School of Medicine
Showing 10,501-10,600 of 12,690 Results
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Sean Paul Spencer, MD,PhD
Instructor, Medicine - Gastroenterology & Hepatology
BioSean Spencer, MD,PhD is a Gastroenterologist and Physician Scientist at Stanford University working with Justin Sonennburg,PhD to uncover the role of dietary intake on the gut microbiome and mucosal immune system. Sean obtained his medical degree University of Pennsylvania, earning his PhD studying nutritional immunology with Yasmine Belkaid,PhD at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), after which he moved to Boston for residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital and completed his Gastroenterology training at Stanford University. Sean’s career goal is to study mechanisms by which dietary intake influences our microbiome and immune system to better understand and treat gastrointestinal disease.
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Victoria "Vicki" Spencer
Adm Assoc 4, Pediatrics - Peds/Critical Care
BioA graduate of Purdue University, Vicki brings over 20 years of executive administrative support experience to her position at Stanford Medicine.
Prior to taking this role, Vicki supported the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Dental Officer for a group of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC). She has also provided executive support to individuals in the field(s) of healthcare, food equity, and pre-clinical drug development.
Her passions are health equity and whole-system integrated care. -
David Spiegel
Jack, Lulu and Sam Willson Professor of Medicine
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Spiegel's research program involves mind/body interactions, including cancer progression, the response to traumatic stress, and the effect of hypnosis on the perception of pain and anxiety.
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Edda Spiekerkoetter
Associate Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Pulmonary Vascular Remodeling
Modulation of BMPR, ENG, ACVRL1 (ALK1), SMAD signaling
Structural and molecular programs governing right ventricular adaptation and failure
Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia
Pulmonary Arteriovenous malformations
Computational Drug Prediction and Repurposing
Deep Tissue Confocal Imaging -
Daniel Spielman
Professor of Radiology (Radiological Sciences Lab) and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research interests are in the field of medical imaging, particularly magnetic resonance imaging and in vivo spectroscopy. Current projects include MRI and MRS at high magnetic fields and metabolic imaging using hyperpolarized 13C-labeled MRS.
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Joshua M. Spin
Clinical Associate Professor, Medicine - Cardiovascular Medicine
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Spin began his research career studying the structural biology of low density lipoprotein, and has been augmenting his skills with intensive training in molecular biology techniques, particularly those involving high-throughput genetic expression profiling. He is especially interested in vascular smooth muscle cells, and the role of smooth muscle differentiation and phenotypic switching in development and vascular disease. His latest work has focused on the biology of aortic aneurysms.
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Alfred M. Spormann
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and of Chemical Engineering, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMetabolism of anaerobic microbes in diseases, bioenergy, and bioremediation
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James Spudich
Douglass M. and Nola Leishman Professor of Cardiovascular Disease, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe general research interest of this laboratory is the molecular basis of cell motility, with a current emphasis on power output by the human heart. We have three specific research interests, the molecular basis of energy transduction that leads to ATP-driven myosin movement on actin, the biochemical basis of the regulation of actin and myosin interaction and their assembly states, and the roles these proteins play in vivo, in cell movement, changes in cell shape and muscle contraction.
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Anirudh Sreekrishnan
Affiliate, Neurology
BioDr. Anirudh Sreekrishnan is a vascular neurology fellow with research interests in quality improvement within acute stroke care, imaging of stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage, and stroke outcomes. He completed his medical education at Yale School of Medicine with a Masters in Health Science and research in intracerebral hemorrhage outcomes. He then pursued his neurology training at Harvard Medical School affiliated with the Mass General Brigham Hospitals in Boston. Dr. Sreekrishnan plans to continue working as an academic neurologist and neurovascular clinician after fellowship.
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Sandy Srinivas
Professor of Medicine (Oncology) and, by courtesy, of Urology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsClinical interests: general oncology, genito-urinary malignancy Research interests: conducting clinical trials in advanced prostate cancer, bladder cancer and renal cell carcinoma
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Gayathri Srinivasan OD, MS
Clinical Associate Professor, Ophthalmology
BioDr. Srinivasan is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University. Her clinical focus is in the management of concussion-related vision disorders. Dr. Srinivasan's research interests are amblyopia, strabismus, and concussion-related vision disorders. She serves as an investigator for ongoing clinical studies in the Vision Development and Oculomotor lab headed by Dr. Tawna Roberts.
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Malathi Srinivasan
Clinical Professor, Medicine - Primary Care and Population Health
BioDr. Srinivasan is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, Associate Director at the Stanford Center for Asian Healthcare Research and Education (Stanford CARE), Director of the Stanford CARE Scholars research program, Director of the Stanford Implementation Sciences Fellowship, Fellow at the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health (CIGH), Board Member for the Stanford Health Professions Education and Scholars (SHaPES, formerly CTSS), and member of the Stanford Teaching and Mentoring Academy (TMA). She is co-Director of the One Health Teaching Scholars Faculty Development Program, an international program focusing on faculty development for health professions education around the world. She is a contributor to CBS-KPIX “Medical Mondays”. Dr. Srinivasan brings her skills as an educator, physician, health services researcher, and entrepreneur to considering how scalable technologies can improve health care. Her work in Virtual Health/telemedicine and new patient engagement models has been published in the NEJM Catalyst – a leading healthcare innovation journal.
Previously, Dr. Srinivasan was a Master Clinical Educator and Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. She was the Senior Associate Editor and Editorial Fellowship Director for the Journal of General Internal Medicine, and was the Kimitaka Kaga Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo at the International Research Center for Medical Education. At UC Davis, Dr. Srinivasan was the Director of Practice Based Learning and Improvement and Medical Director of the Clinical Performance Examination for a decade. She is former President of the California-Hawaii Society of General Internal Medicine, and ex-officio National Council Member for SGIM. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Generalist Physician Faculty Scholar and US Health and Human Service Public Policy Fellow. Dr. Srinivasan has been awarded the California SGIM Educator of the Year Award, Mentor of the Year (California American College of Physicians), and Faculty of the Year (Stanford CARE), and was recognized with the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Education (UC Davis). Her research has focused on two themes. Fist, improving physician competency around clinical decision-making, through Virtual Health, technology-aided education and reflective practice. Second, addressing health disparities for vulnerable populations. She also pursues her interests in the Medical Humanities on the Executive Board of The Pegasus Physician Writers Program at Stanford and as Director of the Medicine, Movement and Dance program within Stanford's medical humanities program, Medicine and the Muse. -
Suhas Srinivasan, Ph.D.
Principal Bioinformatics Scientist, Dermatology
BioI develop computational methods to discover insights at various resolutions of the biological hierarchy i.e., molecules, cells, tissues, organs, organism and population-scale.
In my current role, I lead the bioinformatics efforts for two groups that are pioneers in epigenomics research.
We study tissue development, cancer evolution, and autoimmunity using multiomics, with a focus on the non-coding genome.
I have five years of professional experience in industry and academia, and over eight years of academic research experience.
I received my Ph.D. in Data Science specializing in machine learning development for diverse biomedical problems.
My research interests include artificial intelligence to identify novel patterns in multiomics data, psychometrics and neuroimaging data; structural bioinformatics and computational epidemiology. Additionally, I have conducted research in anomaly detection, and community detection in biological networks.
I am the co-inventor of a patented anomaly detection method for real-time streaming data. -
Aditya Srivatsan
Resident in Graduate Medical Education
BioStanford Neurology Resident, PGY-2
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Diane Stafford
Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Endocrinology and Diabetes
BioDr. Stafford specializes in Pediatric Endocrinology with special interest in disorders of puberty and Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Her research interests include in medical education curriculum development, faculty development and endocrine dysfunction in PWS.
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Randall Stafford
Professor of Medicine (Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAs Director of the SPRC Program on Prevention Outcomes and Practices, my work focuses on cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention, the adoption of new technology and practices, and patterns of physician practice, particularly medication prescribing. Specific interests include measuring and improving the quality of outpatient care, disparities in health care by race, gender, age and socioeconomic status, and interventions to improve prevention outcomes.
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Jeremy Stanek
Clinical Assistant Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery
BioDr. Jeremy Stanek is a sports medicine physiatrist who specializes in performing arts medicine, sports medicine, and musculoskeletal medicine. He enjoys treating musicians, dancers, athletes of all abilities, and anyone who wants to become or stay active. He performs diagnostic ultrasound as well as ultrasound-guided and fluoroscopic-guided procedures.
Dr. Stanek grew up on a small farm near the town of Qulin, Missouri. He received degrees in music performance from the University of Missouri and University of New Mexico and had a career as a professional trumpet player until developing focal dystonia (musicians' dystonia). Wanting to utilize his experience and education as a performer, he chose medicine as his next career. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Medicine then completed his intern year at the Medical College of Wisconsin, followed by advanced residency training in physiatry (physical medicine & rehabilitation) at the University of Missouri. In 2018, Dr. Stanek completed a fellowship in sports medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, where he also was a provider in the Medical Program for Performing Artists, treating members of the St. Louis Ballet and his former colleagues in the St. Louis Symphony and community bands and orchestras. He has also provided coverage for a variety of events such as MMA fights, endurance sports events, and was a team physician for Washington University Athletics.
He conducts research in performing arts medicine and has given numerous conference presentations. Additionally, he enjoys speaking with professional and student musicians/dancers to educate them on arts medicine and avoiding injuries. In his free time, he enjoys working on old cars, baking, and participating in triathlons and other endurance sports. -
Konstantina M. Stankovic, MD, PhD, FACS
Bertarelli Foundation Professor and Professor of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery (OHNS) and, by courtesy, of Neurosurgery
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur investigative efforts are organized along 3 research thrusts:
1. Vestibular schwannoma: uncovering mechanisms of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and identifying better therapies;
2. High-resolution imaging of the inner ear;
3. Novel sensing of and therapies for SNHL.
Given the complex, multifaceted nature of these problems, our approach to them involves domain-specific customization and fusion of tools from molecular biology, systems neuroscience, biotechnology and otologic surgery. -
Donald Stanski
Professor of Anesthesia, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPharmacokinetics and dynamics of anesthetic drugs.
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Nicole Starace
Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development
BioDr. Nicole Starace received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where she worked in the lab of Dr. Aaron T. Beck, the founder of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Her work at Penn sparked her interest in the growing field of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy. She received her MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from UCLA, where she trained under Dr. Bruce Chorpita and conducted research in the field of Dissemination and Implementation of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy. Dr. Starace joined the faculty at Stanford in 2015 where she held appointments as a Clinical Instructor and a Clinical Assistant Professor. She continued to champion evidence based practices in her leadership roles and as a clinical supervisor for trainees in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Starace left Stanford in 2022 when she relocated back the East Coast, but she returned to Stanford as an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor in 2023. Dr. Starace specializes in the treatment of OCD, Anxiety, and Tic Disorders and Parenting for youth with disruptive behavior challenges and anxiety. She works with children, teens, and adults.
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Heather Starmer, MA CCC-SLP, BCS-S
Clinical Professor, Otolaryngology (Head and Neck Surgery)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsHeather’s areas of research interest include investigation of strategies to enhance patient adherence to rehabilitation plans during head and neck cancer treatment, evaluation of communication and swallowing outcomes after Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS), and assessment of voice outcomes after thyroid surgeries.
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Creed Stary
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine (Adult MSD) and, by courtesy, of Ophthalmology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMechanisms promoting neuronal survival following cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury; utilizing microRNA's to target multiple pathways to promote mitochondrial homeostasis and cell survival; anesthetic neurotoxicity; astrocyte-neuronal interaction
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Kristan Staudenmayer, MD, MS, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery (General Surgery)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDefining the Impact of Injuries in the Elderly
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Christopher Stave
Information Services Librarian, School of Medicine - Lane Medical Library
Current Role at StanfordGraduate/Clinical Education Librarian, Lane Medical Library
Library laison to the departments of Graduate Medical Education, Surgery, Pediatrics, and Emergency Medicine. -
Meghan Stawitcke
Fellowships Manager, School of Medicine - MDRP'S - Biodesign Program
Current Role at StanfordI am currently the Fellowships Manager at Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. Prior to this, I was the Education Program Manager in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal & Developmental Medicine, overseeing three clinical fellowships: Neonatology, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, and Clinical Informatics.
