S.O.L.V.E. HEALTH TECH - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Associate Professor

Dr. Aguilera is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley and the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Francisco. He received his B.A.from Stanford University and his master's and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from UCLA. Dr. Aguilera's research has focused on studying the influence of culture, community and socioeconomic status on mental health along with developing interventions to address health disparities in low-income and minority populations. Dr. Aguilera's current work has focused on utilizing mobile phone technology to improve mental health interventions in primary care settings with vulnerable populations. He has conducted research using text messaging as a companion to cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) for depression to increase engagement and improve outcomes. He is currently developing a personalized, machine learning based texting intervention to improve physical activity among people with comorbid diabetes and depression. He is committed to utilizing innovative technologies to reduce health disparities.

Job Titles:

• Assistant Professor of Medicine

Dr. Kotwal is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine and is dual-board certified in Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. His current research focuses on how loneliness and social isolation impact health, and innovative interventions to enhance social connectedness. Dr. Kotwal has a special focus on addressing the needs of older adults, persons living with dementia, caregivers, and persons diagnosed with serious illnesses.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Advisory Board

Ben Lenail, MBA, based in Palo Alto, CA, is a founding officer of ALD Connect, a research consortium focused on the neuro-metabolic disease X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). Ben currently works for biotech company Deep Genomics. He is also on the Board of Directors of the American Brain Foundation, a mentor with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and a member of investment group HealthTech Capital. Ben was previously a distinguished visiting scholar at Stanford University, and Senior Director of Corporate Development at Sun Microsystems. Ben has a Bachelor's from Sciences Po (Paris, France) and an MBA from the University of Washington. Among his significant experience in the nonprofit world, Ben has served on the Executive Committee of Silicon Valley Social Ventures (SV2) for three years; and on the Board of the International School of the Peninsula for seven years. In his free time, Ben enjoys spending time with his family and his beloved Golden Retriever Hazel, yoga, and walking.

Job Titles:

• Professor of Medicine at UCSF

Dr. Schillinger is Professor of Medicine at UCSF, and Chief of the UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. His work focuses on literacy, health communication, and chronic disease prevention and management. He is also the founding director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations, whose mission is to carry out innovative research to prevent and treat chronic disease in populations for whom social conditions often conspire to both promote chronic disease and make its management more challenging.

Job Titles:

• Member of the UC SOLVE Health Tech Team
• Co - Founder, Leadership Team
• Professor at UC Davis

Dr. Lyles is a Professor at UC Davis in the Department of Public Health Sciences and the Director of the UC Davis Center for Healthcare Policy and Research. A trained health services researcher, she uses quantitative and qualitative methods to examine quality of care, health behavior, and health outcomes. Her current work with the online patient portal website, texting platforms, and mobile apps leverages user-centered design and implementation science principles to create as well as spread technologies that are relevant for diverse patient populations.

Job Titles:

• Member of the UC SOLVE Health Tech Team
• Co - Founder, Leadership Team
• Professor of Medicine at UCSF

Dr. Sarkar is a Professor of Medicine at UCSF, the Associate Director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations, and a primary care physician at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital's Richard H. Fine People's Clinic. She focuses on how diverse patients can use technology to better manage their health. Dr. Sarkar has extensive experience with evaluating the effectiveness of technology interventions in real-world settings, and is passionate about making technology usable for all.

Job Titles:

• Primary Care Physician

Dr. Khoong is a primary care physician and an Associate Professor of Medicine in the UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Dr. Khoong is a board-certified clinical informaticist with particular interest in diabetes, hypertension, older adults, and patients with a non-English language preference. Her research focuses on using informatics and implementation science to reduce health inequities in chronic diseases among safety net populations.

