Samantha Ayoub, MD, MS
Ayoub is a board-certified Addiction Medicine physician at the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System and an Assistant Professor at Loma Linda University. She currently serves on CSAM’s Membership Committee and Annual Conference Planning Committee.  Additionally, she is a member of the VA Loma Linda’s Opioid Safety Initiative committee.  Dr. Ayoub teaches medical students, residents, and fellows at the VA and has a particular interest in healthcare workforce well-being.
     *No relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Lakai Banks-Dean, MD
Dr. Lakai Banks-Dean is a native of Bakersfield, CA. She received her medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine in Washington D.C., and completed Family Medicine Residency at Kaweah Health in Visalia, CA. While completing the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Loma Linda University, she honed her interest in the integration of primary care and addiction medicine. She is currently the Medical Director at New Life Clinic, a tribally-owned opioid treatment program where urgent care, primary care, and mental health services are all provided.  In her free time, Lakai enjoys trying new foods, dancing, and listening to true crime podcasts.
     *No relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Jeremy Flores, MD
Dr. Jeremy Flores is a Health Sciences Clinical Instructor in the Addiction Division of the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the DGSOM. He grew up in the Inland Empire, a community east of LA, and completed his undergraduate degree in molecular, cellular, developmental biology at UCLA in 2011. After graduating, he joined Teach for America and taught high school math in Sanders, AZ on the Navajo reservation before coming back to Los Angeles to complete his medical degree at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA as a Geffen Scholar. His love of UCLA kept him in Los Angeles where he finished his residency at the Semel-UCLA Psychiatry Residency Program as Program Chief Resident in 2023. He subsequently completed the UCLA-VA Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program and joined faculty at UCLA in July 2024. Currently, he works as lead psychiatrist with the UCLA Homeless Health Collaborative program where he is developing a behavioral health street psychiatry program and leads a team of 2 clinical social workers and an additional psychiatrist. His focus is bringing care directly to where patients are at and outside the walls of a clinic with the goal of expanding access to behavioral health care to people experience homelessness in Los Angeles. He also attends on the Addiction Medicine consult service at Ronald Reagan Medical Center as well as the UCLA Addiction Psychiatry Clinic. He is interested in social justice in mental health, medical education, LGBTQIA+ advocacy and health, and working with underserved communities.
     *No relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Natassia Gaznick, MD, PhD
Dr. Gaznick is board-certified in both general and addiction psychiatry. Dr. Gaznick provides medication management and psychotherapy through a holistic approach to the biopsychosocial-spiritual model of psychiatry. She strives to find the least-invasive interventions while helping patients come into their best selves. Influenced by positive psychology, values-based living, and integrative medicine, she has experience in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Her interests include integration of psychotherapy into the current climate of psychiatric practice, promotion of underrepresented minorities in medicine and the sciences, wellness, and the neurobiology and treatment of addictions. She has special interest and experience in the evaluation and treatment of healthcare workers.
     *No relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Brian Harris, MD
"Dr. Brian Harris is a board-certified physician with specialties in Sleep Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Addiction Medicine. He completed his medical degree at Northwestern University Medical School and is certified by the ABSM, ABA, and ABPM. Dr. Harris owns and operates his own medical practice, where he focuses on delivering thorough, personalized care to patients dealing with sleep issues and substance use concerns. He lives in Redwood City with his wife, two young children, and a cat.
     *No relevant financial relationships to disclose.

John Nuhn, MD
John spent time touring as a musician and working as a case manager at a men's homeless shelter before returning to college at age 26 with the goal of pursuing a degree in medicine to care for the disparities he saw in health and medical care for those without resources. He attended the University of Washington School of Medicine's WWAMI program, Ventura Family Medicine Residency, and two fellowships, faculty development and addiction medicine, before becoming faculty at the Ventura Family Medicine Residency and Addiction Medicine Fellowship in 2023.
     *No relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Jessica A. Wang, MD, MPH
Dr. Jessica Wang is double board-certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine. She completed family medicine residency at UCLA, where she served as chief resident and trained in women’s health, family planning, and gender health. She stayed at UCLA for fellowship in addiction medicine, where she cared for patients with substance use disorders in a variety of care settings, including in residential and withdrawal management facilities and the LA County jails. While in training, she also completed a primary care psychiatry fellowship at UC Irvine and has experience managing psychotropic medication. Dr. Wang now practices with UCLA Health in Encino, where she is a primary care physician for all ages, providing everything from newborn care, well-child care, IUD/contraceptive implants, well adult exams, weight management, and basic in-office procedures. She has dedicated clinic time to see patients in consultation for substance use disorders and manages co-occurring mental health and pain concerns. When not in clinic, you can find Dr. Wang enjoying time with her husband and child, taking her Pomeranian-poodle mix dog for a walk, or trying a new yoga/fitness class.
     *No relevant financial relationships to disclose.