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Building a Healthier Tomorrow |
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A Note from Our Director
Dear friends,
I write to you during a time of profound uncertainty for public health. Federal funding cuts threaten research pipelines. Policy reversals undermine community health programs that we have built over years.
Yet our work continues—despite the challenges to the research infrastructure, and healthcare, education, and social service systems. At Zuckerberg San Francisco General, we serve patients who cannot afford to lose ground—and we will not let them.
In clinics we are doing the work that matters to our patients.
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In the field we are securing support for research that drives change.
In training programs, we mentor the next generation of healthcare professionals, bound by commitment to our patients and our community.
We do the work that needs to be done. And we will continue to do so.
This work is too important to pause. We move forward, focused and united.
In partnership,
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Margot Kushel, MD
Director, ARC for Health Equity
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ARC SPOTLIGHT
Faculty and Staff Making a Difference
| | Oanh Nguyen, MD, MAS, on the Silicon Valley Guaranteed Income Project | | |
In the Bay Area and across the country, housing insecurity remains a major issue.
Led by Principal Investigator and implementation science expert Dr. Oanh Nguyen, the Silicon Valley Guaranteed Income Project (SVGIP) is a UCSF BHHI collaboration with community partners to study and understand the potential effects of guaranteed income payments on housing stability, health, and well-being.
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The only randomized controlled trial in the U.S. focused solely on family homelessness, SVGIP seeks to better understand the experiences and needs of families experiencing unstable housing or homelessness.
Dr. Nguyen is an ARC Core Faculty member, associate professor and chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine at ZSFG. She is a deputy editor for the Journal of Hospital Medicine and the director of hospital care at the UCSF PRISE Center Program. We spoke to Dr. Nguyen about details of SVGIP to learn more about current evidence and the relationship between guaranteed income and secure housing outcomes.
| | | Celeste Enriquez, BA, Earns Department of Medicine Staff Excellence Award | | Celeste Enriquez (center) accepts the Department of Medicine Staff Excellence Award from Neil Powe, MD, Deptartment of Medicine Chief (L), and Leonard Telesca, Deptartment of Medicine Director of Administration and Finance (R). | | |
UCSF BHHI project manager and operational leader of the Silicon Valley Guaranteed Income Project, Celeste Enriquez, earned the 2025 ZSFG DOM Staff Excellence in Research Award.
The award recognizes staff members who provide exemplary support in research including basic science, clinical, data sciences, or translational research) and whose outstanding contributions advance the research mission of their unit in a way that extends beyond the ordinary fulfillment of a position’s duties.
“In every group, there is a quiet powerhouse who lifts others higher,” said Oanh Nguyen, MD, MAS, ZSFG Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine, ARC Core Faculty member, and Principal Investigator of the Silicon Valley Guaranteed Income Project.
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Retaining participants in the random controlled trials of guaranteed income is notoriously difficult. National benchmarks for 12 month follow up in similar studies range from 40-55%. Under Celeste’s project leadership, the BHHI team has achieved an extraordinary 12-month retention rate of 90%.
“Celeste exemplifies what research leadership should look like—rigorous, relational, and deeply grounded in respect for the communities we serve,” said Dr. Nguyen, “Her work not only makes the science stronger, but makes the entire research enterprise more human, ethical, and equitable.”
| | Neeta Thakur, MD, Receives Excellence in Mentoring Award | | |
Pulmonary and critical care physician, Dr. Neeta Thakur, earned the peer-nominated Hailey T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators’ Excellence in Mentoring Award for her outstanding accomplishments as a front-line mentor among UCSF faculty.
Comprised of relationships that include role modeling, advocating, advising, and coaching, Dr. Thakur’s mentorship is recognized for cultivating and bolstering a network of relationships that ultimately support UCSF, ZSFG, and ARC’s mission of improving policies and systems that shape access, care, and maximum health for all.
