Adam Gess grew up in Alexandria, Minnesota and received his undergraduate degree in sociology from Wheaton College, IL. In college he participated in the Human Needs and Global Resources program, during which he spent six months working in a medical clinic in rural Honduras. His interactions with a volunteer group of ophthalmologists during his internship in Honduras greatly influenced his interest in the field of ophthalmology. He attended the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, and completed his internship in internal medicine at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco.

Adam’s interest in ophthalmology is fueled by the rewarding nature of restoring sight, and the profound impact this has on patients’ lives. He comes from a family of eye doctors, and developed an interest in international eye care through the influence of his grandfather, a medical-missionary ophthalmologist in Sierra Leone, West Africa. He hopes to incorporate international service in the developing world as a regular part of his career.

Adam is excited to be training at California Pacific Medical Center because of the outstanding clinical and surgical volume, the variety of training environments, the superb faculty, the opportunity for international rotations, and the excellent camaraderie between residents and faculty. In his free time, Adam enjoys spending time with his wife, reading, enjoying the outdoors, and traveling.

Alan Lowinger grew up just outside of New York City. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed medical school at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

As a medical student, Alan worked as a primary care provider at a clinic for uninsured Camden, NJ residents. As part of the Student Scholar Program, he spent significant time volunteering in charity hospitals in India. He was also co-President of the International Health Interest Group, raising money for health care needs abroad and helping to organize a for-credit ten-lecture elective on important international health matters.

Alan is very excited about the role of Ophthalmology in delivering permanent, inexpensive, life-altering care to those in need abroad. For him, California Pacific offers an amazing mix of surgical experience, diverse pathology, unbelievably down-to-earth attending physicians who love to teach, along with emphasis on International Ophthalmology and charity care.

Alan is most content in the proximity of a yoga mat or a journal with a gel pen. If he were not a resident, he would without a doubt be traveling.

Christian Hester is originally from Magnolia, Arkansas. Dr. Hester received his undergraduate degree in Economics and Business from Hendrix College in Conway, AR. He studied medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS). Dr. Hester’s previous work experience includes political and policy internships in grassroots efforts with the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Washington, D.C., and at the Arkansas Medical Society in Littlerock. He worked at the American Academy of Ophthalmology in San Francisco, where he performed social media needs and risk benefit analysis and served as a liaison between physician and young ophthalmologist leadership and AAO staff. Dr. Hester chose California Pacific Medical Center to have the opportunity to work with Dr. Susan Day, as he also trained in low vision rehabilitation with Dr. Donald C. Fletcher.
Dr. Hester enjoys experiencing the diverse culture in San Francisco and exploring the numerous restaurants and eateries with his fiancé. His other personal interests include cooking, fly fishing, playing guitar and singing, news and politics, and tennis.

Dr. Hester would like to thank the staff at California Pacific for the support provided to him and for the unique opportunity for his residency in Ophthalmology

Michael Chappell grew up in Little Rock, AR, and earned his undergraduate degree from Hendrix College, a small, liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. He majored in biology and minored in history while also playing intercollegiate soccer and singing in the choir. He attended medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and completed his internship in internal medicine at St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco. He became interested in ophthalmology when he discovered that being an eye doctor allows fulfillment of a wide spectrum of clinical and surgical responsibilities. Dealing with all age groups and generally achieving a satisfied patient population are additional incentives for pursuing this specialty. Michael is also excited about continuing the professional tradition in his family in which both of his grandfathers, various uncles and aunts, and his mother have found being a physician to be both intellectually stimulating and personally rewarding. Michael was drawn to California Pacific because of the outstanding clinical and surgical experience available in a variety of hospital and outpatient settings and the camaraderie that exists among the residents and teaching staff.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Chappell continues to pursue his interests in soccer, piano, traveling, and reading contemporary fiction. He and his wife Mandi are greatly enjoying living in the Bay Area and exploring the hiking, skiing, wine, and local live music scene.

Rishi Doshi grew up in La Palma, CA and received an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. He first grew to enjoy the diversity of the Bay Area during these college years, which taught him invaluable lessons about the people he would soon care for as patients when pursuing a career in medicine. Years later, while volunteering at a medical camp in Gujarat, India, he first became inspired by the ability of ophthalmic surgery to provide tangible and immediate change in people's lives. He returned to the University of California at San Diego for his final year of medical school, where he solidified his interest in the field and decided to pursue a residency in Ophthalmology. He is excited to be training at California Pacific Medical Center, where he has found a very close-knit community of talented residents and faculty who help make the hard work enjoyable.

