Meshell Johnson Named Director of Faculty Diversity for the Department of Medicine

Message from Beth Harleman, Associate Chair for Faculty Experience, and Bob Wachter, Chair:

Dear Colleagues:

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Meshell Johnson as our first Director of Faculty Diversity for the Department of Medicine. Meshell will work collaboratively with Drs. Beth Harleman (DOM Associate Chair, Faculty Experience) and Sarah Schaeffer (DOM Director of GME Diversity) to support the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and develop a climate of equity and inclusion for the DOM.

Meshell received her undergraduate degree from Harvard and her MD from UCSF. She completed residency and chief residency at the University of Washington, returning to UCSF in 1998 as a fellow in pulmonary and critical care medicine. Since joining our faculty in 2004, Meshell has built a research program exploring the role of the alveolar epithelium in lung injury, with numerous publications and presentations in this area. In addition to her biomedical research, she is active in clinical leadership and education at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. She is the Chair of the SF VA Emergency Medical Committee and the Medical Director of Respiratory Therapy at the VA, excelling in both these roles. Dr. Johnson is also a skilled, generous, and highly respected teacher of medical students, residents and fellows. She received the coveted Floyd Rector Housestaff Teaching Award in 2016.

Meshell brings a wealth of experience in diversity programs to her new position. She serves on the Minority Trainee Development Scholarship Committee of the American Thoracic Society, was a member of the DOM Diversity Task Force, and sits on selection committees for both our Internal Medicine residency and the Pulmonary/Critical Care fellowship programs. She also serves as a Dean’s Diversity Leader for the UCSF SOM Differences Matter Initiative, co-leading a group tasked with identifying and addressing health care disparities for UCSF and its affiliates. As one example of her innovative leadership, Meshell developed an Equity Toolkit to systematically integrate diversity and inclusion into clinical programs, broadening the reach of our diversity initiatives.

Meshell was selected as our first Director of Faculty Diversity after a rigorous and competitive search led by Beth Harleman. We are grateful to Meshell for taking on this new and vital role for the Department. We have made significant strides in our diversity and climate in recent years, and look forward to working with Meshell and the rest of our DOM leadership, faculty, trainees, and staff – as well as with others at UCSF – to do even more.

Beth Harleman, MD
Professor and Associate Chair for Faculty Experience

Robert Wachter, MD
Professor and Chair

Department of Medicine