Position: Division Chief, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Undergraduate School: Brown University

Medical School: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Residency: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Fellowship: Stanford University School of Medicine

Clinical Interest: Lung nodules, lung cancer, lung cancer screening, diagnostic interventional bronchoscopy, sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, quality improvement, multidisciplinary care, high quality evidence-based care when available.

Biography: Dr. Tze-Ming “Benson” Chen attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and then joined the Thayer Firm at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for his internship and residency training in Internal Medicine. He moved to California for his fellowship training in Pulmonary and Critical Care at the Stanford University School of Medicine. During his fellowship and as a Clinical Instructor / Post-doctoral Research Fellow with the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine at Stanford in Dr. Irving Weissman’s laboratory, he investigated lung cancer stem cells using a xenograft model with human lung cancer specimens.

He then moved to the California Pacific Medical Center where he helped to lead the Thoracic Oncology Program as its Director, developing the Lung Nodule Clinic, the Lung Cancer Screening Program, and the Prospective Thoracic Oncology Tumor Board. As the Director of ICU Services at CPMC he helped to develop the acute respiratory distress syndrome veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program (ECMO) program and was a persistent advocate for nursing, pharmacy, respiratory therapy, and physical therapy.

During his time as Director of Bronchoscopy, Dr. Chen helped to introduce and develop endobronchial ultrasound and endobronchial valve procedures at CPMC with the eventual introduction of the bronchoscopic lung volume reduction procedure for management of severe hyperinflation in patients with symptomatic COPD. He now joins the Alameda Health System with the goals of further developing the Thoracic Oncology Program, developing an advanced bronchoscopy program including EBUS, and developing a systems approach towards critical care while modernizing care within the Intensive Care Units with a focus on multidisciplinary management.

Position: Chair of Department of Medicine, Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF

Undergraduate School: Washington University, St. Louis

Medical School: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School

Residency: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Fellowship: University of Michigan Medical Center

Clinical Interest: Pulmonary hypertension, sepsis, and interstitial lung disease

Biography:

Dr. Indhu Subramanian attended medical school and residency at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. She went on to complete her residency and chief residency at UT Southwestern and then attended the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor for her Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship. Dr. Subramanian was the Internal Medicine Residency Program Director for ten years and is currently the Chair of the Department of Medicine for Alameda Health System.

She is a graduate of the Change Agent Leadership Fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, CA. She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and attends on the pulmonary consult service and ICU. She takes a special interest in health disparities in pulmonary medicine, pulmonary hypertension, interstitial lung disease, sepsis, and medical education.

Position: Core faculty

Undergraduate School: Yale University

Medical School: UCSF

Residency: ACMC/Highland Hospital

Clinical Interest: Simulation Medicine

Biography:

Dr. Steve Sackrin graduated from UCSF School of Medicine in 1980, and internal medicine residency at Highland General Hospital in 1984. After a chief resident year, joined the staff of the department of medicine at Highland Hospital, certified in critical care in 1989, and also served as the program director of the transitional year (1987-2006) and preliminary IM year (2006-2016). Overwhelming experience since has been clinical care, mostly attending on the MICU service. Areas of primary interest are bedside teaching and simulation.

Position: Attending Physician, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Director, Pulmonary Clinics; Site Director, CPMC-Highland-PCCM Fellowship

Undergraduate School: Stanford University

Medical School: Harvard Medical School

Residency: Stanford Hospital and Clinics

Fellowship: Stanford Hospital and Clinics

Biography:

Dr. Monica Bhargava attended medical school at Harvard University and completed internal medicine residency and pulmonary/critical care fellowship at Stanford Hospital. During her fellowship she earned a Master's degree in Health Services Research, completing one of the largest American studies to date analyzing the clinical outcomes of thousands of HIV-positive patients admitted to ICUs. She joined Highland Hospital in 2013 and is interested in interstitial lung disease, end-of-life care, and health policy. She enjoys writing, reading, and teaching.

