James Liu, MD

Dr. Liu comes from a large family of physicians. His father, a second generation Chinese-American, is a retired general surgeon and his three older brothers and older sister are surgeons as well—two neurosurgeons, an orthopedic surgeon, and a cardio-thoracic surgeon.

When it came time for Dr. Liu to pick his specialty, they were all a bit dismayed when he picked family medicine. It’s been the topic of more than one Thanksgiving dinner debate.

Because of the family pressure, Dr. Liu is that much more dedicated to his job and strives to be the best. For several years running, he’s been named one of the top family physicians in the area, and every year, he mails the article back home to his parents.

Despite his family’s disapproval, Dr. Liu is happy in his chosen specialty. He likes being his patients’ first line of defense and enjoys taking care of the entire family—from grandchild to grandparent. As the youngest in a big family, he’s most comfortable when he’s surrounded by people and noise, so a family practice is perfect. He can be slightly clinical in his explanations to patients, but he’s thorough and a good listener.

At the age of 40, he recently married Anna, a nurse who works at Riverside Gastroenterology. They are in the process of adopting a toddler from China, and Dr. Liu will show pictures of their soon-to-be daughter to anyone who asks and often people who don’t.