Meet Our Team
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Christopher Cannavino, MD
Center Director
Dr. Chris Cannavino is a Pediatric Infectious Disease physician at RCHSD and an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at UCSD. After graduating from UCLA, he received his MD from the UCSD School of Medicine. Dr. Cannavino completed his Pediatric Residency at UCSD where, after serving as Chief Resident, he completed dual Fellowships in Pediatric Infectious Disease and Pediatric Hospital Medicine. He is the Director of Pediatric Medical Student Education at the UCSD School of Medicine, Director of the UCSD Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program, and the Associate Program Director for the UCSD Pediatric Residency Program.
Dr. Cannavino has received numerous teaching awards, including the UCSD Department of Pediatrics’ "Attending of the Year Award" in 2008 & 2011, RCHSD's "Excellence in Teaching Award" in 2017, the Kaiser “Excellence in Teaching Award” in 2021, and the "Distinguished Teaching Award” from the UCSD Academic Senate (Campus-wide) in 2021.
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Brian Kwan, MD
Associate Co-Director, Medicine Mentor Clinician Program
Dr. Brian Kwan is an academic hospitalist at the VA San Diego and Professor at UCSD. He received his M.D. from Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine residency at UCSD. Dr. Kwan serves as the co-director of the Internal Medicine Clerkship at UCSD and was elected to the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM) national council in 2021. He is passionate about enhancing medical education through the implementation of innovative curricula, and his research focuses on the transition between undergraduate to graduate medical education. Outside of work, Dr. Kwan enjoys outdoor hikes with his partner, coaching physicians on investing in real estate, and struggling to learn hip-hop choreography. Dr. Kwan has been recognized for his teaching excellence, receiving the Med 401 excellence in teaching award in 2012 and the IM Residency House Staff Teaching Awards in 2018 and 2019.
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Meghan Sebasky, MD
Associate Co-Director, Medicine Mentor Clinician Program
Dr. Meghan Sebasky is an academic hospitalist and Associate Clinical Professor at UC San Diego. She received her medical degree from Creighton University School of Medicine and completed internal medicine residency at the University of Minnesota where she was also a chief medical resident. Dr. Sebasky is currently the co-director of the Internal Medicine clerkship at UCSD School of Medicine as well as the chair of the UCSD Division of Hospital Medicine’s Medical Education and Mentorship Committee. Her areas of academic interest and expertise include feedback in the clinical setting, peer rounding, and empathy, particularly as it relates to students in the clinical years of medical school. Outside of the hospital, Dr. Sebasky might be found running, perfecting the art of making an epic charcuterie board, or working on improving her Spanish skills. Dr. Sebasky has been the recipient of multiple teaching awards including the Medicine 401 Excellence in Teaching award, the Internal Medicine Chiefs’ Teaching award, and the Internal Medicine Graduating Housestaff Teaching award in 2019 and 2020. -
Jamie LaBuzetta, MD, MSc, MPhil
Associate Director, Neurology Mentor Clinician Program
Dr. Jamie LaBuzetta practices within the division of Neurocritical Care, and also holds administrative and education roles as a Neurocritical Care Fellowship Co-Director and Neurology Clerkship Associate Director. She has been the annual recipient of the peer selected “Most Compassionate Communicator” award within critical care for the past 3 years, and was the 2020 recipient of the Society for Critical Care Medicine’s Innovation in Education faculty award.
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Julia Cormano, MD
Associate Director, Obstetrics & Gynecology Mentor Clinician Program
Julia Cormano, MD is the Clerkship Director for the UC San Diego OB/GYN 3rd year medical student clerkship, and an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UC San Diego Health. After graduating from residency at UCLA, Dr. Cormano served with the National Health Service Corps in Chicago, caring for an underserved population, while pursuing her passion for teaching as the Associate Clerkship Director at Rush University Medical Center. Her teaching awards include the CREOG Faculty Education Excellence in Resident Education Award at Mercy Hospital in Chicago (2015), the APGO Excellence in Teaching Award at Rush University Medical Center (2016), the UC San Diego Academy of Clinician Scholars, Whitehill Prize for Excellence at UC San Diego (2017), and the Society for Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology (SASGOG) Faculty Award (2020).
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Jabe Best, MD, PhD
Associate Director, Psychiatry Mentor Clinician Program
Jabe Best is an inpatient psychiatrist at the VA San Diego and HS Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at UCSD. He earned MD and PhD degrees from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health prior to moving to San Diego to complete residency at UCSD, capped by a final year as Chief Resident. He been a lifelong runner, enjoys learning about and exploring nature, and takes coffee quite seriously. Over the years, Dr. Best has received several nods related to teaching, mentoring, and clinical efforts to include the Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s Humanism and Excellence in Teaching: Resident Award in Psychiatry (2015), Academy of Clinician Scholars Whitehill Prize for Excellence in the Teaching of Clinical Medicine (2022), and San Diego Magazine’s Top Doctors (2023).
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Joel Baumgartner, MD, MAS, FACS
Associate Co-Director, Surgery Mentor Clinician Program
Joel Baumgartner is an Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology at UCSD and has been the Clerkship Director for the surgery clerkship at UCSD since 2015. His practice focuses on the surgical management of peritoneal metastases and cutaneous malignancies. He conducts clinical research on the diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance of patients with peritoneal metastases and cutaneous malignancies. He also serves as a residency training course instructor for UCSD students applying into surgical residencies, a surgical shadowing preceptor for first-second year medical students, a surgical apprenticeship preceptor for a third year medical students, and instructs residents in the UCSD general surgery residency. He has been awarded the Whitehill teaching prize by the surgery residents in 2016 and 2017.
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Charley Coffey, MD, FACS
Associate Co-Director, Surgery Mentor Clinician Program
Charley Coffey is an Associate Professor and the Chief of Otolaryngology- Head & Neck surgery at UCSD Health. He practices head & neck oncologic surgery at UCSD Moores Cancer Center and the San Diego VA. Dr. Coffey has particular interest in salivary gland function including prevention and management of xerostomia in head & neck cancer patients and the use of minimally-invasive techniques to treat patients with obstructive salivary disorders.
In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Coffey is dedicated to medical education. He is Co-Director of the UCSD Surgery Core Clerkship and the Surgery Mentor Clinician Program, serves on the faculty of numerous medical school courses, and participates in curriculum design and review for the UCSD School of Medicine, UCSD Department of Otolaryngology, and the American Head & Neck Society. His efforts have been recognized with multiple teaching awards from students and residents. Dr. Coffey completed the ACS-ASE Surgical Education Research Fellowship in 2019, and was the 2021 recipient of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award.
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Shannon Kadlec, MPH
Center Coordinator
Shannon Kadlec attended James Madison University for her B.S. in Health Sciences and George Mason University for her Master’s in Public Health. Shannon has been working at UCSD with Dr. Chris Cannavino since 2015. She is the Director of Education Administration with the UCSD Department of Pediatrics and Coordinator for the Center for Mentorship in Medicine/Mentor Clinician Program with the UCSD Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion.