Community Psychiatry Current Residents & Fellows
James Harrison Collins, M.D.
2nd Year Child and Adolescent Community Psychiatry Fellow
Dr. James “Harrison” Collins is an LGBT+ UCSD Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow who obtained a Master’s Degree at University of South Florida prior to serving in a Chief Resident-adjacent role. He is a recipient of the prestigious Gold Humanism Honor Society Award, and has served LGBTQIA+ youth and families, youth advisory boards and free mental health clinics.
Jessica Kuo, M.D.
1st Year Child and Adolescent Community Psychiatry Fellow
Dr. Jessica Kuo was the recipient of three TOUCH Awards in medical for her extraordinary volunteer efforts. She spent over 200 hours volunteering at a crisis text line and participated in the Health Outreach Through Medicine and Education program as an organizer for student run healthcare clinics at a transitional homeless shelter (Central Arizona Shelter Service). She also tutored underserved children, volunteered at a food pantry, served as Coordinator of her Residency Wellness Committee, and served as President of her Asian Pacific Medical Student Association Chapter. Dr. Kuo is a member of the Sigma Sigma Phi honorary organization for academically gifted medical students, and as Academic Senior for her residency program she coordinates lectures, a PRITE Review Course, journal club, a simulation lab, and grand rounds presentations. Like many of her classmates, Dr. Kuo has a creative side, and when she isn’t teaching her cat new tricks, she can be found crocheting amigurumis and running marathons.
Heather Miura, M.D.
1st Year Child and Adolescent Community Psychiatry Fellow
Dr. Heather Miura is a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. She gained valuable experience as a psychiatric technician at the Hawaii State Psychiatric Hospital for over a year prior to transitioning to medical school. She served as both the manager and junior attending at a free clinic for the Hawaii Houseless Outreach and Medical Education (HOME) Project. This experience also included organizing school supply donations for houseless youth and supporting them through holidays. Dr. Miura has also served as a PBL Tutor for medical students and as Treasurer and Secretary of the Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association, and also as a Co-President and mentor for her department’s mentorship program. Lastly, Dr. Miura served as Health and Wellness Co-Chair for her residency program, and organized a number of activities and initiatives to appreciate her peers and colleagues, including organized efforts in qi-gong.
Maggie Changala, M.D.
General Psychiatry Program PGY4
Maggie Changala has lived most of her life in the Bay Area and the Central Coast of California, other than short research stints that took her to New Orleans and Boston. She studied Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley and went to medical school at UC San Francisco. She also completed a general surgery internship at UC San Francisco before changing course and diving into psychiatry. Maggie plans to continue working with Survivors of Torture International to provide medical exams for people seeking asylum in the United States, and hopes to provide trauma care to this population after completing her training. She is very happy to now call San Diego home, and can't wait to spend every spare moment (and probably do most of her studying) at the beach.
Mikaela Miller, M.D.
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY4
Mikaela joins us from the University of Texas Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine (UTHSA) where she obtained both her medical degree and a master's degree in Public Health. She is a born and raised Arizonan who later transplanted to Texas to attend Texas Christian University. Mikaela earned her degree in Biology, minored in Mathematics and Chemistry, and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Additionally, she received the "Chancellor's Scholar" Award. While attending UTHSA, Mikaela developed and conducted a reproductive health needs assessment for Burmese and Afghan refugees in South Texas, dedicated over 150 hours volunteering at the student run free clinics, and held several leadership positions such as President of the Wilderness Medicine Group. Her professional interests are in public psychiatry, addiction, public health, and advocacy. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, spinning, reading, and biking with her husband.
Jacqueline Tasarz, M.D.
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY4
Jacqueline grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where she was involved in the Polish-American Community. She graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in Biology and a minor in Public Health. She completed a post-baccalaureate at the University of California, Berkeley while conducting research at the University of California, San Francisco on the subjects of Cardiology and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Afterward Jacqueline obtained her medical degree from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. During medical school she was involved in community collaboration, research, and education regarding human trafficking. Jacqueline is passionate about patient advocacy and community engagement, trauma psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She enjoys hiking, longboarding, reading and collecting antique books, being a cat lady, and snowboarding.
Justine Ku, M.D.
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY3
Justine Ku, M.D. graduated from the UC Riverside School of Medicine. She attended UCLA for her undergraduate education, graduating Summa Cum Laude in Biology with a minor in Global Health. While in medical school, she pursued a designated emphasis in Medical and Health Humanities and is a Gold Humanism recipient. She is passionate about voluntarism and teaching and has served on the National APAMSA Board, as a caseworker for the Mobile Clinic Project at UCLA, as Outreach Director at the San Bernardino Free Clinic, and in various teaching positions at UC Riverside School of Medicine. Justine enjoys cardio kickboxing, watching sunsets, eating, and going to Disneyland in her free time.
