Skip to main content

Department Wellness Directors

Since 2015, a growing group of physicians committed to physician wellness has been meeting.  With the growing recognition of the importance of these physician perspectives, and in order to align with national recommendations for best physician wellness practices, UC San Diego formalized the role descriptions for Department Wellness Director.

The Department Wellness Directors of 18 clinical departments in the School of Medicine and CommUnity Care are responsible for developing a plan for physician wellness that addresses that department’s culture, wellness needs and goals. 

The Department Wellness Directors participate in a monthly committee that meets for collaborative discussion, planning, and alignent on wellness initiatives across departments. This committee is chaired by Dr. Joe Diaz, Department of Medicine DWD. 

The following individuals now serve in a formal capacity as Department Wellness Directors, listed alphabetically by Department:

Anesthesiology

  • Minh Tran, MD

    Minh Tran, MD

    Dr. Minh Hai Tran is a Neuroanesthesiologist and the Wellness Director for the anesthesiology department at UCSD. She obtained her medical degree with honors at the University of Sydney Australia, is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand Royal College of Anaethetists (FANZCA), Fellowship at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge United Kingdom, and is board certified from the American Board of Anesthesiologists (ABA). She joined UCSD in 2014 for an Internal Medicine internship followed by anesthesia residency and has been on faculty since 2018. She is passionate to support effective communication and system improvements that will provide a workplace environment that grows and meets the needs of physicians. She is an avid traveler, with a love of food, wine and dance.

    UC San Diego Department of Anesthesiology

CommUnity Care

  • Michele Kowalski-McGraw, MD

    Michele Kowalski-McGraw, MD

    Dr. Michele Kowalski-McGraw has extensive experience in Occupational Medicine in multiple health systems and is dually certified in Family Medicine and Occupational Medicine. Through her practice in occupational medicine, she studies how environmental factors shape health and customizes solutions to promote wellness. As Lead Physician in Occupational Medicine in the Community Care Dept., she is working to bridge Occupational Medicine and Primary Care. Her most recent project is development of CDC’s Occupational Data for Health, which will facilitate communication about work between patients and their providers to be used for improved individual patient care and population health. She is also a recent graduate of the UCSD Sanford Compassionate Communication Academy Fellowship.

    Before joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. Kowalski-McGraw was the system medical director of Occupational Medicine/Employee Health at Geisinger Health. She was also associate medical director of Occupational Medicine at Lehigh Valley Health and adjunct professor, Department of Clinical Sciences at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, where her focus was on teaching primary care communication skills to students.

    Dr. Kowalski-McGraw completed her residency in occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and in family medicine at UM Prince Georges Hospital Center. She earned her medical degree from Temple University and a master's degree in public health from the University Of Massachusetts Amherst.

    She is a fellow and active member of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and has spoken on topics such as health informatics, fitness for duty with respect to use of opioid and benzodiazepine medication use, prevention of blood borne pathogen exposure, and stress management. She serves on the executive team of the ACOEM Council on External Relations and Communications. She pursues her passion for prevention through research, program development and education to patients, students, coworkers and friends.

Dermatology

  • Brianne Daniels, DO

    Brianne Daniels, DO

    Brianne Daniels, DO, is a Staff Physician in the UCSD Department of Dermatology specializing in Dermatopathology. She believes physician and care-giver well-being is mission critical for excellent patient care. She has pursued multiple avenues of additional training to help her better contribute to wellness endeavors, including her work as a life coach as well as the Stanford Well MD/Well PhD Wellness Director's Course. She contributes to the annual Dermatology Department Faculty Retreat and ongoing departmental wellness initiatives. Dr. Daniels is looking forward to working collaboratively within UCSD as well as the greater UC system, and beyond, to bring forth effective and efficient wellness interventions for all students, staff, and faculty. As a native Californian and product of the UC education system, she cherishes the opportunity to contribute and innovate in this space.

    UC San Diego Department of Dermatology

Emergency Medicine

  • Alicia B. Minns, MD

    Alicia B. Minns, MD

    I have been a member of the UCSD Department of Emergency Medicine since 2004. I completed my residency in Emergency Medicine at UCSD in 2008, and a fellowship in Medical Toxicology at UCSD in 2010. I have been academic faculty since the completion of my training. In my role as an emergency physician and as a consultant in medical toxicology, I interact with almost all departments and divisions within the health system. I have served as fellowship director for Medical Toxicology since 2013.  I am originally from Detroit, Michigan. My undergraduate education is from University of Michigan, and medical school education from Tufts Medical School.

