The UCSF School of Medicine is the

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

of the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...

and is located at the base of Mount Sutro on the Parnassus Heights campus in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Founded in 1864 by

Hugh Toland Hugh Huger Toland (April 16, 1806 – February 27, 1880) was an American surgeon who founded the Toland Medical College, which later became the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He was one of the most successful surgeons in Californ ...

, it is the oldest medical school in California and in the western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the school third in research training and second in primary care training; it is the only medical school in the nation to rank among the top three in both categories. Six members of the UCSF faculty have received the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

and five have received the National Medal of Science. For fiscal year 2022, UCSF was the top recipient of

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

(NIH) research funding and awards amongst all U.S. organizations, with $818.3 million in funding across 1,497 awards. The school is affiliated with the

UCSF Medical Center The University of California, San Francisco Medical Center is a research and teaching hospital in San Francisco, California and is the medical center of the University of California, San Francisco. It is affiliated with the UCSF School of Medi ...

, which is ranked, in the 2022-23 '' U.S. News & World Report'' rankings, as the 12th best hospital in the United States and third best hospital in the state of California. UCSF faculty have treated patients and trained residents since 1873 at the

San Francisco General Hospital The Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG) is a Public hospital in San Francisco, California, under the purview of the city's Department of Public Health. It serves as the only Level I Trauma Ce ...

and for over 50 years at the

San Francisco VA Medical Center The San Francisco VA Medical Center, also called the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center or the SFVAMC, is a Veterans Affairs medical center, located in San Francisco. The main facility is on 42nd Avenue and Clement Street at the former ...

. The UCSF School of Medicine has seven major sites throughout the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

and is composed of 28 academic departments, eight organized research units, and five interdisciplinary research centers. The main site is at the Parnassus Heights campus, which is home to the UCSF Medical Center and the

Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute The Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute (LPPI) is a psychiatric teaching hospital, part of the Psychiatry Department at the University of California, San Francisco. It is located at 401 Parnassus Avenue at Hillway Avenue on the Parnassus campus o ...

. The UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay opened in 2015 and is home to the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, UCSF Betty Irene Moore Women's Hospital and the UCSF Bakar Cancer Hospital.

History

The school was founded in 1864 as the Toland Medical College by Hugh H. Toland, a

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

surgeon who found great success and wealth after moving to San Francisco in 1852. A previous school, the

Cooper Medical College Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Francisco in 1858. This ...

of the University of Pacific (founded 1858), entered a period of uncertainty in 1862 when its founder, Elias Samuel Cooper, died. In 1864, Toland founded Toland Medical College and the faculty of Cooper Medical College chose to suspend operations and join the new school.A History of UCSF: San Francisco's First Medical Institutions
UCSF, Accessed October 6, 2010. In 1873 the college affiliates with the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

. Together with the School of Dentistry, they became

UCSF The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It condu ...

's first two “Affiliated Colleges” and were followed by the College of Dentistry in 1881 and the UC Training School for Nurses in 1907. The

was founded in 1868, and by 1870 Toland Medical School began negotiating an affiliation with the new public university. Meanwhile, some faculty of Toland Medical College elected to reopen the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, which would later become

Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Francisco in 1858. This ...

. Negotiations between Toland and UC were complicated by Toland's demand that the medical school continue to bear his name, an issue on which he finally conceded. In March 1873, the

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

s of Toland Medical College transferred it to the Regents of the University of California, and the school became "The Medical Department of the University of California."A History of UCSF: University Affiliation
UCSF, Accessed October 10, 2010. UCSF 1908

Initially, the three Affiliated Colleges were located at different sites around San Francisco, but near the end of the 19th Century interest in bringing them together grew. To make this possible, San Francisco Mayor Adolph Sutro donated 13 acres in Parnassus Heights at the base of Mount Parnassus (now known as Mount Sutro). The new site, overlooking

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development ...

, opened in the fall of 1898, with the construction of the new Affiliated Colleges buildings. The school's first female student, Lucy Wanzer, graduated in 1876, after having to appeal to the

UC Board of Regents The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sy ...

to gain admission in 1873. The University gained more independence in the 1960s when it started to be seen as a campus in its own right instead of as the medical center of the UC system. The four departments were renamed as "School of ..." and the

UCSF Graduate Division The UCSF Graduate Division is the graduate school of the University of California, San Francisco, and is located in San Francisco. It is recognized as one of the premier biomedical graduate schools in the United States. It offers 19 PhD programs, ...

was founded in 1961. In 1964 the institution obtained full administrative independence under the name University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, becoming the ninth campus in the

University of California system The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

and the only one devoted exclusively to the health sciences. A pivotal moment in UCSF history was the deal between Vice-Chancellor Bruce Spaulding and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown for the development of the Mission Bay campus in 1999. Renowned scientist J. Michael Bishop, recipient of both the Lasker Award and Nobel Prize in Medicine (together with UCSF professor Harold Varmus), became the eighth Chancellor in 1998. He oversaw one of UCSF's major transition and growth periods, including the expanding Mission Bay development and philanthropic support recruitment. During his tenure, he unveiled the first comprehensive, campus-wide, strategic plan to promote diversity and foster a supportive work environment. During this time, UCSF also adopted a new mission: ''advancing health worldwide''™. The 2010s saw increased construction and expansion at Mission Bay, with the ''Smith Cardiovascular Research Building'', the ''UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay'', and the

Benioff Children's Hospital UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital is a children's hospital system in San Francisco, California, subordinate to the University of California, San Francisco. It has four campuses: the Parnassus Campus, the Mount Zion Campus, and the Mission Bay Campu ...

in 2010, the ''Sandler Neuroscience Center'' in 2012, and ''Mission Hall'' and the ''Baker Cancer Hospital'' in 2013. In 2012, the school opened the UCSF Anatomy learning center. The Children's Hospital was named after

Mark Benioff Marc Russell Benioff (born September 25, 1964) is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Salesforce, an enterprise cloud computing company. In September 2018, Benioff acquired ''Time (mag ...

