UCSF Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program

San Francisco VA Medical Center

Welcome to the UCSF Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program! We are proud to offer a one-year, ACGME-accredited fellowship that provides state-of-the art addiction training, all in the San Francisco Bay area.

Why UCSF?  |  How to apply  |  Faculty and fellows  |  Sites and rotations  |  Didactics

Why UCSF?

US News Best Graduate Programs 2018

The Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship emphasizes evidence-based treatments – including psychosocial therapies, behavioral therapies, and psychopharmacology – for a range of substance use disorders. Prominent features include:

  • Sub-specialty clinics with UCSF faculty supervision (see “Sites and Rotations”)
  • One of two national Substance Use and PTSD (SUPT) VA clinics
  • Adolescent and family treatment experience
  • Training in motivational interviewing with nationally recognized experts
  • Psychotherapy training, including individual psychotherapy supervision
  • Elective rotation in a private residential addiction treatment center
  • Consultation work at two major San Francisco hospitals
  • Clinical research, including cutting-edge buprenorphine and cannabis research
  • Mentorship within national organizations, including the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP), American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM)
  • Opportunities to teach UCSF medical students, residents, and fellows
  • All sites located in the San Francisco area, near many local sites and amenities
  • The UCSF Addiction Psychiatry fellowship program remains committed to training physicians with a diverse range of backgrounds and life experiences to match the needs of our patients
     

Cable cars in San Francisco

Applying to the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship

We have filled our class for the 2024-2025 academic year and are now accepting applications for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Applicants must have completed an ACGME-accredited general adult residency in psychiatry and have a valid, completely unrestricted California medical license, DEA license to prescribe buprenorphine, and California ePDMP login (CURES) prior to the starting date (July 1).

How to apply

Our program uses the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) to process applications. Visit the ERAS website to learn more.

We encourage applicants to submit materials as early in the application period given the fact that interviews are offered on a rolling basis. Recruitment will be conducted virtually. Requests for onsite tours of the campus will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The recruitment timeline for fellows starting July 1, 2025, is as follows:

  • June 6, 2024: ERAS tokens released to applicants
  • July 3, 2024: ERAS applications open for submission
  • July 17, 2024: ERAS application released to the fellowship programs
  • July–November 2024 (~four months): Interview season
  • Nov. 20, 2024: Applicant and program NRMP Rank Order lists due
  • Dec. 4, 2024: Match Day
  • After Dec. TBA, 2024: Applicants can apply to programs directly
     

Submission process and deadline

Fellowship selection will occur via the NRMP Match and we will be recruiting up to four fellows. Please submit all application materials to the ERAS website once the application cycle opens and contact program coordinator Alejandra Infante, at [email protected] with any questions.

 

Leadership team

Zaman

Tauheed Zaman, MD

​Director, Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program
Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Director, Addiction Consult and Opioid Safety
San Francisco VA Medical Center

Toyoshima

Takeo Toyoshima, MD

Associate Director, Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program
Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Director, Drug & Alcohol Treatment (DAT) Clinic
San Francisco VA Medical Center

Leung

Stephen Leung, MD

Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
VA Site Director, Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program
Deputy Director, Addiction Consult and Opioid Safety
Staff Psychiatrist, Opioid Treatment Program
San Francisco VA Medical Center

Pier

Katherine Pier, MD

Volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Kaiser Site Director, Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program
Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco


Core faculty

Alcid

Eric Alcid, MD, PhD

Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Medical Director, Opioid Treatment Program
San Francisco VA Medical Center

Steven Batki, MD

Steven L. Batki, MD

Senior Consultant, Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program
Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Director, Addiction Research Program
San Francisco VA Medical Center

Elliott

Mark Elliott, MD

Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Staff Psychiatrist, Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program
San Francisco VA Medical Center

Murtuza Ghadiali, MD

Murtuza Ghadiali, MD

Volunteer Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Assistant Chief, Chemical Dependency Recovery Program
Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco

Koch

Monika Koch, MD, FASAM

Volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Addiction Psychiatrist, Addiction Medicine and Recovery Services
The Permanente Medical Group, San Francisco

John Straznickas, MD

John Straznickas, MD

Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Director, Substance Use/PTSD (SUPT) Clinic
San Francisco VA Medical Center


