Lusine (Lusy) Aghajanova, MD

Clinical Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Lusine (Lusy) Aghajanova is a Clinical Associate Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) and Obstetrics and Gynecology, and is double board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in REI. She serves as the Third Party Reproduction Program and Director of the Endometrial Health Program for the REI Division at Stanford. She is also an Associate program director for REI fellowship.

Dr. Aghajanova's medical interests include all aspects of fertility and assisted reproduction with focus onendometrial health, as well as disparities in fertility knowledge and access to care, with particularly strong interest in access to care for medical trainees.

Dr. Aghajanova received her medical degree from Yerevan State Medical University in Armenia, followed by residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She then completed PhD in Human Implantation at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Subsequently, Dr. Aghajanova completedresidency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas and at UCSF. She then had her REI fellowship training at UCSF, joining Stanford in 2017 upon completion.

Dr. Aghajanova is a respected researcher in the field of endometrial receptivity and regeneration, implantation and endometriosis, as well as clinical outcomes of fertility treatment and access to care.Dr. Aghajanova is very well published with over 80 peer-reviewed publications. She is active in research, is an active peer-reviewer for over 12 professional journals, she is currently as Associate Editor for Human Reproduction, and serves on Editorial Board for Fertility and Sterility Reports and for Journal for Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. She serves on the Board of the national Society for REI, and is a vice-chair of the Access to Care Special Interest Group at ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine).

Dr. Aghajanova enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, hiking, traveling, watching movies and playing badminton.

Strategic Initiative Abstract: Establishing REI Satellite Clinic

Fertility care and access to it are crucial for individuals and couples seeking to build their families, addressing both medical and emotional aspects of reproductive health. Ensuring equitable access to fertility treatments can improve outcomes, reduce disparities, and support overall well-being.

The primary objective of establishing this satellite clinic is to extend our reach and make our comprehensive, high-quality fertility services more accessible to a broader segment of the population. 

In fulfilling our commitment to accessible, high-quality care for all community members, I am proposing and planning to execute the opening of a new satellite Stanford Fertility clinic in the East Bay. This strategic expansion is designed to significantly enhance reproductive healthcare accessibility in the East Bay, handle increasing patient volumes, and improve overall convenience for many patients by reducing travel time for our existing patients and attracting new ones who seek easier access to reproductive/fertility services.

This strategic initiative is also a proactive step to address growing competition in the healthcare sector, by increasing Stanford Medicine and Reproductive Health presence in East Bay. By establishing a presence in currently underserved areas, we are not just expanding geographically; we are also fulfilling our commitment to bring high-quality medical services closer to where people live and work, thus reducing travel burdens and enhancing patient satisfaction.

The new Stanford Fertility clinic will serve as a vital access point for a larger segment of the community in the East Bay, drawing in patients who may have previously faced barriers to accessing our services. With this expansion, we anticipate not only a growth in patient numbers but also an increase in the diversity of health needs we can address, thereby broadening our impact on community health outcomes. Furthermore, this initiative will provide a substantial boost to our financial stability, allowing for continued reinvestment into cutting-edge medical technology and top-tier professional development for our staff.

Moreover, by choosing a strategic location for our new clinic in the current in Pleasanton, we are positioned to outpace our competitors in the East Bay who has clinics in Oakland, Walnut Creek and Orinda essentially not covering the Pleasanton area, and by offering superior and more accessible care. This move will solidify our market share and establish Stanford leadership East Bay in providing innovative, patient-centered reproductive health services. It aligns with our strategic goals of growth and improved service delivery, ensuring Stanford Fertility and Reproductive Health clinic remain a leader in innovation and patient care. This expansion is a crucial step in fulfilling our commitment to accessible, high-quality care for all community members.

Justin Baker, MD, FAAP, FAAHPM

Professor of Pediatrics

Chief, Quality of Life & Pediatric Palliative Care

Dr. Baker currently serves as the Chief of the Division of Quality of Life and Pediatric Palliative Care in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University, the Director of the Quality of Life for All (QoLA) Program, and the Associate Chief Quality Officer for Patient Experience and Holistic Care at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. He is also the Deborah E. Addicott - John A. Kriewall and Elizabeth A. Haehl Family Endowed Professor of Quality of Life and Pediatric Palliative Care. He previously spent 20 years at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital where he had multiple leadership roles including fellowship director and division chief.

Dr. Baker is triple board certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He has received multiple awards in the field of pediatric palliative care, including the Cunniff- Dixon Physician Award, AAHPM Inspiring Hospice and Palliative Medicine Leaders, and the AAHPM Visionary Award. His research expertise is in the study of innovative models of palliative care, grief and bereavement, patient-reported outcomes, and pain and symptom control. He has received significant extramural funding for his research and has participated in >100 studies related to pediatric palliative care.He is deeply committed to training up the next generation and to mentorship. He has mentored/co- mentored more than 60 post-docs, fellows, and junior faculty members. He has authored >300 academic works on palliative care subjects within the context of pediatric oncology. In sum, Dr Baker is a recognized international expert and leader in the field of Pediatric Palliative Care as well as a highly sought-after speaker (see TEDxMemphis talk) and mentor with a track record of success.

Dr. Baker has been married to his college sweetheart (beautiful Monny from Monterrey, Mexico) for more than 25 years and he and his wife are proud parents of four incredible children. An interesting fact about Dr. Baker is that he likely has more stuffed koala bears than any other individual on the planet and has even has a koala bobblehead and has had numerous koalas “adopted” in his name.

Strategic Initiative Abstract: First steps toward Comprehensive Pediatric Palliative Care in the Community

A Community-Based Collaborative between QoLA Pediatric Palliative Care Team, Ronald McDonald House, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, George Mark House, By the Bay Health and CORE

The growing demand for comprehensive pediatric palliative care services has prompted innovative collaborations aimed at improving the quality of life for seriously ill children and their families. This abstract outlines a proposed partnership between the QoLA (Quality of Life for ALL) Pediatric Palliative Care Team, Ronald McDonald House (RMH), Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, George Mark House, By the Bay Health and the SMCH Coordinating and Optimizing Resources Effectively (CORE) program. This partnership seeks to provide integrated transitional care, end-of-life care and respite care within the Ronald McDonald House environment.

The primary objectives of this partnership are to:

1. Facilitate Transitional Care - Support families of children with high palliative care needs in managing the complex transition phases between hospital and home or between different levels of care, ensuring continuity and reducing stress.
2. Deliver End-of-Life Care in Ronald McDonald House - Provide compassionate and family-centered end-of-life care in a non-hospital setting, allowing children to spend their final days in a comforting and supportive environment.
3. Provide Comprehensive Respite Care - Offer families respite and a break from the demanding routine of caregiving by ensuring their children receive high-quality, compassionate care in a familiar and supportive setting.

The partnership will be structured around several key components:

1. Integrated Care Teams: The QoLA Pediatric Palliative Care Team, healthcare professionals from Lucile Packard Hospital, and CORE program representatives will collaborate with RMH staff to create interdisciplinary care teams. These teams will include a physician(s), nurse(s), social worker(s), and a child life specialist(s) who will work together to provide holistic care tailored to each child's needs. Additional support for high quality hospice and end-of-life care will be provided by By the Bay Health.
2. Training and Education: To ensure the highest quality of care, RMH staff and volunteers will receive specialized training in pediatric palliative care principles, including pain and symptom assessment and management, psychosocial support, and communication skills. CORE will also provide expertise and training in optimizing resources and enhancing care coordination.
3. Coordination of Care: Effective coordination between QoLA, Lucile Packard Hospital, CORE, and RMH; as well as the patient’s and family’s primary and home-based teams; will be essential to ensure seamless transitions and continuity of care. This will include the development of clear protocols and communication pathways to manage the flow of information and resources.
4. Family-Centered Approach: The program will emphasize a family-centered approach, recognizing the critical role of family in the care process. Families will receive individualized anticipatory guidance and be involved in care planning and decision-making, ensuring that care is aligned with their values and preferences.
5. Support Services: In addition to direct medical care, the partnership will offer a range of support services, including counseling, child-life and spiritual care, and bereavement support. These services will be designed to address the emotional and psychological needs of both the children and their families.

The partnership is expected to yield several positive outcomes, including:

1. Improved quality of life for children receiving palliative care through access to a supportive and nurturing environment.
2. Decreasing hospital-based resource utilization (freeing up of bed space).
3. Reduced stress and burnout for families by providing respite and support.
4. Enhanced continuity of care during transition phases, reducing the risk of medical complications and hospital readmissions.
5. A compassionate, family-centered approach to end-of-life care, allowing children to spend their final days surrounded by loved ones in a home-like setting.
6. More efficient and effective use of resources, ensuring that the highest quality care is provided in a sustainable manner.

This innovative partnership between the QoLA (Quality of Life for ALL) Pediatric Palliative Care Team, Ronald McDonald House (RMH), Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, George Mark House, By the Bay Health and the SMCH CORE program represents a significant step forward in community-based pediatric palliative care. By leveraging the strengths and resources of each organization, the partnership aims to create a comprehensive, compassionate, and family-centered care model that addresses the unique needs of seriously ill children and their families. This collaborative approach not only enhances the quality of care but also supports families through some of the most challenging times of their lives, embodying the true spirit of pediatric palliative care.

Onn Brandman, PhD

Associate Professor of Biochemistry

Onn Brandman, is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and, by courtesy, Chemical and Systems Biology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. A basic scientist with an interdisciplinary background, he earned undergraduate (UC San Diego) and masters (Stanford) degrees in computer science (artificial intelligence focus) and a Ph.D. from Stanford inChemical and Systems Biology. He joined

the faculty at Stanford University in 2013 after completing a post-doctoral fellowship focused on protein quality control at UC San Francisco.

Prof. Brandman’s lab uses biochemical and systems approaches to study cellular stress response pathways. These fundamental survival strategies regulate cellular homeostasis and are misregulated in myriad diseases and aging. The Brandman lab has a particular focus on studying and manipulating protein quality control pathways to understand and treat disease. The lab’s work is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

In addition to carrying out research at Stanford University, Dr. Brandman is the incoming Chair of the Stanford School of Medicine Faculty Senate. He is also the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Biochemistry and serves as a course director, lecturer, and discussion section leader for courses at the Stanford School of Medicine.

Outside of work, he enjoys time with family and friends, cycling, backpacking, exploring deserts, and Gardening.

Strategic Initiative Abstract

The Stanford School of Medicine (SOM) Faculty Senate is a representative body with the goal of guiding the SOM on curriculum and policy-related decisions. The Senate is made up of Senators from each of the SOM’s 31 departments and is led by an elected Chair and an executive committee that draws from both clinical and basic science departments. The SOM is the only school at Stanford University to have its own Senate and this stems from the uniquely large scale of the SOM, whose faculty outnumber the sum of all remaining faculty within the University. The Senate meets monthly. 

The Senate is the sole space where rank and file faculty from all SOM departments come together to discuss matters. This creates a unique potential to rapidly identify and elevate issues to the SOM administration and to foster collaborative solutions that harness the diverse talents and perspectives within the SOM. The Senate also has the potential to create personal connections across departments that help coalesce the SOM community. 

I was elected as Chair of the Senate (beginning September 2024). My strategic initiative is to lead the Senate towards achieving its enormous potential. Key deliverables will be fostering strong engagement of Senators, strengthening the working relationships between the Senate and other SOM leadership, and leading the creation and execution of a Senate agenda that addresses both short and long term goals of SOM faculty. 

Holly Caretta-Weyer, MD, MHPE 

Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine

Associate Dean of Admissions and Director of Assessment 

Holly Caretta-Weyer is Associate Dean of Admissions and Director of Assessment for the Stanford University School of Medicine. She is a practicing emergency physician as well as a medical educator specializing in assessment and selection across the continuum from undergraduate tograduate medical education. Holly is currently the principal investigator on an AMA Reimagining Residency Grant focused on redesigning assessment and implementing competency-based medical education across the continuum of emergency medicine training by introducing a technology-driven ecosystem of assessment and predictive learning analytics to theprocess. She is additionally a recent visiting scholar with the American Board of Medical Specialties and the recipient of the International Educator of the Year Award from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Holly completed her medical training at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health where she also did her emergency medicine residency training and was chief resident. She then completed a Medical Education Scholarship Fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University focused onthe implementation of competency-based assessment. She additionally completed her MHPE at the University of Illinois at Chicago during that time. Her research interests focus on the implementation of competency-based education and assessment across the continuum of medical education, summative entrustment and promotion decision-making, and medical student and residency selection in a competency-based system, the latter of which she is pursuing as her topic of study for her PhD in Medical Education from Maastricht University which she will complete in 2025.

When not working, you can find Holly kayaking in the Bay, hiking with her toy Australian Shepherd Rigby and husband Andy, watching Milwaukee Brewers baseball, or consuming far too many audiobooks.

Strategic Initiative Abstract: Resigning the assessment system for the Stanford University School of Medicine

Stanford School of Medicine’s former grading system of awarding criterion-referenced pass with distinction (PWD) was biased against non-White students, with these individuals receiving PWD 8-12% less than their White counterparts. This resulted in Stanford moving to a pass/fail grading system. However, over time, data collected by the School of Medicine indicates that non-White students are less likely to interview at top-tier programs than White students in this pass/fail system. Thus, while a pass/fail system ostensibly eliminates the bias inherent to PWD grading, it does not seem to actually improve student outcomes related to residency selection.

Nationally, there has been a paradigm shift toward competency-based assessment. This approach centers the needs of patients and preparedness for the next phase of training within the learning outcomes students must meet in order to progress. This is designed to ensure that the needs of both patients and learners align. By doing so, students grow and develop into physicians who are prepared to care for patients as residents while focusing on what is truly important. This paradigm shift forces us to consider what those outcomes ought to be. By using a competency-based approach, students can focus on meeting criterion-referenced outcomes and on their own personal growth and development. 

It is subsequently imperative for us to craft a competency-based approach to assessment that centers equity while also awarding distinction in domains that are relevant to key stakeholders including patients, learners, and residency program directors who will receive our graduates into the next phase of training. Toward that end, the goal of this Strategic Initiative will be to develop a competency-based assessment system that both awards PWD and facilitates equity amongst students.

The redesign of our School of Medicine assessment system will include five key phases: 

1. Work with preclinical course directors, clerkship directors, elective directors, UME curricular deans, students, and other stakeholders to define, maintain, and iteratively refine competency-based outcomes relevant to all UME stakeholders. 
2. Collaboratively define new domains for distinction within the clinical curriculum that are feasible and equitable. 
3. Develop a rigorous multi-component program of assessment spanning all UME offerings to serve as a toolbox for course and clerkship directors to inform assessment outcomes and awarding of distinction. 
4. Convene and lead a UME competence/distinction committee to review assessment data, provide expert consensus on readiness for progression for all students, determine awarding of distinction within clerkships, and convey feedback to students around concrete next steps to facilitate continued growth and development toward meeting the defined outcomes. 
5. Pilot the new assessment system and awarding of distinction while iteratively auditing the awarding of PWD for equity and bias.

Vinicio de Jesus Perez, MD 

Associate Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary)

Associate Dean of SOM Admissions

Dr. de Jesus Perez is Associate Dean of MD Admissions and holds the rank of Associate Professor of Medicine with tenure in the Division of PACCM. His academic journey began with an MD from the University of Puerto Rico Medical School, followed by a distinguished residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Subsequently, he pursued specialized training in pulmonary and critical care medicine in Denver, complemented by postdoctoral research at Stanford University.

Dedicated to advancing knowledge in pulmonary hypertension (PH), Dr. de Jesus Perez leads a multifaceted research program spanning basic and clinical domains. His investigations encompass diverse aspects of PH, ranging from genetics and vascular biology to drug-induced complications and clinical outcomes.

At the forefront of his research agenda are two pivotal areas: elucidating the role of Wnt signaling in the maintenance and restoration of pulmonary microvasculature and exploring genetic modifiers as predisposing factors for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Beyond his scholarly pursuits, Dr. de Jesus Perez holds leadership positions in several professional societies, including chairing the Pulmonary Circulation Assembly at ATS and leading the AHA 3CPR SCILL Committee.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. de Jesus Perez is deeply committed to fostering diversity and inclusion within academic medicine. He champions this cause through leadership roles at Stanford University, such as Chair of Diversity and Inclusion for the PCCM and Panel Chair for the School of Medicine Diversity and Inclusion Panel. Additionally, he leverages his affiliations with international professional organizations, such as AHA and PVRI, to create invaluable opportunities for underrepresented minorities in academic medicine. Through mentorship, research collaborations, and networking initiatives, he empowers minority trainees and early career investigators to thrive in their respective fields and contribute meaningfully to the scientific community on a global scale.

Strategic Initiative Abstract: To Develop and Implement Strategies for Improving the Recruitment of Physician Scientists to Stanford School of Medicine.

The Stanford School of Medicine is dedicated to nurturing a diverse cohort of compassionate physicians who embody the roles of scientists, scholars, and leaders. Their overarching mission is to advance human health across all communities through pioneering research, innovative education, and exemplary patient-centered care. In an era where many medical institutions are diminishing their focus on fundamental science, molecular medicine, and research-oriented education, Stanford distinguishes itself through its unwavering commitment and capacity to cultivate future physician-scientists.

Physician-scientists, equipped with both clinical expertise and research acumen, are uniquely positioned to address critical challenges in healthcare and human well-being. However, the outlook for a robust physician-scientist workforce in the United States remains uncertain.

Stanford's distinction in laboratory and biomedical informatics research is unparalleled among its peers nationwide. This reputation is reinforced through initiatives like the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), the Physician-Scientist Training Program (PSTP), and the Berg Scholars Program. These avenues afford Stanford students the rare opportunity to delve into specialized fields alongside their pursuit of an MD degree.

The Stanford Office of MD Admissions (OMDA) is steadfast in its commitment to implementing strategies aimed at enhancing the recruitment of candidates interested in physician-scientist training programs. This strategic endeavor is crucial, given the increasing shortage of physician scientists in the medical workforce and society's escalating expectations for continuous innovation in medical sciences.

Key interventions to bolster the recruitment of physician scientists to Stanford SOM include:

Establishing a collaborative partnership between the SOM Committee of Admissions (COA) and the directors of MSTP, PSTP, and Berg Scholars program.

Enhancing the attractiveness of financial aid packages.

Recruiting Basic and Physician Scientists to the SOM COA to provide valuable feedback on applications to physician scientist training programs.

Amplifying the visibility of Physician Scientist Training Programs and intensifying outreach efforts to underrepresented minority and first-generation students through national and local forums.

Allocating dedicated time to promote physician scientist training programs through presentations and roundtable discussions at Discovery Days Visit events.

The success of this Strategic Initiative hinges on seamless collaboration with the directors of physician scientist training programs, members of the OMDA, Office of Academic Affairs, and Office of Diversity in Medical Education. It is anticipated that these concerted efforts will yield a consistent increase in the recruitment of physician scientists for each admitted MD class, thereby fortifying Stanford's position as a leader in medical education and research.

Lisa Goldman Rosas, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor for Epidemiology and Population Health

Dr. Lisa Goldman Rosas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health and the Department of Medicine, Division of Primary Care and Population Health. An epidemiologist by training, Dr.Goldman Rosas’ research focuses on addressing disparities in chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, depression, and cancer among under resourced groups and communities of color. Critical to this work is addressing important social determinants of health, such as food insecurity. This research features rigorous quantitative methodologies, participatory qualitative approaches, and shared leadership with patient and community partners. She is passionate about integrating patients, caregivers, community organizations, and other key stakeholders in the research process in order to affect the greatest improvements in health and well- being. As a reflection of this passion, Dr. Goldman Rosas holds several leadership positions in community engagement including Faculty Director of the School of Medicine Office of Community Engagement,Faculty Director of the Stanford Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Health Equity, and Core Leader of Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Core. In these roles, she supports other faculty and patient and community partners to develop genuine and bidirectional partnerships to facilitate translational research that fosters health equity. In addition to research, she teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels and has a special focus on increasing diversity in biomedical research.

Strategic Initiative Abstract:  Facilitating Community-Engaged Research in the Stanford School of Medicine: A focus on the IRB approval process

The goal of my strategic initiative is to improve the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval process for community-engaged research (CEnR) at Stanford. CEnR refers to engagement of patients, community partners, and other key stakeholders in the research process. CEnR is well aligned with the goals of translational science and the pursuit of health equity. Patients and communities can take an active role in setting research priorities and partner in designing studies that resonate and are feasible with the patients and communities that researchers seek to engage. This facilitates recruitment and retention of study populations that are representative of the target population– a fundamental goal of translational science. Additionally, when patients and communities bring their expertise to analysis and dissemination activities, they can accelerate the translation of findings into practice and policy. Despite the central role that patient and community engagement plays in translational science and health equity research, there remain significant structural and systemic challenges for researchers and their partners. We engaged patient and community partners as well as researchers to identify key challenges to conducting CEnR at Stanford. The IRB approval process was identified as one of three key barriers. This reflects challenges with community partners not being recognized as equal research partners in the IRB process and the lack of cultural competence and accommodation of varying literacy levels in IRB documents. A recent scoping review publication echoed these challenges and identified proposed solutions. Proposed solutions included providing an addendum to the IRB protocol to describe the role of the community partner, including community representatives on the panel that reviews CEnR, and providing plain language summaries of IRB documents such as consent forms. I will work with mentors and colleagues to improve the IRB process for CEnR at Stanford by implementing feasible and acceptable solutions. 

Morad Hameed, MD, MPH

Professor of Trauma Surgery

Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery

Morad Hameed is a trauma surgeon, intensivist, and public health researcher. He completed medical school and surgical residency at the University of Alberta, graduate studies in public health at Harvard University, and fellowships in Trauma Surgery and Surgical Critical Care at the University of Miami. He spent 3 years on the surgical faculty at the University of Calgary, before moving to the University of British Columbia (UBC), where he spent 19 years at the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), which is the home of province-wide centers of excellence in trauma surgery and critical care.