    UC San Diego Department of Emergency Medicine

  • Rachna Subramony, MD

    Rachna Subramony, MD

    Dr. Rachna Subramony is currently a full-time physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UCSD. She is passionate about clinical medicine, Emergency Ultrasound, medical student education, and physician well-being. She serves as the Wellness Co-Director for the Emergency Department. Her goal is to promote the professional fulfillment, resilience, and well-being of the faculty by utilizing discussion groups and creating a culture of respect and open bidirectional communication. She hopes to conduct further research in physician well-being to help identify root causes of burnout and pursue change. To prioritize safe patient care and help all our physicians perform optimally, she also serves on the Medical Staff Physician Well-Being Committee with the goal of early interventions and providing appropriate resources for treatment, rehabilitation, and monitoring for physicians struggling with medical, cognitive, mental health or substance abuse that could be a threat to providing quality patient care. To promote patient safety and attainment of the highest quality of clinical care, she also serves as a Physician Enhancement Program (PEP) mentor and has received training in peer support and have been recognized as a Tier 2 Peer Supporter to help serve and maintain the health and wellness of our UCSD family. 

    UC San Diego Department of Emergency Medicine

Family Medicine

  • Chad Osborne, MD

    Chad Osborne, MD

    Chad Osborne, MD, is a board-certified family medicine doctor at La Jolla Family and Sports Medicine. He provides primary care for children and teens as well as younger and older adults, including preventive care and treatment of acute and chronic diseases. Dr. Osborne enjoys talking to patients about preventive medicine, a healthy diet, good sleep, self health monitoring,  and exercise. He has special interest in sports and musculoskeletal medicine, sleep medicine, and medical informatics. His wellness focus is on improving usability and provider efficiency in the electronic medical record as well as optimizing workflows in the clinical environment to best suit the needs of patients, physicians, and staff. He also has goals of improving collaboration and communication between primary care and specialty departments. He currently serves as the EMR (Epic) champion for the department of Family Medicine. 

    As an Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Dr. Osborne is highly involved in training medical students and residents at UC San Diego School of Medicine. He earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from San Diego State University and his medical degree at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Dr. Osborne completed his residency training at the Mount Carmel Family Medicine Residency Program in Columbus, Ohio. Prior to joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. Osborne practiced medicine and served as an assistant residency program director at a community hospital in Ohio.

    Dr. Osborne's interests outside of work include surfing, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, racquetball, squash, basketball, as well as playing in a band and riding dirt bikes with his twin boys. 

    UC San Diego Department of Family Medicine

Medicine

  • Arthi Balu, MD

    Arthi Balu, MD

    Arthi Balu received her MD at UC San Diego where she also completed her Internal Medicine Residency.   She is board certified in Internal Medicine and is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine (GIM).  She is involved in medical education; mentoring and precepting both clincial and pre-clinical medical students and supervising residents in the Internal Medicine residency program.   Clinically she provides comprehensive adult primary care and has particular interests in preventative health and Women's health.  
     
    Dr Balu has been serving as the Co-Director for Wellness in GIM since 2019 and is excited to be expanding that role to serve the entire Department of Medicine and its nearly 600 faculty members.  She is passionate about rooting out the underlying causes of physician burnout and working for systemic change that will jointly support physician well-being and the efficacy and sustainability of health systems as a whole.   Along with her co-Director, Dr. Diaz, Dr. Balu has presented workshops and posters related to Physician Wellness at the American Conference of Physician Health and the International Conference of Physician Health.
  • Joe Diaz, MD (DWD Committee Chair)

    Joe Diaz, MD (DWD Committee Chair)

    Joseph Diaz grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and received his MD from UT Health San Antonio in May 2015. He completed his internal medicine residency training at UCSD in June 2019 and is board certified in internal medicine. He is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor in the division of General Internal Medicine; associate medical director for the UCSD UPC primary care clinic site in La Jolla; and wellness committee co-director for the division of General Internal Medicine and the Department of Medicine. His interests include providing high quality care in the primary care setting; teaching medical students and residents; and devising ways to mitigate provider burnout. Outside of work, he enjoys ocean swimming, surfing, playing soccer, running around beautiful San Diego, and has an inexplicable fascination with Napoleonic era geopolitics.

    UC San Diego Department of Medicine

Neurological Surgery

  • Martin Pham, MD

    Martin Pham, MD

    Martin H. Pham, MD, is a board-certified neurosurgeon who focuses on the neurosurgical evaluation and treatment of spinal disorders. This includes adult scoliosis and spinal deformity, complex spinal reconstruction, robotic and minimally invasive spine surgery, motion preservation of the spine, spine tumors, and spine trauma.

