Clinic Director: Meyeon Park, M.D., M.A.S. (Nephrology)
Meyeon Park’s research focuses on the impact of cardiovascular disease on patients with kidney disease of varying stages and in patients with polycystic kidney disease and recipients of kidney transplants. She is interested in biomarkers and imaging techniques to better predict kidney and cardiovascular disease. Park graduated magna cum laude with a biology degree from Harvard College and earned her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She completed her residency in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, and her nephrology fellowship at UCSF, where she also earned a master of advanced studies degree in clinical research and epidemiology. She is a recipient of career development awards from both the National Institutes of Health and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Phoebe Ashley, M.D., M.S. (Cardiology)
Dr. Ashley is a general cardiologist with an interest in Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine, Cardiovascular Risk Reduction, Medical Education and Health Literacy. She is interested in the general cardiovascular care of women and men and particularly interested in the care of women who experience adverse pregnancy outcomes which are known to predict a woman’s future cardiovascular risk. She strives to work with her obstetrical colleagues to identify women at risk, to help them modify their risk factors and in turn change the trajectory of their cardiovascular health.
Max Bowman, M.D. (Urology)
Dr. Bowman received his undergraduate training at the University of Utah, where he earned a degree in Exercise Physiology and Chemistry. After graduating, he earned his medical degree at Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine in New Hampshire and completed his Urology residency at the UCSF. While in residency, in 2019, ZSFG recognized Dr. Bowman for his excellence in patient care, as exemplified by clinical competence, professional conduct, compassion for patients, and outstanding interaction with all levels of staff, including peers. In 2023, the American Urologic Association awarded him with the AUA E-QIPS Fellow and Resident Competition Award for his for his work in translating discharge instructions into languages other than English in the outpatient urologic clinic. Also during residency, he won the GME Award for Excellence and Innovation for his contributions to graduate medical education and clinical quality improvement, service excellence, and innovation. During his chief year of residency, his commitment to medical education was further recognized with the Laurence S. Baskin, MD Resident Peer Teaching Excellence Award. In 2024, Dr. Bowman was recruited to join the faculty at UCSF.
Marcelle I. Cedars, M.D. (Reproductive Endocrinology)
Dr. Marcelle Cedars is a specialist in caring for patients going through in vitro fertilization and perimenopause, as well as patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome. She is director of the UCSF Center for Reproductive Health.
Cedars also directs UCSF’s reproductive endocrinology division, coordinating the relationship between scientific research and personalized care for patients. In her own research, she focuses on ovarian aging and how it affects both fertility and women’s overall health.
Cedars received her medical training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. She completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Parkland Health & Hospital System, followed by a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Sarah Doernberg, M.D. (Infectious Diseases Specialist)
Sarah Doernberg is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and the Medical Director of Adult Antimicrobial Stewardship at UCSF Medical Center. She has an active outpatient Infectious Diseases Clinic and sees inpatients on the Transplant Infectious Diseases service. Her clinical research focuses on healthcare-acquired infections and antimicrobial stewardship.
She received her BA from Harvard University in Biology with a focus in Neurobiology and received her MD from Yale University School of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship at UCSF. She also received a Masters’ degree in advanced studies through the Training in Clinical Research Program at UCSF.
Meghana Eswarappa, M.D. (Nephrology)
Meghana received her medical degree and completed internal medicine residency training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. She subsequently completed her clinical fellowship in nephrology at UCSF, where she also obtained a master's degree in clinical and epidemiological research. Her clinical interests and research focus on understanding and improving gaps in care related to Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease.
Chris Freise, M.D. (Transplant Surgery)
Christopher E. Freise is a member of the UCSF Transplant Service with particular interest in adult and pediatric liver and kidney transplants, surgery for liver tumors and kidney cysts, laparoscopic surgery for the liver and gall bladder, and surgery for dialysis access. In his research, he addresses immunosuppressive drugs used after transplantation and methods to prevent ischema-reperfusion injury or tissue damage after blood supply is restored. His research is recognized and funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.
Dr. Freise earned a medical degree at the University of Minnesota, where he completed a residency in surgery. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in transplant surgery at UCSF Medical Center. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Stephen Gluck, M.D. (Nephrology)
Dr. Gluck is an eminent scientist and nephrologist, who earned his medical degree at the University of California, Los Angeles and completed his internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. He is a Full Professor at the University of California, San Francisco and has been awarded the “Top Doctor” award from San Francisco Magazine on numerous occasions.
Nghiem Ha, MD (Gastroenterology)
Nghiem Ha is a gastroenterologist in San Francisco, California and is affiliated with Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. He received his medical degree from University of California, Davis, School of Medicine and has been in practice for almost 10 years.
Priya Kathpalia, M.D. (Gastroenterology)
Dr. Priya Kathpalia is a gastroenterologist with a special interest in esophageal and other gastrointestinal motility disorders—digestive conditions related to the passage of food and secretions. She is also trained in performing upper endoscopies, colonoscopies, esophageal manometry, pH, and SmartPill studies.
Prior to concentrating on motility disorders, Kathpalia's research focused on inflammatory bowel disease and liver diseases.
After earning her medical degree at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Kathpalia completed a residency in internal medicine at Loyola University Medical Center, where she also served as chief resident. Kathpalia then completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at UCSF, where she trained with international experts in esophagology.
