Maria Chao, DrPH, MPA, Named Director of Research
The Osher Center is delighted to announce that, after a comprehensive national search, Maria Chao, DrPH, MPA, has been appointed Director of Research at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health and Osher Foundation Endowed Chair in Research in Integrative Health.
Dr. Chao will lead the Center’s robust research program, which rigorously tests the effectiveness of integrative health approaches, how they work, and how they can be optimized to improve health and well-being.
Dr. Chao joined the Osher Center as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2008, has served as Associate Director for Health Equity and Diversity since 2016, and as Associate Director of Research since 2017. She is Professor of General Internal Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Dr. Chao is deeply committed to accelerating the science of integrative healthy equity. She applies public health methodologies and implementation science frameworks to the study of nonpharmacologic interventions for chronic disease management in racially, ethnically, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse populations. Her work includes research on group-based integrative health to address the undertreatment of pain, as well as models to improve access to evidence-based integrative oncology.
“I am delighted to welcome Dr. Chao as the new Director of Research,” said Shelley Adler, PhD, Director of the UCSF Osher Center. “Her impactful scholarship bridging integrative health and public health, innovative accomplishments, outstanding leadership skills, renowned collaborative approach, and dedicated mentoring of diverse, interprofessional learners—together with her internationally recognized work in integrative health equity—uniquely qualify her for this position.”
“The Osher Center has been my professional home for over a decade, and it has been a privilege to be part of the growth of our research program,” said Dr. Chao. “I am excited to continue our work at the forefront of integrative health research, leading scientific innovations to achieve our vision of equitable, sustainable integrative care for all.” Dr. Chao is Co-Director of the Integrative Health Equity and Applied Research summer training program and the Training in Research in Integrative Medicine pre- and postdoctoral research fellowship (both funded by NIH). She received the UCSF Mid-career Development Award for Bolstering the Pipeline to Achieve Health Equity in 2020.
In addition to her roles at the Osher Center, Dr. Chao serves on the steering committee for the Bravenet Practice-Based Research Network in Integrative Medicine. She is an advisory board member for Integrative Medicine for the Underserved, a national multidisciplinary organization committed to affordable, accessible integrative health care for all. She is also an affiliate faculty member at the UCSF Action Research Center for Health Equity and the Multiethnic Health Equity Research Center.
Dr. Chao earned her Master's degree in Public Administration from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and her Doctorate of Public Health in Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Dr. Chao assumes her new role on November 1, 2024. Learn more about Dr. Maria Chao.