    As an assistant professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery, he leads the neurosurgery visiting student clerkship as course director and serves as a mentor for the master clinician program in surgery. In these roles, Dr. Pham teaches medical students, neurosurgical residents, and spine fellows at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.

    He is published extensively within the field of spinal conditions and has an active interest in the development of minimally invasive surgical techniques with robotics platforms to advance safer evidence-based spine care. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed research publications, abstracts, and textbook chapters, and has presented his work at the national and international level.

    Dr. Pham completed a fellowship in robotic, spinal deformity, and motion preservation surgery at Columbia University's New York-Presbyterian Daniel and Jane Och Spine Hospital. He also enfolded a fellowship in minimally invasive and complex spinal surgery at Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California (USC), where he completed his residency in neurological surgery. Having completed spine fellowship training with both neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Pham has a comprehensive understanding of the spine that allows him to tailor his treatment to each individual using a wide range of available surgical and nonsurgical options.

    He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the North American Spine Society, and AOSpine North America. Additionally, he serves on the National Spine Health Foundation's Medical and Scientific Advisory Board.

    UC San Diego Department of Neurological Surgery

Neurosciences

  • Natalie Guido-Estrada, MD

    Natalie Guido-Estrada, MD

    Dr. Natalie Guido-Estrada is a neurologist at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego and an associate clinical professor in the department of neurosciences at UC San Diego. She serves on the Doctor Wellness committee at Rady Children's Hospital and is the Wellness Director for the Department of Neurosciences at UCSD.  Dr. Guido-Estrada is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with special qualifications in child neurology. She is also certified by the United Council for Neurological Subspecialities in Headache Medicine. Dr. Guido-Estrada received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her medical training at UC Davis. She completed her pediatric neurology residency at Phoenix Children's Hospital and her pediatric neurology fellowship at The Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital.

    Dr. Guido-Estrada practices as a general child neurologist, providing care for a variety of neurological disorders in both the hospital and clinic settings. Additionally, she specializes in treating complex headache patients and has a procedure clinic at Rady Children's for Botox injections for the treatment of chronic migraines. She is the co-director of the Rett Syndrome Multidisciplinary Clinic and also serves as the Neurology Division Education Liaison. Dr. Guido-Estrada is active in the curriculum creation and clinical teaching for UC San Diego medical students, visiting medical students and other medical specialty residents and fellows who complete rotations in neurology. She is a member of the Child Neurology Society, the American Academy of Neurology and the International and American Headaches Societies.

    UC San Diego Department of Neurosciences

Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences

Ophthalmology

  • Catherine Liu, MD, PhD

    Catherine Liu, MD, PhD

    Catherine Y. Liu, M.D., Ph.D., is a board-certified ophthalmologist who specializes in reconstructive and cosmetic surgery of the face, with special emphasis on the eyelid and periorbital region. She is one of a select number of surgeons worldwide to have completed an American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) fellowship, with specialty training on the reconstruction of the eyelid, orbit, and lacrimal system.

    Dr. Liu completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania. She then earned an M.D. and Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. After a transitional year internship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, she completed her ophthalmology residency at the University of California, Irvine. She then completed her specialty training in oculofacial plastic surgery at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary.

    Dr. Liu is dedicated to treating patients with aging changes affecting the eyelid, tumors of the eyelid and orbit, tearing, and complex conditions that require reconstruction. In addition to her clinical interests, Dr. Liu is an active researcher and has contributed numerous articles and chapters to peer-reviewed journals and textbooks on oculofacial surgery. In addition, she actively works to promote physician well-being, which is integral to optimal patient care, and is a Wellness Co-director for the department of Ophthalmology.
  • David Granet, MD

    David Granet, MD

    David B. Granet, M.D. MHCM FACS FAAP is the Anne F. Ratner Professor of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics, Vice Chair of the Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology at UC San Diego where he is the Director of the Abraham Ratner Children’s Eye Center at the Shiley Eye Institute.  The author of over 170 articles and book chapters, he is the founder of the International Pediatric-Ophthalmology Internet discussion group, a past Chair of the Section on Ophthalmology for the American Academy of Pediatrics and co-editor of their book on Ophthalmology for the Pediatrician.  He has run a fellowship training program for both North American and International trainees for over 20 years and currently serves as a Program Advisor for the UC Irvine Customer Experience Course.