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Margaret Stedman
Sr Res Engineer, Medicine - Med/Nephrology
Current Role at StanfordStaff Biostatistician
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Natasha Z. Rabinowitz Steele
Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine
BioInternship & Residency Stanford University School of Medicine
MD, University of Washington
MPH, The George Washington University
BA, Mount Holyoke College -
Melissa Steele-Ogus
Postdoctoral Scholar, Pathology
BioMelissa Steele-Ogus grew up in Berkeley, California. She received a BS in Environmental Sciences and BA in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2012. She earned a PhD in Biology from the University of Washington in 2021, studying the actin cytoskeleton of Giardia lamblia. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, baking, and birdwatching. She may be secretly some sort of weird bug, but probably isn't.
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Kristen K. Steenerson, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology (Head and Neck Surgery)
Clinical Assistant Professor, Neurology & Neurological SciencesBioKristen Steenerson is a board-certified neurologist with fellowship training in otoneurology. After graduating cum laude from Claremont McKenna College where she was honored as an All-American lacrosse defensive player, she continued on to medical school at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. After four years of excellent training and annual ski passes, she proceeded to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona for neurology residency. There, she discovered the beauty of the Sonoran Desert as well as an unmet need in balance disorders and vertigo, motivating her to pursue a fellowship in otoneurology at Barrow Neurological Institute. She joins Stanford with positions in both Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery and Neurology with the goal of jointly addressing the junction of inner ear and brain disorders. Her specific interests include vestibular migraine, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, Ménière's disease and international neurology.
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Marcia L. Stefanick, Ph.D.
Professor (Research) of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center), of Obstetrics and Gynecology and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMarcia L. Stefanick, Ph.D is a Professor of Medicine Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and by courtesy, Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Stefanick’s research focuses on chronic disease prevention (particularly, heart disease, breast cancer, osteoporosis, and dementia) in both women and men. She is currently the Principal Investigator the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Extension Study, having been the PI of the Stanford Clinical Center of the landmark WHI Clinical Trials and Observational Study since 1994 and Chair of the WHI Steering and Executive Committees from 1998-2011, as well as PI of the WHI Strong and Healthy (WHISH) Trial which is testing the hypothesis that a DHHS-based physical activity intervention, being delivered to a multi-ethnic cohort of about 24,000 WHI participants across the U.S., aged 68-99 when the trial started in 2015, will reduce major cardiovascular events over 8 years, compared to an equal number of “usual activity” controls. Dr. Stefanick is also PI of the Osteoporotic Study of Men (MrOS) which is continuing to conduct clinical assessments of bone and body composition in survivors of an original cohort of nearly 6000 men aged 65 and over in 2001. As founding Director of the Stanford Women’s Health and Sex Differences in Medicine (WHSDM, “wisdom”) Center, she plays a major role in promoting research and teaching on Sex and Gender in Human Physiology and Disease, Women’s Health and Queer Health and Medicine. Dr. Stefanick also plays major leadership roles at the Stanford School of Medicine, including as co-leader of the Population Sciences Program of the Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford’s NCI-funded comprehensive cancer center.
Dr. Stefanick obtained her B.A. in biology from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (1974), then pursued her interest in hormone and sex difference research at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, after which she obtained her PhD in Physiology at Stanford University, focusing on reproductive physiology and neuroendocrinology, with exercise physiology as a secondary focus. Her commitment to human research led to a post-doctoral fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, which has been her academic home for nearly 40 years. -
Katherine Steffen
Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Critical Care
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research interests focus on using dissemination and implementation science tools to study and enhance care provided to patients in the pediatric ICU. I have a background in human factors research and in implementation science and am also interested in clinical effectiveness and outcomes in the PICU.