His clinical interests span innovations in trauma surgery and emergency general surgery (including chest wall trauma, abdominal wall reconstruction, and applications of extracorporeal life support in trauma), process and quality improvement, surgical rescue, value-based healthcare, and surgical systems. He has been a committed surgical educator who served as the director of one of Canada’s most dynamic surgical residency programs, and one of its most accomplished trauma and acute care surgery fellowship programs. He has won divisional, departmental, hospital-wide, and province-wide awards for his teaching.His main research interest is in public health aspects of trauma and emergency surgery, including social determinants of health and disparities in access to high quality emergency surgical care, and his research programs have received support from the Michael Smith Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Dr. Hameed’s leadership roles have included terms as the Head of the VGH and UBC Divisions of General Surgery and President of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons. His work with these organizations has prioritized creativity, innovation, inclusive networks, and cross-disciplinary partnerships to rethink and redesign systems of surgical care.

He is excited to arrive at Stanford, where he is blessed to begin to work with another exceptionally talented group of trauma and acute care surgeons and intensivists. At Stanford, Dr. Hameed is inspired to help build surgical services that explore the intersections of surgery with data science, organizational theory, public health, global health, and sustainability, and that contribute to the pursuit of universal access to high quality surgical care and the highest standards of human health in California and around the world.

Strategic Initiative Abstract: Continuous Optimization of Rescue in Acute Care Surgery

Acute care surgery (ACS) is a newly emerging surgical subspecialty that encompasses trauma surgery, emergency general surgery (EGS), and surgical critical care – all fields that are characterized by high acuity, complexity, time-dependent outcomes, and the need for seamless coordination of multidisciplinary inputs in highly integrated systems of care. They are thematically linked by the notion of surgical rescue, in which surgical teams and systems must maintain a high state of anticipation of and readiness for unexpected and potentially devastating events, that, if sub-optimally managed, can lead to severe and long-term consequences for patients and families. ACS conditions are extraordinarily common in modern health care, resulting in 5 to 6 million hospital admissions per year in the United States, and $65-100 billion (20 to 30%) in adult inpatient hospital costs. ACS conditions are known to disproportionately affect vulnerable and marginalized populations across the lifespan and contribute significantly to hospital morbidity and mortality, with EGS accounting for over 50% of all operative deaths. Stanford Acute Care Surgery, which is the home of Stanford’s level 1 trauma center, a busy emergency general surgery service, and a high complexity surgical intensive care unit, cares for thousands of patients each year and routinely accounts for 10% of the hospital census. Optimization of surgical rescue would have profound effects at Stanford and would have implications for the care of millions of patients worldwide.

GOAL: This strategic initiative seeks to reconfigure and integrate all available clinical data sources (including the electronic health record) in Stanford’s rich data ecosystem, and apply advanced analytics and predictive modeling strategies to create continuous assessments of surgical risk to mitigate risk, target rescue, and optimize the recovery of highly vulnerable surgical populations. This is a goal that aligns closely with Stanford’s traditional strengths in data science, health informatics, and artificial intelligence, and with the pillars of its Integrated Strategic Plan, which is value-focused (innovation to optimize health), digitally-driven (data responsive and evidence based), and uniquely Stanford (in its call to align talent and efforts across disciplines and sectors).

METHODS: This is a multiyear initiative that will be designed and coordinated by the Stanford Section of Acute Care Surgery. The team will:

1. Define rescue identity – Fully define surgical rescue and establish this as an identity and unifying priority of Stanford ACS
2. Establish baseline rescue measures from available literature and focused, retrospective analyses of local databases, including the Stanford Trauma Registry 
3. Reconfigure the Stanford Epic EHR to enhance predictive analytics (e.g. through the more universal use of synoptic reporting, integration of multivariate risk scores, and streaming of data for integration, collection, and reporting)
4. Apply machine learning and generative AI methods to create dynamic predictors of risk
5. Establish data-driven rescue culture through focused, dashboard-driven quality improvement efforts

PARTNERS: The SI will enlist all members of the Section of ACS, who have diverse expertise in clinical ACS, data science, health informatics, quality improvement, and health policy. The Section will seek guidance from Stanford’s rich quality improvement, biomedical science, analytics, and health care administration communities. 

PROJECTED OUTCOMES: This SI will establish surgical rescue as a unifying identity of acute care surgery, and will provide data architecture, analytical capabilities, and data visualization strategies, to continuously report risk and optimize rescue in our large populations of highly vulnerable patients. 

Natalya Hasan-Hill, MD 

Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesiology

Vice Chair for Well-Being and Support

Dr. Natalya Hasan-Hill is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine. As a clinical anesthesiologist and educator, she engages in multiple clinical areas including thoracic anesthesiology, obstetric anesthesiology, and ambulatory anesthesiology. As Vice Chair for Well-Being and Support and a Faculty Director for WellMD and WellPhD, Dr. Hasan-Hill catalyzes well-being and organizational health initiatives for her department and Stanford Medicine.

Dr. Hasan-Hill graduated with a BA in religious studies from Columbia University in 2004. She was a research assistant in behavioral health and substance use disorder prevention at the Columbia University School of Social Work prior to matriculation at NYU School of Medicine. After completing her intern year at Highland Hospital and anesthesiology residency at Stanford, she joined the Stanford faculty in 2013.

As an early career faculty member, Dr. Hasan-Hill pursued facilitator trainings in Mind-Body Medicine through the Nova Institute of Health and Relationship-Centered Communication through the Academy of Communication in Healthcare. Through her roles as Director of the Peer Support and Resilience in Medicine (PRIME) program for anesthesiology residents and Departmental Well-Being Director, she has facilitated and led programming and strategic initiatives that promote a holistic approach to organizational health and a culture that fosters individual well-being and professional fulfillment.

Personally, Natalya enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, camping, hiking, working on jigsaw puzzles, listening to music, and exploring new places.

Strategic Initiative Abstract: Catalyzing a Values-Based Organizational Culture

Strong organizational cultures are characterized by clear, consistent and comprehensive values that guide decision-making by leaders and felt by those they lead. Values alignment is a foundational element of organizational health, a driver of professional fulfillment and essential in the advancement of organizational strategic goals. When organizational leaders and the individuals they lead have shared understanding and language around values, there is an opportunity for improved alignment. 

Since 2019, the Doctor Survey has identified personal-organizational values alignment as an ongoing opportunity area for the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine. The current leadership team was assembled in 2022 and has undertaken frequent and consistent development opportunities to strengthen organizational culture, advance supportive leadership behaviors, address mistreatment, and clarify and operationalize departmental values. These efforts have occurred in conjunction with leadership team development of a mission, vision and values statement, as well as strategic priorities and initiatives to become global leaders in anesthesiology. 

The most recent Doctor Survey (Spring 2024) indicates Organizational Culture of Wellness to be an ongoing and significant opportunity area for the department, with unfavorable scores in multiple driver dimensions, including personal-organizational values alignment, the negative impact of work on personal relationships and sleep-related impairment. 

Culture is the engine of our organization, empowering behaviors that communicate who we are and how we balance results and relationships. Our culture motivates both positively and negatively, and reinforces how people behave. Even the most detailed, ambitious, and thoughtful strategic plan will fail if the culture it is to be executed within is not tended to. As such, the leadership team has identified Operationalizing a Values-Based Organizational Culture as one of three catalysts critical for strategic effectiveness. This SMLA SI will aim to set the foundation of implementing a Values-Based Organizational Culture, by addressing two major pillars: communication and capacity.

Communication 

Operationalizing values – i.e. moving from expressed values to lived values – begins with intentional and deliberate communication. Arriving at shared values is a process that must engage everyone who will be expected to live and uphold them. What do leaders need to initiate these discussions and instill values into daily conversations, experiences, and processes? What opportunities are there for people to reflect on values – what we are living well, where there are future opportunities, and how they personally emulate these values? Have local champions of these efforts been identified and 

supported? How have values been instilled into decisions regarding hiring, reappointment, and 

promotion? What does success look like? How do we know when we have “arrived” at a values-based culture? 

