Our Leadership

Raphael Hirsch, MD

Chair, UCSF Department of Pediatrics
Physician-in-Chief, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals

Raphael Hirsch, MD, is Chair of the UCSF Department of Pediatrics, a role he has held since 2019. He also is physician-in-chief at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals. He has articulated a vision for the UCSF pediatric program to be among the best in the nation, with the overarching goal of making the world a better place for all children. He works to grow research and expand the institution's clinical outreach to better serve the region's communities. Among his guiding principles is the belief that academic medical centers must demonstrate a commitment to social justice.

After earning his bachelor's degree at Northwestern University, Dr. Hirsch earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He completed a residency in pediatrics at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship in immunology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a pediatric rheumatology fellowship at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C.

From 2012 to 2019, Hirsch served as Department Executive Officer and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa and as physician-in-chief at University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. He was responsible for pediatric services, including patient care, education, research and public health, both at the collegiate level and for the health system. During this time, he helped direct a transformation of the pediatric medicine program, spurred by construction of the first freestanding children's hospital for the University of Iowa. Before that, he served for 10 years as Chief of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology and Vice Chair for Faculty Development at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Under his leadership, the division grew from a single clinician into one of the largest and most comprehensive programs in the country.

Dr. Hirsch has held numerous leadership positions in the American College of Rheumatology, most recently as a member of its board of directors. He served on the board of scientific counselors for the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, a branch of the NIH. His research has sought a better understanding of childhood rheumatic diseases, with the goal of developing improved therapies, and was funded by the NIH for more than 25 years. He has published nearly 100 scientific papers.

Lee Atkinson-McEvoy, MD

Vice Chair of Pediatrics
Division Chief of General Pediatrics

Lee Atkinson-McEvoy, MD, is Professor, Vice Chair of Pediatrics and Division Chief of General Pediatrics, and San Mateo Regional Executive Medical Director for UCSF Health. Dr. Atkinson-McEvoy has had significant roles in UCSF Health System leadership and operations as well as GME and UME leadership roles. She mentors students, residents, fellows and faculty who are interested in careers in clinical operations. She founded the Miller-Davis-Jenkins Society which is a UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital based group of Black/African American faculty who support the recruitment and retention of Black/African American faculty at UCSF. 

Dr. Atkinson-McEvoy is the recipient of leadership and teaching honors and awards including the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educator and UCSF School of Medicine AOA faculty induction.

Naomi Bardach, MD

Vice Chair of Health Service Research

Naomi Bardach, MD, is a Professor of Pediatrics and Policy in the Department of Pediatrics and the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California San Francisco and Vice Chair of Health Services Research in the Department of Pediatrics. Her research program is focused on improving the quality of inpatient and outpatient pediatric care, with a foundation in implementation and dissemination science. Content areas of research focus include patient-involved hospital safety efforts, use of mobile phone technology, asthma and sickle cell care, and ACEs screening in primary care. She is a primary care pediatrician at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she led research on COVID in schools during the pandemic, including school-based testing strategies. She served as a thought leader in the media and for public health leadership, nationally and internationally. From December 2020-September 2021, in recognition of her expertise, she served at CA’s Health and Human Services Agency as the state lead for the multi-agency Safe Schools for All team.

Christopher Dvorak, MD

Division Chief of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, & Bone Marrow Transplantation

Christopher Dvorak, MD, is Professor of Pediatrics, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, & Bone Marrow Transplantation at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and Director of the FACT-Accredited Pediatric Cellular Therapy Laboratory for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. He is a member of in the Helen Diller Family Cancer Center and of the UCSF Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research. He is the national Co-PI of the Primary Immunodeficiency Treatment Consortium (PIDTC) and Co-Chair of the Non-Malignant Diseases Working Committee in the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant. He is also Chair of the Cancer Control and Supportive Care Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), and the immediate past Chair of the Supportive Care Strategy Group of the Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Therapy Consortium (PTCTC). He has served as the Principal Investigator for several multi-center clinical trials in the COG, PTCTC, and PIDTC. His expertise is in designing clinical trials aimed at decreasing transplant-related morbidity/mortality, as well as optimizing approaches to transplant for very young children, especially those with immunodeficiencies.

Jeff Fineman, MD

Vice-Chair for Pediatrics, Division Chief of Critical Care Medicine

Jeffrey Fineman, MD, is Professor, Vice-Chair of Pediatrics, Division Chief of Critical Care Medicine, Director of the Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension Service, and Investigator of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Fineman leads an NIH funded translational research program studying pediatric pulmonary vascular diseases, with particular focus on congenital heart disease. He is devoted to mentoring fellows and junior faculty. As such, he serves as the Principal Investigator of an NIH T32 research training program for pediatric critical care medicine and is Program Director of the Pediatric Departmental K12 program. In addition, he is an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physiology, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, and Pulmonary Circulation, and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the NIH K12 in Pediatric Critical Care. 

Dr Fineman is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including an Established Investigator and Mentoring Award from the American Heart Association, the Maureen Andrew SPR mentoring award, and the UCSF Lifetime Achievement Mentoring Award.

Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH

Vice Chair for Pediatrics, Division Chief of Pediatrics at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital

Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH, is Professor and Vice Chair of Pediatrics, Chief of Pediatrics at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and Vice Dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Medicine at UCSF. Dr. Fuentes-Afflick obtained her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Michigan and a Masters degree in Public Health (Epidemiology) at UC Berkeley. She completed her Pediatric residency and chief residency at UCSF and her research fellowship at the Phillip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, UCSF. 

Dr. Fuentes-Afflick’s work has focused on Latino health, immigrant health, faculty development, and diversity in academic medicine. Her research demonstrated the “epidemiologic paradox” of favorable perinatal outcomes among immigrant Latina women, reported that the relationship between maternal birthplace and perinatal outcomes varies by maternal ethnicity.
She has held leadership roles for the Society for Pediatric and the American Pediatric Society. Dr. Fuentes-Afflick completed a Fellowship through the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program. In 2010, she was elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine and has served on numerous consensus committees, the Membership Committee, the Diversity Committee, was elected to the Governing Council, the Executive Committee of Council, and was elected Home Secretary. In 2020, Dr. Fuentes-Afflick was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Mel Heyman, MD, MPH

Vice Chair for Faculty Development

Mel Heyman, MD, MPH, is Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty Development in the Department of Pediatrics, endowed Chair in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Co-Director of the Pediatric IBD Program, and Director of the T32-Training Program in Pediatric Gastroenterology/Nutrition at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, San Francisco. He is particularly interested in the care of children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, including Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, and nutrition-related problems. Following undergraduate at UC Berkeley and medical school at UCLA, he completed pediatric residency at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition fellowship at UCLA, earning an MPH (Nutrition). He joined UCSF in 1981 and served as Division Chief for 26 years.  

Dr. Heyman has conducted research in sickle cell anemia, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, liver disease and pediatric nutrition. He has served on numerous committees including AAP Committee on Nutrition, AAP Executive Committee for the Section on Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, the American Board of Pediatrics, the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) and the Board of the National PTA. He was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition and of JPGN Report. In 2014, Dr. Heyman received the NASPGHAN Distinguished Service Award and the UCSF Chancellor's Award for Public Service.