Faculty Retirements FY24

Paul Blanc has been a faculty member at UCSF since 1988. He served as the Chief of the Division of Occupational Environmental and Climate Medicine from 1994 through 2023. Blanc received his BA from Goddard College, where he first became interested in occupational health. He later trained at the Harvard School of Public Health in industrial hygiene, the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, and Cook County Hospital Chicago in a joint Occupational Medicine and Internal Medicine Residency. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at UCSF, a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, and later a resident scholar at the Rockefeller Bellagio Center and the American Academy in Rome. In 2013, he became a fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. In 2016, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Sahlgrenska Medical Academy, Gothenburg, Sweden. 

Laura Bull earned her undergraduate degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University. She came to UCSF in 1987 and completed her Ph.D. in neurogenetics with Richard Myers, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship with Nelson Freimer, focusing on genetics of cholestatic liver disease. Bull then joined the faculty in the GI division at ZSFG. She has been a member of the UCSF Liver Center and Institute for Human Genetics. Her NIH-funded research has focused on identifying genetic etiologies of pediatric and pregnancy-associated cholestatic liver disease, and improving understanding of these conditions' phenotypes. Bull established an extensive network of collaborators within the U.S. and internationally to study these rare disorders. She became a member of the NIDDK-funded Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (ChiLDReN), contributing genetics expertise to network studies. Bull has also been involved in teaching and mentoring students in UCSF graduate programs.

Michael Crawford retired in 2021 after a distinguished career in cardiology. He earned his medical degree from UCSF and completed his internal medicine training at UCSF Medical Center and Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. His cardiology training was at the University of California, San Diego. During his tenure at UCSF, Crawford served as the Program Director of Cardiology fellowships from 2007 to 2017. Prior to this role, he held positions as the Chief of Cardiology at the University of New Mexico for 12 years and Chief of Clinical Cardiology at UCSF for 13 years.

Lloyd Damon is a hematologist and researcher who specializes in blood cancers such as lymphomas and leukemias. Damon earned his medical degree at the University of Michigan, completing his residency and fellowship in hematology and oncology at UCSF, where he joined the faculty in 1988. He is currently the deputy chief of the Divisions of Hematology and Medical Oncology. Damon has contributed significantly to leukemia and lymphoma treatments, including early investigations into rituximab and developing high-dose regimens for mantle cell lymphoma involving autologous stem cell transplants.

William Grossman retired in 2020 after 27 years at UCSF. Grossman completed his internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He served as Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before returning to Brigham as Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab. In 1997, Grossman was recruited as chief of the UCSF Division of Cardiology, where he served for 10 years. Grossman's research focused on diastolic function of the left ventricle and he authored the textbook Cardiac Catheterization, Angiography, and Intervention.

Mary Ellen Kleinhenz joined UCSF in February 2005 as a member of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy, and Sleep Medicine. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (Perelman) School of Medicine and completed her Internal Medicine residency at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Kleinhenz pursued a fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine at University Hospitals of Case Western Reserve University and served on the faculty of CWRU School of Medicine before moving to Saint Louis University School of Medicine in 1992. At UCSF, Kleinhenz has been involved in the Advanced Lung Disease Service and the UCSF Lung Transplant Program, focusing on adult cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections, and lung transplantation.

Robert Kosnik, a certified occupational medicine specialist in the U.S. and Canada, is director of the UCSF Occupational Health Program. He oversees services to maintain employee health and prevent communicable diseases. Kosnik earned his medical degree from the University of Toronto and has served in leadership roles in occupational and environmental medicine associations in Canada. He chairs the examination committee in occupational medicine for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Thomas Ports is retiring after 46 years at UCSF. He attended medical school at Ohio State University and completed his residency at the University of Chicago. Ports joined UCSF in 1976 as a cardiology fellow and became a faculty member in 1978. He served as Director of Interventional Cardiology and Co-Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, training numerous interventional fellows. Ports has extensive experience in catheter interventions, including coronary angioplasty and valvuloplasty.

Melvin Scheinman retired after over 50 years at UCSF. He received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed residency training at the University of North Carolina. Scheinman arrived at UCSF in 1965 as a cardiology fellow and was a pioneer in catheter ablation techniques. His work has significantly impacted the field of electrophysiology, particularly in the treatment of arrhythmias and pacemaker therapies.

Anne Thorson retired in 2021 after 25 years at UCSF. She received her medical degree from Stanford University and completed her internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at California Pacific Medical Center. Thorson specialized in treating heart failure, coronary artery disease, and hypertension, and was the Medical Co-Director of the UCSF Cardiac Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. She had a particular interest in cardiovascular disease prevention and women's heart health.

Arthur Weiss received his Ph.D. in Immunology and M.D. degrees from the University of Chicago. He completed postdoctoral training at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research and internal medicine and rheumatology training at UCSF. In 1985, he joined the faculty of the Division of Rheumatology at UCSF and served as Chief of the Division and Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program. Weiss is a member of several prestigious academies and has made significant contributions to understanding immune cell signaling and T cell activation mechanisms. His discoveries have influenced modern immunotherapy and immunodeficiency research.