Capacity

The inherent goal of a values-based culture is to energize, motivate and unify the workforce. A values-based culture requires that people bring their best to work, demonstrate and role model organizational values in their behavior, and have the energy and skills to govern themselves and others when there is fracturing of values. An assessment and plan to ensure capacity ­– both individual and organization – is essential. 

While individuals have control to influence aspects of their personal resilience, the organization has responsibility to ensure that individuals have capacity to attend to basic needs. Does staffing and scheduling allow for adequate sleep and recovery periods between shifts; lactation; hydration and meal breaks? How does the unit address sick calls and availability emergencies? Is the burden of night and weekend work shared fairly amongst group members? Does the unit have a unified response to support those involved in critical care-giving events that contribute to work-life spillover and potentially acute stress disorders? How are relationships between team members characterized? These questions must be clarified to ensure that personal capacity, and the organization’s commitment to it, is optimized.

The initial phase of this SMLA will occur in conjunction with our departmental ICDP to clarify, address, and mitigate the negative impact of work on personal relationships by attending to capacity questions and interventions. In parallel, efforts to intensify the department’s engagement on values, such as incorporation of values into hiring and search criteria, onboarding, mentorship and career counseling, meeting formats, and reflection sessions, will continue to expand and develop. 

Janie Hong, PhD

Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Clinic Chief, Anxiety and Depression Adult Psychological Treatment (ADAPT) Clinic

Dr. Janie Hong is passionate about improving existing psychological treatments so that they are accessible, inclusive, and effective. Dr. Hong’s research and clinical work has primarily focused on expanding our templates of mental health to include diverse populations. In addition to being an active advocate for inclusive care, she is invested in developing and teaching others how to provide such care without inflating stereotypes or further marginalizing minoritized identities.

As Director of the Anxiety and Depression Adult Psychological Treatment (ADAPT) Clinic, she leads clinical and trainee programming in the largest psychotherapy-focused clinic within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. The ADAPT Clinic houses three large clinical programs that focus on treating mood and anxiety disorders, OCD and its related disorders, and neurodiverse individuals through its ADHD and ASD programs. Through her roles as Associate Director andSubspecialty Track Director of the Adult Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and Co-Director the Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) Outpatient Training Rotation for the psychiatry residency program, she mentors and empowers trainees to provide high quality evidence- based care that is measurement-based and individualized to include important identity factors.

Outside of Stanford, she has led the Asian American Issues in Behavior Therapy and Research SIG within the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) since 2010 and has collaborated with other minority SIG leaders to promote DEI initiatives within the organization. As President of the Northern California CBT Network, she has worked to disseminate the care models she teaches at Stanford to community providers.

Dr. Hong is proudly Canadian and earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of British Columbia before moving to California. After completing a research postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University, she moved into clinical practice and held a clinical faculty position at University of California at Berkeley until she joined Stanford School of Medicine in 2020.

Strategic Initiative Abstract

The demand for mental health services continues to outpace provider availability, limiting access to evidence-based psychological treatments. At Stanford, the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences houses over 50 specialty psychiatric clinics. Among those serving adults, there are 17 clinics that specialize in psychotherapy services.  These clinics range in focus from specific diagnoses (e.g., eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder), to specialized care for different populations (e.g., athletes, patients with different minoritized identities), to types of treatment approaches (e.g., DBT, couples and family therapy, virtual reality therapy). 

Although the high number of psychotherapy clinic options promises greater access, there is no centralized system to ensure patients are evaluated and directed to appropriate services. This poses a particular challenge for patients struggling with high anxiety and/or depression who also identify with one or more minoritized identities. In addition to the Anxiety and Depression Psychological Treatment (ADAPT) Clinic, patients can access psychotherapy services for depression or anxiety in specialty clinics that treat individuals with specific minoritized or cultural identities (e.g., LGBTQ+, LatinX, Asian-Americans). It remains unclear which patients with minoritized identities could be well-served by the ADAPT Clinic. 

Another complication is the ADAPT Clinic, the largest psychotherapy-focused clinic at Stanford, serves as a core training clinic for postdoctoral fellows and psychiatry residents. It is essential for trainees to learn how to work with diverse patient populations and, as such, training in treatments that account for diversity factors is an integral part of the ADAPT Clinic. Thus, a blanket strategy of referring all patients with minoritized identities to diversity-focused clinics would not only undermine the training mission of the ADAPT Clinic but also hinder access to effective treatments and potentially further disparities in mental healthcare. 

The current strategic initiative aims to systematize and improve the efficiency of psychotherapy referral processes within the ADAPT Clinic, while also collecting diversity-related patient information to improve treatment planning and care coordination. The initiative also seeks to increase consistency in care quality and the monitoring of treatment progress through training resources and standardized symptom measures.   

The project is structured into 2 phases. The first phase focuses on developing a centralized assessment program to manage incoming referrals to the ADAPT Clinic. A working group of providers and trainees will create a clear workflow and evaluation triage system, including an assessment screening tool and semi-structured evaluation interview to clarify diagnoses and diversity-related patient factors. Those identified in the initial screening process as needing a more in-depth assessment interview will be evaluated by a doctoral level trainee. Following the evaluation, a comprehensive treatment plan will be created based on services available within the ADAPT Clinic and, when warranted, include referrals to other clinics and services. 

In the second phase, trainings and resources will be created and disseminated to providers and trainees within the ADAPT Clinic to support skill development in diversity focused, adapted care, as well as existing gold standard treatments for conditions commonly treated at the ADAPT Clinic.  Additionally, a battery of standardized symptom measures will be established and regularly administered to all patients receiving care in the ADAPT Clinic to monitor treatment progress.

The aim of this initiative is to create an effective model of a centralized triage and evaluation system that is linked to measurement-based care, with the intent to extend this model across the department. The initiative will also establish a system that collects patient outcome data for different types of treatment models and psychotherapy approaches, across different groups of patients. Over time, the ADAPT Clinic aims to use this outcome data to refine workflows, patient assignment processes and, ultimately, enhance care coordination within the ADAPT Clinic and with other specialty clinics within the department, particularly those serving minoritized patient populations.

Kelly Mahaney, MD

Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery

Dr. Mahaney is a Pediatric Neurosurgeon with clinical interest in Hydrocephalus, Craniovertebral Junction abnormalities, Spasticity, Spinal dysraphism and Myelomeningocele, Central Nervous System tumors, brain and spinal trauma, and surgical treatment of Pediatric Epilepsy. She completed residency training at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and subspecialty Pediatric Neurosurgery training at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the Barrow Neurologic Institute at Phoenix Children'sHospital. At Stanford Medicine Children’s Health she is committed to advancing minimally invasive and neuro- endoscopic techniques in Pediatric Neurosurgery.

Dr. Mahaney is passionate about her work to improve outcomes for children with hydrocephalus. She has pioneered a division-wide quality initiative to minimize risk of infection in pediatric neurosurgical shunt and implant surgeries. Her clinical research investigates existing regional and racial disparities in care of children with preterm intraventricular hemorrhage and subsequent hydrocephalus in California. Her basic and translational lab focuses on delineating the role of iron in the development of post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus and developing new therapies to prevent hydrocephalus in preterm neonates with severe intraventricular hemorrhage.

Strategic Initiative Abstract: Develop a multicenter California pediatric neurosurgical-NICU collaborative for managing preterm severe IVH and post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus 

Hydrocephalus resulting from severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a major complication of extreme prematurity and a leading contributor to morbidity and mortality of infants born prematurely. 

