Public Biography
I am a computational health scientist and physician at the University of California, San Francisco, where I founded the UCSF AI in Mental Health Research Group (AIMHealth), and I am part of the UCSF Psychiatry Research Residency Training Program. I am also co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at SimX. Previously, I was mentored by Dr. Atul Butte at UCSF and by Dr. Corey Arnold at UCLA. I am affiliated with the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute at UCSF.
At UCSF, my research focuses on the development of novel artificial intelligence techniques for behavioral health applications, with a focus on using large language models to interpret patient and clinical text, perform psychiatric reasoning, and assist in the delivery of clinical care. I have been involved in projects examining the psychiatric knowledge base encoded in latest-generation LLMs, evaluating approaches for guided LLM reasoning in behavioral health diagnosis, measuring the mental health impact and safety of LLM-based chatbots, developing new methods for using LLM-based agents to interact with the electronic health record, and designing new systems for constraining LLMs to act within acceptable clinical parameters.
At SimX, I lead technology strategy and the company's advanced development division, which focuses on next-generation technology projects in artificial intelligence and extended reality. I also founded our internal modeling and simulation research laboratory, the Virtual Advancement of Learning for Operational Readiness (VALOR) Program. Previously, I served as Principal Investigator for our $20M+ extramurally funded research program aimed at improving the art and science of virtual medical simulation training.
I am also a member of the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association (AMA), where I represent the American Psychiatric Association and am co-chair of the Informatics Caucus. I am also a member of the House of Delegates of the California Medical Association (CMA) and its Councils on Medical Service and Legislation. Previously, I was a member of the Board of Trustees of the AMA and CMA, the Butte Lab at UCSF, and the UCLA Biomedical AI Research Lab.
I received my MD PhD from UCLA, and my BS (Hons) from the California Institute of Technology. I currently live in San Francisco, CA and am a native of Chicago, IL.
At UCSF, my research focuses on the development of novel artificial intelligence techniques for behavioral health applications, with a focus on using large language models to interpret patient and clinical text, perform psychiatric reasoning, and assist in the delivery of clinical care. I have been involved in projects examining the psychiatric knowledge base encoded in latest-generation LLMs, evaluating approaches for guided LLM reasoning in behavioral health diagnosis, measuring the mental health impact and safety of LLM-based chatbots, developing new methods for using LLM-based agents to interact with the electronic health record, and designing new systems for constraining LLMs to act within acceptable clinical parameters.
At SimX, I lead technology strategy and the company's advanced development division, which focuses on next-generation technology projects in artificial intelligence and extended reality. I also founded our internal modeling and simulation research laboratory, the Virtual Advancement of Learning for Operational Readiness (VALOR) Program. Previously, I served as Principal Investigator for our $20M+ extramurally funded research program aimed at improving the art and science of virtual medical simulation training.
I am also a member of the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association (AMA), where I represent the American Psychiatric Association and am co-chair of the Informatics Caucus. I am also a member of the House of Delegates of the California Medical Association (CMA) and its Councils on Medical Service and Legislation. Previously, I was a member of the Board of Trustees of the AMA and CMA, the Butte Lab at UCSF, and the UCLA Biomedical AI Research Lab.
I received my MD PhD from UCLA, and my BS (Hons) from the California Institute of Technology. I currently live in San Francisco, CA and am a native of Chicago, IL.
Affiliations
Fellows of AMIA (FAMIA)
FAMIA stands for “Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association” and it recognizes the contributions and professional accomplishments of AMIA members who apply informatics skills and knowledge to their practice – be that in a clinical setting, a public or population health capacity, or as a clinical researcher.
Year Inducted
2026