Meet Us

I was born in Singapore and lived in the Philippines until I was about 5 years old before immigrating here to America. I grew up and did all my schooling in Northeast Ohio and was excited to match at Loma Linda here in sunny Southern California. Some of my favorite activities include trying new food places with my boyfriend, taking weekend trips (Big Bear, Mount Pinos, Tahoe, Vegas, etc) with my friends, watching Netflix on the couch with my dog, and playing video games with my bird perched on my head. Loma Linda has really turned into my home and the people here have turned into family. I hope to start fellowship in pediatric critical care after chief year.

Hi everyone! I'm a SoCal native, had an amazing (and cold!) time at Western Michigan in Kalamazoo for med school, and am so happy to be back in sunny California. When I was interviewing for residency, I was looking for a place that would be supportive and value me as a whole person, not just for what I could offer as a resident. LLU gave me exactly what I was looking for, and I loved it so much I stayed another year for chiefdom! I'm excited to get to further know our residents, expand resident wellness, and be someone you can call if you need a listening ear or a boba. After chief year, I plan to work as an outpatient general pediatrician. On my free time, I enjoy knitting and crocheting, DnD, video/board games, and sometimes (all the time) just being a couch potato.

I'm originally from Romania, but now Canada is my home. I attended Burman University for undergrad where I received a degree in psychology, and then I moved down to Loma Linda for medical school. The reason I decided to stay here for residency was in large part because of the atmosphere in our program. Our attendings are passionate about resident education and it shows! During my time in residency, I developed a passion for medical education and am so excited to be able to continue working with residents and medical students this year. After chief year, I'm hoping to start fellowship in neonatology. In my free time, I like to eat out, cook or bake (though I'm not very good), and binge the occasional TV show. I love travelling as well and can't wait to hop onto my next flight!

Hello there! My name is Serena, and I am so happy to be a chief at Loma Linda! I was born and raised in Southern California, and I completed undergrad at UCLA. I spent some years working prior to starting medical school at Des Moines University. I was part of the Primary Care Track at Loma Linda, which means I had the opportunity to work both in Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital and the Riverside University Health System! When I’m not working, I enjoy binge-watching reality TV (and Korean dramas), listening to true crime podcasts, playing board games, and cooking. I’m planning to work at an outpatient General Pediatric clinic after chief year!

Dr. Tsai was born and raised near Chicago, IL. She studied neurobiology and English literature at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where she met many of her closest friends through Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and Greek InterVarsity. She completed medical school at New York Medical College, followed by pediatric residency and a chief resident year at Loma Linda. She married her med-peds classmate! She chose to stay at Loma Linda due to her passion for resident education, mentorship, wellness, global health, and advocating for women and minority leadership in medicine. She works as a pediatric hospitalist at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital and Riverside University Health Systems, while her husband alternates between Loma Linda internal medicine inpatient and Moreno Valley Med-Peds outpatient clinic. In their free time, they enjoy traveling, eating, cooking, baking, and spoiling their shiba inu!

Dr. Clark grew up in beautiful San Diego but has made Loma Linda her home since residency.  She completed medical school at Albany Medical College in New York and did her residency at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital.  After completing a chief residency year she stayed on as faculty for the pediatric department and has served in leadership positions for both the SOM and the residency.  She is part of the core faculty that developed the Primary Care Residency Track for Loma Linda and is passionate about resident education and faculty development. She is currently the Division Chief of General Pediatrics. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, board games, and being outdoors, especially hiking or reading a great novel on the beach.  She and her husband have 2 children, whom she adores, and a bulldog, who thinks she is their third child!

Dr. Riesen went to medical school at Loma Linda University and then stayed for her pediatric residency. Following residency she served with the National Health Service Corp for several years on Indian Reservations in southern California. She then returned to LLU to follow her passion for teaching and academic medicine.  She has a special interest in Behavioral-Developmental Pediatrics as well as Integrative Medicine. She has two daughters who are constantly teaching her new and exciting things, one a pediatrician and the other an aquatic veterinarian. She also loves learning from the residents and faculty in the program.  Dr. Riesen loves spending time with family and friends as well as playing with her two dogs, Bailey and Chloe. She also enjoys trying new foods, all forms of coffee, boba drinks, watching sports/movies and playing timpani in the local orchestra. She is passionate about helping her residents grow and develop into outstanding pediatricians!

Dr. Loh was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii.  She attended Loma Linda University for both medical school and residency.  You can often overhear her say, “I have the best job ever! I get to have a blast interacting with babies, kiddos, and teens in my University private practice, and then have the privilege to work with residents in the Newborn Nursery and in their Continuity clinic.”  She feels truly blessed to be a part of the Loma Linda Pediatric Residency family. Her special passion is her work with the Professional Development Coaching program for residents. Outside of work, Dr. Loh hangs out with her husband and three sons playing sports, going to the beach, eating out, and traveling. 

Dr. Vercio moved from the Pacific Northwest to attend LLUSOM, and stayed for residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Since completing residency, he has practiced at LLU at various locations including Beaumont clinic, Moreno Valley Med-Peds, Redlands, and was the medical director of the Pediatric Residency clinic as it transitioned from being a Children's Hospital-based clinic to SAC. Because he and his wife are committed to global service, they spent a year and a half in India in the small town of Ottapalam which gave him a new appreciation for practicing in a relatively rich resource setting.  He is interested in spiritual care, global health, clinical reasoning, teaching medical students and residents, and enjoys music, mountain biking, surfing, camping and hiking.

Dr. Lima attended medical school at Western University/COMP and completed her Pediatric Residency at Loma Linda University.  After residency, she was honored to serve as a Pediatric Chief Resident for one year. After chief year, Katie stayed with the Loma Linda Pediatric faculty as part of the core Pediatric faculty at Riverside University Health Systems (RUHS).  At RUHS, she serves as Vice Chair of the Pediatric Department and Associate Program Director of the Primary Care Track of the Loma Linda Pediatric Residency. Katie's professional interests include resident education and improving pediatric care to the children of Riverside County.  She was born and raised in Southern California and married her high school sweetheart. They have 3 active children. If she is not on the soccer sidelines, she is likely baking a batch of cookies or planning her next Disney trip!

Dr. Tan grew up in Ontario, Canada but came to Loma Linda University for medical school.  She fell in love with Southern California and completed her pediatric residency at LLU. She spent her first post-graduate year doing locum tenens work in every corner of the country, but returned to Loma Linda to join the Pediatric Faculty Group.  In 2009, she began spending the majority of her clinical time at the SAC clinic and had the opportunity to be part of the tremendous growth of this organization leading to an intimate involvement with our LLU Pediatric program. The growth and education of the LLU Pediatric residents is now one of her passions. Joy outside of work includes snow-skiing, houseboating and traveling with my family.

Dr. De La Pena attended UC San Diego for undergraduate, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison for medical school. She did pediatric residency at Loma Linda. After completing pediatrics, she decided on a Pediatric Rheumatology fellowship, which she completed at CHLA. After completing fellowship, she returned to Loma Linda where she is currently an attending physician in Pediatric Rheumatology. She grew up dancing, and especially likes tap dancing. Her favorite hobby is reading. She is married and has two boys, Tyler and Aiden.