An estimated 1.6 million preterm births occur annually worldwide, with as many as 1 in 4 of these severely affected by intra-ventricular hemorrhage (IVH). Despite advances in perinatal care and successful interventions to reduce rates of severe preterm IVH, the risk of progression to hydrocephalus following severe IVH is unchanged, with rates of post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus occurring in at-risk neonates remaining stable over time. In California we have seen significant regional variability in neurosurgical approaches to managing preterm severe IVH and post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Some practices favor early intervention with placement of a ventricular access device (reservoir) or subgaleal shunt to allow temporizing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion with serial taps. Other practices wait until an infant is clinically stable and close to term equivalency to move forward with neurosurgical CSF diversion in the form of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. While there is no current consensus on best practice, there is mounting evidence that earlier intervention is associated with improved neurodevelopmental outcomes. Despite this, more than half of infants in California do not receive any temporizing CSF diversion and their first neurosurgical treatment is placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. It is unclear what factors are driving these divergent practices and what the potential long-term neurodevelopmental sequelae of these decisions will be. Further, the regional variability that currently exists in neurosurgical management of preterm IVH and emerging post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus may reflect underlying regional variability in access to pediatric neurosurgical care across NICUs in California. 

The goal of this strategic initiative is to develop a multicenter collaborative to evaluate neurosurgical interventions and neurologic outcomes for preterm neonates with severe IVH and emerging post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus. The development of this collaborative will involve the engagement of neonatologists and neurosurgeons at multiple institutions across geographic regions in California. In the first stage, we will aim to enroll, at the participating centers, all preterm neonates with grade III or grade IV IVH at risk for subsequent development of post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Successful capture of the at-risk population will depend on close collaboration with our neonatology colleagues. 

In the second stage of this initiative, we will aim to begin temporizing CSF diversion in all enrolled neonates according to “early intervention” guidelines. By capturing neurosurgical interventions and following infants during early stages of development, we aim to observe the effects of early neurosurgical interventions on early childhood neurologic development. 

Finally, in the third stage, we will aim to expand the reach of our pediatric neurosurgical collaborative by providing central neurosurgical review/virtual consultation for severe IVH (grade III and IV IVH) cases by a pediatric neurosurgeon at a participating center for infants hospitalized at an outlying non-level IV NICU (or NICU with no access to pediatric neurosurgical coverage). While this effort will not change the underlying geographic disparities in care that exist across California, it will aim to mitigate the variation in care that can result secondary to lack of proximity to a pediatric neurosurgical provider. 

The vision for this strategic initiative is to establish a core team of neurosurgical NICU providers dedicated to improving outcomes for infants with preterm IVH across California. This will serve as a critical platform for emerging therapies to reach this most vulnerable patient population. 

Hetanshi Naik, PhD, MS

Associate Professor of Genetics

Hetanshi Naik is an Associate Professor in the Department of Genetics at Stanford University. She is a board-certified genetic counselor and researcher with clinical expertise in inborn errors of metabolism and 

pharmacogenomics, and research expertise in rare disease clinical trials, patient reported outcomes (PROs), and implementation methods. She received her MS in Genetic Counseling and PhD from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and was a practicing genetic counselor there for 8 years, followed by 4 years as Assistant Professor prior to joining Stanford in 2022.

Dr. Naik currently is the Research Director of the MS Program in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling, where she trains future genetic counselors to conduct rigorous and impactful research in clinical genomics and precision medicine. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating PROs for genetic disorders and genomics, in particular assessing PROs as outcomes for clinical trials, pharmacogenomics implementation, and genetic counseling education and processes, as well as utilizing digital health technologies to improve clinical care, genetic counseling, patient reporting, trial efficacy, and outcomes. Her work has been instrumental in characterizing health-related quality of life in rare disorders and

designing patient-centered clinical trials, which have resulted in FDA approval of several drugs. Beyond her research, Dr. Naik is involved in several professional organizations, including serving on the board of a patient advocacy group, the United Porphyrias Association. She is also the Deputy Editor of the Journal of Genetic Counseling, the only journal dedicated solely to advancing research in this field.

Strategic Initiative Abstract:  Elevating the Future of Genetic Counseling Research

Background: The era of genomics and precision medicine has arrived, though translation to the bedside has faced challenges, including a lack of broad provider knowledge and education, and research to support the development of evidence-based implementation strategies. Effective implementation requires robust research and broad collaboration across multiple clinical service lines. Genetic counselors (GCs) are well poised to help address this gap and advance genomic medicine, but additional infrastructure is needed to realize this possibility. 

Genetic counseling is the process of helping people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological, and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease. This process integrates interpretation of family and medical histories to assess the chance of disease occurrence or recurrence; education about inheritance, testing, management/treatment, prevention, resources, and research; and counseling to promote informed choices and adaptation. Genetic counseling is a versatile field and an important resource for patients, other healthcare providers, and researchers. Graduate level training programs are generally dense, clinically-focused, and have varying amounts of research training. Although a growing number of GCs participate in research activities (18% nationally in 2023), this number is still relatively small, and not all are equipped to perform rigorous research. Stanford’s genetic counseling clinical services are well established, with ~70 GCs across the adult and children’s hospitals in many clinical specialties (including laboratories). This is one of the largest genetic counseling teams at a single institution in the world. The Stanford MS Program in Human Genetics & Genetic Counseling (SUGC) has a robust clinical research training component; however, there are opportunities to capitalize on the depth and breadth of expertise at Stanford across many Schools and Departments, which has not been fully explored. There is also a growing interest from GCs (both within Stanford and externally) to strengthen their research skills, suggesting that additional training is needed. 

Initiative: In order to realize the potential of precision medicine and continue to innovate, different avenues are necessary to enhance and advance genetic counseling research. Therefore, the aim of this strategic initiative is to leverage the cutting-edge ecosystem at Stanford to create an expanded network that enables more robust genetic counseling research and collaborations to be carried out. This will be achieved through three arms: 1) increasing awareness of genetic counseling and the SUGC program among faculty broadly across schools, institutes, and departments to enable a wider spectrum of research project opportunities for MS genetic counseling students; 2) creating enhanced research training and project opportunities for practicing GCs across SHC and LPCH; and 3) laying the foundation to establish advanced degrees, including a nationally recognized PhD program in genetic counseling at Stanford. The ultimate goal is to create and develop the necessary infrastructure that positions Stanford as a unique genetic counseling research hub. 

Tho Pham, MD

Clinical Associate Professor of Pathology

Dr. Tho Pham is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology. He completed his medical training at UC San Diego, followed by Anatomic andClinical Pathology Residency and Transfusion Medicine Fellowship at Stanford.His administrative duties currently include being the Medical Director of the Stanford Blood Center, the Associate Director of Clinical Pathology, and theMedical Director of Point-of-Care Testing for Stanford Children’s Hospital. Other administrative roles he’s held in the past include being the Medical Informatics Director for Clinical Pathology in 2021-2022.

He is interested using patient and lab data to shape appropriate policies and improve quality of care. He has led several collaborative data-driven initiatives over the years with computer scientists and statisticians within the University, as well as with administrative and quality leaders within SHC. In transfusion medicine, he has helped stabilize the blood supply by anticipating patient demand and optimizing inventory levels at both the blood center and hospital sides, especially with universal products. At the blood center, he developed methods to understand how on-line ads affect donor behavior. In the clinical labs, he has led efforts to reduce low-value lab testing by decreasing inappropriate repetitive testing and unnecessary phlebotomies, both at SHC and SHC Tri-Valley. He continues to explore pragmatic ways to implement effective methodologies in the laboratory and clinical settings for better patient outcome and higher quality care

Outside of work, he whole-heartedly enjoys debating (unsuccessfully) his 6-year-old daughter and wife of 15 years, sometimes at once. He enjoys long (by lay standard) solo runs out near the bay and bike- commuting to work on his steel-frame bike; the gratification of both of which is augmented exponentially in the rain. He will eventually find time again to read for pleasure.