Job Titles:

• Advisor
• Member of the Advisory Board
• Director of Health Equity

Ivor Braden Horn, MD, MPH, FAAP is director of Health Equity & Product Inclusion at Google. Dr. Horn is also an angel investor and start-up advisor. She currently serves on the board of Boston Children's Hospital and Care Academy. She has 20+ years of experience addressing inequities in health care and has held senior and executive leadership positions across health systems, academic, and entrepreneurial environments. She is a nationally recognized leader in health equity, social determinants of health and health care innovation. Dr. Horn has expertise in driving organization change within technology and product innovation and implementing quality improvement and stakeholder engagement initiatives. She has a track record of implementing programs to improve health outcomes and establish partnerships with community-based organizations to better serve at risk populations. Dr. Horn served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Accolade, where she drove the transformation of clinical strategy and led the streamlining of clinical operations during the company's rapid growth from serving 300,000 to over a million members. Before Accolade, she served as Medical Director of the Center for Diversity and Health Equity at Seattle Children's Hospital, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and Principal Investigator on several studies investigating health equity in under-represented communities. Dr. Horn's research has been funded by the NIH, HRSA, AHRQ, and the Verizon Foundation to research the use of technology to address health equity. She has authored several peer-reviewed journal publications. Dr. Horn received her bachelor's degree from Spelman College. She has a master's degree in public health from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Sciences. She earned her medical degree at Indiana University School of Medicine and completed her pediatric internship and residency at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland. Dr. Horn did her fellowship training in general academic pediatrics and community-oriented primary care at the Children's National Health System in Washington, DC. Dr. Horn is also a nationally recognized researcher with funding from government and non-profit organizations including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), US Department of Health and Human Services (HRSA), AHRQ, and the Verizon Foundation to research the use of technology in under-represented populations. She has authored several peer-reviewed journal publications on health communication and health equity.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Leadership Team
• Research Data Analyst

Jeanette Wong received her BS in Neuroscience & Behavioral Biology and Psychology from Emory University. Jeanette supports S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech's research and implementation efforts to improve health communication and reduce barriers to care among historically marginalized populations. Jeanette is excited to work in the safety-net care setting to help advance health equity.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Advisory Board
• Founder of LifeForce Capital

John Noonan is the founder of LifeForce Capital, a venture capital firm focused on digital health companies. Prior to founding LifeForce Capital, John served as a senior advisor at the United States Department of Health and Human Services and as the Vice President of Corporate Development at Gerson Lehrman Group. As a member of the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation's board of directors, John is deeply committed to advancing health equity. John received his bachelor's degree from Harvard College, his MBA from Harvard Business School, and his JD from Yale Law School.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Advisory Board

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS is the Lee Goldman, MD Endowed Professor of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She is currently the 17th Editor in Chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the JAMA Network. Dr. Bibbins-Domingo has previously served as the inaugural Vice Dean for Population Health and Health Equity in the UCSF School of Medicine. She also chaired the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics from 2017-2022. Dr. Bibbins-Domingo co-founded the UCSF Action Research Center for Health Equity (formerly known as the Center for Vulnerable Populations) at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital that generates actionable research to increase health equity and reduce health disparities in at-risk populations in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, and nationally. Dr. Bibbins-Domingo is a general internist, cardiovascular disease epidemiologist, and a national leader in prevention and interventions to address health disparities. She had been a long-standing NIH-funded researcher who used observational studies, pragmatic trials, and simulation modeling to examine effective clinical, public health, and policy interventions aimed at prevention. Dr. Bibbins-Domingo was a member of the US Preventive Services Task Force from 2010-2017 and led the Task Force as the vice-chair and chair from 2014-2017. She is an inducted member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Advisory Board
• Executive in Residence at AVIA

