The overall mission of the ZSFG Division of Rheumatology is to support and foster educational, clinical, research and service activities that align with the larger goal of improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities for people with rheumatic conditions.
Given our role in the public safety net in San Francisco, our clinical, research, educational and service activities will be organized around the needs of the vulnerable populations in San Francisco and nationally. The ZSFG Division of Rheumatology functions within the context of the three divisions of rheumatology at UCSF, which are collectively ranked in the top 10 such rheumatology divisions by U.S. News and World Report; ZSFG is the epidemiology, outcomes and informatics research hub that completes the integrated vision for the three divisions covering the entire clinical, translational and basic spectrum of research.
Research and Clinical Trials
The research program has three primary focuses:
epidemiology and outcomes of rheumatic diseases and the application of informatics to large databases for quality measurement and improvement in rheumatic diseases (Drs. Yazdany, Gianfrancesco, Anastasiou);
clinical and translational studies of rheumatoid arthritis (Dr. Graf);
additional work seeks to address access to care issues in rheumatology nationally (Drs. Mandal, Margaretten and Yazdany).
Our programs
Quality program and informatics: Dr. Yazdany leads the UCSF Quality and Informatics Lab, an interdisciplinary group of researchers focused on studying and improving outcomes in patients with rheumatic diseases.
RA Program: Dr Graf directs the UCSF RA Cohort, which was launched in 2006 with the aim of expanding clinical and translational studies in RA at UCSF. A clinical trial program is focused on preventing RA in patients with pre-clinical disease, prevention of cardiovascular disease in RA, and new drugs to treat the condition.
Access to Care: Dr. Mandal, together with Drs. Margaretten and Yazdany, is leading the ZSFG Project ECHO initiative, which aims to provide mentoring to primary care physicians on the Navajo Nation.
