Our Doctors

Dr. Aung graduated from the Institute of medicine (1) Burma, in 1998 and later trained in Internal medicine and Geriatric medicine in Liverpool, United Kingdom. There she specialized in Orthogeriatrics for years with strong interest in Osteoporosis, while receiving Master of Science in Geriatric medicine from Keele University School of Medicine, MRCP and FRCP titles from the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh; and subsequently worked as a consultant physician at the Nottingham University Hospitals. After 13 years of patient care, teaching, clinical research and service development activities in the United Kingdom, she perused her career path in the United States. She completed residency training in Internal medicine at St May medical center, Long Beach, California and Rheumatology fellowship at UCLA. Dr. Aung is interested in the wide range of the rheumatic diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, pseudo-gout, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, reactive arthritis, lupus, anti-phospholipid syndrome, polymyalgia rheumatica, giant cell arteritis, osteoporosis and various autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Kristal Choi is a general rheumatologist who practices in Santa Monica. She enjoys treating the full spectrum of rheumatic diseases, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, vasculitis, myositis, scleroderma, gout, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. She is also skilled in musculoskeletal ultrasound and ultrasound-guided joint and soft tissue injections. She earned her medical degree from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, and then completed her internal medicine residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, and her rheumatology fellowship at Loma Linda University.

Dr. Dahhan earned her medical degree at Western University of Health Sciences. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine and her fellowship in Rheumatology at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. She practices general rheumatology and treats the full spectrum of rheumatic diseases, including Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Sjögren's Syndrome, Osteoarthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Vasculitis, Gout, and Osteoporosis.
Dr. Dahhan also has a specialized interest in musculoskeletal ultrasound and had done training with Ultrasound School of North American Rheumatologists (USSONAR). She uses musculoskeletal ultrasound to aid in diagnosis of joint disease as well as to guide her joint injections to improve accuracy and minimize pain.
Dr. Dahhan is board certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology. In her free time she enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending quality time with family.

Medical Board Certifications
Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2018
Fellowship
Rheumatology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2018-2020
Residency
Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2015-2018
Degree
Texas Tech University-Paul L Foster School of Medicine, MD, 2015

Dr. Kermani received her medical degree from New York Medical College. She completed her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in rheumatology at Mayo Clinic, Minnesota. She then stayed on at Mayo Clinic and pursued an additional 2 years of clinical and research experience in the field of vasculitis through a prestigious fellowship awarded by the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium. Dr. Kermani is interested in general rheumatology. She maintains a special clinical interest in vasculitis.

Medical Board Certifications - Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2017
Fellowship - Rheumatology, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 2017-2019
Residency - Internal Medicine, Allegheny General Hospital, 2014-2017
Degree - Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine at Seton Hill, DO, 2014

Dr. Liu grew up here in Los Angeles and graduated from St. George's University for my medical degree. I completed my residency and rheumatology fellowship at SUNY Upstate University Medical Center. My interest is in general rheumatology and its wide variety of rheumatic diseases. I completed the USSONAR training course and have an interest in applying and incorporating musculoskeletal ultrasonography for patients. I believe in the holistic health of the patient and working in a partnership with the patient to improve their wellness.

In my spare time, I like to spend time with my family as well as participate in outdoor activities whether it be from playing sports or hiking to exploring new restaurants in Los Angeles.

Dr. Geraldine Navarro earned her medical degree from UCLA School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. She completed her fellowship in rheumatology at UCLA School of Medicine.

Medical Board Certifications: Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, 1985
Rheumatology, American Board of Internal Medicine, 1988
Fellowship: Rheumatology, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 1983-1985
Rheumatology, Southern California System of Clinics California, 1985-1986
Residency: Internal Medicine, St. Mary's Medical Center, 1979-1983
Degree: University of North Dakota Medical School, MD, 1979

Dr. Taylor received her M.D. degree from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila in Bucharest, Romania, and completed her rheumatology fellowship at Loma Linda in June 2004. She practices general rheumatology, taking care of a variety of rheumatology conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, connective-tissue disorders, crystal arthritis such as gout and pseudogout, myofascial syndromes, polymyalgia rheumatica, and vasculitis. She performs ultrasounds of the joints and performs injections with hyaluronic acid for osteoarthritis. Her interests is in musculoskeletal sonography.

