Our Addiction Medicine Fellows

2025-2026

Frances Enger, MD MPH (she/her) is from the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. She attended college at University of Chicago, studying biology. She received her medical degree and Master of Public Health in Boston at Tufts University where she fell in love with community-based care. She completed her family medicine residency back in Chicago at Cook County Health. Her experience in a county hospital system emphasized the need for accessible, evidence-based addiction treatment in primary care settings. Frances is most passionate about low-barrier care, medical education, and health systems improvement. Outside of work, she loves to bake, roast coffee, and go hiking with her dog Barley and her partner.

Meghan “Murph” Murphy, MD, MPH (she/her) grew up in Philadelphia, PA and studied Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of Maryland, College Park. Before medical school, she worked as a nursing assistant with a healthcare for the homeless organization in Washington, DC, and conducted a Fulbright research project in Botswana on the impact of substance use on HIV outcomes—experiences that sparked her interest in the intersection of addiction medicine and infectious disease. She earned her MD/MPH from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency at UCSF. Murph is passionate about furthering innovative clinical practice, public health advocacy, and research to advance care for marginalized and underserved communities. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, biking, camping, and cheering on Philadelphia sports teams.

Andrew Pastor, MD (he/him) was born and raised in Los Angeles County and is a proud son of immigrants. He attended Mt. San Antonio College and UC Berkeley where he graduated with a degree in Molecular Environmental Science and concentration in Comparative Ethnic Studies. His work with Street Level Health Project, a safety net clinic in Fruitvale, Oakland, compelled him to pursue a career in medicine. Andrew found a deep passion for substance use work in New York City where he attended Mount Sinai School of Medicine and worked with the Washington Heights Corner Project providing harm reduction throughout East Harlem and the Bronx. Andrew completed a full-spectrum Family Medicine residency with HIV certification at the Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency. Now settled back in the Bay, Andrew plans to pursue a career combining Addiction Medicine and primary care. Outside of work he most enjoys catching a film, jamming on drums, attending shows, and cycling.

Noemi Plaza, MD (she/her) is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and grew up between Paris, France, and Napa, California. She attended Cornell University for her undergraduate studies. During her gap years, she completed a Fulbright in the Dominican Republic, where she developed an anti-machismo workshop series for youth in Santo Domingo. At UCSF School of Medicine, she focused on women’s health and street medicine. She completed her Family and Community Medicine Residency at UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital, continuing her advocacy for urban underserved communities. Her academic interests include primary care, street medicine, and perinatal addiction care. Outside of medicine, Noemi enjoys climbing, discovering new music, cooking, and exploring California’s outdoors.

Leni Popova, MD (they/them) grew up splitting time between the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and Bulgaria. They studied biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where between time as an EMT and long email threads discussing the latest updates in trans health with dormmates, they discovered the joy of serving as a bridge between medical knowledge and community expertise. During medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, they first started working with street-based harm reduction teams and developed an interest in creating and working in low-barrier, accessible primary care and addiction medicine spaces. They completed their internal medicine residency at UCSF through the San Francisco Primary Care (SFPC) track and are so thrilled to be staying on for fellowship! After their addiction medicine fellowship, Leni hopes to practice community-integrated primary care and addiction medicine with a special interest in the intersection of gender-affirming care and addiction medicine, especially in unhoused populations.
2024-2025

Stephanie Clavijo, MD MPH

Mike Levy, MD

Chance Najera, MD

Asmi Panigrahi, MD MPH

Sarah Rosenwohl-Mack, MD
2023-2024

Sarah Burbank, MD

Jonny Callan, MD

Alejandro Castellanos, MD

Dymon Morgan, MD

Simone Vais, MD
2022-2023

Sam Lee, MD

Amy Liang, MD

Stephen Matzat, MD

Ekene Ojukwu, MD, MSc

Nicole Tantoco, MD, MPH
2021-2022

Meredith Adamo, MD

Theora Cimino, MD

Michelle Lough, MD, MPH

Surabhi Nirkhe, MD

Gigi Simmons, MD
2020-2021

Elizabeth Abbs, MD

Ayesha Appa, MD

Katrina Ciraldo, MD

Trevor Lee, MD
2019-2020

Sarah Leyde, MD

Nicky Mehtani, MD MPH

Jesse Ristau, MD
2018-2019

Triveni Defries, MD MPH

Christy Soran, MD MPH
2017-2018
Jamie Carter, MD MPH

Hannah Snyder, MD
Examples of Fellows' Scholarly Projects
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Outpatient initiation of 7-Day injectable Buprenorphine: A Direct-to-Inject Case Series (Sarah Rosenwohl-Mack)
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From Pilot to Practice: Contingency Management for Veterans with Stimulant Use Disorder in Primary Care (Sarah Burbank)
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Using Visual Art to Explore the Narratives of Minoritized Women Who Use Substances (Ekene Ojukwu)
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Low barrier buprenorphine treatment for persons experiencing homelessness and injecting heroin in San Francisco (Jamie Carter)
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Support for Hospital Opioid Use Treatment (Project SHOUT) (Hannah Snyder)
- Clinician’s guide to buprenorphine treatment (Triveni Defries)
- Contingency management for patients with methamphetamine-associated cardiomyopathy in a novel addiction and cardiology co-management clinic (Sarah Leyde, Elizabeth Abbs, Meredith Adamo)
- Clinical outcomes of patients who inject drugs with serious staphylococcal infections (Ayesha Appa, Meredith Adamo)
- Implementation of a managed alcohol program during the COVID19 pandemic in San Francisco (Jesse Ristau, Nicky Mehtani)
- Road Home, What Now? The Effects of Transitional Housing on mental health, substance use and chronic medical condition on justice-seeking individuals in the Tenderloin (Gigi Simmons)
- Perspectives of Psychedelic Medications as Treatment for Substance Use Disorder Among People Experiencing Homelessness (Theora Cimino)
- Immigrants and Substance Use Disorders: A Legal and Medical Perspective (Michelle Lough, Triveni Defries)
Dymon, Alejandro and Joanna

Ekene Ojukwu, MD MSc, presenting at ACAAM

Overdose Awareness Day 2021 (Meredith Adamo, Gigi Simmons, Surabhi Nirkhe, Trevor Lee)

2019-20 Fellow Grads (Sarah Leyde, Jesse Ristau, and Nicky Mehtani) with Paula and Alyssa

2020-21 Fellows Barefoot Camp (Ayesha Appa, Elizabeth Abbs, Trevor Lee, and Katrina Ciraldo) with Paula Lum and Marlene Martin

AMERSA 2017

AMERSA 2018

AY2022-23 Fellows (Sam Lee, Amy Liang, Stephen Matzat, Ekene Ojukwu, and Nicole Tantoco)

Berg Smith MI Training 2019

AY2020-21 Graduating Fellows (Elizabeth Abbs, Ayesha Appa, Katrina Ciraldo, and Trevor Lee) with Paula, Soraya, and Scott
AY2021-2022 Fellows (Gigi Simmons, Theora Cimino, Surabhi Nirkhe, Meredith Adamo, Michelle Lough)

AY2020-21 Fellows (Katrina Ciraldo, Ayesha Appa, Elizabeth Abbs, Trevor Lee)

Nicky Mehtani at AMERSA 2019

Hannah Snyder

The Tribunal - AY2021-2022 Fellows (Gigi Simmons, Theora Cimino, Surabhi Nirkhe, Meredith Adamo, Michelle Lough)