, who donated $100 million toward the new facility. In 2015, the Mission Bay campus saw the grand opening of the new UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay, a 289-bed integrated hospital complex dedicated to serving children, women and cancer patients. The school started the new Bridges curriculum in 2016 with the class of 2020.

Faculty

The School of Medicine has 2,498 full-time faculty. There have been six

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winners over the past six decades, and among its 2018 faculty members are: * 43 members of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

* 84 members of the National Academy of Medicine * 18

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...

investigators * 32 NIH Innovator and Young Innovator Awards * 64 members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

List of deans

* Hugh H. Toland (1864-1870) *

R. Beverly Cole Richard Beverly Cole (August 12, 1829 – January 15, 1901) was an American physician and past president of the American Medical Association (AMA). He was dean of the Toland Medical College during the time that it merged with the University of Ca ...

(1870-1875, 1878-1882) * Alonzo A. O'Neill (1875-1878) * Robert A. Maclean (1882-1899) * Arnold A. D'Ancona (1899-1913) * Hebert C. Moffitt (1913-1919) * Wallace I. Terry (1919-1920) * David P. Barrows (1921-1923) * Lionel S. Schmitt, acting (1923-1927) * R. Langley Porter (1927-1936, 1939-1940) * W. McKim Marriott (1936) *

Chauncey D. Leake Chauncey Depew Leake (September 5, 1896 – January 11, 1978) was an American pharmacologist, medical historian and ethicist. Leake received a bachelor's degree with majors in biology, chemistry, and philosophy from Princeton University. He r ...

(1937-1939) *

Robert Gordon Sproul Robert Gordon Sproul (May 22, 1891 – September 10, 1975) was the first system-wide president (1952–1958) of the University of California system, and the last president (11th) of the University of California, Berkeley, serving from 1930 to ...

(1940-1942) * Francis S. Smyth (1942-1954) * John B. Lagen (acting) (1954-1956) * John B. De C. M. Saunders (1956-1963) * William O. Reinhardt (1963-1966) * Stuart C. Cullen (1966-1970) * Charles T. Carman (1970) * Julius R. Krevans (1971-1982) *

Joseph B. Martin Joseph Boyd Martin (born October 20, 1938 in Bassano, Alberta) is a Canadian physician who is the Edward R. and Anne G. Lefler Professor Emeritus of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. Prior to that, he served as the Dean of Harvard Medical Sc ...

(1989-1993) *

Haile Debas Haile Debas (born 1937, AsmaraFikes, RobertHaile Debas T. (1937- )at blackpast.org) is an Eritrean physician and academic administrator at the University of California, San Francisco. Life Haile T. Debas was born in Asmara, Eritrea, in 1937. Fo ...

(1993-2003) * David A. Kessler (2003-2007) *

Sam Hawgood Samuel Hawgood (born c. 1953) is a pediatrician, researcher, Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Distinguished professor, and the tenth chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco. He obtained his medical degree (MBBS) from the University of ...

, (2007-2014) * Bruce Wintroub, Interim (2014-2015) * Talmadge E. King Jr. (2015–present)

Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health

The Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, founded in 1999, is a research center studying

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...

, and reproductive science at the

School of Medicine and the

. Its focus includes research, clinical care, policy development, and training on issues affecting sexual health. This includes resources and advocacy to advance reproductive autonomy, including access to contraception and abortion services, and access to care during pregnancy and childbirth. The Center's founding director was Claire Brindis; as of 2021 it is led by Jody Steinauer. It includes over 200 medical, research, and other staff across the university, and runs a series of residencies and clinical care programs. The Bixby Center's programs include research programs, fellowships and residencies, and training and clinical centers. Research programs include ''Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health'', studying how policies and public discussion shape people's sexual and reproductive lives; ''Beyond the Pill'', studying and promoting access to contraceptive health care for women; and ''PRONTO International'' and the ''Safe Motherhood Program,'' developing care strategies and training to optimize care during

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births globall ...

. Obstetrics and gynecology residencies include a two-year fellowship in Family Planning'','' and the Kenneth J. Ryan residency program in the United States and Canada. Training and clinical centers include the California Prevention Training Center for

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

and

STD Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral sex ...

care and prevention, the New Generation Health Center for youth in San Francisco. Bixby has also supported international clinics, including the ''Family AIDS Care & Education Services'' in Kisumu County, Kenya, in partnership with the

Kenya Medical Research Institute ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, and the Clinical Trials Research Center at the University of Zimbabwe, both researching treatment and prevention of HIV-related illness and women’s health. A sister center on Population and Reproductive Health, was set up at UCLA.

History

Faculty

List of deans

Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health

References

External links