Current Fellows

Why Geriatrics? Geriatrics focuses on the whole person and meets each patient where they are which is how all medicine should be practiced. I also appreciate the lasting relationships, creativity, interdisciplinary teamwork, and reflective practice. Older adults deserve to age with dignity and agency in an accessible, age-friendly healthcare system, and it is an honor to help them do so. 

Interests in medicine:  I care about the geriatrification of medical education, health equity, and access to care in rural communities. I am also passionate about making our built environment more aging, disability, & environmentally friendly and improving access to active transportation. 

Other interests include: intersectional identities in older adults, inclusion and representation among healthcare professionals, refugee health, metabolism and obesity, dementia and cognitive decline, stress and resilience across the lifespan, interdisciplinary care, caring for caregivers, arts in medicine 

Hobbies: Mindful walks, gardening, baking sourdough bread, appreciating and creating art, yoga, making music playlists for friends, eating spicy food, kayaking, stargazing

Why geriatrics?: I love the diversity of geriatrics, and how chronological age often tells you so little about a person's functional status and reality. To me, the values embodied by the field of geriatrics are the very best parts of medicine: person-centered care, thinking deeply about what matters most for each individual we partner with, maximizing function and quality, the challenges of multi-complexity, and interdisciplinary collaboration. And I love learning from the lived-experiences, wisdom, and resilience of my older adult patients.

What are your interests in medicine?: Geriatric primary care, communication, medical education

What hobbies do you enjoy?: Biking, skiing, hiking with my husband pup, crafting 

Why geriatrics?: I love the team-based approach and resourcefulness of geriatric medicine, and its focus on meeting patients' goals while addressing complex biopsychosocial challenges.

What are your interests in medicine?: Patient priorities care, medical education, and quality improvement.

What hobbies do you enjoy?:  Racquet sports (tennis, pickleball, ping-pong), reading, exploring new restaurants

Why geriatrics?: My journey into geriatrics began during my undergraduate years as a research coordinator. I worked closely with an underserved elderly community, focusing on increasing physical activities to reduce cardiovascular health risks. From recruiting participants to wrapping up data collection, I formed close bonds with the elderly, witnessing firsthand the complexities of their health and the challenges they face within the healthcare system. Since the experience, I have been strongly committed to serving the geriatric population through volunteer activities, education opportunities and research projects.

What are your interests in medicine?: I love my geriatric population, global health, and procedures!

What hobbies do you enjoy?: I love playing fetch with my 8-year old corgi, traveling to experience different cultures, discovering new restaurants and cafes, and exercising, especially bootcamp and tennis.​​​​​​

Why geriatrics?: I find the care of older adults to be fascinating in its complexity and rewarding in its interactions. I enjoy the creativity that comes from a multifaceted approach to care where patients, doctors, and families partner together to come up with the best plan. 

What are your interests in medicine?: Exploring how older adults with serious or chronic illness make medical decisions is an area of intense interest for me. Through my work in clinical and translational research, I want to continue learning how providers can help patients, families, and caregivers navigate serious illness to lead happy, fulfilling lives.

What hobbies do you enjoy?: I'm on a mission to explore all the coffee shops in San Francisco and I always know the latest plant-based, vegetarian restaurants. I also enjoy live music and can usually be found at the Warfield, the Independent, or the SF Symphony.

Why geriatrics?: Geriatricians are “my people”. I feel lucky to have found so many mentors during my training who embody the high-quality patient care I aspire to provide. The patient-centered, interprofessional, and holistic care valued in geriatrics resonates with my vision for the future of healthcare.

What are your interests in medicine?: Polypharmacy, interprofessional education, different models of care, and healthcare innovations

What hobbies do you enjoy?: Tennis, cooking, traveling, and scrapbooking​​​​​​

Why geriatrics? This is an amazing field that lets us take care of people who've cared for us and to help people like our grandparents meet their goals of care as they grow older! 

What are your interests in medicine? Narrative medicine, patient-caregiver relationship, resilience in chronic illness 

What hobbies do you enjoy? Visiting used bookstores, searching for that perfect bubble, doodling in a sketchbook 

Why geriatrics?: I love the focus on meeting patients where they are at and allowing their goals to guide all aspects of medical care. It is an honor to build long-lasting relationships with patients and their families and support them through life transitions. 

What are your interests in medicine? Patient-caregiver relationships, social isolation, and leveraging data analytics to improve both patient and caregiver well being.

What hobbies do you enjoy? I enjoy trail running, hiking, and looking for dogs to adopt. 

Why geriatrics?: My goal is to improve the lives of the elderly through both medical care and scientific research

What are your interests in medicine?: Translation research on the biology of aging; care for underserved and marginalized populations

What hobbies do you enjoy?: Dancing, art, and new adventures

I am a General Surgery resident at UCSF East Bay. I have completed my first 3 years of residency and am taking a 2 year hiatus for research and professional development with the VAQS Fellowship. I completed my undergraduate and medical training at the University of Oklahoma near where I grew up. My clinical/research interests are in cardiac surgery, specifically newer minimally invasive procedures and operations.

Caroline is a Registered Nurse, Air Force Veteran, and a 3rd year PhD student at UCSF.  She is passionate about making a difference in the field of cardiovascular disease prevention, particularly in women Veterans.  Caroline is driven to contribute to research, education, and policy development that improves the heart health of our nation's women Veterans. Throughout her career, Caroline has gained valuable experiences through various clinical settings, working directly with Veterans and witnessing the impact of cardiovascular disease on their lives.  Currently, as a PhD student, she is focused on generating evidence-based insights to inform interventions, improve healthcare outcomes, and empower women Veterans to take control of their cardiovascular health.

Ted’s background in addictions research has focused on identifying mediators and moderators of substance use treatments as well as investigating predictors, outcomes, and epidemiology of substance use. While completing his pre-doctoral internship at the San Francisco VA, he trained in language coding, using the Motivational Interviewing Skills Code and a novel coding system for health education. Ted is currently involved in research analyzing the influences of therapist and patient language on treatment outcomes for co-occurring substance use and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His primary research interest is in increasing patient engagement and efficacy of treatments for substance use and PTSD among veterans.

• What are your interests in medicine?:
  • Opioid-Free Anesthesia; economics, access, and quality of healthcare services; advanced practice registered nurses; medical billing; behavioral economics; leadership; medical missions; machine learning and advanced statistical methodologies.
• What hobbies do you enjoy?:
  • Hiking with my dog Aspen, GYM, road cycling
• Fun fact about you:
  • I'm in a PhD program, there is nothing very fun about me right now.  More to come....

• What are your interests in medicine?: I am interested in individual and systemic interventions to enhance engagement in mental health treatment, digital health, mixed-methods research approaches, mental health equity, and caregiver- and family-based interventions for mental health.
• What hobbies do you enjoy?: Hiking, backpacking and camping, dancing, improv comedy, and travel.
• Fun fact about you: I didn’t have a birth certificate until I was nearly 3 years old!