Molly Joel Coye, MD, MPH is Executive in Residence at AVIA, the nation's leading network for health systems seeking to innovate and transform. AVIA's mission is to advance care delivery transformation through the effective identification and deployment of digital solutions, in partnership with a Network of more than 30 large health systems. Dr. Coye also advises technology developers, investors, national health systems, and policymakers about disruptive technologies and business models that accelerate the transformation and constrain health expenditures and serves on the advisory boards of early-stage companies and venture and private equity firms investing in healthcare information technology and services. Dr. Coye is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine), a member of the Board of Directors of Aetna, Inc., and also serves on the Founder's Council of United States of Care. From 2010 - 2015, Dr. Coye was the Chief Innovation Officer for UCLA Health, where she led the health system in identifying new strategies, technologies, products and services. Dr. Coye founded and led HealthTech (the Health Technology Center), a non-profit education and research organization established in 2000 that became the premier forecasting organization for emerging technologies in health care. She also served as Commissioner of Health for the State of New Jersey, Director of the California State Department of Health Services, and Head of the Division of Public Health Practice at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Previously, Dr. Coye served as a member and chair of the Board of Directors of PATH, one of the largest nonprofit organizations in global health, and on the boards of the American Hospital Association, the American Public Health Association, and the American Telemedicine Association, The California Endowment, and the China Medical Board. Dr. Coye received her medical degree and Masters in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. She holds a Masters in Chinese History from Stanford University and is the author of two books on Chinese history. She also is a member of the board of directors of San Francisco Jazz (SFJAZZ), and enjoys scuba diving and international culinary adventures.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Leadership Team
• Program Manager
• Program Manager for the Digital Health Equity Program at UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine

Nilpa Shah is a Program Manager for the Digital Health Equity Program at UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. She has her MPH from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and a BS in Cell Biology and a BA in Psychology from UC Davis. Her previous work centered on chronic disease management, family caregiving, violence prevention, telehealth, and maternal and child health. Nilpa provides strategic, programmatic, and operational support for S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech.

Job Titles:

• Chief
• Member of the Advisory Board

Pooja Mittal, DO is the Chief Health Equity Officer (CHEO) for Health Net. She leads the company in developing, implementing, facilitating, and embedding health equity strategic initiatives into Health Net's programs, services, actions, and outcomes. Dr. Mittal joined the company in June 2016. In addition to her role as CHEO, Dr. Mittal practices primary care at a Federally Qualified Health Center in San Mateo County. She is a family physician and uses this lens to design strategic initiatives to improve care for the most vulnerable. Dr. Mittal has expertise in Digital Health and is part of Health Net's Digital Health Transformation Committee, which ensures that the technology used by the company for Medicaid members is equitable. Dr. Mittal also dedicates her time to improving health outcomes through teaching the next generation of healthcare workers (Stanford Internal Medicine Residents). She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at UCSF and Stanford University School of Medicine. In addition to her clinical work, she has been published in the areas of well-child care, group visits, preconception care, health equity, and perinatal HIV. Dr. Mittal earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Boston University and her Doctor of Medicine (DO) from A.T. Still University of Health Sciences. She completed her Faculty Development Fellowship at UCSF and is a graduate of the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) Leadership Fellowship program.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Advisory Board
• Associate Dean for Clinical Innovation

Ralph Gonzales, MD, MSPH, is Associate Dean for Clinical Innovation and Chief Innovation Officer for UCSF Health. In addition, he leads the UCSF Clinical Innovation Center (CIC), which aims to develop the infrastructure and internal capacity to accelerate innovations that solve critical delivery system problems at UCSF. CIC partners with internal and external entities to analyze, prototype, test, implement and evaluate solutions that target our organizational priorities. CIC enables clinicians and staff to discover solutions that were previously not possible before through programs that leverage resources from cross-industry partnerships. His research has played a significant role in national and global efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance by improving antibiotic prescribing practices - the body of which provides a successful roadmap for translating evidence into practice, policy and public health. Dr. Gonzales' research is multidisciplinary, patient-centered, and informed by relevant stakeholders and policy makers such as the CDC, NCQA, professional societies and community clinicians and patients. It represents the full spectrum of translational research - from practice guideline development, to implementation of innovative health care interventions, to conducting larger community-based trials to examine the comparative effectiveness of different health care interventions.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Advisory Board
• Co - Founder and CEO of Ryse Health