Jacklyn Vargas, M.D.
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY3
Jacklyn Vargas, M.D. is a local native to Southern California and San Diego County. She attended UC San Diego for undergraduate education where she earned her degree in Psychology and discovered her passion for mental health. After completing her undergraduate education, she began work as an ABA therapist for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and provided therapy for children, adolescents, and families in medically underserved regions of San Diego County. She then attended medical school as part of the inaugural class at California University of Science and Medicine in San Bernardino, California, where she received scholarship recognition for her commitment to community outreach and patient advocacy. Throughout medical school, she demonstrated this commitment to her community’s health through volunteerism, providing career mentorship to local underserved youth, teaching medical Spanish to her peers, and serving as co-founder and vice president of the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) at her medical school. Her career interests include Child/Adolescent psychiatry, psychotherapy, teaching, community outreach, and addressing disparities in access to mental health care. Her hobbies include dance fitness classes (Zumba), spending time exploring outdoors, cat napping with her fluffy Persian cat, and drinking boba.
Lauren D'Andrea, M.D.
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY3
Lauren D’Andrea is delighted to join the UCSD Community Psychiatry Residency Track. An SF Bay Area native, she attended UCLA for her undergraduate studies, where she graduated with honors with a B.S. in Psychobiology. She worked at a healthcare finance consulting firm in San Francisco for two years before attending the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia. During medical school, Lauren discovered an interest in psychiatry, particularly acute psychiatry and early psychosis, and was accepted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. She is passionate about working with underserved populations and spent four years serving as a coordinator at a free clinic for Latinx immigrants in Philadelphia. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, cycling, tennis, travel, and spending time with her friends (and their dogs). She is excited to move back to the West (best!) coast and begin her psychiatry training at UCSD.
Natalie Constantine, M.D., MPH
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY2
Natalie Constantine joins us from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine where she obtained her M.D. and M.P.H. Before that she received her B.S. in Psychobiology at the University of California-Los Angeles. Natalie has a passion for global and community health and has spent much time in Central America and the Caribbean serving marginalized populations alongside community health workers. She continued to advocate for immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers through her leadership at the Human Rights Clinic of Miami, the Guatemalan-Maya Center, various global health organizations, and free health fairs throughout Miami. Natalie is thrilled to return to California to join the Community Psychiatry Track at UCSD to continue advocating for patients and address the mental health needs of underserved communities and the public sector. She is particularly interested in child and adolescent psychiatry, post-migration mental health, and trauma. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities and sports, camping trips, and being out on the water.
Matthew Abrams, M.D.
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY2
Matt Abrams was born and raised in San Diego, and he is excited to return home. He attended Harvard University for college where he studied Psychology, Global Health Policy, and Spanish. Matt then moved to Madrid for 3 years to pursue a Fulbright Fellowship, teaching in an underserved high school and conducting clinical psychology research. At the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Medicine, Matt volunteered extensively at the student-run clinic for immigrant farm workers and directed UCF’s Peer Support Program. Matt is an AAAP’s REACH scholar, a program committed to promoting harm reduction and reducing addiction disparities, and recently he was inducted into the Gold Humanism and AOA Honors Societies. He has published multiple articles related to peer support, resilience among Latinx immigrants, burnout, addiction psychiatry, and LGBTQ+ health equity. As a UCSD Community Track resident, he looks forward to pursuing his passions for advocacy, social justice, wellness promotion, and speaking Spanish while providing trauma-informed care to San Diego’s unsheltered, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities. Outside of medicine, Matt loves to travel, go to the beach, run, hike, care for his house plants, and strength train in the gym.
Mindy Kim, M.D.
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY2
Born in South Korea, Mindy Kim spent her childhood in Canada and Michigan. She attended Amherst College, where she grew a love for studying human nature, majored in Psychology, and investigated relational aggression among youth. She attended Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit and engaged extensively with unhoused individuals in street medicine clinics and at soup kitchens, led several quality improvement initiatives on medical education, and was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. She completed her first year of psychiatry residency at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, gaining comprehensive clinical training at a standalone psychiatric hospital. She is thrilled to join the Community Psychiatry track at UCSD and to forge meaningful connections with people from all walks of life. Her interests include adolescent psychiatry, community engagement, Asian American mental health, integrative psychiatry, and psychotherapy. Outside of residency, you will find her latin dancing (salsa, bachata, zouk), being a cat lady, watching documentaries, collecting travel magnets for her fridge, and hanging out with her fellow residents!
Ashley Du, M.D.
