Our Team
PCA’s
Unfailing commitment to the highest quality of care is combined with the expertise of the finest cardiovascular specialists (adult and pediatric) in the country.
Joseph M. Ruggio
Dr. Ruggio earned his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, New York where he graduated AOA. He completed his internship, residency and fellowship in cardiovascular disease also at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. His post fellowship in interventional cardiology training continued at several distinguished institutions in the U.S.
Dr. Ruggio is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and interventional cardiology.
Dr, Ruggio is the Founder and President of Pacific Cardiovascular Associates Medical Group, Inc. (PCA) and serves as President and Chief Medical Officer of Via Vitae MSO, LLC, a Southern California medical services organization which is a partnership with Optum Specialty Practices. Dr. Ruggio serves on various national committees for quality initiatives, value-based care and healthcare reform. He also participates on scientific advisory panels, medical advisory panels at the local and national level and is a board member for several prestigious organizations that include:
- Society of Cardiac Angiography and Interventions
- The American College of Cardiology (California chapter)- Chairman of Quality Initiatives Committee
- Monarch HealthCare- Board of Directors
- Optum Care Cardiovascular Best Practices Committee
Additionally, he has served as Director of Invasive/Interventional Cardiology for several well-known Southern California Hospitals.
Dr. Ruggio has received numerous distinctions and accolades from both academic institutions and managed care organizations. As testimony to the high regard he is held by his colleagues, he was voted Cardiologist of the Year by the American College of Cardiology in 2007 and Provider of the Year by CalOptima in 2016. Dr. Ruggio has co-authored many articles appertaining to cardiovascular medicine, interventional cardiology, and cardiovascular health care delivery in a managed care setting. He is considered an expert on incentive alignment and care delivery network design and implementation delivering true value for all stakeholders. He is passionate about clinical medicine, particularly Interventional Cardiology and is a staunch patient advocate.
Allen Kuo
Dr. Kuo completed his Master of Public Health (Health Policy and Management) and Medical Doctorate degrees at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. He was an intern and chief resident at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Kuo went on to complete his cardiovascular disease fellowship and interventional cardiology fellowship at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine (USC); at USC He was also a chief fellow.
Dr. Kuo is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, nuclear cardiology and echocardiography.
Dr. Kuo authored a book chapter entitled “The Role of Statins in Heart Failure’ that was published in the Lipid Management, Springer International. His interest in heart failure is exemplified by his involvement in an institutional review board approved clinical trial ‘AQUA-CHF’ that evaluated the use of Tolvaptan in heart failure patients with hyponatremia. In addition to Dr. Kuo’s many accolades and strong clinical skills he speaks fluent medical Spanish and Chinese (Mandarin and Taiwanese dialects).
Outpatient Locations: Laguna Hills and San Clemente
Languages: Spanish, Mandarin and Taiwanese
Amar Chana
Dr. Chana completed his Medical Degree at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He completed his residency at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois; there he received the Excellence in Teaching Award (2005). He then completed his fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he was elected chief cardiology fellow. Dr. Chana finished his Interventional Cardiology fellowship at the John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr. Chana is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and interventional cardiology. He has published several articles in various cardiology publications and participated in multiple clinical investigations. He has also traveled to underserved areas in Bolivia, Spain, India & Haiti to provide cardiovascular care.
Outpatient Locations: Costa Mesa, Orange, Placentia and Anaheim
Languages: Spanish
Charles Parise
Dr. Parise earned a BS in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He then completed his medical degree at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee; there he was honored as a Bob Herzog Scholar. His internship and residency were completed at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Parise then went on to complete his cardiology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine, where he also served as chief fellow.
Dr. Parise is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and nuclear cardiology.
