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Bending Health Toward Justice |
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A Note from Our Director
Dear friends,
As we face challenges to our work—attempts at dismantling our communities, attacks on equity language, policy reversals, systemic barriers that seem insurmountable—our resolve remains intact.
We continue to work toward our goal of achieving health equity, far and wide. Each step we take moves us closer to the world we're building together.
To that end, I am thrilled to announce our new ARC podcast: Research to Action. We welcome you to listen to our series intro and our first two episodes. Nynikka Palmer DrPH, MPH discusses peer navigation and the need for tailored strategies to reach under-served populations.
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And in our second episode, Hilary Seligman MD, MAS, reflects on food as medicine interventions and the need for evidence-based arguments to drive policy change. Please listen and share.
For us, hope isn't an emotion we wait for. It's an action we practice daily. We pause when we must, speak out when we can, and support each other always—because the support keeps us moving toward our dream of health equity for all.
Some days require extraordinary kindness to our selves and each other. Other days, we recommit to our goals with renewed vigor. Today, we stand together, leaning on each other's strength, while we forge forward with our work.
Our long game remains unchanged: building a world where everyone thrives. This is our north star, our shared commitment. To get there, we choose hope. We choose unity. We choose resolve. We choose action.
In solidarity,
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Margot Kushel, MD
Director, ARC for Health Equity
| | | Be sure to listen to episode one, as Nynikka Palmer, DrPH, MPH, shares her journey to address prostate cancer among African American men and considers how community experiences and patients' voices are integral to improving research, planning, and interventions. In episode two, Hilary Seligman, MD, MAS, discusses food as medicine interventions and the long-term benefits of these interventions in preventing chronic diseases and improving overall health. | | UCSF Chancellor Recognizes Rebecca Sudore, MD, with 2025 UCSF Founders Day Award | | |
Rebecca Sudore, MD, ARC Core Faculty member and Professor of Medicine, received a Chancellor’s Award for Public Service!
Through the award, UCSF salutes the exemplary service of faculty, staff, and learners to the university and our community at large as they work to advance health worldwide.
Dr. Sudore is revered for her steadfast support of helping patients who have trouble understanding lengthy medical forms. Her goal is to empower every person to have a voice in their health care, no matter their native language or education level.
Learn more about Dr. Sudore’s work and hear how she promotes health worldwide starting with better medical forms.
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ARC Executive Committee member, Core faculty member, and Professor of Medicine Alicia Fernández, MD, earned the Mentoring Award in recognition of her commitment to shaping the next generation of healthcare professionals while advancing health equity in medical education and patient care. Dr, Fernández has created and led numerous programs—including SF-BUILD for college students, UCSF PROFPATH for medical students, and the RISE and FUEGO programs for faculty development—that built sustainable pathways for developing diverse healthcare leaders at all career stages.
| | Morgan Philbin, PhD, MHS, Earns 2024 Annual RFS Award in Science | | ARC Welcomes Brittany Bryant as a Mentored Faculty Member! | | |
Brittany Bryant, DSW, LCSW, is an Assistant Professor and Watson Scholar in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. She is a licensed clinical social worker with a Doctorate in Clinical Social Work from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Master of Social Work from the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Bryant’s NIH K23 award focuses on understanding the impact of discrimination on substance use among Black youth involved in the legal system. Her work includes the cultural adaptation of integrated substance use and mental health interventions for minoritized youth. In addition, she leads a Low Barrier Technology grant aimed at modernizing the evidence-based HIV prevention intervention SIHLE. This project involves co-developing a mobile app version of SIHLE in collaboration with Black girls, Black maternal figures, and sexual health providers.