    Dr. Granet is a graduate of the Yale University School of Medicine where he was a President of his class. He selected New York University Medical Center for his residency in ophthalmology where he served as a chief resident.  Dr. Granet subsequently completed a special two-year fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology and ocular motility disorders at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  He also completed a Master’s degree in Health Care Management at Harvard University.

    Dr. Granet has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and the Senior Achievement Award from the Academy of Ophthalmology.  Granet was awarded the Innovation Prize from the Swiss Academy of Ophthalmology for the work he did co- founding the World Society of Paediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus.  He has been voted perennially by his peers into Top Doctors, and US News Best Doctors of America. In 2019 he was named on the Ophthalmologists “Top 50 Power List” as a Champion of Change.   Dr. Granet resides in San Diego with his wife, where they have raised 3 sons; Elijah, Isaiah and Ezra (as well as their dog Messi).

Orthopaedic Surgery

  • Bryan Leek, MD

    Bryan Leek, MD

    Bryan Leek, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in Sports Medicine and Upper Extremity Surgery, completing fellowships in both these disciplines.  He splits his time between a busy clinical practice and working as a team physician for the San Diego Padres and UC San Diego Athletic Department.  Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his wife, two children, and dog and enjoys running, surfing, and travel.

  • Kenneth Vitale, MD

    Kenneth Vitale, MD

    Kenneth Vitale MD, FACSM, FAAPMR, CAQSM is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at University of California San Diego School of Medicine. He is board-certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and has subspecialty certification in Sports Medicine. Dr. Vitale is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, and the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. He has served on the Medical Education Committee for the American College of Sports Medicine and served on the board of directors for the American College of Sports Medicine, Southwest Regional Chapter. He completed his PM&R residency at NYU Langone Medical Center and the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. He received his medical degree from NYU School of Medicine and graduated summa cum laude in Biology from Rutgers University.

Otolaryngology

  • Anthony Magit, MD

    Anthony Magit, MD

    Anthony Magit is a Clinical Professor of Otolaryngology and the Medical Director for the UCSD Office of IRB Administration. Dr. Magit specializes in Pediatric Otolaryngology, having graduated the UCSD School of Medicine prior to completing his residency at Duke University and a fellowship in Pediatric Otolaryngology at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Dr. Magit joined the UCSD faculty in 1992 and has served as the Rady Hospital Chief of Staff and the Director of the UCSD Human Research Protections Program. He academic interests include telemedicine, research ethics and clinical ethics. He is currently the Chair of the Rady Children’s Hospital Physician Well Being Committee. Dr. Magit’s interests outside of work include hiking and traveling with his wife, as well as spending time with his two grown children and granddaughter.

    UC San Diego Department of Otolaryngology

Pathology

  • Farnaz Hasteh, MD

    Farnaz Hasteh, MD

    I have been working at the UCSD pathology department for 15 years now and I am truly grateful for having had the opportunity to serve our patients and teach and mentor the next generation of doctors and pathologists. As someone who has always been health-minded and cares about the wellbeing of my colleagues, I was selected as the new wellness ambassador/director on behalf of the Department of Pathology. I have initiated multiple projects to not only make the work area more pleasant but also to do my part in helping to reduce the causes of physician burnout.

    UC San Diego Department of Pathology

Pediatrics

  • Ami Doshi, MD

    Ami Doshi, MD

    Dr. Ami Doshi is a palliative medicine physician and pediatric hospitalist at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego. She serves as Vice Chair for Faculty Development and the Well-Being Director for the Department of Pediatrics, in which she is Clinical Professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine.

    Dr. Doshi is actively involved with the education and mentorship of pediatric fellows and residents from UC San Diego and the Navy Medical Center San Diego as well UC San Diego medical students. Her academic interests are in palliative medicine, communication, and physician well-being. She has created and disseminated curricula for trainees and attending physicians to foster primary palliative care and communication skills, and to promote compassion in medical students and continues to find joy in teaching compassionate communication and applying these skills to her clinical and faculty development work.

    After earning her undergraduate degree in psychobiology at the University of Southern California, Dr. Doshi completed her medical training at University of California, Irvine and continued her pediatric residency at UC San Diego, where she completed her pediatric hospital medicine fellowship. She completed her palliative medicine training through Harvard School of Medicine’s Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice. She was formerly the inaugural Galinson Family Endowed Chair in Palliative Care and is a recipient of the Doris A Howell Award for Advancing Palliative Care.