Outpatient Locations: Laguna Hills
Cheng-Han Chen
Dr. Chen earned a bachelors and masters in materials science and engineering from MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received his MD degree from University of San Diego (UCSD) and his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His internship, residency and fellowship were completed at UCLA. Dr. Chen went on to complete his interventional cardiology fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center-New York Presbyterian Hospital; There he received additional training on structural heart disease. While at Columbia, Dr. Chen was closely involved in major TAVR clinical trials. Dr. Chen has presented his research at major national and international conferences including AHA, ACC, and TCT, and has authored multiple manuscripts and book chapters on subjects including interventional cardiology and cardiac stem cells. Prior to joining PCA, Dr. Chen was on faculty at Columbia University Medical Center.
Additionally, as a medical device engineer for Medtronic, he played an important role in the development of the Endeavor and Resolute drug-eluting coronary stents.
Dr. Chen is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, nuclear cardiology and adult echocardiography.
Roles: Medical Director, Structural Heart Disease Program
Outpatient Locations: Laguna Hills and Costa Mesa
Languages: Mandarin
Chris Champion
Dr. Champion earned his Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in Biology from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He completed his medical degree at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He remained in Galveston to complete his internal medicine residency as well as his cardiology fellowship. He served as Assistant Professor of Medicine in Heart Failure and Transplant while at UTMB. His career path eventually led him to MD Anderson at the Texas Medical Center in Houston where he aided in the development of the Cardio-Oncology program before moving to California.
Dr. Champion is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease. He is an expert in non-invasive cardiology and has special proficiency and advanced expertise in the management of complex Congestive Heart Failure.
Outpatient Locations: Costa Mesa
Christopher Tan
Dr. Tan earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and his medical degree from the University of California, Irvine (UCI). After internship and residency training in the Department of Pediatrics at UCI and Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach, he completed his pediatric cardiology fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He subsequently completed advanced training in pediatric interventional cardiac catheterization at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Tan is board certified in pediatric cardiology. He has several publications in various cardiology journals and has participated in several research projects. His areas of clinical interest and expertise include pediatric and adult congenital interventional cardiac catheterization, echocardiography, hypertension, and lipid management.
Roles: Medical Director, Pediatric Cardiology Services
Outpatient Locations: Orange, Torrance and Long Beach
Dan Le
Dr. Le completed his residency at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in Brooklyn, New York. After completing his residency, he completed fellowships in echocardiography, advanced heart failure/transplant, advanced cardiovascular imaging, cardiology, and interventional cardiology. Dr. Le then completed his fellowship in interventional cardiology and peripheral vascular intervention at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia.
Dr. Le is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, nuclear cardiology, echocardiography and interventional cardiology.
Dr. Le has authoredmultiple book chapters and manuscripts in various cardiology publications. He has also traveled to underserved areas in Vietnam to provide care to a wide variety of patient populations.
Outpatient Locations: Anaheim, Costa Mesa and Orange
Languages: Vietnamese
David Weinberg
Dr. Weinberg attended UCLA for his undergraduate studies and then received his medical degree at the University of California, Davis. His internship and residency were completed at the University of Michigan Hospitals. He then went on to complete his fellowship in cardiovascular disease at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).
Dr. Weinberg is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease.
Outpatient Locations: Placentia Linda and Orange
Dominic Blurton
Dr. Blurton earned his medical degree at Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados. He completed his residency in pediatrics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and went on to complete his fellowship in pediatric cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Blurton is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology. Prior to joining PCA, Dr. Blurton was assistant professor of pediatrics at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. Dr. Blurton is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Cardiology. His specific areas of clinical expertise and research interests include transthoracic, transesophageal, and fetal echocardiography. He also performs diagnostic cardiac catheterization and cardiovascular screening for competitive athletes.
