Ashwin Kotwal, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Program Director, T32 Aging Research Fellowship Program, Geriatrician, SFVAHCS
Dr. Kotwal is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. He completed undergraduate training in Anthropology at Northwestern University, and his medical and biostatistics training at University of Chicago. He went on to complete his Internal Medicine residency at Harvard University’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and an integrated clinical fellowship in Geriatrics and Palliative Care at UCSF.
Dr. Kotwal devotes most of his time to research focusing on understanding and enhancing social connections of older adults to improve their quality of life and health care access. Recent work has investigated experiences of loneliness and social isolation among older adults with cognitive impairment, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social well-being. His research interests involve evaluation of community-based interventions to address loneliness and isolation, particularly among older adults with cognitive impairment or approaching the end of life.
Dr. Kotwal is funded by the National Institute on Aging K23 Career Development Award. He is currently a research scholar in the UCSF Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center and has received funding from the National Palliative Care Research Center, Hellman Family Fund, and Metta Foundation. He is co-Associate Director of the UCSF Division of Geriatrics NIH-funded T32 Aging Research Fellowship and has a strong interest in mentorship.
Dr. Kotwal's clinical work focuses on advancing telehealth palliative care at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) where he has been Director of the Outpatient Palliative Care Telehealth Program since 2019.
Dr. Kotwal devotes most of his time to research focusing on understanding and enhancing social connections of older adults to improve their quality of life and health care access. Recent work has investigated experiences of loneliness and social isolation among older adults with cognitive impairment, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social well-being. His research interests involve evaluation of community-based interventions to address loneliness and isolation, particularly among older adults with cognitive impairment or approaching the end of life.
Dr. Kotwal is funded by the National Institute on Aging K23 Career Development Award. He is currently a research scholar in the UCSF Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center and has received funding from the National Palliative Care Research Center, Hellman Family Fund, and Metta Foundation. He is co-Associate Director of the UCSF Division of Geriatrics NIH-funded T32 Aging Research Fellowship and has a strong interest in mentorship.
Dr. Kotwal's clinical work focuses on advancing telehealth palliative care at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) where he has been Director of the Outpatient Palliative Care Telehealth Program since 2019.