UCSF Health Equity Symposium

Dr. Bibbins-Domingo co-founded the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital; the center generates actionable research to increase health equity and reduce health disparities in at-risk populations in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as throughout California and nationwide. She also is a general internist, cardiovascular disease epidemiologist, and national leader in prevention strategies and interventions to address health disparities.

As a researcher, registered nurse, and lactation consultant, Dr. Asiodu investigates the intersection of racism, systemic and structural barriers, life course perspectives, and human milk and lactation issues. The long-term goal of her research is to reduce infant feeding disparities and to increase access within Black communities to high-quality lactation support, human milk feeding care, and equitable contraception services.

Dr. Ayanna Bennett has worked at SFDPH as a physician, medical director, and executive leader over the last 17 years. Most recently, she is the founding Chief Health Equity Officer and Director of the Office of Health Equity (OHE) at SFDPH which launched in 2019. As Director of OHE, Dr. Bennett oversees a team that does anything and everything that serves to advance equity in all aspects of the department’s work. The OHE team produces and implements training events, coaches leadership and staff, supports data development and evaluation, develops and reforms policy, manages multidisciplinary programs, and works to improve community inclusion. In 2020, Dr. Bennett devoted most of her time to the COVID-19 response and development of the SFDPH Racial Equity Action Plan.

Neha Bhasin, MD is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. She is a Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist who specializes in pediatric hematology and is the director of the Pediatric Comprehensive Center for Sickle Cell Disease at UCSF. Her work focuses on providing optimal education and care to patients and families affected with sickle cell anemia, which is an inherited blood disorder. She works to improve care for her patients in her clinic, in the regional sickle cell collaborative and nationwide. She aims to identify key areas of improvement in her patients and implement changes to improve the care of individuals with sickle cell anemia. Dr. Bhasin earned her medical degree at Ross University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in pediatrics at Stony Brook Medicine and completed her fellowship training at the University of Iowa where she also earned a certificate in clinical and translational research.  

Dr. Chin-Hong specializes in treating infectious diseases, with a focus on infections that develop in immunosuppressed patients, such as recipients of organ and stem cell transplants, particularly HIV-positive recipients of organ transplants. He also studies the human papillomavirus, Chagas disease, and viral and fungal infections in patients with suppressed immune systems.

Cuffaro is an adult gerontology primary care nurse practitioner, with a focus on HIV/AIDS and psychiatric/mental health. They co-founded UCSF Street Nursing, a street-based practice that provides RN-scope care to people experiencing houselessness in San Francisco and Oakland. They also co-founded and run an elective in the UCSF School of Nursing focused on the theory and skills of providing robust nursing care on the streets. Before coming to UCSF, Cuffaro was a longtime harm reductionist, working in substance use research, syringe access services, and HIV testing and linkage to care.

Alicia Fernandez, M.D., is Professor of Medicine at UCSF and a general internist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. She is the founding Director of the UCSF Latinx Center of Excellence, and Associate Dean of Population Health and Health Equity. Dr. Fernandez directs the Latinx and Immigrant Health Research Program at the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations which generates actionable research to increase health equity and reduce health disparities.

Marlene Martin, M.D., is Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at UCSF and a hospitalist at San Francisco General Hospital. She is the founding Director of the Addiction Care Team and Director of Addiction Initiatives for the UCSF Latinx Center of Excellence. She is also a UCSF Bridges coach for the SJV PRIME students. https://profiles.ucsf.edu/marlene.martin

Trained as an anesthesiologist, Dr. Navarro now collaborates with faculty, staff, and students to develop and carry out strategic plans for diversity and inclusion – including recruitment and retention. She works to address issues of diversity that cut across faculty, student, staff, and operational lines. Dr. Navarro also worked with students to establish the UCSF Multicultural Resource Center, providing space and resources that support interprofessional collaboration among underrepresented faculty, staff, trainees, and students.

Dr. Rhoads’s background and scholarly work encompass the full cancer continuum, including basic science, clinical care in colorectal surgery, health services research in cancer disparities, and training in health policy. Before joining the faculty at UCSF, she founded the Community Outreach and Engagement program at the Stanford Cancer Institute. She views community engagement and institutional partnerships as substantive pathways to promoting health equity and eliminating disparities.

Dr. Seligman is an expert in food insecurity and its health implications across the life course. Her policy and advocacy expertise focuses on federal nutrition programs (particularly the SNAP “food stamp” program), food banking and the charitable food network, hunger policy, food affordability and access, and income-related drivers of food choice. She also founded EatSF, a healthy foods voucher program for low-income residents of San Francisco, and is the senior medical advisor for Feeding America.

Dr. Walters is a hematologist-oncologist who cares for children with blood disorders and cancer and specializes in blood and bone marrow transplants. His research focuses on transplant and gene therapy for sickle cell disease and thalassemia, and his goal is to offer a curative therapy to every child he treats.