Read Dr. Bryant's latest editorial.
| | FEATURED PUBLICATIONS: GAPS IN THE SAFETY NET | | As we see continued threats to the social safety net, including Medicaid and Medicare, ARC Faculty are providing actionable evidence to support health equity. | | In a recent paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine, ARC Associated Faculty members and Associate Professors Anil Makam, MD, MAS, and Oanh Nguyen, MD, MAS, reported that many Medicaid enrollees face restricted availability of type 2 diabetes medications that reduce cardiovascular disease and death, with significant variation across states. While these restrictions likely reflect attempts to control costs, the lack of access to recommended first-line treatments may perpetuate health inequities, and the authors recommend formulary plan coverage as a potential mitigator. | |  | ARC Mentored Faculty and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Melanie Molina, MD, MAS, reports in a JAMA Open Network paper that less than one-third of surveyed emergency departments screen for adverse social determinants of health like housing instability and food insecurity and about 20% do not have response policies in place. Dr. Molina and co-authors point out the missed opportunity to reach and address patient needs and the importance of ensuring emergency departments have appropriate resources and infrastructure. | | | ARC OPPORTUNITIES & EVENTS | |
10th Annual PRISM Health Symposium
Join PRISM Co-chairs Dr. Urmimala Sarkar and Dr. John Patrick-Allem at the 2025 PRISM Health Symposium!
This all-day event provides an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with other researchers and industry stakeholders. Learn about the newest research and advance the field together in a community of peers.
Pre-registration is required as spaces are limited and there will be no on-site registration.
Register for early-bird pricing until September 30th!
Thursday, December 3, 2025
Mission Bay Conference Center, San Francisco, CA
Click here to view last year's PRISM 2024 Highlights.
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Makam AN, Bailey L, Anderson N…Nguyen OK. Availability of Cardioprotective Medications for Type 2 Diabetes in the Medicaid Program. Ann Intern Med. 2025 Apr 22. PubMed Citation.
Molina MF, Cash RE, Loo SS...Samuels-Kalow ME. Screening and Response for Adverse Social Determinants of Health in US Emergency Departments. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Apr 1;8(4):e257951. PubMed Citation.
Hargrave AS, Cohen BE, Gibson CJ... Byers AL. Sexual Trauma, Suicide, and Overdose in a National Cohort of Older Veterans. Ann Intern Med. 2025 Apr 29. PubMed Citation.
Philbin MM, Dhatt Z, Jacques T... White JS. Retailer perceptions of California's statewide sales restriction on flavoured tobacco: lessons from qualitative interviews with tobacco retailers across four diverse jurisdictions. Tob Control. 2025 Apr 9:tc-2024-059084. PubMed Citation.
Fields JD, Assaf RD, Nguyen KH... Kushel MB. Health Care Access and Use Among Adults Experiencing Homelessness. JAMA Health Forum. 2025 May 2;6(5):e250820. PubMed Citation.
Palar K, Cox C. Modeling The Value Of 'Food Is Medicine': Challenges And Opportunities For Scaling Up Medically Tailored Meals. Health Aff (Millwood). 2025 Apr;44(4):443-448. PubMed Citation.
Gu D, Xia F, Vijayaraghavan M. Tobacco treatment and policies in mental health and substance use treatment facilities in the US. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2025 Jun 1;271:112639. PubMed Citation.
Chang AY, Sanchez-Anguiano ME, Supapannachart K…Yazdany J. Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and New Hidradenitis Suppurativa Diagnoses in a Single Health System. JAMA Dermatol. 2025 May 14:e251190. PubMed Citation.
Shanks CB, Park MS, Yaroch AL… Seligman HK. Health Outcomes of Produce Prescription Programs Associated with Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program Funding. Annu Rev Nutr. 2025 May 12. PubMed Citation.
Rosen JG, Olding M, Joshi N… Knight KR. "It's something we're connected to": Acceptability and adoption of overdose detection technologies implemented in San Francisco permanent supportive housing. J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2025 Jun;173:209694. PubMed Citation.
Shih JJ, Kuznia M, Nouri S… Lyles CR, Khoong EC. Differences in Telemedicine Use for Patients With Diabetes in an Academic Versus Safety Net Health System: Retrospective Cohort Study. J Med Internet Res. 2025 Mar 24;27:e64635. PubMed Citation.
Khoong EC, Wong J, Garcia F, Olazo K, Miles M, Zeng B, Lyles CR, Sarkar U. Factors impacting electronic patient-generated data use in safety-net systems: a qualitative study. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2025 May 28:ocaf079. PubMed Citation.
See all recent ARC-authored publications
| | Join us as we dive into the collective work of ARC's core faculty, dedicated to raising the accessibility and quality of care for people everywhere. | | As professionals committed to health equity, we meet people where they are. Join the ARC network on your preferred platforms. | | | | |
