Sarah Alba-Nguyen, MD, MPH

Associate Professor

Sarah Alba-Nguyen is an Professor of Medicine and Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency, where she also serves as the Director for Community, Opportunity, Recognition, and Engagement (CORE) for the residency program. She divides her time between clinical, educational, and administrative roles.

Clinically, Sarah works as a hospitalist where she attends on the Medicine Teaching Service, Goldman Medicine Service, and both Parnassus and Mission Bay Medicine Consult Services. In her graduate medical education roles, Sarah has led a robust efforts in the residency program to enhance the recruitment, retention, and mentorship of trainees from diverse backgrounds. She is passionate about equity and inclusion in medicine and creating systems of belonging for all people in medicine. Sarah is also a core faculty member in the UCSF Latinx Center of Excellence (LCOE), leading academic career development and mentorship programs for medical students, residents, and junior faculty at UCSF. At work, her passions are patient care, teaching, and mentorship. Outside of work, she loves spending time in the Bay Area with her wife, daughter, and community.
Education
2017 - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training, University of California
M.D., - , New York University School of Medicine
Chief Residency, - Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Residency, - Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Publications

  1. Klein R, Julian KA, Alba-Nguyen S, Ufere NN, Jassal SK, Simon W, Millard A, Uthlaut B, Koch J, Snyder ED, Volerman A, Thompson V, Kumar A, White BA, Park YS, Palamara K, Burnett-Bowie SM, Gender Equity in Medicine workgroup. Influence of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender on Clinical Performance Assessments in Graduate Medical Education. Journal of general internal medicine. 2025. PMID: 40274756


  2. Klein R, Julian KA, Koch J, Snyder ED, Jassal S, Simon W, Millard A, Uthlaut B, Burnett-Bowie SM, Ufere NN, Alba-Nguyen S, Volerman A, Thompson V, Kumar A, White BA, Park YS, Palamara K, Gender Equity in Medicine Workgroup. Gender Differences in Clinical Performance Assessment of Internal Medicine Residents: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Influence of Faculty and Trainee Gender. Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. 2024. PMID: 39316460


  3. Huppert LA, Santhosh L, Alba-Nguyen S, Lai CJ, Babik JM. Changes in Gender and Racial/Ethnic Diversity in US Residency Program Applications From 2018 to 2022. Journal of graduate medical education. 2024. PMID: 38304603


  4. Klein R, Snyder ED, Koch J, Volerman A, Alba-Nguyen S, Julian KA, Thompson V, Ufere NN, Burnett-Bowie SM, Kumar A, White BAA, Park YS, Palamara K. Correction: Exploring gender and thematic differences in qualitative assessments of internal medicine resident performance. BMC medical education. 2024. PMID: 38273350


  5. Klein R, Snyder ED, Koch J, Volerman A, Alba-Nguyen S, Julian KA, Thompson V, Ufere NN, Burnett-Bowie SM, Kumar A, White BAA, Park YS, Palamara K. Analysis of narrative assessments of internal medicine resident performance: are there differences associated with gender or race and ethnicity? BMC medical education. 2024. PMID: 38233807


  6. Klein R, Snyder ED, Koch J, Volerman A, Alba-Nguyen S, Julian KA, Thompson V, Ufere NN, Burnett-Bowie SM, Kumar A, White BAA, Park YS, Palamara K. Exploring gender and thematic differences in qualitative assessments of internal medicine resident performance. BMC medical education. 2023. PMID: 38066551


  7. Connor DM, Fernandez A, Alba-Nguyen S, Collins S, Teherani A. Academic Leadership Academy Summer Program: Clerkship Transition Preparation for Underrepresented in Medicine Medical Students. Teaching and learning in medicine. 2023. PMID: 37886897


  8. Klein R, Koch J, Snyder ED, Volerman A, Simon W, Jassal SK, Cosco D, Cioletti A, Ufere NN, Burnett-Bowie SM, Palamara K, Schaeffer S, Julian KA, Thompson V. Association of Gender and Race/Ethnicity with Internal Medicine In-Training Examination Performance in Graduate Medical Education. Journal of general internal medicine. 2022. PMID: 35710653