Community supervisors

Jeffrey Devido, MD

Jeffrey Devido, MD

Volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Director of Addiction Services, Marin Country Department of Public Health

David Kan, MD, DFASAM

David Kan, MD, DFASAM

Volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Medical Director, Bright Heart Health
Private practice


Volunteer clinical faculty

Borsari

Brian Borsari, PhD

Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Deputy Chief, Addiction, Recovery, and Treatment Services (ARTS)
San Francisco VA Medical Center

Ellis

Marcus Ellis, PharmD, BCPP

Volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Substance Use/Mental Health Clinical Pharmacist Specialist
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consultant
San Francisco VA Medical Center

Galloway

Christopher Galloway, PhD

Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Director, Intensive Outpatient and Transitions Programs
San Francisco VA Medical Center

Ellen Herbst, MD

Ellen Herbst, MD

Health Sciences Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Medical Director, Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
Chief, Addiction, Recovery, and Treatment Services (ARTS)
San Francisco VA Medical Center

Michael Hoefer, MD

Michael Hoefer, MD

Consultant, Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program
Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
San Francisco VA Medical Center

Watson

Erin Watson, PsyD

Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Clinical Health Psychologist, Integrated Care Psychology
Associate Director for Psychology, Education for Patient Aligned Care Teams
San Francisco VA Medical Center


Current and former Addiction Psychiatry fellows

Year Fellow (Residency site)
2024-2025 Amira Athanasios, MD (Jersey Shore Univ.)
Victor Contreras, MD, MSc (UCSF)
Jesse Vanacore, DO, MS (Medical Univ. of South Carolina)
2023-2024 Rachel Gluck, MD (Emory Univ.)
Karin Lavie, MD (Univ. of Chicago)
Erik Quan, MD (New York Univ.)
Devin Stroman, MD (Univ. of Southern California)
2022-2023 Raghu Appasani, MD (Univ. of Southern California)
Veronica Losso, MD (California Pacific Medical Center)
Jason Roley, MD (San Mateo County)
2021-2022 Eric Alcid, MD, PhD (UCSF)
Farhan Ladhani, BA, MD (Boston Medical Center)
Stephen Leung, MD (Univ. of Michigan)
Jack Van Bezooyen, MD (Emory Univ.)
2020‑2021 Tiffany Arnold, MD (Louisiana State Univ. Shreveport)
Adam Berns, MD (Zucker Hillside Hospital)
Isabella Morton, MD, MPH (UCLA)
2019‑2020 Martha Ignaszewski, MD (Adult: Univ. of Massachusetts • Child and Adolescent: Harvard Univ./Boston Children's Hospital)
Jennifer Papac, MD (Stanford Univ.)
Christopher Rienas, MD (UCSF)
2018‑2019 Madison Johnson, MD (Vanderbilt Univ.)
Shakevia Johnson, MD (Vanderbilt Univ.)
Takeo Toyoshima, MD (UCSF)
2017‑2018 Christopher Blazes, MD (Albert Einstein Medical Center)
Katherine Pier, MD (Mt. Sinai College of Medicine)
Bradley Zicherman, MD (Adult: Texas Tech Health Sciences Center • Child and Adolescent: Univ. of South Florida)
2016‑2017 Elie Aoun, MD (Brown Univ.)
2015‑2016 Smita Das, MD, PhD, MPH (Stanford Univ.)
Pernilla Schweitzer, MD (UCSF)
2014‑2015 Nicholas Reeves, MD (UCLA)
Tauheed Zaman, MD (Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance)
2013‑2014 Zachary Plaut, MD (San Mateo County)
Joan Striebel, MD (UCLA)
2012‑2013 John Nguyen, MD (Cornell Univ.)

Palace of Fine Arts

Sites and rotations 

The San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and Kaiser Permanente Addiction Medicine & Recovery Services (AMRS) are teaching sites for UCSF, and training is considered a core mission.

