water outages, to the Intervention and ‘rescue’ in ’83. To see the growth of the school, campus and community has been fantastic!
I will always cherish the journey we all took to become physicians, but believe that it has helped me to become a stronger yet more empathetic physician and better mentor to students and young physicians -especially women. Patients will often refer to you as a nurse first- and will find yourself a bit annoyed each time you explain that you are, in fact, the doctor in charge of their care.
Balancing your family and home life will most likely always be a challenge- but always believe in your dreams, be kind, pursue your passions, and be sure to make time to enjoy life with family and friends.”
Susan J Dulkerian, MD ‘1987, Neonatologist and Chair of Pediatrics at Mercy Medical Center
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Roxana Mehran, MD ’87
Changing Lives of Cardiology Patients
Roxana Mehran, MD, FACC, FACP, FCCP, FESC, FAHA, MSCAI , is the Endowed Mount Sinai Professor in Cardiovascular Clinical Research and Outcomes; Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Population Health Science and Policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is an internationally renowned interventional cardiologist and clinical research expert in the field of cardiovascular disease. She has built a globally-respected academic research center focused on developing randomized clinical trials and has served as principal investigator for numerous global studies, developed risk scores for bleeding and acute kidney injury, participates regularly in developing clinical guidelines, and has authored >1300 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Mehran is a current member of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Board of Trustees. She has been included for six consecutive years in the Clarivate Analytics Most Cited Researchers – Top 1% list as well as the Thomson Reuters list of The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.
Dr. Mehran is currently leading the Lancet Commission on Women’s Cardiovascular Diseases, which brings together leading female researchers from around the world to identify and bridge gaps in research and care for women with cardiovascular disease. She was recently named Director of the Women Heart and Vascular Center at Mount Sinai Heart, spearheading a new program that represents a collaboration across multiple disciplines and is designed to meet the unique needs of women’s cardiovascular health. In 2019, she founded Women as One, dedicated to advancing opportunities for women in medicine.
Dr Mehran is a recipient of several awards including the 2016 American College of Cardiology Bernadine Healy Leadership in CV disease award, the 2018 Nanette Wenger Award from Women’s Heart for excellence in research and education, the 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and the 2019 ESC Silver Medal and Andreas Grüntzig Lecture plaque. She was recently awarded the Terry Ann Krulwich Physician-Scientist Alumni Award at Mount Sinai, for excellence in science and medicine, and the Linda Joy Pollin Heart Health Leadership Award, as well as the Doctor Honoris Causa Degree at Università della Svizzera Italiana (2022).
