A Monthly Digest of Noteworthy Activities and Achievements

The Department of Medicine at ZSFG reflects on a year of growth, innovation, and resilience. From research breakthroughs to new ways of supporting faculty and patients, our community continues to rise to the moment—grounded in shared purpose and looking ahead with hope. Read more here.

Honors and News

Natalya Maisel has been appointed director of research administration and revenue management, effective December 1, 2025.

Josué Zapata has been appointed assistant chair for leadership development, effective January 1, 2026.

Academy of Medical Educator Awards

Excellence in Teaching Awards (pictured left to right, top to bottom): Brian Block, Max Brondfield, Viri Garcia, Uchenna Nwosu, Meyeon Park, Jeannie Tran, Robert Weber, and Jamie Yao.
Excellence in Interprofessional Teaching Awards (pictured above, bottom right): Tina Chen.

Excellence in Mentoring Awards (pictured left to right): Maggie Jones, Nicholas Kolaitis, Nadine Pardee, Neeta Thakur, and Evan Walker.

Other Honors and News

Carl Grunfeld received the Barbara West Award for Distinguished Service from the National Association of VA Research and Education Foundations.

Celeste Enriquez, Johanna Sluser, and Justin Vang-Moore received 2025 ZSFG DOM Staff Excellence Awards for their outstanding research contributions, compassionate patient care, and exceptional leadership, respectively.

UCSF Health Excels in Quality

UCSF Health was named a top performer in the 2025 Vizient Quality Leadership Ranking, earning this distinction for the fourth straight year. It is the only public academic medical center in 2025 to achieve all three top quality honors: U.S. News Honor Roll, a CMS 5-Star rating, and Vizient Top Performer recognition.

DOM in the News

John Balmes said new research linking wildfire smoke deaths to climate change underscores the serious public health impacts of worsening fires and strengthens the case for maintaining the EPA’s “endangerment finding” (NBC News).

Peter Chin-Hong offered guidance on flu vaccines (New York Times) and clarified shifting policies and access issues for COVID vaccines (NPR, CNN, KQED, USA Today). He also noted that, while the overall risk remains relatively low, Californians should be alert as the New World screwworm spreads northward (Los Angeles Times).

Gurpreet Dhaliwal explained that while AI can guide physicians’ thinking and bring overlooked information to light, accurate diagnosis still depends on clinical judgment and context (New Yorker).

Robert Harrison discussed how toxic fume incidents on airliners can harm the brain and nervous system, leading to neurological problems in crew members (Wall Street Journal, CBS News).

Matthew Springer cautioned that as cannabis use rises among seniors, THC poses health risks whether smoked or eaten, with smoking particularly harmful to the cardiovascular system (CBS News).

Michael Steinman warned that many widely used medications can raise fall risk in older adults by 50%–75%, encouraging patients and caregivers to pursue safer options (New York Times).

Robert Wachter noted that while some skill loss with new technology is inevitable, AI-related “deskilling” is especially risky during the transition, when tools aren’t yet universal and physicians may not notice their own decline (New York Times).

Recent Grants of Note

Jonathan Budzik: and team: a grant of $4.1M over five years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for a project entitled, “Using proteomics to identify host cell death factors during M. tuberculosis infection.”

James Pirruccello: a grant of $3.6M over five years from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for a project entitled, “Deep learning to link normal variation in aortic valve hemodynamics to pathogenesis of aortic stenosis.”

Peter Hunt: a grant of $2.9M over four years from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for a project entitled, “Impact of Asymptomatic CMV on Cardiovascular Event Risk in Treated HIV.”

Mallar Bhattacharya and team: a grant of $2.9M over four years from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for a project entitled, “Purinergic Signaling in Fibroblast Activation and Lung Fibrosis.”

Recent Publications of Note

Abdulnour RE, Gin B, Boscardin CK. Educational strategies for clinical supervision of artificial intelligence use. N Engl J Med. 2025 Aug 21;393(8):786-797. >> PubMed Citation

Brunet-Ratnasingham E, Tsao T, Mohanty RP… Greenland JR, Calabrese DR. Cystic fibrosis airway epithelial cells have an exaggerated response to hypoxia that is partially reversible through transmembrane receptor modulation. J Cyst Fibros. 2025 Aug 15:S1569-1993(25)01561-9. Epub ahead of print. >> PubMed Citation

Do VV, Ling PM, Keyhani S, Marcus GM, Thrul J, Nguyen N. Real-time antecedents of young adults' vaping and co-vaping of nicotine and cannabis: An ecological momentary assessment study. J Med Internet Res. 2025 Aug 14;27:e75695. >> PubMed Citation

Donroe JH, Calcaterra SL, Simon C… Martin M. Recommendations for addressing in-hospital substance use from a national delphi consensus process. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Aug 1;8(8):e2528703. >> PubMed Citation

Kosibaty Z, Luck C, Okimoto RA. The CIC::DUX4 oncoprotein maintains DNA integrity through direct regulation of the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase epsilon (POLE). Oncogene. 2025 Oct;44(38):3598-3608. >> PubMed Citation

Lam K, Cenzer I, Ankuda CK… Smith AK, Covinsky KE, Kotwal AA. Social participation among older adults before and after long-term care facility entry JAMA Intern Med. 2025 Aug 4. Epub ahead of print. >> PubMed Citation

Rotenstein L, Toretsky C, Khoong E, Sarkar U, Adler-Milstein J. Appointment density, message responsiveness, and patient satisfaction. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Aug 1;8(8):e2524973. >> PubMed Citation

Thomas LR, Brigham T, Shanafelt T. Residency and fellowship: Fostering physician well-being over the career life cycle. Mayo Clin Proc. 2025 Sep;100(9):1649-1659. >> PubMed Citation

Wentworth KL, Fierro FA, Moody TA… Hsiao EC. Single-cell analysis of human fibrous dysplasia bone reveals a fibrotic transcriptome and GNAS variants in endothelial, perivascular, and stromal cells. Am J Hum Genet. 2025 Sep 4;112(9):2067-2087. >> PubMed Citation

Tsuchiyose E, Salimi A, Magee C, Khalili M. Culturally tailored steatotic liver disease management: Latino and Asian community partner perspectives and recommendations. Hepatol Commun. 2025 Jun 9;9:e0749. >> PubMed Citation

Yadav P, Gómez Ortega J, Dabral P… Tsukui T… Wolters PJ… Bhattacharya M. Myeloid-mesenchymal crosstalk drives ARG1-dependent profibrotic metabolism via ornithine in lung fibrosis. J Clin Invest. 2025 Aug 28. Epub ahead of print. >> PubMed Citation

See all 40 DOM-authored publications from last month.

Featured Events

Beyond the Bench and Bedside: Communicating the Value of Your Work
Learn to share your insights with confidence and craft compelling messages about science and health.
Thursday, October 16 | 3:30 - 5:00 pm
Click here for more information.

UCSF School of Medicine Teaching Awards Ceremony
The Center for Faculty Educators (CFE) hosts the annual ceremony for UCSF School of Medicine Distinguished Teaching Awards.
Wednesday, October 29 | 5:30 - 7:00 pm
Click here for more information.

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