  9. Klein R, Ufere NN, Schaeffer S, Julian KA, Rao SR, Koch J, Volerman A, Snyder ED, Thompson V, Ganguli I, Burnett-Bowie SM, Palamara K. Association Between Resident Race and Ethnicity and Clinical Performance Assessment Scores in Graduate Medical Education. Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. 2022. PMID: 35583954


  10. Marbin J, Hutchinson YV, Schaeffer S. Avoiding the Virtual Pitfall: Identifying and Mitigating Biases in Graduate Medical Education Videoconference Interviews. Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. 2021. PMID: 33464743


  11. de Bourmont SS, Burra A, Nouri SS, El-Farra N, Mohottige D, Sloan C, Schaeffer S, Friedman J, Fernandez A. Resident Physician Experiences With and Responses to Biased Patients. JAMA network open. 2020. PMID: 33226429


  12. Klein R, Ufere NN, Rao SR, Koch J, Volerman A, Snyder ED, Schaeffer S, Thompson V, Warner AS, Julian KA, Palamara K. Association of Gender With Learner Assessment in Graduate Medical Education. JAMA network open. 2020. PMID: 32672831


  13. Klein R, Julian KA, Snyder ED, Koch J, Ufere NN, Volerman A, Vandenberg AE, Schaeffer S, Palamara K. Gender Bias in Resident Assessment in Graduate Medical Education: Review of the Literature. Journal of general internal medicine. 2019. PMID: 30993611


  15. Chien JD, Furtado A, Cheng SC, Lam J, Schaeffer S, Chun K, Wintermark M. Demographics of carotid atherosclerotic plaque features imaged by computed tomography. Journal of neuroradiology = Journal de neuroradiologie. 2013. PMID: 23428245


  16. Nair N, Marciscano AE, Vivar KL, Schaeffer S, LaMont E, Francois F. Introduction to the medical professions through an innovative medical student-run pipeline program. Journal of the National Medical Association. 2011. PMID: 22364050


  17. Adraktas DD, Brasic N, Furtado AD, Cheng SC, Ordovas K, Chun K, Chien JD, Schaeffer S, Wintermark M. Carotid atherosclerosis does not predict coronary, vertebral, or aortic atherosclerosis in patients with acute stroke symptoms. Stroke. 2010. PMID: 20595672


  18. Furtado AD, Adraktas DD, Brasic N, Cheng SC, Ordovas K, Smith WS, Lewin MR, Chun K, Chien JD, Schaeffer S, Wintermark M. The triple rule-out for acute ischemic stroke: imaging the brain, carotid arteries, aorta, and heart. AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology. 2010. PMID: 20360341


  19. Furtado AD, Smith WS, Koroshetz W, Dillon WP, Furie KL, Lev MH, Vittinghoff E, Schaeffer S, Biagini T, Hazarika O, Wintermark M. Perfusion CT Imaging Follows Clinical Severity in Left Hemispheric Strokes. European neurology. 2008. PMID: 18756089


  20. Wintermark M, Jawadi SS, Rapp JH, Tihan T, Tong E, Glidden DV, Abedin S, Schaeffer S, Acevedo-Bolton G, Boudignon B, Orwoll B, Pan X, Saloner D. High-resolution CT imaging of carotid artery atherosclerotic plaques. AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology. 2008. PMID: 18272562


  21. Smith LM, Elkins JS, Dillon WP, Schaeffer S, Wintermark M. Perfusion-CT assessment of the cerebrovascular reserve: a revisit to the acetazolamide challenges. Journal of neuroradiology = Journal de neuroradiologie. 2008. PMID: 18242708


  22. Wintermark M, Glastonbury C, Tong E, Lau BC, Schaeffer S, Chien JD, Haar PJ, Saloner D. Semi-automated computer assessment of the degree of carotid artery stenosis compares favorably to visual evaluation. Journal of the neurological sciences. 2008. PMID: 18234230