Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Director of Addiction Care Team, Director of Addiction Initiatives for the UCSF Latinx Center of Excellence, Department of Medicine based at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital

Here is what Marlene’s nominator had to say about her: 

“Marlene consistently goes above and beyond for patients, colleagues, and the system in which she works. She demonstrates indefatigable advocacy for patients, especially those with a history of substance use disorders, and is a leader clinically, in an implementation space, and in teaching others how to care for patients in a strengths-based, trauma-informed, and person-first way. I am in awe of what Marlene has done for UCSF, for ZSFG (Zuckerberg San Francisco General), for addiction care at UCSF and the Bay area. Thank you for being you, Marlene!"   

Nominated by Era Kryzhanovskaya, MD 

Marlene’s Bio:  

Born and raised in Los Angeles, my Bay Area residency began when I moved here for college at Stanford. Wanting to train in a program with strong roots in the safety net, my dream became reality when I was accepted to UCSF for internal medicine residency. Little did I know that working with hospitalized patients with substance use disorders during my training would lead to my work today. After residency I worked as a teaching hospitalist at Santa Clara Valley Medicine Center and returned to UCSF in 2017. With investment from cherished mentors and sponsors, I obtained addiction medicine training and received seed funding to start the Addiction Care Team (ACT) in 2019. ACT provides expert addiction care to hospitalized patients with substance use disorders.  

I spend my clinical time on hospital medicine and addiction. I also partner with community-based organizations in my role as the Director of Addiction Initiatives for the UCSF LCOE (UCSF Latinx Center of Excellence) to improve the health of Latinx individuals affected by unhealthy drug and alcohol use.  

Over the last four years, I have been fortunate to be a coach for UCSF SJV PRIME medical students. I love the diversity of this work and how it fulfills my passions for innovation in the safety net, community partnerships, diversifying the healthcare workforce, and empowering hospitalists to provide evidence-based care to patients with substance use disorders.  

Can you tell us about a significant role model or mentor in your life? 

Dr. Salvatierra, though not assigned as my official medical school mentor, became my de facto mentor. We bonded over our shared identity as children of immigrants.  When he retired from surgical practice, he put that passion and energy into mentoring. Every time he met with a new mentee; he shared a paper with his tips to success. One of these was that life is about people—meaning, it is our relationships and how we treat and make people feel that matter. It is the same value my parents ingrained in me and what I try to manifest daily.   

What has been an important success in your career?  

On the mentoring side, I loved seeing my first Bridges coaching class match for residency. On the clinical side it has been achieving sustainable funding for the Addiction Care Team. I am glad that patients at the General Hospital will receive evidence-based addiction care from a talented and compassionate interprofessional team. On the community side, it has been working with promotores/as (community health workers) and the UCSF LCOE to improve outcomes for our community.   

What do you like to do outside of work?  

I love spending time with my community over food, peloton-ing, walks with my partner and dog, and traveling to scuba and hiking destinations. My mom is an amazing cook and inspired my desire to bring people together over meals. I especially love celebrating my heritage through Mexican meals. 

Meet other outstanding women of UCSF through Our Spotlight.