Armen Cherik, MD, MBA is a Board Certified Neurologist who has been practicing in Glendale since 1993. He completed his Neurology Residency Training at Kaiser Foundation and UCLA joint program in 1993. He has established a comprehensive Neurology and Neurodiagnostics center in Glendale, and serves as a consultant at Glendale Memorial, Adventist, and Verdugo Hills hospitals. He currently is a member of the Stroke committee of Glendale Adventist Hospital. Dr. Cherik acted as the Chairman of Department of Internal Medicine at Glendale Memorial Hospital in 1999, and is the past President and founder of the Pediatric Epilepsy program of Armenian American Medical Society.
Arsinee Kalfayan, PharmD graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychobiology. In 1981, she received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University California School of Pharmacy. She practiced in a variety of corporations including Cardinal Health and Catholic Healthcare West as a hospital pharmacy director for over twenty years. Since 2003, Dr. Kalfayan has been serving in the Armenian American Medical Society as a Continuing Medical Education planning committee member.
Armond Kotikian, DDS, MD, FACS (Moderator) is a Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon in private practice in Glendale, CA. Presently he is the secretary of the Armenian American Medical Society. He completed dental school at UCLA. He then completed a 1-year residency in Hospital Dentistry at the Long Beach Veterans Administration Hospital. Subsequently, he pursued a residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He earned his MD from Wayne State School of Medicine, did two years of general surgery and completed his Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2009. He is in private practice in Glendale and holds staff privileges at GAMC, Dignity Health GMH and Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. Dr. Kotikian is also an Assistant Professor at USC in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr. Kotikian specializes in complicated dental implant cases, wisdom tooth extraction, and office anesthesia. In the hospital setting he performs facial trauma reconstruction, orthognathic surgery (corrective jaw surgery), treats obstructive sleep apnea patients, treats patients with oral pathology lesions and performs oral and maxillofacial reconstruction. Dr. Kotikian is a member of numerous organizations, including the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, California Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and the Southern California Orofacial Academy. He routinely lectures on subjects related to his field at both the local and national level. Dr. Kotikian has been featured in the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Glendale Newspress and many other local newspapers for his work in the field of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr. Kotikian has also been featured on CNN Headline News local edition, ABC 7 in LA and the Diane Sawyer nightly news on ABC.
Serineh V. Melidonian, MD was raised in Southern California and began her involvement with Glendale Adventist Medical Center as a volunteer in the Emergency Room. She received her undergraduate education at University of Southern California and earned her medical degree at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. After completing a year of internship in Internal Medicine at the UCSF Fresno Medical Program, she returned to Los Angeles and completed her residency at Los Angeles County - University of Southern California Medical Center in Emergency Medicine. Dr. Melidonian is Board Certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine, and is fluent in English, Armenian, and Spanish. Since 2010, Dr. Melidonian has been serving on the Executive Council and is the former President of the Armenian American Medical Society. She is currently working as an Emergency Physician at the Glendale Adventist Medical Center.
Vicken Sepilian, MD, FACOG is board-certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, as well as Obstetrics and Gynecology. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Drexel University College of Medicine and his fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Texas. While at the University of Texas, Dr. Sepilian received a Master of Science degree in Reproductive Medicine studying the impact of nutrition on reproductive health. Dr. Sepilian is the founder and medical director of American Fertility Specialists Medical Group and practices in Los Angeles and Glendale. Dr. Sepilian is the former President of the Armenian American Medical Society (AAMS). In 2008, he launched the AAMS "Your Health" Community Education Program that continues to air live on TV making house calls to countless Armenian households. In 2010, Dr. Sepilian was instrumental in launching the inaugural Glendale Health Festival and served as the Chairman of the organizing committee for the first two years. In 2012, Dr. Sepilian presided over a collaborative effort with colleagues in Canada of the ACMAO to train, staff and equip the Women's Health Clinic in Stepanakert, Artsakh. This collaborative effort by the AAMS, ACMAO, and the Ministry of Health of Karabagh continues to operate and provide preventative and essential health care to women free of charge. In 2013, as president of the AAMS, Dr. Sepilian Chaired the 11th Armenian Medical World Congress, a quadrennial international multispecialty conference that was very well attended and was one of the most successful ones to date. Dr. Sepilian currently serves on the Continuing Medical Education Committee, focusing his efforts on enhancing the experience for members.
Raffi Tachdjian, MD, MPH, FAAAAI (Moderator) currently serves as the President of the Armenian American Medical Society. He is Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics in the Divisions of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Tachdjian received his medical degree from Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, followed by an internship and residency in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and a fellowship in Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. A member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Dr. Tachdjian is an invited speaker and advisory board member for national and international meetings on allergic and immune dysfunction. He continuously authors scientific publications and serves as an editorial reviewer in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Tachdjian's research focuses on immune dysfunction, asthma and allergic inflammation, and he has served as primary or co-investigator of 15 grant-funded research studies. He was voted one of the UCLA Health System's Best Doctors and was selected to receive the Editors' Choice Award by The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Dr. Tachdjian is also considered a world authority on Hereditary Angioedema and Chronic Granulomatous Disease, both orphan diseases with emerging treatment modalities he continues to develop. Dr. Tachdjian completed an internship at the Centers of Disease Control & Prevention, where he led the outbreak investigations and epidemiologic studies on Pertussis (whooping cough). He is credited with helping to understand the waning immunity of the pertussis vaccine, which led to current booster dosing in adolescents and adults. Board certified in Adult and Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Dr. Tachdjian serves as Director of Clinical Trials of AIRE Medical Group of Los Angeles, with clinics in Santa Monica, and Burbank, CA. Finally, Dr. Tachdjian is the founder and president of the Children's Music Fund (www.TheCMF.org), a 501c3 non-profit providing musical instruments and Music Therapy to children with chronic and life-altering illness.