Outpatient Locations: Long Beach, Orange and Torrance
Francesca Byrne
Dr. Byrne earned a bachelor’s degree in French from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. She then obtained her medical degree at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. Dr. Byrne then completed her residency in pediatrics at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. She subsequently completed pediatric cardiology fellowship training at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Byrne is a board certified in pediatric cardiology and pediatrics with additional expertise in non-invasive imaging including fetal echocardiography. Her research on assessment of fetal hearts has been published by peer-reviewed scientific journals and has been presented at national and international cardiology conferences. She is a member of the American Society of Echocardiography, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Outpatient Locations: Long Beach, Orange and Laguna Hills
Gennie Yee
Dr. Gennie Yee earned her Bachelors' Degree in Molecular Cell Biology/Genetics and Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley. She graduated from New York Medical College and completed her internal medicine residency training and general cardiology fellowship at St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center of New York. Dr. Yee then completed her interventional cardiology fellowship at Mount Sinai Medical Center in NYC. After joining NCAL Kaiser Permanente in 2006, she served as Cath Lab Medical Director and Chief of the Interventional Cardiology Services for multiple sites within the health system. Additionally, She helped build several STEMI centers of excellence as well as aided in the development of the Kaiser hub-spoke care delivery model. She has also been a member of the Kaiser structural heart team as a TAVR implanter and a MitraClip operator.
Dr. Yee has been involved in several clinical research trials including ISCHEMIA, CREDENCE, Co-APT trial, Partner III Trial, Early TAVR trial and the ACCURATE trial.
Dr. Yee is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and interventional cardiology. She brings knowledge and expertise in complex percutaneous coronary interventions, chronic total occlusions, rotational and laser atherectomy, radial and transfemoral approach, mechanical circulatory support, as well as skills and knowledge in the realm of structural and valvular heart disease interventions. In addition, Dr. Yee is fluent in Cantonese.
Outpatient Locations: Anaheim and Costa Mesa
Languages: Cantonese
George Konugres
Dr. Konugres received his Bachelor of Science degree from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He then continued his education at the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in Des Moines, Iowa, where he received his Doctorate in Osteopathy. Dr. Konugres completed his internship in internal medicine at JFK Memorial Hospital in Turnersville, New Jersey, followed by residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, California. He then completed his fellowship in adult cardiology at Loma Linda University.
He is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease.
Outpatient Locations: Laguna Hills
Hohai Van
Dr. Van earned his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He then obtained his medical degree at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Dr. Van completed his internship and residency at Stanford University and went on to complete his cardiology fellowship at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles, California. It was there at UCLA that he was appointed chief fellow in the division of cardiology. He then returned to Stanford University to complete a fellowship training program in interventional cardiology.
Dr. Van is board certified in board certified on internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, and nuclear cardiology. He has received numerous awards and distinctions from both his undergraduate and medical school institutions. Dr. Van has published several manuscripts and abstracts in various cardiology publications and has participated in several research projects.
He specializes in percutaneous interventions for coronary artery disease, structural and valvular heart disease, and peripheral vascular disease. In addition, Dr. Van performs coronary procedures via transfemoral and transradial approach.
Roles: Medical Director, South PCA and Medical Director, Invasive Interventional Cardiology
Outpatient Locations: Laguna Hills and San Clemente
Languages: Vietnamese
Jessica Li
Dr. Li earned her medical degree from the Central University of Venezuela Medical School in Caracas, Venezuela. She then went on to complete her fellowship in cardiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, New York.
Dr. Li is board certified in cardiovascular disease and nuclear cardiology. Additionally, Dr. Li is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.
She is a highly trained non-invasive cardiologist whose clinical interests include nuclear cardiology, cardiac CT angiogram (Level II), and echocardiography. Dr. Li is also fluent in Cantonese (native), Spanish.
Outpatient Locations: Orange, Anaheim and Placentia Linda
Languages: Cantonese and Spanish
Joao Fontes
Dr. Fontes completed his medical degree at Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. His internship and residency were completed at Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts. He then completed a heart failure fellowship and a fellowship in cardiovascular disease also at Boston Medical Center.
