A Monthly Digest of Noteworthy Activities and Achievements

Californians report that homelessness is one of the top issues facing our state, and yet the state continues to account for more than a quarter of the nation's unhoused. The good news? By implementing evidence-based strategies, the crisis is solvable. Read the thoughts of Margot Kushel, who directs the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, here.

Honors and News

Leonard Telesca, currently manager for the UCSF Health divisions of Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep Medicine, and Allergy and of Infectious Diseases, has been appointed director of administration and finances for the DOM at ZSFG. He takes over from Laurae Pearson, who recently became associate dean for administration and finance for the SOM dean’s office at ZSFG. Read more here.

Lekshmi Santhosh is the inaugural DOM associate chair for people development and mentorship. In collaboration with DOM leaders, she will design, implement, and oversee mentorship programs for faculty and trainees to address gaps and promote innovation in career coaching and people development. Read more here.

Other Honors and News

Max Blumberg has been appointed associate medical director of Occupational Health Services.

Lynn Flint has been honored with the 2024 Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Foundation Physician Award.

A Jay Holmgren was named director of the Center for Clinical Informatics and Improvement Research (CLIIR).

Vivek Jain has been appointed the associate division chief of clinical infectious diseases of the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases & Global Medicine at ZSFG.

Michael Matthay received the American Thoracic Society's 2024 Critical Care Assembly Award for Extraordinary Achievement.

SPIRIT of DOM Awards: Nominate Staff Colleagues

The SPIRIT of DOM Award recognizes staff members who exemplify the UCSF PRIDE Values and make the DOM and UCSF better places to work. Submit your nominations by Wednesday, October 9.

Renaming the Division of Center for Vulnerable Populations

The Division of the Center for Vulnerable Populations has been renamed the Division of Health Equity and Society (DHES) to better align with the evolving language around health equity and emphasize a focus on positive health outcomes. DHES encompasses three key programs: the Action Research Center for Health Equity (formerly known as the Center for Vulnerable Populations), the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, and Amend. Learn more here.

DOM in the News

Louise Aronson discussed the importance of planning ahead about end-of-life care (KQED).

Peter Chin-Hong offered advice on the timing of the updated COVID-19 vaccine (CNN, New York Times) and the falloff in vaccination rates (Los Angeles Times). He was also featured in a special segment discussing mpox, which officials now consider a public health emergency (LiveNOW from Fox).

Amy Conroy advised there may be no safe level of alcohol consumption and emphasized the need to consider individual risk factors (ABC).

Justin Field emphasized the importance of anal cancer screenings for individuals in the LGBTQ+ community living with inflammatory bowel diseases (San Francisco Chronicle).

Margot Kushel joined others in underscoring that California’s core challenge in reducing homelessness is the shortage of affordable housing (Los Angeles Times).

Michael Steinman discussed the overuse of the drug gabapentin and the need for alternatives (New York Times).

Jeffrey Tice debunked common breast care myths, clarified that a lump doesn't always mean cancer, and emphasized professional evaluation (Slate).

Louise Walter highlighted the need for more geriatricians due to the aging population and the challenges of providing personalized care to older adults (San Francisco Chronicle).

Recent Grants of Note

Sheri Weiser and team: a grant of $4.3M over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health for a project entitled, “Assessing the effects of a multisectoral climate-smart agricultural intervention on the reproductive and sexual health of adolescent girls and young women.”

Hilary Seligman and team: a grant of $3.6M over 5 years from the Hellman Family Foundation for a project entitled, “Investment to strengthen the San Francisco food ecosystem through community clinics.”

Ayesha Appa: the Avenir Award (DP2) grant of $2.4M over four years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for a project entitled, “Taking our shot: extended-release naltrexone as opioid overdose pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in people using stimulants living with or at risk of HIV.”

Introducing CRC (Clinical Research Coordinator) Connect!

DOM has launched CRC Connect: Centralized CRC Sourcing & Sharing Dashboard, a web-based Smartsheet dashboard designed to address critical needs for part-time CRCs across the DOM. This user-friendly platform enables PIs and managers to request additional CRC support or offer underutilized CRC resources. For more information, contact Danielle Mizuiri.

Recent Publications of Note

Babey ME, Krause WC, Chen K... A maternal brain hormone that builds bone. Nature. 2024 Aug;632:357-365. PubMed Citation

Blakely CM, Urisman A, Gubens MA, Mulvey CK, Allen GM... Bivona TG... Neoadjuvant osimertinib for the treatment of stage I-IIIA epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small cell lung cancer: a phase II multicenter study. J Clin Oncol. 2024 Sep 10;42:3105-3114. PubMed Citation

Burke CA, Macaron C, Singh A. Artificial intelligence-assisted adenoma detection in people with Lynch syndrome. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Sep;9:776-777. PubMed Citation

Chammas D. Should I laugh at that? Coping in the setting of serious illness. N Engl J Med. 2024 Jul 25;391:295-297. PubMed Citation

Fadadu RP, Solomon G, Balmes JR. Wildfires and human health. JAMA. 2024 Jul 10. Epub ahead of print. PubMed Citation

Jackler RK, Ling PM. The tobacco industry has no business funding continuing medical education. JAMA. 2024 Jul 08. Epub ahead of print. PubMed Citation

Munir AZ, Gutierrez A, Qin J, Lichtman AH, Moslehi JJ. Immune-checkpoint inhibitor-mediated myocarditis: CTLA4, PD1 and LAG3 in the heart. Nat Rev Cancer. 2024 Aug;24:540-553. PubMed Citation

Peluso MJ, Ryder D, Flavell RR... Asare KA... Deswal M, Rodriguez AE, Buitrago M, Tai V... Dalhuisen T... Durstenfeld MS, Hsue PY, Kelly JD... Deeks SG... Henrich TJ. Tissue-based T cell activation and viral RNA persist for up to 2 years after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sci Transl Med. 2024 Jul 3;16:eadk3295. PubMed Citation

See C, Mooghali M, Dhruva SS, Ross JS, Krumholz HM, Kadakia KT. Class I recalls of cardiovascular devices between 2013 and 2022: a cross-sectional analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2024 Sept 17. Epub ahead of print. PubMed Citation

Sim I, Cassel C. The ethics of relational AI - expanding and implementing the belmont principles. N Engl J Med. 2024 Jul 18;391:193-196. PubMed Citation

Tsukui T, Wolters PJ, Sheppard D. Alveolar fibroblast lineage orchestrates lung inflammation and fibrosis. Nature. 2024 Jul;631:627-634. PubMed Citation

See all 228 DOM-authored publications from last month.

Featured Events

Celebration of New AME Members
Join us to honor the incoming class of Academy of Medical Educators and recognize the contributions of our educators and mentors.
Wednesday, September 11 | 2:30 pm-5:00 pm
Click here for more information.

Canvas & Cultures: A Science-Art Soiree
Celebrate the connection between art and science, with a talk and a showcase of artwork created by UCSF colleagues. Limited to 100 attendees.
Friday, September 27 | 4:00 pm
Click here for more information.

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