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Lea Steffes
Instructor, Pediatrics - Pulmonary Medicine
BioDr. Steffes, a Wisconsin native, completed medical school and pediatric residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She then moved to the Bay Area and completed her clinical fellowship in pediatric pulmonary medicine at Stanford University in 2020. Additionally, Dr. Steffes received further post-doctoral training in the laboratories of Dr. Maya Kumar and Dr. David Cornfield, studying the cellular and molecular mechanism driving pulmonary vascular disease. In addition to her role as an Instructor in Pediatrics in the division of Pulmonary Medicine, Dr. Steffes is also completing an advanced clinical fellowship in Pulmonary Hypertension at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. Her clinical work consists of caring for patients with pediatric pulmonary and pulmonary vascular diseases such as pulmonary hypertension, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, interstitial lung disease, respiratory failure, chronic cough and asthma. Her research is focused on the vascular changes seen in pulmonary hypertension, more specifically understanding the cellular characteristics of occlusive neointimal lesions, the abnormal cells that block pulmonary blood flow in pulmonary hypertension. In her most recent work, Dr. Steffes identified a subset of healthy vascular smooth muscle cells that are the cell of origin for the pathologic neointimal cells and a specific signaling pathway, that when blocked, inhibits the formation of neointimal lesions.
Dr. Steffes is currently employing advanced single cell sequencing technologies to further understand neointimal cells with the ultimate goal identifying new therapies for pulmonary hypertension, a fatal disease with no known cure. -
Robert Steffner
Clinical Associate Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery
BioDr. Steffner specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of bone and soft tissue tumors in pediatric and adult patients. This includes primary bone and soft tissue sarcomas, locally active conditions such as giant cell tumor, aneurysmal bone cyst, and chondroblastoma, as well as impending and pathologic fractures from metastatic carcinoma, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma. He works closely with the multidisciplinary sarcoma group at the Stanford Cancer Center to provide coordinated, highly specialized treatment strategies.
Research interests include circulating tumor DNA in bone and soft tissue sarcomas, local drug delivery, establishment of a national bone and soft tissue registry, and collaborative clinical studies on imaging and soft tissue management. -
Henning Stehr
Clinical Assistant Professor, Pathology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsBioinformatics & Clinical Cancer Genomics
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Harise Stein
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology - General
BioDr. Harise Stein has had multiple clinical, teaching and administrative roles at Stanford in addition to her private practice. In June 2022 she semi-retired, closing her private office and stopped seeing patients in Stanford ob/gyn clinics.
-- Stanford Physician PRN Support Program, where having served as an initial member of the physician wellness committee, a peer support trainer, author of the peer support manual and program Director for several years, she has now stepped down to a peer supporter. In addition, for 8 years, up until January 2019, she served as the WellMD Newsletter editor, and was the creator and webmaster for the WellMD website. She has been a frequent speaker on topics of burnout and resilience for medical and community groups.
-- Founder and Co-Chair of Stanford Family Abuse Prevention Council, teaching medical and community members about the health effects, recognition and management of partner and family abuse. She has created Stanford websites for domestic abuse, child abuse, elder abuse and human trafficking, as well as a monthly abuse research summary (see next section). In addition, she served for seven years as a Commissioner on the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council and has been a member of the LPCH Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Committee.
-- Editor of monthly Abuse Research newsletter (abuseresearch.info), summarizing the most important articles indexed by the NLM each month on the health effects of abuse. This newsletter goes out to a large local, national and international audience of clinicians, researchers, advocates, judiciary/law, government officials and policy makers.
-- Stanford Integrative Medicine Society, as a founding member and webmaster, and until recently serving as the Director of Stanford Ob/Gyn Preoperative Mind-Body Support program, preparing patients in ob and gyn clinics for upcoming surgery using various techniques including education, mindfulness, relaxation and positive psychology.
Through her many years of caring for patients and fellow physicians, she has come to believe that the most important root factor in health and well-being is the power of relationships - how family members treat each other, the impact of an optimal patient-physician interaction, the support of medical colleagues by and for each other, and their relationship with their institution. -
Gary K. Steinberg, MD, PhD
Bernard and Ronni Lacroute-William Randolph Hearst Professor of Neurosurgery and Neurosciences and Professor, by courtesy, of Neurology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur laboratory investigates the pathophysiology and treatment of cerebral ischemia, and methods to restore neurologic function after stroke. Treatment strategies include brain hypothermia, stem cell transplantation and optogenetic stimulation. Our clinical research develops innovative surgical, endovascular and radiosurgical approaches for treating difficult intracranial aneurysms, complex vascular malformations and occlusive disease, including Moyamoya disease, as well as stem cell transplant.