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY1
Ashley is a San Diego native and a graduate of the University of California, San Diego where she earned her degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. She continued her education and received her Masters of Science while studying the multi-organ effects of chronic e-cigarette inhalation in a mouse model. She then attended medical school at UCSD and conducted research investigating the personality traits of college students who used e-cigarettes. Ashley has spent years working in community settings, holding leadership positions in primary care clinics in Tijuana and the UCSD Free Clinic. She is passionate about providing exceptional mental health care to underrepresented populations to address health care disparities. Her interests include Community psychiatry, Asian American mental health, Addiction, and Women’s Mental Health. She spends her free time enjoying San Diego’s beautiful weather at beaches or parks, reading, and cooking for friends and family.
Ryan Elliot, M.D.
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY1
Ryan Elliott (he/him) grew up on the Central Coast of California. He received a QuestBridge National College Match scholarship to attend Princeton University, where he earned his BA in ecology and evolutionary biology with certificates in global health and health policy and Latin American studies. He had a non-traditional path to medical school and spent five years working in the public health and non-profit sector. Ryan completed his pre-medical coursework through the Harvard Extension School’s Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program. He attended medical school at UCLA, where he also completed his MPH with a specialization in epidemiology. His interests include child and adolescent psychiatry, community psychiatry, LGBTQ+ mental health, and global mental health. In his free time, Ryan enjoys hiking, running, gardening, traveling, and playing treat chase with his geriatric cat. He is thrilled to embark on this next stage of his training at UCSD and to join UCSD’s thriving community psychiatry ecosystem.
Walker Magrath, M.D.
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY1
Walker Magrath (he/him) is a psychiatry resident with the UCSD Community Psychiatry Track. Originally from Spring Gap, Maryland, Walker completed his undergraduate degree at Columbia University magna cum laude in 2019 studying biomedical engineering. He then earned his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2024. Walker has an interest in LGBTQIA+ equity within psychiatry, the history of medicine, and biotechnology. He hopes to pursue a career in public and community psychiatry, with special interests in HIV/AIDS, forensic psychiatry, and neuromodulation. Walker is a member of the American Osler Society, Tau Beta Pi, the American College of Physicians, and the Association of LGBTQ Psychiatrists. Outside of medicine, Walker plays bluegrass music on the fiddle/violin, enjoys long distance running, and loves spending time outdoors. He's thrilled to be living in San Diego!
Claire McLaughlin, M.D.
Adult Community Psychiatry PGY1
Claire McLaughlin was born and raised in North Carolina, where she attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for both undergraduate and medical school. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Public Policy, she specialized in workforce development in the field of public sector management consulting prior to returning to school at Johns Hopkins University’s Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program. During medical school, she took a year off to pursue a Master of Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she completed coursework on population mental health. Claire is passionate about health equity and stigma reduction, and she is looking forward to partnering with patients and communities in San Diego to support their mental health needs. Outside of medicine, she enjoys knitting, traveling, and spending time with her partner and dogs.
Kristin Creel, M.D.
Family Medicine / Psychiatry Resident PGY5
Kristin Creel, M.D. graduated from Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. Prior to medical school, she completed her undergraduate degree from University of Dayton were she majored in Psychology and was Pre-Med. While attending Wright State University Kristin volunteered with a Community Overdose Action Team in addition to starting a podcast. Her hobbies include playing indoor and intramural soccer, exercising, cooking and baking, camping, kayaking, hiking, and fishing.
Nicholas Kos, M.D.
Family Medicine / Psychiatry Resident PGY4
Nicholas Kos comes to us from the University of Illinois-Chicago where he received recognition for his service work through the organization, Chicago Street Medicine, working with unsheltered patients. He is originally from Anaheim, California and graduated from UC Berkeley undergrad with degrees in Integrative Biology and Spanish. During medical school, he has worked with several free clinics to promote healthcare for the underserved, uninsured and disenfranchised. He is an avid runner and loves live music, cooking, hiking, yoga, and playing with his puppy, Kiyah Mae.
Thanos Rossopoulos, M.D.
Family Medicine / Psychiatry Resident PGY4
Thanos Rossopoulos is from UT Southwestern medical school in Dallas, Texas where he was a Schweitzer fellow and developed community health programs in smoking cessation and patient navigation for individuals experiencing homelessness. He has taken a non-traditional path to medicine. After studying mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley, he lived abroad as a field engineer in India on oil rigs and then relocated to Houston to design drilling equipment. He left this career to pursue medicine because of a strong desire to serve others after volunteering with Houston's homeless population. He loves playing music and listening to R&B, volunteering in the community, watching the Lakers, playing sports such as basketball and surfing, and spending time outdoors.