Dr. Fontes is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease and has advanced training in echocardiography. He also spent time on faculty at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Roles: Medical Director, Quality Population Outcomes and Medical Director, Uniform Practice Initiatives
Outpatient Locations: Laguna Hills
Languages: Portuguese
Julie Turiy
Dr. Turiy completed her medical degree at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington D.C. During this time, she also completed her Master’s in Public Health/Health Policy at George Washington University School of Public Health in Washington D.C. She completed her internship and residency at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Dr. Turiy completed a pediatric cardiology fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Before leaving Texas, Dr. Turiy was an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and acted as a Pediatric Hospitalist for the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.
Additionally, Dr. Turiy cares for PCA's adult congenital patients at multiple locations. She has published several articles in various cardiology publications and participated in multiple research projects.
Outpatient Locations: Long Beach, Orange, Laguna Hills, Costa Mesa and Placentia
Languages: Spanish and Russian
Kenneth Wen
Dr. Wen completed his medical degree at the Northwestern University School of Medicine, in Chicago, Illinois. He completed his internship and residency at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, New York and went on to complete his cardiology fellowship at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. Until his departure from New York, He was a clinical instructor of Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Dr. Wen is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and nuclear cardiology. He has expertise in all aspects of non-invasive cardiac testing with specific expertise in radionuclide stress testing, transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography. He is fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English.
Roles: Medical Director, North PCA
Outpatient Locations: Orange
Languages: Mandarin and Taiwanese
Lamia Dris
Dr. Dris earned her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Algiers School of Medicine in Algeria. She completed her internship for internal medicine at Texas Tech University Health Science Center in Odessa, Texas; there she also served as chief resident. Her cardiology and electrophysiology fellowships were both completed at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Medicine.
Dr. Dris is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, nuclear medicine, adult echocardiography and cardiac electrophysiology. She has published several articles in various cardiology publications. Dr. Dris is fluent in French and Arabic.
Outpatient Locations: Anaheim, Placentia Linda, Orange & Costa Mesa
Languages: French and Arabic
Mark P. Miller
"Dr. Miller completed his residency and fellowship at the University of California Davis Medical Center. He is Board Certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and interventional cardiology. Additionally, Dr. Miller holds advanced certification as a hypertension clinician with expert skills and knowledge in the management of clinical hypertension and related disorders. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Miller acts as Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine and Adjunctive Clinical Faculty at Baylor College of Medicine. He recognized for his excellent educational contributions and was awarded "Preceptor of the Year" in 2020 from Marshall B. Ketchum University."
Outpatient Locations: Anaheim and Placentia
Michael Chan Dam
Dr. Dam earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Science from University of California Irvine (UCI). He then completed his Medical Degree at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Dr. Dam completed his internship at the UCLA/VA West LA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He then finished his fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)- Mt. Zion Medical Center. Dr. Dam then completed an additional fellowship in Echocardiography at UCSF.
Dr. Dam is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease.
Roles: Medical Director, Anticoagulation Program
Outpatient Locations: Orange and Costa Mesa
Languages: Vietnamese
Milan Patel
Dr. Patel earned his BA in Biological Sciences from Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He then completed his medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He completed his internship and residency at the UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Dr. Patel then went on to complete a triple fellowship; He studied vascular biology at NIH-Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, followed by cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology at SUNY-Stony Brook School of Medicine in New York. During his training, Dr. Patel published several articles in various scientific journals.
Dr. Patel is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, endovascular medicine, nuclear medicine and cardiac CT.
Roles: Medical Director, Peripheral Vascular Services
Outpatient Locations: Laguna Hills and Costa Mesa
Paul C. Drury
Dr. Drury earned his BA in Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He then completed his medical degree at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC). His internship, residency and cardiac electrophysiology training were completed at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center; there he also served as chief cardiology fellow.
Dr. Drury is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, nuclear medicine and has advanced training in echocardiography. He has published several articles in various cardiology publications and participated in multiple clinical investigations.
Roles: Medical Director, Electrophysiology
Outpatient Locations: Laguna Hills and San Clemente
Connie Soto, NP
Kate Tran, NP
Outpatient Locations: Anaheim, Costa Mesa and Orange