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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.
Alexander Smith
MD, MS, MPH
Staff Physician, SFVAHCS
Associate Professor of Medicine, UCSF
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.
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.
Amy L. Byers
PhD, MPH
Research Health Science Specialist, SFVAHCS
Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine (Division of Geriatrics), UCSF
Dr. Byers is a clinical epidemiologist studying geropsychiatry with an expertise in mathematical epidemiology and the utilization of large national databases to conduct cohort studies. Her work 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. She has been funded by several agencies, including NIH (i.e., NIMH 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 among older Veterans and individuals reentering the community from incarceration. Recently, Dr. Byers has been awarded a Genius Award from UCSF’s Older Americans Independence Center to provide innovative methodologic advancements to estimate associations of suicide risk linked to specific medications.
Anne Richards
M.D., M.P.H.,
Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco; Staff Psychiatrist, PTSD Clinical Program, San Francisco VA Medical Center.
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.
Anne Schafer
MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCSF
Chief of Endocrinology and Metabolism, SFVAHCS
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.
Arthur Wallace
MD, PhD
Chief of Anesthesia, SFVAHCS
Professor and Vice-Chairman, UCSF
Dr. Wallace is the Chief of the Anesthesia. He is a cardiac anesthesiologist. His research includes development medications to reduce perioperative cardiac risk, design and development of medical monitors and clinical information software, as well as development and testing of surgical procedures.
Barbara A. Bensing
PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, UCSF
Dr. Bensing is a VA Research Microbiologist and UCSF Assistant Professor. Her research has focused on the molecular biology of streptococci, and host-pathogen interactions that can render commensal organisms more virulent. Her current research projects include the identification of plasma and salivary glycoprotein ligands for streptococcal sialoglycan-binding adhesins, and determining how these interactions impact the ability of streptococci to colonize the oral cavity and establish endocardial infections. In a related project, Dr. Bensing and her team of collaborators are developing a set of glycan-binding probes that will enable the rapid and inexpensive characterization of O-linked glycans on salivary MUC7, as well as other mucins and mucin-like glycoproteins.
Benjamin M. Yeh
MD
Professor of Radiology, UCSF
Dr. Yeh is active in developing novel applications for computed tomography (CT), which is the dominant clinical imaging method used for the diagnosis and staging of abdominopelvic disorders. His research focuses on improving delivery of contrast materials used in CT scans and on better quantifying their physiological effects.