| | By supporting colleagues and trainees in advancing their careers and professional goals, Dr. Thakur is deeply connected to the development of the next generation of medical professionals committed to creating conditions that support everyone in living a healthy life. | | ARC Faculty Elevated to Core Membership | From patient care to mentorship, to policy-relevant research—based on proven leadership and consistent successes, seven ARC faculty recently progressed from Associated to Core status. We look forward toward supporting their work to ensure a healthier tomorrow for all! Join us in welcoming each of them into their new roles. | |  | Amy Beck, MD, MPH, is a general pediatrician, Associate Professor, and health services researcher focused on improving the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity in clinical settings. | | | John Sauceda, PhD, MSc, MA, is an Associate Professor In Residence and a health psychologist in the Division of Prevention Science. His research is interlocked with a commitment to high-quality mentoring. | | | Elaine Khoong, MD, MS, is a general internist and clinical informaticist at ZSFG, and an Associate Professor. Her research focuses on addressing disparities in hypertension and diabetes outcomes, advancing digital health inclusion, and improving communication of patients with their care teams. | | Oanh Nguyen, MD, MAS, is an Associate Professor and a physician-health services researcher focused on understanding how social and structural determinants of health affect care delivery and outcomes, and on how to overcome these factors through interventions embedded in healthcare systems and policy. | | Priya Shete, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor in Residence of Medicine and Epidemiology based in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Her research has focused on improving access to and quality of tuberculosis (TB) care, and now COVID-19 care, for marginalized populations. | | Kartika Palar, PhD, MA, is an Associate Professor whose research focuses on addressing the drivers and consequences of health disparity in HIV and chronic disease. She is interested in safety-net interventions that address immediate needs, as well as policies that address upstream root causes of health disparities. | | Maria Chao, DrPH, MPA, is a professor at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health and the Division of General Internal Medicine at ZSFG investigating how complementary and integrative health approaches can advance health and improve quality of life among populations living with chronic conditions. | | 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
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Suen LW, Megerian CE, Browne EN, ... Kral AH. Linkage to substance use disorder treatment through syringe services programs and the criminal legal system: A Cross-Sectional Study. Am J Prev Med. 2025 Oct 14:108150. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2025.108150. PubMed Citation
Yuan Y, Evans JL, Neilands TB, Valle K, Garcia CM, Kushel MB. Factors Associated with Loneliness Among Older Adults Who Experienced Homelessness: Results from the HOPE HOME Study. J Gen Intern Med. 2025 Sep 10. doi: 10.1007/s11606-025-09818-7. PubMed Citation
Shih JJ, Kwok VE, Luna I, Kim HC, Garcia F, Gutierrez C, Garcia M, Lyles CR, Khoong EC. English- and Spanish-Speaking Patient Preferences on Home Blood Pressure Monitors in an Urban Safety Net Setting: Qualitative Study. JMIR Cardio. 2025 Aug 29;9:e60196. doi: 10.2196/60196. PubMed Citation
Kong M, Fernandez A. Clinic Personnel Perspectives on Barriers to Video Visits for Patients with Non-English Language Preferences: A Qualitative Study. J Gen Intern Med. 2025 Sep 11. doi: 10.1007/s11606-025-09864-1. PubMed Citation
Tieu L, Lyles CR, Kim HC, Luna I, Wong J, Lopez-Solano N, Li J, Yang A, Rodriguez JA, Nguyen OK, ... Khoong EC. A self-report measure of digital skills needed to use digital health tools among older adults-the Skills Measurement and Readiness Training for Digital Health (SMART Digital Health) Scale. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2025 Sep 13:ocaf151. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocaf151. PubMed Citation
Thompson-Lastad A, Wennik J, Swedlow P, ... Chao MT. Group-Based Integrative Pain Management: Feasibility of a Factorial Randomized Trial in Safety-Net Primary Care. J Prim Care Community Health. 2025 Jan-Dec;16:21501319251360113. doi: 10.1177/21501319251360113. PubMed Citation
Molina MF, Eucker SA, Rising KL, ... Rodriguez RM. COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Messaging in Emergency Departments: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Oct 1;8(10):e2537655. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.37655. PubMed Citation
Hargrave-Bouagnon AS, Escober J, Talavera G, Bernard-Pearl D, Cohen BE, Schillinger D. Patient-clinician communication in longitudinal care settings about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult traumas: A systematic review of reviews. Patient Educ Couns. 2025 Oct 4;142:109376. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2025.109376. PubMed Citation
Smith AN, Campbell BA, Andemeskel G, ... Palmer NR. Addressing barriers to care for African American men facing prostate cancer: a scoping review of navigation programs. Support Care Cancer. 2025 Oct 14;33(11):947. doi: 10.1007/s00520-025-10009-7. PubMed Citation
See all recent ARC-authored publications
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