Position: Core faculty, RT Director, TB Director

Undergraduate School: Duke University

Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Residency: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Fellowship: University of California, San Francisco

Clinical Interest: ARDS, TB, e-cigarettes

Biography:

Dr. Farzad Moazed graduated from medical school with AOA honors from Northwestern University. He went on to complete his residency and chief residency at Northwestern University and his fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UCSF. He then joined the faculty at UCSF, where he focused on translational research involving tobacco and acute lung injury. He was PI on several grants including an F32 and K23 and authored a number of papers on the relationship between tobacco and ARDS as well as on novel tobacco products. He joined the faculty at Highland Hospital in May 2019, where he attends the pulmonary consult and ICU services and serves as the Medical Director of Respiratory Therapy and the Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Research Pathway. His major interests are ARDS, novel tobacco product use and mentoring residents.

Position: Associate Director of Medical ICU, Chair of Code Blue Committee , UCSF Fellowship Director

Undergraduate School: University of California, Los Angeles

Medical School: University of California, Davis

Residency: Kaiser Oakland

Fellowship: University of California, San Francisco

Biography:

Dr. Ty Elliott attended medical school at University of California, Davis and completed internal medicine residency at Kaiser Oakland before matriculation in the pulmonary and critical care fellowship at UCSF, where she graduated in 2019. She joined the faculty at Highland Hospital shortly after graduation where she attends on the pulmonary consult service and ICU services. She also serves as the AHS Code Blue Committee chair and the associate director of the Highland ICU, primarily focusing on quality improvement and medical education. Her major interests are severe asthma, health disparities, and quality improvement.

Position: Core faculty

Undergraduate School: Stanford University

Medical School: Northwestern University

Residency: Northwestern University

Fellowship: University of California, San Francisco

Biography:

Dr. Nina Sung graduated from medical school at Northwestern University. She went on to complete her residency training at Northwestern University, and her fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care at UCSF, where she graduated in 2016. After completing her research fellowship in ARDS quality improvement, she moved to New York and practiced full-time critical care at Mount Sinai Hospital. She has been on the Highland Hospital faculty since July 2020 where she attends on the pulmonary consult and ICU services. Her major interests are in quality improvement, patient safety, and medical education including simulation education.

Position: Core faculty

Undergraduate School: University of California, Berkeley

Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California

Residency: Los Angeles County & University of Southern California Medical Center

Fellowship: California Pacific Medical Center & Highland Hospital

Clinic Interests: Thoracic Oncology, Interstitial Lung Disease, ARDS

Biography: Dr. Praveen Belur completed medical school at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and then stayed at USC for internal medicine residency. He then ventured back home to the Bay Area for pulmonary and critical care fellowship at California Pacific Medical Center and Highland Hospital. After completing his training, he spent a year in San Antonio, Texas working as an attending pulmonologist and intensivist in the HCA/Methodist healthcare system. He is excited to be back with the Alameda Healthcare System, taking care of an underserved population, and teaching house staff. He serves as the pulmonary and critical care division’s director of thoracic oncology and bronchoscopy.

Position: Core faculty, anesthesiologist

Undergraduate School:

Medical School: University of Rochester

Residency: University of California, San Francisco

Fellowship: University of California, San Francisco

Biography:

Before coming to the Bay Area for his internship and anesthesiology residency at the University of California San Francisco, Dr. Michael Wu completed his MD and PhD degrees at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, NY. For his thesis, he examined the effect of neuroinflammation on the development of neurons. Dr. Wu joined Alameda Health System after completing his critical care fellowship at UCSF. At AHS, Dr. Wu has been involved in quality, safety, and trauma anesthesia as well as education for residents and student nurse anesthetists rotating with the department of anesthesia. His clinical interests lie in regional anesthesia as well as point of care ultrasound.

Position: Core faculty, Anesthesiologist

Undergraduate School:

Medical School: University of California, Irvine

Residency: Stanford University Hospital

Fellowship: Stanford University Hospital

Biography:

Dr. Tiffany Lee attended medical school at the University of California, Irvine. She completed a combined internal medicine/anesthesiology residency program and Critical Care Medicine fellowship at Stanford University Hospital before joining Alameda Health System in 2021. Her primary interest is in perioperative medicine and patient optimization prior to surgery. Born and raised in the Oakland/San Leandro area, she is thrilled to be returning to the East Bay to re-explore old neighborhoods and serve the community where she grew up. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, trying new restaurants, and spending time outdoors with her two kids.