NCIRE Investigators
Alan B.C. Dang
MD
Staff Surgeon, Orthopaedic Spine Surgery, SFVAHCS
Assistant Professor in Residence, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UCSF
Dr. Dang’s research seeks to develop new methods and techniques for studying biomechanics after an an acute, traumatic injury on the battlefield as well as the consequences of chronic wear and tear that reflects normal aging. He was the first researcher in the USA to be granted access to Toyota Motor Company's digital human model (THUMS) and modify the automotive safety tool for use in orthopaedic research to use computer modeling and simulation to study spinal biomechanics.
Alexander Monto
MD
Director, Liver Clinic, SFVAHCS
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, UCSF
Dr. Monto has been involved with the national VA Hepatitis C Resource Center Program since its inception in 2001. He has co-written many national VA management recommendations, including those related to hepatitis C management, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. His research focuses on liver disease progression related to chronic hepatitis C infection, and particularly the role of co-factors (alcohol intake, intrahepatic fat, HIV infection, anti-HCV therapy) in altering disease progression.
Alexis Dang
MD
Staff Surgeon, Orthopedic Sports Medicine, SFVAHCS Assistant Professor in Residence, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, UCSF
Dr. Dang’s clinical interest revolves around restoring and preserving musculoskeletal function, with a research focus on cartilage injury and repair. His research focuses on developing clinically relevant injury models, including anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture in mice, and seeks to identify key mediators of cartilage degeneration with the goal of being able to externally modulate these signals through surgical, pharmacologic, or environmental interventions.
Alfred Kuo
MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UCSF; Attending Physician, SFVAHCS
Alfred Kuo graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in biochemistry; and then went on to receive a PhD in biochemistry and his medical degree at UCSF as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program. He was a resident in orthopaedic surgery and a research fellow at the University of California, Davis before completing a fellowship in lower extremity reconstruction at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego.
Kuo has received numerous awards and has published papers in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, the Journal of Arthroplasty, the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, and the Journal of Cell Biology. Here at UCSF, he works closely with Hubert Kim, MD, PhD at San Francisco Veterans Medical Center and continues his clinical and translational research.