A Monthly Digest of Noteworthy Activities and Achievements

On January 23, Department of Medicine leaders convened for the annual leadership retreat to reflect on recent challenges and discuss approaches to leading and communicating through change. Read a summary here.

New Members Elected to the ASCI

Mallar Bhattacharya (left) and Catherine Smith were inducted into the American Society
for Clinical Investigation (ASCI).

2026 ASCI Awardees

This year’s recipients of the American Society for Clinical Investigation awards are
(pictured left to right):

• Alan Baik: Young Physician-Scientist Award
• Jonathan Chou: Young Physician-Scientist Award
• Emily Lydon: Emerging Generation Award
• Angela Suen: Emerging Generation Award

Other Honors and News

Peter Hunt was named interim chief of the Division of Experimental Medicine at ZSFG. 

Sandeep Kishore was named senior physician advisor for Population Health with the UC Office of the President.

Binh An Phan received the 2026 Gifted Teacher Award from the American College of Cardiology.

Margaret Tempero received a Luminary Award in GI Cancers from Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Robert Wachter released his new book A Giant Leap: How AI Is Transforming Healthcare—and What That Means for Our Future.

Veronica Yank received the Editor’s Choice Award for an article published in Innovation in Aging, a journal of the Gerontological Society of America.

DOM in the News

Julia Adler-Milstein noted that AI flags for cognitive decline could be integrated into clinical care provided they are accurate and actionable (Live Science).

Rahul Aggarwal and Jo Chien highlighted a new genomic test for prostate cancer treatment that may help reduce reliance on hormone therapy (National Geographic).

Peter Chin-Hong emphasized that medical consensus on vaccines remains unchanged despite recent federal actions (Scientific American, NBC News) and urged vaccination this flu season (San Francisco Chronicle). He noted that hybrid learning is a reasonable precaution during a local tuberculosis outbreak (ABC News, Fox News).

Justin Field warned that eating too quickly can contribute to blood sugar spikes and encouraged choosing foods that promote slower, more deliberate eating (TIME).

Monica Gandhi said that multiple respiratory viruses are circulating in the Bay Area and that, without targeted antivirals, people who are sick should stay home (SFGate).

Ashwin Kotwal observed that older adults are among the most engaged members of their communities and that demonstrating can be a healthy way to stay connected (San Francisco Chronicle).

Gregory Marcus said the health benefits of dry January depend on baseline drinking levels, with the clearest gains for people who drink in excess (San Francisco Chronicle).

Gloria Tavera warned about patients needing liver transplants after toxic Amanita mushroom ingestion and stressed that people should pause foraging (Hecho en California).

Diana Thiara cautioned that ending Medi-Cal coverage of GLP-1 medications could harm patients, noting that out-of-pocket costs remain prohibitive (KFF Health News).

Robert Wachter cautioned that overly restrictive approaches to medical AI could slow progress (New York Times) and described how clinicians already use AI to reduce documentation burden and free up time for patient care (KQED, NPR).

Recent Grants of Note

Elad Ziv and team: a grant of $4.3M over four years from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities for a project entitled, “Germline variation in homologous recombination repair genes in Hispanic/Latina women to predict breast cancer risk and response to treatment.”

Christina Yoon and team: a grant of $1.26M for one year from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a project entitled, “Optimal tuberculosis screening and tuberculosis preventive therapy delivery strategies to improve maternal and birth outcomes among pregnant women with HIV in Uganda: a randomized trial.”

Recent Publications of Note

Byanova KL, Fitzpatrick J, Zawedde J, Byanyima P, Sanyu I, Zhang MH, Branchini J, Velasquez E, Abelman R, Sessolo A... Bhakta NR, Hunt PW... Huang L. Predictors of abnormal diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide in post-pneumonia Ugandans with and without HIV. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2025 Dec 19. Epub ahead of print. >> PubMed Citation

Growdon ME, Tjota N, Campbell R... Jing B, Deardorff WJ... Steinman MA. Decision-making and downstream outcomes of the gabapentinoid-diuretic prescribing cascade. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Dec 1;8:e2545274. >> PubMed Citation

Hatfield S, Howlett P, Ehrlich R. Silicosis and the limitations of the Global Burden of Disease Study: a critical reflection on modelling estimates in low- and middle-income countries. Ann Work Expo Health. 2026 Feb 2;70:wxaf085. >> PubMed Citation

Qureshi O, Ross JS, Ramachandran R, Habib AR. Level of evidence and strength of recommendations in US Medical Society clinical practice guidelines, 2019-2023: A cross-sectional analysis. J Gen Intern Med. 2025 Dec 22. Epub ahead of print. >> PubMed Citation

Santhosh L, Kanaya AM, Sliwka D, Feldman MD. Mentorship in times of uncertainty. Am J Med. 2025 Dec 20. Epub ahead of print. >> PubMed Citation

Sarma A, Christenson SA, Shoshana BZ... Neyton LPA... Moazed F... Kangelaris KN... Woodruff PG, Matthay MA... Calfee CS... Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome molecular phenotypes have distinct lower respiratory tract transcriptomes. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2025 Dec;211:2352-2362. >> PubMed Citation

Thomas LR, Dyrbye LN, Satele D... Julian KA, Sliwka D... Food insecurity, burnout, and social isolation among resident and fellow physicians. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Dec 1;8:e2550044. >> PubMed Citation

Thurston RC, Huang AJ. The swinging pendulum of menopausal hormone therapy. JAMA Intern Med. 2025 Dec 1;185:1411-1412. >> PubMed Citation

van Zyl GU, Decloedt E, Jennings L... Glidden DV... Gandhi M. A real-time urine tenofovir assay improves drug adherence among people with HIV with prior virologic failure in a randomized controlled trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2025 Dec 24;81:e352-e359. >> PubMed Citation

Vissa A, Far AT, Lai JC, Mehta NJ, Kolli KP, Ge J. TIPS patients face increases in hernia incarceration rates compared to patients managed with paracentesis: An analysis of prevalence and risk factors. Liver Transpl. 2025 Dec 26. Epub ahead of print. >> PubMed Citation

See more DOM-authored publications from last month.

Featured Events

Walk With Me Film Screening and Panel Conversation
The San Francisco premiere of a moving documentary about love, resilience, and life with dementia featuring the the filmmaker and UCSF’s Bruce Miller.
Monday, February 23 | 4:30-7:00 pm
Click here for more information.

Annual Women in Leadership Development (WiLD) Mixer
Join Lekshmi Santhosh for a networking event designed to connect colleagues, fostering community and collaboration across the UCSF campus.
Thursday, February 26 | 5:00-7:00 pm
Click here to RSVP and select “WiLD Symposium Mixer.”

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