Outside of medicine, Rishi enjoys playing basketball, traveling to distant corners of the world (or in tougher economic times, going to the coffee shop on the corner), eating at all of San Francisco's incredible restaurants, and continuing his hobbies of poetry, spoken word, and guitar.

Thomas Litzinger grew up in Columbus, Ohio and completed his undergraduate training at Miami University. He discovered ophthalmology his second year of medical school while on a medical mission trip in Honduras when his internal medicine team ran into a group of ophthalmologists. After hearing stories of making the blind see with cataract surgery and enabling Honduran doctors to do the same through donating equipment and training, his calling to become an ophthalmologist was realized.

Thomas returned from his trip with a new passion for ophthalmology and international health. Shortly thereafter, he and four of his fellow medical students at Ohio State University founded the non-profit organization Ride For World Health, an annual cross-country cycling trip and lecture series to raise money and awareness for domestic and international healthcare issues.

Thomas chose California Pacific Medical Center because of the opportunities it offers for international rotations, high surgical volume, and camaraderie among residents, attending physicians, and staff.
Thomas’ hobbies include basketball, intramural sports, weight training, acrylic painting, exploring wine country, and the beautiful city of San Francisco.

Robert Kinast, M.D. began his ophthalmology residency with CPMC on November 1, 2007. Originally from Canton, OH, Dr. Kinast completed an eight-year combined undergraduate and medical education program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where he majored in Anthropology of Religion. He also spent some time continuing his studies in religion at Oxford, focusing on Theravada Buddhism. Before coming to CPMC, Dr. Kinast completed his intern year at Pennsylvania Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.

Dr. Kinast chose to pursue a career in ophthalmology as he has always had a keen interest in understanding perception – how a visual projection is created in the mind. Additionally, he appreciates that the field allows for a good mix of medicine and surgery. Dr. Kinast was drawn to CPMC’s program by its emphasis in international ophthalmology and is interested in possibly getting involved in a project in the Far East. As a medical student, he spent some time setting up medical missions to various foreign countries. The Program also came highly recommended from alumni Dr. Elbert Magoon, a family friend who had completed a pediatric fellowship at CPMC. Prior to beginning his residency, Dr. Kinast participated in a pre-residency research fellowship with Dr. Anne Fung examining how ophthalmologists can play a role in diabetes education. The results are pending but promise to be of great worth.

In his spare time, Dr. Kinast enjoys basketball, chess, and hiking. He is also a travel enthusiast.

Alison Gordon grew up in San Diego, California. She received a B.A. degree from Princeton University where she majored in cultural anthropology. Alison then moved to New York City where she received her medical education at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. The city was a great place to live for four years, and Alison enjoyed taking advantage of the Broadway shows, great restaurants, running in central park and everything else NYC has to offer. However, after eight years on the east coast, Alison was ready to come back to California and is very excited to have the amazing opportunity to obtain her ophthalmology training at California Pacific Medical Center. After interviewing at CPMC, she knew that it would be the perfect “family-like” environment in which to work and learn. She was particularly impressed by the outstanding faculty, camaraderie amongst residents, surgical opportunities, and diverse clinical training. Living in San Francisco was also a huge draw to the program. In her free time, Alison enjoys running, skiing, hiking, traveling, baking, spending time with family, trying new restaurants, and exploring SF.

Nikolas London, M.D. has, up until now, split his life between California and Ohio. Nik holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Physiological Science from UCLA, where he had the opportunity to complete research using robotics to study spinal cord plasticity. Nik attended Case Western Reserve University where he obtained a second master’s degree (in Anatomy) concurrent with his medical studies.

Nik is excited to be finalizing his formal medical education in ophthalmology at California Pacific Medical Center. It combines a hands-on medicine rich in pathology, cutting-edge technology, and intricate microsurgery. On top of all this, ophthalmology enables high patient and practitioner satisfaction.

Nik’s extracurricular interests are as important as his curricular ones. In addition to spending time with his wife, Vanessa, Nik enjoys contemporary art, music, film, and literature. Some of his favorite artists include Sigur Ros, Akira Kurosawa, and Roberto Bolano.