Richard Gurley is the co-founder and CEO of Ryse Health, hybrid office-based and virtual endocrinology clinic serving patients with type 2 diabetes. He has spent his career focused on improving quality and reducing costs in the US healthcare system including groundbreaking work at TennCare, McKinsey & Company, Evolent Health, and WelbeHealth, where he built operations to deliver the PACE model of care to underserved communities. Richard has also invested in and avised a variety of early stage healthcare companies on strategy, growth, and operations. He holds an MBA from Duke University and a BA in Public Policy Studies from Vanderbilt University.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Advisory Board

Robert M. Wachter, MD is chair of the UCSF Department of Medicine, which leads the nation in grants from the National Institutes of Health and is consistently ranked as one of the nation's best. His primary interests are health care quality, safety, and policy. He coined the term hospitalist in 1996 and is widely credited as the founder and academic leader of the hospitalist specialty in medicine, the fastest-growing specialty in U.S. medical history. Dr. Wachter is an international leader in health care safety and quality. He has published more than 250 articles and six books on health care topics, including Understanding Patient Safety, the world's top-selling safety primer, now in its third edition. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Dr. Wachter received his medical degree at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a residency in internal medicine, serving as chief resident, at UCSF. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at Stanford University, and he studied patient safety in England in 2011 as a Fulbright Scholar. Dr. Wachter has received many honors for his contributions to medicine. In 2004, he received the John M. Eisenberg Award, the nation's top honor in patient safety. Modern Healthcare magazine has ranked him one of the 50 most influential physician-executives in the U.S. 13 times; he was number one on the list in 2015. His 2015 book, The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age, was a New York Times science bestseller. In 2016, he chaired a blue-ribbon commission advising the National Health Service of England on its digital strategy. He has served as chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine and as president of the Society of Hospital Medicine. At UCSF, he is the Holly Smith Distinguished Professorship in Science and Medicine as well as the Benioff Endowed Chair in Hospital Medicine.

Job Titles:

• Assistant Professor at NYU

Dr. Fontil is an Assistant Professor at NYU, the Medical Director of Research at the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone Health, and a practicing primary care physician. He is committed to using multiple research methodologies to study proactive clinical approaches for disease prevention and cardiovascular risk reduction in disenfranchised populations vulnerable to health disparities.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Advisory Board
• Executive Director of the Medical Innovation Collaborative

Veenu Aulakh, MSPH is the Executive Director of the Medical Innovation Collaborative, a program of Acumen America. She is responsible for building the strategy and partnerships to improve the health and well-being of people on Medicaid by connecting the ecosystem to tech-enabled innovations. For almost 10 years, Veenu serves as the President of the Center for Care Innovations (CCI) where she grew the organization's staff budget and strategy to focus on strengthening the health of under-invested communities. She was responsible for building critical partnerships and implementing the overall strategy to support the spread of innovation in safety net healthcare systems. Before joining CCI, Veenu worked as a senior program officer at the California Health Care Foundation, where she managed programs and investments to improve the access to care and health outcomes. Veenu also held several positions with Kaiser Permanente related to improving the quality of care and increasing patient engagement. Veenu received a bachelor's degree in industrial operations engineering from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science in health policy and management from Harvard University. In her spare time Veenu enjoys climbing the hills of San Francisco and exploring foreign lands.

Job Titles:

• Associate Professor of Medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine

Dr. Brown is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine in the Division of Prevention Science. He holds faculty appointments in the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS), the Center for Vulnerable Populations (CVP), and the Bakar Computational Health Science Institute. He is also the founder and director of the Clinical and Observational Data Excellence (CODE) Lab. CODE Lab's mission is to help researchers and healthcare workers contribute to creating a Learning Health System by leveraging New Media (i.e., mHealth, social media) and Biomedical Informatics (i.e., semantic harmonization, natural language processing, machine learning, data visualization) to collect data in real-time, improve health and clinical outcomes, and integrate gathered data among and between clinical systems and other research datasets. Through his research, Dr. Brown develops and implements innovative biomedical informatics methods, creates digital health tools, and follows the principals of community-based participatory research to address health disparities among underserved communities, and to create a Learning Health System that is responsive to vulnerable populations, particularly those living with, and at risk for acquiring, HIV/AIDS.