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.

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.

Dr. Smith is a palliative medicine physician and Co-founder of the blog/podcast GeriPal.org and set of online prognosis calculators ePrognosis.org. His research is primarily focused on estimating and communicating prognosis for older adults with serious life limiting illnesses, including dementia.

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 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.

Dr. Hwong completed her Psychiatry residency at the University of California San Francisco, where she served as Chief Resident of Research. She received an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Brown University. Following college, she was a Fulbright Fellow in Belgium, studying the history of the mental health community in Geel, and worked for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. She received her MD and PhD in Health Policy at Harvard.

Dr. Amy Byers leads an independent program and oversees the Byers Lab. Dr. Byers is a Research Career Scientist at the SFVAHCS, and Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Medicine (Division of Geriatrics) at UCSF. The Byers Lab focuses on determining the incidence, prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes of late-life mental health disorders and behaviors, with a focus on late-life suicide and neuropsychiatric disorders using large, epidemiologic, and administrative datasets that include national probability samples, VA data, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data, and national suicide attempt and death data. The Byers Lab has been funded by several agencies, including NIH (i.e., NIMH, NIA, and NIMHD), Department of Defense, and VA. Dr. Byers is PI of the first VA R01-level grant longitudinally investigating suicide and suicidal behavior at a national level in older U.S. Veterans. Dr. Byers’ NIH-funded research program currently focuses on suicide and suicide-related behaviors and dementia risk among older Veterans and individuals reentering the community from incarceration. Furthermore, Dr. Byers has been funded by the UCSF’s Older Americans Independence Center to provide innovative methodologic advancements to estimate associations of late-life suicide risk linked to specific medications.

Anne Richards, M.D., M.P.H., is a PTSD and sleep researcher in the Stress and Health Research Program at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.  Dr. Richards completed her undergraduate education at Harvard University and subsequently received her M.D. and M.P.H. from Columbia University. Dr. Richards has expertise in the treatment of PTSD and sleep disorders gained through years of experience treating male and female veterans with PTSD with medication and psychotherapy. In 2015, she transitioned from a predominantly clinical role at the SFVAMC/UCSF to a research-focused career at SFVA/UCSF. She conducts both translational and clinical research.  She is the Principal Investigator for The Richards Lab at UCSF, whose fundamental mission is to advance treatment for veterans and other individuals suffering from stress-related sleep disturbances and mental illness. 

Dr. Schafer is an endocrinologist who focuses on skeletal health. One of her research emphases is osteoporosis treatment. She also studies the relationships between bone, fat, and glucose metabolism. Currently, she is investigating the effects of bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) on calcium metabolism and skeletal health.