Download: Sample Rotation Schedule (.pdf)

San Francisco VA Medical Center

San Francisco VA Medical Center

SFVAMC rotations

  • Drug and Alcohol Treatment (DAT): treating a range of non-opioid addictions
  • Opiate Treatment Program (OTP): buprenorphine, methadone, Vivitrol treatment
  • Substance Use and PTSD (SUPT): combat-related PTSD and addictions
  • Prescription Opioid Safety Team (POST): consulting on pain/opioid misuse patients
  • Addiction Consultation (AddCon): consulting on general addiction patients
  • Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): higher-level three days/week treatment program
  • Tobacco Cessation Clinic: behavioral and pharmacologic approaches to cessation
  • Elective: half-day/week where fellows select experiences to help develop an understanding of the substance treatment community in the Bay Area. Recent fellow experiences have included the John Muir Adolescent Substance Use Treatment Program, San Francisco Syringe Access Program, San Francisco County Jail Buprenorphine Program, San Francisco Street Medicine Outreach Team to Homeless Encampments, San Francisco VA Ketamine Clinic, and various electives available through Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.
  • Several programs also include groups with opportunities for facilitation training, hospital consultations, and/or opportunities for consulting via video visits to remote patients.
     

Kaiser AMRS

Kaiser AMRS

Kaiser AMRS

Kaiser AMRS provides a spectrum of services, which include medical stabilization and detoxification, day treatment, intensive outpatient treatment, multi-cultural and bilingual groups, and psychiatric treatment of co-morbid conditions. AMRS also provides comprehensive treatment for adolescents and families.

As part of a larger medical system, AMRS provides integrated consultative services for patients with obstetrical (pregnancy), chronic pain, HIV or Hepatitis C conditions or those requiring emergency or hospital consultation.

Elective rotation sites

Alta Mira

Alta Mira

Alta Mira

Alta Mira is a private treatment center for substance use and co-occurring disorders. Fellowship elective experiences here include the opportunity to work alongside faculty in performing patient assessments and treatment in a private residential treatment setting.

ZSFG

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG) and San Francisco Department of Public Health Clinics

The San Francisco Health Network is comprised of the city's safety net hospital and associated community clinics serving the most marginalized people in San Francisco. Elective experiences in addiction medicine include the Addiction Care Team, a hospital-based consult service at ZSFG, and the Tom Waddell Urban Health Clinic.

Didactics

Addiction psychiatry fellows have a half day of protected time each Wednesday afternoon for didactics and supervision. These sessions are often led by local and national experts in the field of addiction. Didactics include:

  1. Addiction seminar: a weekly, 60-minute seminar covering a range of fundamental topics, aimed at a multidisciplinary audience of physicians, psychologists, social workers and trainees
  2. Addiction board review: a monthly, 60-minute interactive teaching session focused on high-yield topics on the Addiction Psychiatry board exam
  3. Addiction Psychiatry advanced psychotherapy curriculum developed by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) in collaboration with Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and NYU School of Medicine
  4. CBT-SUD & CM: a monthly, 120-minute course on cognitive behavioral therapy for substance use disorders and contingency management led by national expert Dr. Borsari
  5. MI-MET: a monthly, 60-minute course on motivational interviewing and enhancement therapies led by national expert Dr. Watson
  6. Faculty teaching: several faculty members provide rotation-specific didactics relevant to their area of expertise throughout the year
  7. Community faculty supervision hour: a monthly, supervision hour focused on career development, advanced addiction psychopharmacology, addiction psychotherapy, addiction private practice, and addiction and forensic psychiatry overlap
  8. UCSF Grand Rounds & Drug Use Research Group: research presentations on innovative harm reduction strategies, public health interventions, and drug policy
  9. Addiction medicine collaboration: scheduled didactics, clinical exposure, and community site visits with UCSF Primary Care Addiction Medicine fellows and faculty
  10. See historical UCSF Addiction Bootcamp lectures available on Youtube
     

Previous addiction seminar topics include:

  • Psychedelics and Substance Use
  • Cannabis: Biology to Policy
  • The Relationship Between Disability Payments and Substance Use
  • PTSD, Alcohol Use Disorder and TBI- Treatment Challenges and Strategies
  • Clinical Drug Testing and the Medical Review Officer
  • Addiction Group Therapy
  • Three Views on Chronic Pain and Opioid Use Disorder
     

Previous education hour topics include:

  • The Intersection of Addiction and Forensic Psychiatry (with forensic and addiction psychiatrist Dr. David Kan)
  • Management of Complex Benzodiazepine Tapers
  • Motivational Interviewing for the Rushed Physician
  • A Research Career in Addiction Psychiatry (with research psychologist Dr. Pennington)
  • Journal clubs and complex addiction case presentations
     

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