OCGI is served by a four-person board of directors. Elected in to office, each serves one calendar year as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-President and eventually President consecutively.
OCGI 2025 Board of Directors
Jason Samarasena, MD – President
Dr. Samarasena is a board-certified interventional gastroenterologist who received his medical training at Memorial University. He went on to complete residency and fellowship training at The University of California – Irvine. He is currently the Chief of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division at UC Irvine, as well as the Program Director of the Interventional Endoscopy Fellowship. Press Ganey has named Dr. Samarasena as one of the top five physicians for patient satisfaction in the ambulatory surgery group at UCI Health. He was named the 2016 Teaching Attending of the Year by the UC Irvine Gastroenterology Fellowship. His research interests include Endohepatology, advanced endoscopic imaging in Barrett’s Esophagus, Artificial Intelligence and novel endoscopic device development.
Gregory Albers, MD – Vice President
Dr. Albers is a Professor of Medicine and a board-certified gastroenterologist. He received his medical degree at The University of California – Los Angeles. He went on to complete his internal medcine residency training at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and gastroenterology fellowship training at The University of California – Irvine. C. Gregory also holds the position of Vice Chair of Undergraduate Medical Education at UCI Department of Medicine. His primary interests include colon cancer screening, gastroesophageal reflux, inflammatory bowel disease, gut microbiome interactions and irritable bowel syndrome.
Christina Ling, MD – Treasurer
Dr. Ling is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and a board-certified gastroenterologist. She received her medical degree at George Washington University School of Medicine. She went on to complete her residency training in internal medicine at Keck School of Medicine at USC and gastroenterology fellowship training at The University of New Mexico Hospital. Her clinical interests include clinical interests include colorectal cancer prevention and screening, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Shravani Reddy, MD – Secretary
Dr. Reddy is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and a board-certified gastroenterologist. She received her medical degree at The American College of the Carribean. She went on to complete her residency training in internal medicine and gastroenterology fellowship training at Virginia Tech Carilion. Her clinical interests include esophageal disorders, GERD, achalasia, Barrett’s esophagus, quality improvement and ergonomics.
Kevin Ashby, MD – Executive Board Member
Dr. Kevin H. Ashby has been a board-certified and UCLA-fellowship trained gastroenterology physician since 1993. Dr. Ashby earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School where he was one of only fifty students accepted into the Inteflex accelerated medical program. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of California – San Diego Medical Center where he received the Chief Medical Resident’s Award for teaching. Dr. Ashby then pursued a gastroenterology fellowship at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. He served as a clinical instructor at both the University of California – San Diego and UCLA.