Our Staff

Morris Hasson, M.D., F.A.C.P.
Medical Director
Associate Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Hasson received his medical degree from the University of Illinois and completed his postgraduate training in internal medicine at UCI in 1990. He became the Medical Director of the UCI Executive Health and Weight Management Programs in 1997. Prior to returning to UCI he practiced internal medicine with an emphasis in preventive medicine.

 

Linda Gigliotti, MS, RD, CDE
Program Director

Linda is a registered dietitian with a Master's degree in nutrition education from the University of Delaware. She has extensive experience in outpatient and community education, specifically in weight management and lifestyle modification, working with clients to make choices to manage their health. She is a Certified Diabetes Educator and holds certificates of training from the American Dietetic Association in both Childhood/Adolescent and Adult Weight Management. Linda is active on the executive board of the Weight Management Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association. Linda frequently is an invited speaker for medical and dietetic continuing education conferences both locally and nationally.

 

Gay Nakanishi, RNP
Nurse Practitioner, Weight Management Program.

Gay is a certified family nurse practitioner. She received her Master of Science in Nursing as a nurse practitioner from California State University, Long Beach. Gay has extensive experience caring for patients with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, weight control, lipid disorders and diabetes and supports the philosophy that promotes health through education in disease prevention.

Penny Anderson, MS, RD
Health Educator

Penny is a registered dietitian with a Master's degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton, and an Alcohol/Drug Counseling Certificate from the University of California, Irvine. She holds a certificate of training in Adult Weight Management from the American Dietetic Association. She is also a certified alcohol/drug counselor and an advanced certified relapse specialist. Penny has extensive experience focusing on nutrition and weight management, as well as counseling for addictive behaviors including eating disorders. She promotes, models and facilitates lifestyle behavior changes for weight/health management.

Natalia Ullrich, MS, RD
Health Educator

Natalia is a registered dietitian with a Master’s degree from the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey. She has worked in the field of nutrition research and assisted in conducting many studies that focused primarily on taste genetics and how it relates to body weight and dietary behaviors. She has also counseled private patients for an OB/GYN practice group. Her main focus is teaching lifestyles changes that promote healthy eating behaviors which will improve overall weight/health management.

Julie Vuksic, RD, CSSD
Health Educator

Julie received her degree in nutrition and completed her dietetic internship at California State University, Fresno. She is board-certified as a specialist in sports dietetics and holds a certificate of training in Adult Weight Management from the American Dietetic Association. Julie has over 10 years of experience in patient education including behavior change to support weight management and wellness. Julie regularly competes in triathlons and marathons, adding depth to her scope of practice and allowing her to model healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Sharon Zimmerman, MSPH
Health Educator

Sharon received a Master of Science in Public Health degree from Loma Linda University. She is also a certified Health & Fitness instructor from the American College of Sports Medicine. Sharon has over 25 years of experience in the weight management field which is a great resource for her patients to develop practical behavior changes to promote and maintain healthy lifestyles. A former All-American collegiate athlete, she continues a high level of fitness and volunteers in the training of high school athletes and their coaches.

Jill Grand R.N.

Jill earned her Nursing degree from USC LA County Medical Center School of Nursing. She has over 20 years of nursing experience with half of the experience at a university setting. She is Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certified. Jill oversees patient flow and referrals for the Executive Health Program and the Weight Management Program.

Always consult  your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.

Some of the material used in this site is owned by Health Management Resources® Corporation (HMR®) of Boston, Massachusetts, and is used with its permission. Click on the Notices and Disclaimers link for more specific information about the relationship of HMR and this site and other important information. Notices and Disclaimers