Kathpalia belongs to the American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Northern California Society for Clinical Gastroenterology. She is an assistant professor of medicine at UCSF and also serves as an associate program director for the GI fellowship program.
Gabriel Loeb, M.D., Ph.D. (Nephrology)
Gabriel Loeb, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist investigating the mechanisms underlying kidney disease. His research focuses on two major areas: 1) using human common genetic variation to identify cellular and molecular drivers of chronic kidney disease and 2) identifying the molecular mediators of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease. Findings from both projects demonstrate the central role of tubule epithelial cells in kidney disease pathogenesis. Gabriel’s research program integrates human genetics, novel kidney disease models, and single cell genomics to reveal essential regulators of tubule epithelial cell health and enable new therapies for people suffering from kidney disease.
George Pasvankas, M.D. (Pain Management)
Dr. George W. Pasvankas is an attending physician at the UCSF Pain Management Center, where he treats patients with chronic pain, including cancer pain, chronic neck and low-back pain, neuropathic pain syndromes and complex regional pain syndrome. He also cares for patients undergoing anesthesia for surgery, including preoperative assessment and management, intraoperative anesthetic management and postoperative management and recovery.
Pasvankas is a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and California Society of Anesthesiologists. He earned a medical degree at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, followed by a residency in anesthesiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship in pain medicine at UCSF. Pasvankas serves as director for the UCSF Pain Medicine Fellowship Program and is an associate professor of medicine at UCSF.
Annalisa Post, M.D. (Perinatologist)
Dr. Annalisa Post is a perinatologist, an obstetrician who cares for patients with high-risk or complicated pregnancies. Dr. Post cares for patients with complications including fetal conditions such as fetal anomalies and complex multiple gestations; and maternal conditions such as cardiovascular, renal, and autoimmune conditions. Dr. Post earned her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry. She completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Duke University. Dr. Post is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Merve Postalcioglu, M.D. (Nephrology)
Dr. Postalcioglu is a nephrologist and clinical researcher. Her research focuses on improving the diagnosis and prognostication of chronic kidney disease by identifying novel biomarkers. She is particularly interested in understanding disease pathophysiology and advancing early detection strategies to improve outcomes for patients with kidney disease.
Laalasa Varanasi, M.D. (Nephrology)
Dr. Laalasa Varanasi is a nephrologist who cares for patients with a broad range of conditions affecting the kidneys, including high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (a genetic disorder in which cysts form in the kidneys), glomerular disorders (involving the capillary clusters that filter the blood) and kidney cancer. She also oversees nephrology consultations and dialysis for patients on the medical and surgical wards as well as in the intensive care units.
Dr. Varanasi earned her medical degree at the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a fellowship in nephrology at UCSF, serving as chief fellow. Having a special interest in medical education, she also participated in the Health Professions Education Pathway program while completing her fellowship.
Jane Wang, M.D. (Radiology)
Z. Jane Wang, MD, received her undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Brown University, and her medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School. She completed her residency training in Diagnostic Radiology at the University of California, San Francisco, during which time she also served as a Chief Resident from 2006-2007. Dr. Wang subsequently completed a fellowship in Abdominal Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Wang’s research interests primarily focus on identification of novel imaging techniques and their development into practical and clinically useful diagnostic tools, with a particular emphasis on renal tumors and diffuse renal disease. One of Dr. Wang’s current research endeavor is to use hyperpolarized 13C MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to assess renal tumor aggressiveness. She has also been studying functional imaging using MR and CT of diffuse renal disease. She is the recipient of several grants, including Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program Concept Award, Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Scholar Grant, and RSNA Fellow Grant.
Jennifer Ashby, DOAM (Acupuncturist)
Dr. Jennifer Ashby, DAOM has practiced Traditional Chinese Medicine since 1996. She earned her master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1995 from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) and her Doctorate of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from ACTCM in 2010. She has been in practice at The Lotus Center in San Francisco since 1996.
Dr. Ashby has taught Women’s Health at ACTCM since 2001. She has also worked as a research assessor for three years at Stanford University, on a study researching the effects of acupuncture on depression. She has been an addiction recovery and detoxification specialist since 1994, and has treated inmates in the San Francisco County Jails for addiction, using acupuncture treatments. She completed her doctoral residencies at Marin General Hospital and Shanghai University Hospital.
Jennifer has guest lectured at UC Berkeley and the San Francisco Doula Group, as well as ACTCM, where she was the keynote speaker for their 2012 graduation ceremony. She has been at the Osher Center since 2014.
Kristi Cheng, R.D., C.D.E. (Registered Dietitian)
Kristi Cheng is a dietitian who cares for adults with cystic fibrosis and for patients undergoing lung, heart, liver or kidney transplantation. Rather than focusing on foods to remove from someone's diet, she helps patients determine which foods they can eat, in accordance with their medical conditions.
In addition to working with patients, Cheng is involved in nutrition education. She helps train dietetic interns and educates other UCSF health care providers and community members on nutrition topics.
After earning a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and cell biology at the University of California, San Diego, Cheng earned a master of public health degree in nutrition at Loma Linda University. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Andrew Lui, PT, DPT (Physical Therapist)
Dr. Andrew Lui is currently a Clinical Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science. His areas of expertise include workstation ergonomics and physical therapy for rheumatologic and spine disorders. He obtained his BS from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Masters and Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the joint program at the University of California, San Francisco and San Francisco State University. After working as an inpatient and outpatient staff physical therapist, he joined the UCSF Faculty Practice in 2000.