ARC July 2026 Newsletter

Building a Healthier Tomorrow

 

Congratulations and Gratitude to Dean Talmadge King, Jr.

The entire ARC community would like to extend its heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to Talmadge E. King, Jr., MD, who stepped down at the end of June after 11 years as Dean of the UCSF School of Medicine and will return to the faculty. As UCSF celebrates Dean King’s leadership legacy, ARC wants to acknowledge and recognize his special place in our history.

When Dean King was UCSF Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine and Chief of Medical Services at ZSFG he was a driving force behind the founding of what is now the UCSF Action Research Center for Health (ARC). Dean King’s vision for a ZSFG-based hub for chronic disease research with an aim to reduce health disparities in historically marginalized communities inspired Drs. Kirstin Bibbins-Domingo and Dean Schillinger to found in ARC 2006 as the Center for Vulnerable Populations (CVP). Importantly, Dean King’s vision focused not just on what we studied, but also on how we conducted research – with a commitment to collaboration, partnership, mentorship, and real-world application.


In the 20 years since, we have grown the Center tremendously. While our physical home remains at ZSFG and our commitment to equitable service and clinical excellence for historically marginalized and disinvested communities is unchanged, we now have over 40 faculty members across more than 15 departments and divisions in the UCSF School of Medicine. Reducing health disparities in chronic disease is still an interest for many ARC faculty members, but over time ARC has expanded its focus to emphasize health equity, participatory research, and the social and structural drivers of health.


ARC would not exist without Dean King’s founding vision when he was at ZSFG. Equally important, our Center would not have grown without Dr. King’s commitment as Dean to fostering research and clinical excellence, building a community rooted in compassion and engagement, and envisioning a world where everyone can live a good and healthy life. ARC is grateful to play this part in Dean King’s history at UCSF and is honored to continue his legacy for many years to come. 

HONORS AND NEWS

ARC Core Faculty Member Neil Powe, MD, MPH, MBA, received the 2026 Reinhardt Distinguished Career Award, AcademyHealth’s highest honor recognizing leaders who have made significant and lasting contributions to the field of health services research (HSR). Dr. Powe is Constance B. Wofsy Distinguished Professor at the University of California San Francisco, Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine and Chief of Medicineedical Services at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. His research has advanced the understanding of optimal provision of health care especially for the most vulnerable by using health services research to interrogate medical practices, payment policies and health disparities. Congratulations, Dr. Powe! 

ARC Mentored Faculty Member Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH, has been selected as one of 10 University of California, San Francisco faculty members to become a 2026 John A. Watson Faculty Scholar. The UCSF School of Medicine Watson Scholar Fund was established in 2015 to support the recruitment and retention of faculty, like Dr. Assaf, whose work addresses health equity, reduces healthcare disparities, and advances medical knowledge in underserved populations. Dr. Assaf was a postdoctoral fellowship at the UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative before becoming an Assistant Professor in the Division of Health and Society in 2024. His work examines the intersections of infectious diseases, substance use and drug-related overdose, and sexual health among people experiencing homelessness. Congratulations, Dr. Assaf! 

EXPERT PERSPECTIVES

In two new commentaries ARC Mentored Faculty member Leslie Suen, MD, MAS, highlights needed reforms in the US methadone treatment system. In Substance Use and Addiction Journal, Dr. Suen and co-authors describe the Liberate Methadone movement, “dedicated to building a more accessible, equitable methadone treatment system that prioritizes patient health, promotes dignity, and is grounded in evidence.” And, in International Journal of Drug Policy, Dr. Suen and co-authors highlight how rapid consolidation of opioid treatment program ownership by private equity raises significant concerns about access, quality, cost, and regulation.

ARC Core Faculty member John Sauceda, PhD, is senior author of a commentary in AIDS and Behavior that “calls for a new era of HIV science grounded in solidarity, humility and justice.” Reflecting on four decades of HIV research, Dr. Sauceda and co-authors remind us that “the moral frameworks forged through the history of HIV research—health justice, respect for personhood, and trustworthiness—are essential tools” going forward. 
 