Strategic Initiative Abstract: Incorporating Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Capabilities into the Clinical Laboratories to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Low-Value Testing

Clinical laboratory testing is a vital part of practicing medicine. Preventative, diagnostic, and prognostic testing in the right clinical context is highly reliable and guides clinical decision-making. However, perhaps due to their ubiquity and ease of use, this valuable resource is overutilized. Many studies, and our own institutional analyses, have shown that a sizeable proportion of reported lab results do not contribute to clinical care. 

Overutilized laboratory testing is well-documented to have the potential for unintended negative consequences to the patient, clinician, and healthcare system. Patients can suffer from iatrogenic anemia, increased discomfort and disruption associated with multiple blood draws, and decreased overall satisfaction with the healthcare they receive. On the other side, the provider may be distracted from a barrage of irrelevant clinical data and may be forced to follow-up on incidental findings. Lastly, overutilization can be a burden on the healthcare system itself as it can increase the cost of healthcare, as well as allocate limited staff and supply resources to perform unneeded testing. These facts in combination with the current supply chain shortages of the blood collection tubes and blood culture bottles have painfully demonstrated that lab testing stewardship is critical to patient care.   

Our strategic initiative will incorporate artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) into the clinical laboratory to guide providers away from ordering low-value or clinically inappropriate tests. This requires a multi-pronged approach that involves leveraging electronic health record decisions support tools to guide physicians towards selecting the most appropriate – and avoiding the inappropriate— tests for individual patients. We will implement these changes incrementally over the course of the project, with the first being focused on high-volume daily labs. Using lessons learned from that we will extend to more complicated clinical scenarios throughout the laboratory, including blood culturing ordering with the goal of reducing unneeded cultures to preserve culture bottles during this severe global shortage. The long-term goal is to create a robust pathway for various sections of the clinical laboratory to leverage institutional AI/ML capabilities into clinical care. 

Stanley Qi, PhD

Associate Professor of Bioengineering 

Dr. Stanley Qi is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering and Sarafan ChEM-H Faculty Scholar at Stanford University.  He is a distinguished pioneer in CRISPR technology for genome engineering, internationally recognized for his groundbreaking contributions. He has played an essential role in the invention of the nuclease-dead dCas system and has advancedCRISPR tools that extend genome engineering beyond DNA editing. His research focuses on developing epigenetic editing tools, aiming to facilitate safer and more precise gene therapies for treating cancers and genetic disorders affecting the muscle and brain.

Dr. Qi earned his B.S. in Physics and Math from Tsinghua University, China, and his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, working with Dr. Adam Arkin and Dr. Jennifer Doudna. Bypassing postdoctoral training, he assumed the role of Systems Biology Faculty Fellow at UCSF, where he led an independent research team. In 2014, he joined the tenure-track faculty ofBioengineering at Stanford University, with joint appointments as an institute scholar at Sarafan ChEM-H. Since 2021, he has been an investigator at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub.

Dr. Qi's scholarly output includes over 100 research articles. His innovative work and dedicated service have earned him awards including the NIH Director's Early Independence Award, Pew Biomedical Scholar, Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, the NSF CAREER Award, Blavatnik Life Science Fellow, and the NIH Director's Pioneer Award.

He serves on the editorial boards of Science magazine, CRISPR Journal, and Cell Reports Methods, and on the scientific advisory boards of the NIH Center for Genome Editing and Recording and several biotechnology companies. Dr. Qi has been on the organizer committee for many conferences, including SEED (Synthetic Engineering, Evolution & Design) and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Conference on the Revolution of CRISPR-Cas.

Strategic Initiative Abstract: Cultivating Leadership in Translational Synthetic Biology for Therapeutics

For my strategic initiative, I aim to address the critical need for translating synthetic biology innovations into real-world therapeutics. Synthetic biology is an emerging discipline, which is crucial in addressing the many barriers faced by modern medicine and pharma, by enabling the design and creation of biological systems for therapeutic purposes. This field holds the potential to revolutionize treatments, scale up biomanufacturer, and make drug development more effective, intelligent, and personalized.

Stanford has a rich history of bridging medicine, innovation, and real-world application. The School of Medicine boasts excellent researchers, clinicians, and renowned PhD and MD education programs. Stanford’s strong innovation culture has led to the creation of numerous tech companies, especially in semiconductors and healthcare. Despite this, significant challenges remain in translating synthetic biology, including biomolecules and designer cells to address real-world problems faced by medicine. 

The major barrier lies in the need for multidisciplinary expertise: synthetic biology and medicine knowledge, regulatory understanding, connections with entrepreneurs and investors, and leadership opportunities. Recognizing this, my initiative focuses on the first phase of a larger center dedicated to Translational Synthetic Biology for Therapeutics. This initiative emphasizes cultivating leadership among senior graduate students in bridging synthetic biology with medical applications.

Over the next 18 months, the strategic initiative will:

1. Assemble a group of students from medicine, bioengineering, and potentially business to foster interdisciplinary communication.
2. Encourage students to work in teams to identify real-world medicine problems and propose innovative synthetic biology solutions.
3. Connect them with internal mentors (e.g., faculty or clinicians) and external advisors (e.g, investors and entrepreneurs), via the format of coffee chats, symposiums, or workshops.
4. Assess the program’s effectiveness at 6, 12, and 18 months, collect feedback, and refine the scope and workflow as needed.

The expected outcome is a well-defined program that trains graduate students to bridge synthetic biology with medical needs, equipping them with the necessary resources to incubate ideas and develop leadership skills. This initiative aims to harness Stanford’s strategic advantages in these areas to achieve transformative progress in Precision Health and Wellness.

Fátima Rodriguez, MD, MPH

Associate Professor of Medicine

Section Chief of Preventive Cardiology in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine

Fátima Rodriguez, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Section Chief of Preventive Cardiology in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, and the Associate Director of the Center for Digital Health (health equity). Dr. Rodriguez earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and herMPH from the Harvard School of Public Health as a Zuckerman Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership. She then completed internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a fellowship in cardiology at Stanford before joining the faculty in 2017.

Dr. Rodriguez’s research interests include a range of topics relating to racial and ethnic disparities in guideline adherence, personalizing cardiovascular disease risk prediction and prevention, and leveraging digital health tools to improve the care of diverse patients. Her research group, the HEART (Health Equity Advancement through Research and Technology) lab, emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to solving health inequities by building research collaborations with broad scientific input and stakeholders and includes over 25 active trainees. She has authored over 230 peer-reviewed publications and received numerous research accolades including the 2022 American College of Cardiology’s Douglas P. Zipes Distinguished Young Scientist Award, Stanford University’s Alderman Award for Excellence in Clinical Research, the Department of Medicine Chair Diversity Investigator Award, and the Internal MedicineResidency Research Mentor Award.

Her work is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the American Heart Association, and the Doris Duke Foundation. Dr. Rodriguez is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the American Society of Preventive Cardiology. She serves as the Co- Chair of the National Minority Health Alliance and is a member of the American Heart Association’s Scientific Publishing Committee.

Dr. Rodriguez lives in Menlo Park with her husband (a pediatric anesthesiologist at LPCH), 3 spirited children, and the family pet, a hungry venus flytrap.