Dr. Linh Truong is a general rheumatologist practicing at UCLA Westwood and Santa Monica clinics. She enjoys She enjoys treating the full spectrum of rheumatic diseases, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, vasculitis, myositis, scleroderma, gout, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis.
Dr. Truong grew up in San Diego and received her M.D. degree from the University of California, San Diego. She completed her internal medicine residency at University of California, Irvine and her rheumatology fellowship at University of California, Los Angeles. When she is not working, she enjoys running, biking, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Dr. Chen Xie practices general rheumatology in downtown LA and at the Veterans Affairs Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center. He enjoys caring for patients with all types of autoimmune and joint conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, spondyloarthropathies, lupus, vasculitis, and scleroderma.

Dr. Xie grew up in the Pacific Northwest and received his medical degree from University of Washington. He completed his internal medicine residency at Northwestern University, followed by his rheumatology fellowship at UCLA. When he’s not working, he enjoys picnics, hikes and beach time with his spouse and toddler son.

Dr. Lisa Zhu is a general rheumatologist who practices in Encino. She enjoys treating the full spectrum of rheumatic diseases, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, vasculitis, myositis, scleroderma, gout, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis.

Born and raised in San Diego, Dr. Zhu received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College. She received her medical degree from UCLA, then completed her Internal Medicine residency at Stanford. She returned to UCLA to complete her Rheumatology fellowship. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine.

Outside of the office, Dr. Zhu enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, hiking, baking, and reading.

Dr. Brahn received his MD degree with Honors from the University of Chicago in 1978, and did his internal medicine residency at the University of California Medical Center, San Francisco. He then completed a rheumatology & immunology fellowship at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women's Hospital, and continued on as a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty prior to joining UCLA in 1986. Dr. Brahn runs a biomedical research laboratory in molecular immunology as well as a clinical research program primarily interested in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. He is the chair of the Clinical Laboratories Executive Committee at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Dr. FitzGerald is a health-service researcher who has focused on improving care for patients with gout. He also evaluates patients outcomes after joint replacement surgery with interest in gender and racial equity. Dr. FitzGerald completed his medical school at Tufts University in 1993. He completed his medical residency training in 1996 and specialty fellowship in rheumatology in 1999, both at UCLA before joining the faculty as a member in the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Kafaja received her MD in UCLA School of Medicine and completed internal medicine traing at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. She completed dermatology and rheumatology training at UCLA School of Medicine. Her research interest includes scleroderma and raynaud's phenomenon.

Dr. McMahon graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 1997. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago in 2000, and also served as chief resident in medicine in 2001. Dr. McMahon completed a fellowship in rheumatology at UCLA in 2003 and received a master's degree in clinical research from UCLA in 2005. Her clinical interests include lupus, vasculitis and general rheumatology. She is an active investigator in multiple clinical trials of novel therapies for lupus. Her research interests also include the study of accelerated atherosclerosis in patients with lupus.

Dr. Singh trained in autoimmune diseases at All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi and in rheumatology at UCLA. He is particularly interested in managing and understanding inflammatory disorder that occurs in patients with lupus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis, myositis, scleroderma, anti-phospholipid syndrome, Sjogren's syndrome, and vasculitis. Dr. Singh provides consultation for patients with these diseases. His research on lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, anti-phospholipid syndrome, and scleroderma has been funded by the National Institutes of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Lupus Foundation of America, Arthritis Foundation, Scleroderma Foundation, and American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation. Dr. Singh has served as a regular and ad-hoc member of several NIH Study Sections, and reviews grants for Arthritis Foundation, ACR REF, Dutch Arthritis Association, Swedish Knowledge Foundation, and Arthritis Research Campaign UK. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications. He is a recipient of over half a dozen national and international awards and prizes, including Henry Christian Award for Excellence in Clinical Research from the American Federation of Clinical Research, Washington DC, Henry Kunkel Young Investigator Award from the American College of Rheumatology, James R. Klinenberg Biomedical Science Award from the National Arthritis Foundation, Henry Christian Award in the Autoimmunity category, Science Recognition Award for New Investigators from the Clinical Immunology Society, and Carol-Nachman Prize for Excellence in Clinical and Experimental Research in Rheumatology, Wiesbaden, Germany, which is one of the largest international prize in rheumatology. s.