Register for the 11th Annual PRISM Health Symposium


The Promoting Research in Social Media and Health Symposium (PRISM) is one of the few symposiums dedicated to social media and health research. An all-day event featuring a poster session, rapid-fire presentations, and panels, PRISM fosters a collaborative learning environment that provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for participants to meet, collaborate, and advance their work. Now in its 11th year, PRISM has hosted academic researchers, industry partners, patients, and advocates from over 40 unique institutions.


Wednesday, December 9, 2026

Mission Bay Conference Center, San Francisco, CA
 
Learn More and Register for PRISM 2026

FEATURED PUBLICATIONS

Coronado ZK, Duke M, Rodriguez M, ... Kushel M. Latino/a experiences of homelessness in California: Qualitative findings from the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH). PLoS One. 2026;21(3):e0344036. Published 2026 Mar 5. >> PubMed Citation


Haber LA, Erickson HP, Berk J, Williams BA. Left Behind in Electronic Access: Control Over Personal Health Information While Incarcerated. J Gen Intern Med. 2026;41(7):1982-1984. >> PubMed Citation

Luna I, Karumanchi R, Grewal JS, … Sarkar U, Khoong EC. Factors Associated with Evidence of Self-Measured Blood Pressure Adoption in an Urban Safety-Net Health System. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2026;28(6):e70318. >> PubMed Citation


Mandal J, Carroway T, Grant G, … Yazdany J. A Rheumatoid Arthritis Training Program for Primary Care Providers on the Navajo Nation. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). Published online March 23, 2026. >> PubMed Citation


Molina MF, Pimentel SD, Fenton C, et al. Characterizing emergency clinician engagement with social drivers of health data among patients with opioid use disorder. J Am Med Inform Assoc. Published online June 17, 2026. >> PubMed Citation


Neyazi N, Chakravarty D, Xia F, … Kushel M, Vijayaraghavan M. Attitudes toward tobacco-free and cannabis-free policies among residents in permanent supportive housing who use tobacco, cannabis, and other substances. Addict Behav Rep. 2026;23:100686. Published 2026 Mar 10. >> PubMed Citation


Nouri S, Lyles CR, Zapata C, … Sudore RL. "We Talk About Everything": Experiences with Digital Health Communication in Palliative Care. J Palliat Med. Published online May 8, 2026. >> PubMed Citation


Rapson T, Kemper-McIsaac KE, Sherwin EB, … Lyles CR, Khoong EC. Identifying trajectories across care modalities before and after COVID-19 using sequence analysis. NPJ Digit Med. Published online May 26, 2026. >> PubMed Citation


Suen LW, Fraimow-Wong L, … Knight KR, … Nguyen OK, Martín M. Implementation and sustainability of hospital-based harm reduction delivery: a qualitative analysis. Harm Reduct J. Published online June 2, 2026. >> PubMed Citation


Sugrue R, Holm S, Nguyen A, … Thakur N. Wildfire-Specific PM2.5 Asthma Risk Across a Disproportionately Burdened Pediatric Population in Northern California. Geohealth. 2026;10(2):e2025GH001530. Published 2026 Feb 11. >> PubMed Citation


Vijayaraghavan M, Williams A, Bonniot C, et al. State Leadership Academies to Reduce Tobacco Use Prevalence in the United States: Four Case Studies of Early State Adopters of Tobacco Treatment and Policy. Public Health Rep. 2026;141(4):484-490. >> PubMed Citation


Wesson P, Vittinghoff E, Thomas MD, … Mangurian C. Identifying the vulnerable among the vulnerable: applying quantitative intersectionality methods to assess potential inequities in the HIV continuum of care for people living with schizophrenia in the United States. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2026;61(4):603-614. >> PubMed Citation
 
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