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David Steiner
Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Pathology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMechanistic and translational studies to better understand the functional and clinical implications of somatic mutations in aging and cancer.
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Lawrence Steinman, MD
George A. Zimmermann Professor and Professor of Pediatrics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur laboratory is dedicated to understanding the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, particularly multiple sclerosis. We have developed several new therapies for autoimmunity, including some in Phase 2 clinical trials, as well as one approved drug, natalizumab. We have developed microarray technology for detecting autoantibodies to myelin proteins and lipids. We employ a diverse range of molecular and celluar approaches to trying to understand multiple sclerosis.
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Lars Steinmetz
Dieter Schwarz Foundation Endowed Professor and Professor of Genetics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe apply diverse genomic approaches to understand how genetic variation affects health and disease by: 1) functional and mechanistic analyses of gene regulation, 2) studies of meiotic recombination and inheritance, 3) analyses of genetic and environmental interactions, and 4) characterization of diseases in human cells and model organisms. We integrate wet lab and computational genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolic approaches, and develop technologies to enable personalized medicine.
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Laurel Stell
Research Engineer, Biomedical Data Science
Current Role at StanfordInvestigating non-glycemic genetic effects on HbA1c using the Veterans Administration Million Veteran Program (MVP). HbA1c is a widely used test that reflects average blood sugar level for the past two to three months. It is well known that certain genetic blood conditions, such as sickle cell disease, can cause HbA1c to be a misleading indicator of blood glucose levels. I am investigating the extent to which genetic variants can have this effect even without a diagnosis of one of these conditions. I am also investigating whether these effects are impacting clinical diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, and whether such impacts are reflected in health outcomes.
The impact of these variants has potentially been overlooked because they are very rare in populations with European genetic ancestry. As with the variant for sickle cell disease, they only persist when they provide an evolutionary advantage, such as protecting against malaria infection and its symptoms. Consequently, the genetic variants that I am analyzing do not appear in most genetic biobanks frequently enough to enable my analyses. MVP, however, includes genetic data for over 100,000 Veterans with African genetic ancestry, making it an ideal resource for this research. Since these variants are common among individuals with African genetic ancestry but practically non-existent in European genetic ancestry, this research may provide insight into racial health disparities in the US, particularly in T2D prevalence and outcomes.
I've also been a member of the department's JEDI Committee since its inception in 2021, providing assistance wherever I can. -
Kathryn Stephens
Affiliate, Dean's Office Operations - Dean Other
Resident in Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesBioKathryn C. Stephens, MD, is currently a resident in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She completed a BA in anthropology at Harvard University, an MD at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and an internship year in Obstetrics & Gynecology residency at the Texas Tech Health Science Center in El Paso.
During her time at Harvard, she conducted research with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI in Boston) on the role of mobile clinics’ in providing primary care and preventative screenings to medically underserved areas. She continued her interest in providing care in resource-limited settings after college as she worked for one year in a women’s crisis center in Bangalore, India. During medical school, she held leadership roles in the Global Health Interest Group and continued her work in free clinics both locally and abroad in Panama, Honduras, and Guatemala. She conducted research on obstetric emergencies such as placenta accreta, which informed her understanding of birth trauma and its impact on women’s mental health. During her time in Ob/Gyn residency, she was awarded for the top score on the annual knowledge exam in her program as a first-year resident. Prior to beginning her training at Stanford, she had the privilege of contributing to several projects in the in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences' Race and Mental Health Lab as the lab's Research Coordinator. One such project included writing a curriculum for active bystander intervention of workplace discrimination (i.e. "Upstander Bias Training"), which has been taught to several departments within the Stanford School of Medicine.
Her areas of clinical and research interest include women’s reproductive psychiatry, the intersection of race, culture and mental health, integrative approaches to wellness and community psychiatry. -
Simon H. Stertzer, MD, FACC,FAHA,FACP
Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular) at the Stanford University Medical Center, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCoronary Angioplasty; Intramyocardial Stem cell delivery