Strategic Initiative Abstract: Artificial Intelligence for Health Equity in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: The Stanford iCAC Program

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for men and women worldwide, yet it remains widely underrecognized, underdiagnosed, and undertreated. CVD is readily preventable through the early identification and treatment of those at high risk. This is the promise of precision health – personalized prediction and prevention of disease before it occurs. 

Annually, nearly 20 million chest CT scans are performed for reasons unrelated to cardiovascular risk assessment. These scans contain valuable information about future, preventable cardiovascular risk. Our research has demonstrated that coronary artery calcium (calcified plaque in the heart arteries, CAC) can be accurately quantified in non-gated chest CTs using artificial intelligence (AI). This quantification reliably predicts future heart attacks, strokes, and deaths across diverse populations. At Stanford, we found that about 50% of patients who undergo non-gated chest CT scans without a history of cardiovascular disease have CAC, and these patients are more likely to be women, Hispanic, Black, and speak a language other than English. We found that notifying patients and their doctors about incidental CAC with a personalized image significantly increases the initiation of preventive therapies (e.g., statin therapy). After 18 months, these AI-enabled interventions have led to sustained adherence to statins and high patient satisfaction. 

However, several barriers impede the broad clinical application of this opportunistic screening approach. These include integration with radiology workflows and ensuring timely clinical follow-up for patients identified as high-risk who would benefit from preventive therapies. To address these challenges, we propose establishing the Stanford iCAC program, a preventive cardiology-led virtual program aimed at increasing clinical access for patients who may not have a primary care physician within the health system. This clinic will adopt a personalized approach to cardiometabolic risk reduction, incorporating both lifestyle management and pharmacotherapy. The workflow will involve collaboration among clinical, operational, and research teams and require iterative approaches for optimization, scalability, and extension to other imaging modalities and technological advancements.

Gayathri Srinivasan, OD, MS

Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Dr. Srinivasan received her Doctor of Optometry degree from the New England College of Optometry (NECO) in 2011 and completed a residency in pediatric optometry from NECO in 2012. After serving as a tenured faculty member at NECO until 2022, she joined Stanford Department of Ophthalmology as a Clinical Associate Professor in the fall of 2022. Her clinical expertise is in the management of refractive errors, amblyopia, and strabismus in children, and management of post-concussive vision disorders in children and adults. She leads the Neuro-optometric rehabilitation service at the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University and is a pediatric optometrist at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital. She is a member of the Vision Development and Oculomotor Lab headed by Dr. Tawna Roberts and serves as an active clinical investigator in several observational studies involving amblyopia and post-concussive vision disorders. She is also an active investigator within the NIH/NEI-funded Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group and leads the Pediatrics and Strabismus Workgroup within the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) Network. She is a fellow at the American Academy of Optometry and serves as an admittance committee member

Strategic Initiative Abstract: Establishing a care delivery pathway for visual neurorehabilitation service in adults with post-concussive syndrome

Background: 

Concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) occurs due to a disruption in the normal function of the brain caused either by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury. Vision disturbances are common during the recovery period, and at least one vision disorder is seen in 40-70% of adolescent children with concussion one-week post-injury. Persistent symptoms are seen in about a third of patients several weeks after the injury. Treatment of vision disorders includes management of uncorrected refractive error, prisms for double vision, and visual-neurorehabilitation for dysfunctions in binocular vision and higher-order visual processing. Since vision disorders often co-exist with other system involvement, the care model is multi-disciplinary in nature. 

Current Challenges:

Patients with vision disturbances are often referred to eye care by other specialties, such as the emergency department, internal medicine, sports medicine, neurology, and neurosurgery. A significant challenge in identifying the right time for referral is the lack of natural history of vision disorders in adults. Additionally, the evidence supporting current treatment strategies is retrospective in nature. While these challenges highlight the lack of evidence-based care, they also highlight the opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborations to further clinical research. 

From the patients’ perspective, navigating the landscape of the healthcare system across different specialties while living with the disabilities caused by concussion can be challenging. Often, patients are not aware of the existence of different care teams and, hence, are unable to advocate for services. 

Goals:

1. Understand the current screening strategies and referral patterns utilized by different specialties for referral to eye care services.
2. Identify opportunities for increasing awareness across specialties about eye care services for patients with persistent post-concussive vision disturbances.
3. Initiate interdisciplinary collaboration to advance key questions in managing post-concussive vision disorders.
4. Explore collaboration with community partners to increase patient/public awareness about the evaluation and management of post-concussive vision disorders.

José G. Vilches-Moure, DVM, PhD, DACVP

Assistant Professor of Comparative Medicine 

Dr. José G. Vilches-Moure, DVM, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He received his DVM degree from Purdue University, and completed his residency training in Anatomic Pathology (with emphasis in pathology of laboratory animal species) and his PhD in ComparativePathology at the University of California-Davis. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP).

Dr. Vilches-Moure joined Stanford in 2015, is the founder and current Faculty Director for Comparative and Experimental Pathology Post-doctoral Fellowship, the current Faculty Director of the Master of Laboratory Animal Science (MLAS) Graduate Program, and is the past Director of the Animal Histology Services (AHS; 2015-2022).

His collaborative research interests include refinement of animal models of human disease, cancer biology and early cancer detection techniques, cardiac development and pathology, developmental pathology, and host-pathogen interactions. His teaching interests include comparative anatomy/histology, general pathology, comparative pathology, and pathology of laboratory animal species.

Dr. Vilches-Moure is passionate about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace, in educational settings, and in his specialty field as a whole. He previously chaired the Stanford Medicine Diversity Cabinet’s LGBTQ+ Subcommittee (2020-2022), is the co-founder and past co-chair of this departmental Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee (2020-2022), and is the co-founder and immediate past co-chair of the ACVP’s DEI Committee (2019-2023).

He grew up in Puerto Rico and currently lives in San Francisco. He enjoys making vegan meals and hosting game nights for his friends, hiking (especially Mt. Tamalpais), and watching stand-up comedy.

Strategic Initiative Abstract: Graduate group director/coordinator network & resource group

This Strategic Initiative is aimed at creating a coalition of graduate group faculty directors from different departments across the School of Medicine to serve as a peer advisory network and resource group. As needed, this network would solicit input from the Office of Graduate Education (OGE), the Graduate Life Office (GLO), and the Office of General Counsel (OGC).

The goals include, but are not limited to:

1. Creating a community of graduate program directors and student service officers from various departments across the School of Medicine
2. Providing a space to share individual issues encountered and receive advice and feedback from peers
3. Sharing department-specific policies and practices on various aspects that relate to graduate students (including outreach, admissions, retention, support services, program requirements, and approaches to disciplinary actions)
4. Drafting (when deemed appropriate) agreed-upon recommendations, practices, and policies to ensure a baseline consistent scaffolding across different departments, while allowing for department-specific flexibility and variation in operational needs

This network will allow faculty from diverse departments and backgrounds to share experiences in their roles as graduate program directors. As such, it will allow for exposure to diverse disciplines and points of view when sharing and discussing topics around graduate program leadership.

This proposed network will meet quarterly for the 2024-2025 year:

• Meeting 1: the launching meeting will be group discussion-based, will focus on challenges that graduate group faculty directors have identified & submitted prior to the event, and will allow for providing and receiving advice and feedback
• Meeting 2: this meeting will be a chance to report out (as individuals feel comfortable) on progress made on challenges previously identified and the steps taken
• Meeting 3: this meeting will serve to share experiences & insights gained as a result of the network, and to assess the future continuity of the network

An email list may be developed for the network as a way for network members to informally share resources, updates, etc.