A Monthly Digest of Noteworthy Activities and Achievements

On January 26, the DOM held its annual leadership retreat. It was an exciting day exploring the various use cases for artificial intelligence (AI) across our clinical, educational, and research missions, at all our sites. Read a summary here.

New Members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation

Pictured above (top to bottom, left to right) are the newly elected members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI): Michelle Estrella, Timothy Henrich, Elaine Ku, Chaz Langelier, and Zian Tseng.

Other Honors and News

Michelle Albert received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American College of Cardiology.

Nynikka Palmer was elected vice president of research for the Academy of Communication in Healthcare.

Neda Ratanawongsa was selected as interim chief medical officer for the San Francisco Health Network.

Lisa Rotenstein was selected for the New Voices cohort of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Rebecca Sudore received the Distinction in Mentoring Award from the UCSF Academic Senate.

DOM in the News

Anna Chang shared the keys to a longer, healthier life in the New York Times.

Peter Chin-Hong provided a JN.1 variant update on ABC News and offered commentary on 2023’s health news highlights on Fox News. He and Steven Deeks commented on updated California recommendations for isolating after a positive Covid test in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Sanket Dhruva pointed out that many doctors don’t understand how the FDA approves medical devices in an interview with STAT News.

Matt Durstenfeld discussed his research showing that Paxlovid does not prevent long Covid in the San Francisco Chronicle, ABC7, and NBC Bay Area.

Deborah Grady, speaking on the PBS Newshour, affirmed that tens of thousands of pregnancies result from rape.

Leila Haghighat offered heart healthy advice on ABC7 News.

Leigh Kimberg discussed the impact of the war in the Middle East on healthcare workers in the Associated Press and on KRON4.

Margot Kushel asserted that the shortage of domestic violence shelters contributes to women becoming homeless in the Los Angeles Times. She also challenged the misconception that all homeless individuals have mental health issues on ABC7.

Thomas Martin discussed a novel blood cancer treatment for a 49er assistant coach on NBC Bay Area.

Michael Peluso explained the latest findings on long Covid’s biological mechanisms in the Mercury News.

Carla Perissinotto defined loneliness, how it is measured, and who is most prone to it on KQED.

Dean Schillinger expressed concern about sugary drink consumption by Americans in USA Today.

Sriram Shamasunder shared his global wish for 2024 on NPR.

Diana Thiara discussed what has been learned about weight loss drugs over the past year on KQED.

Zian Tseng listed warning signs and symptoms of cardiac problems on Fox KTVU.

Bob Wachter assessed the risks of the current Covid surge in TIME magazine.

Brie Williams emphasized the need for police training in responding to people with dementia on KQED.

Lucas Zier voiced optimism about AI’s potential to efficiently search through clinical notes in STAT News.

Recent Grants of Note

Larry Fong and team: a grant of $3.3M over five years from the National Cancer Institute for a project entitled, “Combining immunotherapy with molecularly targeted radiation therapy.”

Elad Ziv and team: a grant of $2.8M over four years from the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute for a project entitled, “Evaluating the clinical implications for ACKR1/DARC associated neutropenia.”

Elaine Khoong and team: a grant of $2.5M over five years from the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality for a project entitled, “Implementation strategies for self-measured blood pressure monitoring in racially and ethnically diverse populations (InS2PiRED).”

Recent Publications of Note

Chamie G, Hahn JA, Kekibiina A, Emenyonu NI... Marson K, Fatch R... Gandhi M... Havlir DV.... Financial incentives for reduced alcohol use and increased isoniazid adherence during tuberculosis preventive therapy among people with HIV in Uganda: an open-label, factorial randomised controlled trial. Lancet Glob Health. 2023 Dec;11(12): e1899-e1910. doi: 10.1016/ S2214-109X(23)00436-9. >> PubMed Citation

Gandhi M. Post-viral sequelae of COVID-19 and influenza. Lancet Infect Dis. 2023 Dec 14:S1473-3099(23)00762-4. [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(23)00762-4. >> PubMed Citation

Ge J, Li M, Delk MB, Lai JC. A comparison of a large language model vs manual chart review for the extraction of data elements from the electronic health record. Gastroenterology. 2023 Dec 25:S0016-5085(23)05684-6. [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2023.12.019. >> PubMed Citation

Gencel-Augusto J, Bivona TG. Unlocking the EGFR-mediated epitranscriptome: A pathway to novel therapies. Mol Cell. 2023 Dec 7;83(23):4199-4201. doi: 10.1016/ j.molcel.2023.10.044. >> PubMed Citation

Haber LA, Boudin C, Williams BA. Criminal justice reform is health care reform. JAMA. 2024 Jan 2;331(1):21-22. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.25005.
>> PubMed Citation

Hamins-Puértolas M, Buddhari D, Salje H... Rodriguez-Barraquer I.... Household immunity and individual risk of infection with dengue virus in a prospective, longitudinal cohort study. Nat Microbiol. 2024 Jan;9(1):274-283. doi: 10.1038/s41564-023-01543-3. Epub 2023 Dec 18. >> PubMed Citation

Lo B. Deciding for patients who have lost decision-making capacity — finding common ground in medical ethics. N Engl J Med. 2023 Dec 21;389(25):2309-2312. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2308484. Epub 2023 Dec 16. >> PubMed Citation

Schmidt R, Ward CC, Dajani R... Allain V, Hernandez R... Ye CJ... Eyquem J... Marson A. Base-editing mutagenesis maps alleles to tune human T cell functions. Nature. 2023 Dec 13. [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1038/ s41586-023-06835-6. >> PubMed Citation

Tsai YL, Arias-Badia M, Kadlecek TA, Lwin YM, Srinath A... Fong L, Weiss A. TCR signaling promotes formation of an STS1-Cbl-b complex with pH-sensitive phosphatase activity that suppresses T cell function in acidic environments. Immunity. 2023 Dec 12;56(12):2682-2698.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.11.010. >> PubMed Citation

Yuan N, Duffy G, Dhruva SS, Oesterle A, Pellegrini CN... Vali M... Keyhani S, Ouyang D. Deep learning of electrocardiograms in sinus rhythm rrom US veterans to predict atrial fibrillation. JAMA Cardiol. 2023 Dec 1;8(12):1131-1139. doi: 10.1001/ jamacardio.2023.3701. >> PubMed Citation

See all 216 DOM-authored publications from last month.

Featured Events

State of the Department
DOM Chair Bob Wachter’s annual address will be delivered in a hybrid format and recorded for later viewing.
UCSF Health Highlights | Thursday, March 28, 12:00 pm
Attend in person at N-217 (Parnassus) or join via Zoom

Second Annual DEIB Showcase
Tuesday, April 2 | 12-1:00pm
Save the date for the Second Annual Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Showcase, which will highlight three programs in DOM to further DEIB work. Details to follow.

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