    She is motivated by empowering her patients, colleagues and trainees to grow, thrive, and fulfill their potential and live their best life.

    UC San Diego Department of Pediatrics

Psychiatry

  • Savita Bhakta, MD

    Savita Bhakta, MD

    A board-certified Psychiatrist, she has been a faculty member at the UC San Diego School of Medicine since 2015, working in DOP as an Associate Clinical Professor. She served at the UC San Diego School of Medicine as the Clinical Foundations Co-Director representing the Department of Psychiatry from 2017-2021. She is currently the Interim Medical Director of the UC San Diego Health's College Mental Health Program (CMHP) which provides comprehensive mental health care for UC San Diego college students.

    She earned her medical degree and completed her psychiatry residency at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital (LTMMC & GH) in Mumbai, India, before moving to Yale University, New Haven for a postdoctoral research fellowship. She then completed her psychiatry residency training at Northwell Health/Hofstra University-Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y., before moving to San Diego for a Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) fellowship at the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

    Her clinical work now focuses on using mindfulness and yoga, in addition to psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy to empower her patients to achieve their optimal health. During her term as the Clinical Foundations Co-Director, she developed resilience-building and mindfulness curricula for first and second-year medical students. She trained the Practice of Medicine faculty to facilitate mindfulness and promote resilience among medical students in collaboration with the UCSD Mindfulness Center and the Sanford Institute. She has led team-building activities and conducted Professional development seminars for teaching faculty including case discussions to promote empathy and improve communication and active listening. She was impressed by the mindfulness practices in managing stress and became a certified Yoga teacher in 2019.

    UC San Diego Department of Psychiatry

Radiation Medicine & Applied Sciences

  • Jona Hattangadi-Gluth, MD

    Jona Hattangadi-Gluth, MD

    Jona Hattangadi-Gluth, MD, is a board-certified radiation oncologist who specializes in treating primary and metastatic brain tumors, as well as breast cancer. As a radiation oncologist, she uses high doses of radiation energy to destroy or damage cancer cells. Her expertise includes stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

    Dr. Hattangadi-Gluth is chief of the Central Nervous System Tumor Service and a co-leader of the Central Nervous System Disease Team at Moores Cancer Center.

    A Professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Hattangadi-Gluth is the Deputy Director of the Center for Precision Radiation Medicine. She is actively involved in research to improve the efficacy and safety of radiation therapy for brain tumors. Specifically, her research lab focuses on developing novel imaging tools to improve radiation oncology treatments and using functional and quantitative MRI to measure response to radiation in cancer patients.

    Dr. Hattangadi-Gluth completed residency training in radiation oncology and earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She also completed research training in breast oncology and imaging at UC San Francisco as a Doris Duke research fellow. She was also a Fulbright scholar. Dr. Hattangadi-Gluth is board certified in radiation oncology.

Radiology

  • Sean Tutton, MD, FSIR, FCIRSE

    Sean Tutton, MD, FSIR, FCIRSE

    Sean Tutton, MD, is a board-certified diagnostic and interventional radiologist who specializes in the treatment of cancer and non-cancer related pathologic skeletal fractures. He treats multiple myeloma patients with skeletal fractures and cancer pain patients, as well as sarcoma patients and patients with desmoid tumors and aggressive (desmoid-type) fibromatosis. Dr. Tutton offers palliative interventional therapies, such as minimally invasive treatments for spine and pelvic fractures, which allow patients to achieve their best quality and enjoyment of life while on their cancer journey.

    Prior to joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. Tutton was a professor in the Department of Radiology specializing in interventional radiology and interventional oncology at Medical College of Wisconsin. He is a professor at UC San Diego San Diego School of Medicine Department of Radiology in the division of interventional radiology.

    Dr. Tutton completed his fellowship in vascular and interventional radiology and his residency in diagnostic radiology at Northwestern University in Chicago. He earned his medical degree at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He is board certified in vascular and interventional radiology and palliative care.

    Dr. Tutton is a member of many professional organizations, including the Society of Interventional Radiology, American Medical Association and American College of Radiology, as well as a founding member of the Society of Interventional Oncology. Additionally, he is a fellow in the Society of Interventional Radiology and Cardiovascular of Interventional Radiology Society of Europe.

    Outside of work, Dr. Tutton enjoys family hikes, sailing, snowboarding and all forms of live theater.

