Dr. Anita Hargrave-Bouagnon MD, MAS (she/her) is a physician-researcher who is committed to a career in patient oriented and policy relevant research aimed at improving health outcomes for people who have experienced trauma through community engaged and implementation science strategies. Dr. Hargrave works as a general internist at the Richard Fine People’s Clinic, part of the San Francisco Health Network safety-net system, and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital.

Dr. Hargrave has completed health policy and ethnographic research in Ecuador and Europe as a Fulbright and Phi Beta Kappa Scholar. She obtained a Master’s Degree in Clinical and Epidemiological Research (MAS) at UCSF through the National Clinicians Scholars Program (NCSP) where her work included evaluating the association between trauma and cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Hargrave is currently a BIRCWH K-12 Scholar, where she is studying the impact of traumatic experiences on leading causes of mortality and morbidity for women Veterans including heart disease, cancer, tobacco use, and suicide using a longitudinal national cohort. The findings generated from her BIRCWH K-12 research will identify primary performance gaps in management of disease risk factors for women. Her work will inform future women’s health programs aimed at decreasing premature death and improving health outcomes by leveraging trauma-informed interventions to improve engagement in evidence-based treatments.

Dr. Hargrave is a faculty member of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI), where her work has focused on analyzing the intersection of violence and homelessness in the California Statewide Study of Homelessness. She is also led the COMPASS Study through the Center to Advance Trauma Informed Health Care (CTHC), which aimed to identify best practices in communication and relationship-building between primary care clinicians and their patients who have histories of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) or other trauma. Dr. Hargrave is an affiliate faculty member of the Women’s Health Clinical Research Center and the UCSF Philip R.

Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies. Her work has been featured in various media outlets including the LA Times, SF Chronical, and SF Examiner.

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.

Anthony J. Baker, Ph.D. has a longstanding interest in the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate cardiac muscle contraction in health and disease. We use multiple approaches to monitor cardiac function in experimental preparations that span a range of complexity from contraction of myofilaments in-vitro, intact single cells, electrically stimulated intact cardiac muscle, intact hearts in-vitro, and intact hearts in-vivo. A major goal is to investigate new therapies to treat heart failure.

Heart failure is a leading cause of death and disability and new therapies are needed to treat this devastating disease. Research in the Baker lab focuses on both of the major pumping chambers of the heart, the left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV).

We are investigating the mechanisms causing failure of the LV subsequent to a heart attack, where blood flow stops to a region of the heart resulting in death of muscle cells in that region, termed a myocardial infarction (MI). We are studying the weakened border-zone immediately adjacent to the MI. We are investigating the mechanisms that cause gradual enlargement of this weakened border-zone, ultimately leading to dilation of the heart and LV failure. We are investigating treatments to stabilize the border-zone to slow or halt the progression to heart failure after MI.

We are also investigating the mechanisms involved in failure of the RV. RV failure is relatively understudied and poorly understood. It has been assumed that an understanding of RV failure can be extrapolated from studies of LV failure. In contrast, we have found that the RV has distinctive properties compared to the LV, and the regulation of RV contraction in heart failure differs compared to the failing LV, suggesting that treatment strategies for the failing RV should be tailored to the distinctive biology of the RV.

People who experience traumatic or enduring psychological stress are more likely to develop psychiatric disorders as well as cardiovascular, autoimmune, and neurodegenerative disorders. My research is focused on revealing how psychological stress drives the development of mental and physical disorders. Specifically, I aim to identify the psychological and biological factors that account for the adverse effects of psychological stress, and ultimately to drive the development of targeted interventions to reduce such negative effects of stress. To this end, I am currently focused on uncovering stress-related changes in immune system functioning and on examining how such changes impact brain function and structure.

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.

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.

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.

Dr. Halloran's current studies include work to develop new nutritional based therapies for age-related and disuse osteoporoses using dried plum; examine the role of stem cell aging on age-related bone loss; and develop novel approaches to induce spine fusion and repair critical defects.

Dr. Cohen's research focuses on improving the health of Veterans with PTSD. She runs the Mind Your Heart Study, a longitudinal cohort of Veterans with and without PTSD established in 2008 that continues to follow to examine the longterm effects of PTSD, particularly on cardiovascular disease. She also conducts numerous studies using national VA data.