About Me

I'm glad to have the opportunity to present my credentials to you and share other information about myself. It's very important that you feel comfortable with your personal physician, and I hope this page will help you get to know me. My nickname is Mike, and my last name is pronounced stew-par-itch ("par" as in parrot).

Biography

I was born in Milford, Connecticut, but moved away when I was very young and was raised near Princeton, New Jersey. After ninth grade, my family moved to San Diego. I stayed local for college at University of California - San Diego. I took a year off after college to do some teaching and snowboard. Then I headed to New Orleans for medical school at Tulane University. I took an Army scholarship to help pay for school and did my residency at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington. Following residency, I owed 4 years to the Army, and I was stationed primarily in Germany. In 2006, I spent about 9 months near Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom, which was a wild experience in many ways, both personally and professionally. After this, my wife and I moved back to San Diego in 2009, where I initially took a job downtown with the Navy to continue working with the military. In 2012 my first son was born; I decided I wanted to be closer to home in the Carlsbad community and Kaiser Permanente seemed like a great fit.

About my practice

Like most primary care physicians, I am a big believer in prevention and healthy living to maximize quality of life. I believe 90% of good health can be achieved with attention to 4 areas: proper nutrition, adequate exercise, adequate sleep (this one is key!), and stress control. I like to spend a lot of time on education in these areas and how they are linked. I believe less is more in terms of medications, and I enjoy working on an individual basis with members to help them feel the best they can, whether healthy or sick. I have a special area of interest in nutrition and metabolic disease.

How I thrive

I try and practice what I preach, with an emphasis on healthy eating, consistent exercise, adequate rest, and spending time laughing with friends and family as much as I can. I play basketball in a weekly league, and I enjoy lifting weights and doing sprints or circuit workouts on the other days. I enjoy watching NFL football (Giants) and NBA basketball (Knicks), and I also enjoy movies, books, and most shows on HBO (and others). Most of all, I enjoy spending time with my wife and 2 children. In the future, I look forward to revisiting currently dormant activities that include rock climbing, snowboarding, and mountain biking. I love to get outside, and luckily that is very easy to do here in Southern California.