Ray Goshtaseb, MD - From UCLA Volunteer to Faculty
As a child who always had a great interest in the medical field and healing people, it was my dream to go to medical school one day and be involved in medical research. When I finished my medical school, I relocated to Los Angeles, and soon after completing my U.S. Medical Licensing Exams, I was able to pursue my advanced medical education, and from there was able to start my career.
I learned about Dr. Rastogi’s research office at UCLA through a good friend of mine and was immediately interested in the different aspects of his work and research in kidney disease. I had no clinical research experience prior as I started volunteering full-time. I loved being involved in clinical research trials and worked with Dr. Rastogi very closely, which gave me insight into how great patient care should be executed. I later continued working as a Staff Research Associate in Dr. Rastogi’s research office and became involved in different clinical research projects including studies regarding hypertension, anemia in CKD, new treatments of polycystic kidney disease and novel therapies of CKD in diabetic patients. During the time I worked under the direct supervision and guidance of Dr. Rastogi, I observed his caring interactions with patients, and it was here that I learned a lot about patient care. This is when I realized that what I love the most about the nephrology field is the patient/physician relationships you develop over time, which is unique to nephrology as you get the chance to see patients on a monthly or weekly basis for years, especially the patients you meet in the dialysis unit.
During this time, I also began the process of applying to Internal medicine residency programs, and Dr. Rastogi was there to support me through the process. Dr. Rastogi and other physicians in the office guided me during my application process, gave me insight on my application and feedback that helped me match in one of my top choices at an Internal medicine residency program in California. After completion of my Internal medicine residency, I continued my passion for nephrology while pursuing a nephrology fellowship training in the prestigious nephrology fellowship program at UC Irvine.
UCLA has always been a research and patient care hub, full of once in a lifetime opportunities and unique resources. Especially in the nephrology field, it is a great benefit when you have access to all resources and novel research studies that are more advanced at such an institution like UCLA. After finishing my fellowship, I was honored to find an opportunity to become a faculty member in the Division of Nephrology at UCLA. The best part of coming back was seeing that the UCLA CORE Kidney Program was no longer just an idea but has blossomed into an amazing community of people to help those affected by kidney disease. The CORE Kidney program aims to spread awareness on kidney disease and provide resources for all by implementing CORE values of Clinical Excellence, Outreach, Research, and Education. Now that I am a Board-certified Nephrology faculty member at UCLA, my goal will be to educate the community on kidney health and take part in this amazing program my mentor, Dr. Rastogi, has built.
