Professor of Clinical Medicine, UCSF Chief of Hematology/Oncology, San Francisco General Hospital Osher Foundation Endowed Chair in Clinical Programs in Integrative Medicine Director, Clinical Programs, Osher Center

Donald Abrams, MD, is Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, Chief of Hematology/Oncology at San Francisco General Hospital and Director of Clinical Programs at the Osher Center. He is a member of the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center Executive Committee and is co-chairing development of the Center's program in Symptom Management, Palliative Care and Survivorship. He served as Assistant Director of the UCSF Positive Health Program at San Francisco General Hospital and is chair of the Community Consortium, a professional association of more than 200 primary care providers who treat Bay Area patients with HIV.

Dr. Abrams has been involved in the care of individuals with HIV infection since 1981, when the AIDS epidemic first emerged in San Francisco. During the epidemic's initial years, he co-authored a number of studies describing the first recognized immune and hematologic abnormalities in patients with Kaposi's sarcoma and other rare infections now considered clinical manifestations of AIDS. In addition, he is recognized as one of the first individuals to describe persistent generalized lymphadenopathy, a syndrome that was identified by Dr. Abrams in numerous publications as a precursor to AIDS. In 1985, Dr. Abrams became chair of the newly formed Community Consortium.

Dr. Abrams completed an associate fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona and has a long history evaluating complementary and alternative therapies. These investigations have included mind-body treatments, botanical therapies, medical use of marijuana, and Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal therapies.
Publications