Surgery

  • Jennifer Berumen, MD

    Jennifer Berumen, MD

    Dr. Jennifer Berumen is a board-certified general surgeon specializing in abdominal transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery. As an associate clinical professor of surgery at UC San Diego she performs adult and pediatric kidney and liver transplantations along with general surgeries in the transplant population.  She is the director of the living donor kidney program and the surgical director of the pediatric liver and kidney transplant programs at Rady Children's Hospital.

    Dr. Berumen completed her two-year fellowship training in abdominal transplant surgery at Stanford University with a focus on pediatric liver and kidney transplantation and her general surgery residency training at UC San Diego. She earned her medical degree and her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from Tulane University.

    Dr. Berumen is passionate about wellness and serves as an assistant program director in the general surgery residency program where we have implemented several wellbeing programs since starting the program in 2020.

  • Jessica Weaver, MD, PhD

    Jessica Weaver, MD, PhD

    Jessica L. Weaver, MD, PhD, is a board-certified surgeon who cares for people who have experienced traumatic injuries, such as a fall or motor vehicle collision, as well as those requiring elective or emergency surgery for general surgical issues, such as appendicitis, gallstones and hernias. She also provides elective general surgery consultations at the outpatient clinic in Hillcrest medical offices. 

    As an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, Dr. Weaver trains medical students, residents and fellows at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Her research focuses on finding ways to improve care for injured and critically-ill patients, with a particular interest in traumatic brain injury. Her research has helped advance knowledge on the causes of inflammation after brain death.

    Dr. Weaver's work has appeared in medical and research publications, including the American Journal of Surgery, the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, the Journal of Investigative Surgery, and the American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.
    She has won awards recognizing her clinical and academic excellence, including the Star Research Award from the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the Critical Care Award from the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.

    Dr. Weaver completed a fellowship in surgical critical care at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. She completed her residency in general surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Ky., where she earned a PhD in physiology and biophysics. Dr. Weaver holds a medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. She is board certified in general surgery.

Urology

  • Jennifer Anger, MD

    Jennifer Anger, MD

    Jennifer T. Anger, MD, MPH (she/her) is a board-certified female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery expert who has dedicated her career to improving the quality of surgical care for patients with pelvic floor disorders. She is the only physician in San Diego who performs gender affirming pelvic or "bottom" surgery, including vaginoplasty (penile inversion, peritoneal and intestinal), vulvoplasty (zero or shallow depth), metoidioplasty, phalloplasty, and robotic hysterectomy with vaginectomy and non-binary options.

    The field of transgender care is very new, and new surgical and medical treatments have emerged rapidly. Dr. Anger has expertise in providing gender-affirming care to transgender and nonbinary patients and is dedicated to assuring that transgender individuals receive the highest quality, evidenced-based surgical care. She also serves patients who have had surgery previously but need repeat, or revision, surgery.

    Dr. Anger is professor of urology and vice chair of research in the UC San Diego Department of Urology. She leads the new program in gender affirming pelvic surgery and is part of a large multidisciplinary transgender care team which provides comprehensive care for both adults and adolescents.

    Dr. Anger was assistant professor of urology at UCLA until 2010, where she gained expertise in robotic-assisted pelvic floor reconstruction. She then joined the faculty at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to build a new residency program in urology. In 2018 she founded and directed the ACGME-accredited Cedars-Sinai fellowship in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery.

    She received a career development award from the National Institutes of Health to develop and test quality-of-care measures for women with urinary incontinence. This led to a long track record of independent funding in several clinical areas. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Urology Care Foundation. She has published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Her current research focuses on improving the quality of care for transgender individuals, reducing disparities in care, and improving medical and surgical outcomes for transgender adults and adolescents.

    Dr. Anger has largely focused on improving quality of care and access to care for underserved populations, including aging women with pelvic floor disorders. She has also sought to reduce language-related barriers to care for underserved Latinas. She has mentored numerous trainees, including faculty, fellows, residents, medical students, and even high school students. Many of her mentees come from underrepresented backgrounds and have pursued academic careers in urology and female pelvic medicine & reconstructive surgery, and genitourinary reconstruction.

    She is a dual fellowship-trained reconstructive urologist. She spent her first fellowship in urologic reconstruction with Dr. George Webster at Duke University Medical Center. This was followed by a second fellowship in urological health services research, in which she completed a master's degree in public health at UCLA under the mentorship of Dr. Mark Litwin. She completed residency training in urology and surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Anger earned her medical degree from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.

    Dr. Anger is a member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), the American Urological Association (AUA), the Society for Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU), the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS), and the Genitourinary Reconstruction Society (GURS).

    Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three children. She loves Latin dancing and teaches Zumba in her spare time.