Our team

Our work is achieved in partnership with community through four aims:

Community Engagement:

At the center of our work lies our commitment to partnering with those who are disproportionately impacted by preterm birth, Black and Brown communities. Learn more about our Community Advisory Board

We seek to better understand the chronic stressors, such as racism, and protective factors that may affect preterm birth and the health outcomes of mothers and their babies. Learn More.

We seek to reveal, and ultimately mitigate, the behavioral, institutional, and policy-level barriers that impede scale-up of effective interventions to reduce preterm birth and poor outcomes among those born too soon. We are also dedicated to evaluating promising new interventions across the reproductive life course (Women’s Health Equity, prenatal, and postnatal strategies). Learn More.

We seek to engage health, government, social service, and community stakeholders to advance mutually reinforcing activities that contribute to population-level reductions in preterm birth. Learn More.

We work to disseminate knowledge, partner with diverse stakeholders, and build the capacity of academic and community leaders domestically and globally. Learn more about our Postdoctoral Transdisciplinary Research Fellowship and Benioff Community Innovator Program.

Discovery Collaborative
Co-Investigators

James
Anderson
UCSF

Rebecca Baer
UCSD

Gretchen Bandoli UCSD

Jessica Block
UCSD

Brittany Chambers
UCSF

Christina Chambers
UCSD

Joe DeRisi
UCSF

Elissa Epel 
UCSF

Jennifer Felder
UCSF

Elena Flowers
UCSF

Dawn Gano
UCSF

Anu Manchikanti Gómez
UC Berkeley

Rita Hamad
UCSF

Marta Jankowska
UCSD

Kord Korber
UCSF

Jue Lin
UCSF

Chuck McCulloch
UCSF

Monica McLemore
UCSF

Lou Muglia
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

Tania Pacheco-Werner
CSU Fresno

Matt Pantell
UCSF

Nisha Parikh
UCSF

Mark Petersen
UCSF

Brian Piening
Providence Cancer Center

Aric Prather
UCSF

Elizabeth Rogers
UCSF

Kelli Ryckman
University of Iowa

Karen Scott
UCSF

Michael Snyder
Stanford

Martina Steurer-Muller
UCSF

Jacqueline Torres
UCSF

Fresno GROWS Steering Committee

  • Dr. Venise Curry, Community Champion, Fresno GROWS Steering Committee Co-Chair
  • Shantay Davies-Balch, Community Champion, Fresno GROWS Steering Committee Co-Chair, BLACK Wellness and Prosperity Center
  • Rose Mary Rahn, Fresno DPH
  • Yolanda Randles, West Fresno Family Resource Center
  • Heather Brown, Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC)
  • Nicole Hutchings, Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC)
  • Fabiola Gonzales, First Five, Fresno County
  • Lupita Ramirez, First Five Fresno County
  • Dr. Jonathan Fuchs, UCSF California PTBi
  • Dr. Bridgette Blebu, UCSF California PTBi

We Are Hiring

Make a tangible difference in the fight for birth equity

If you are driven by a passion to advance birth justice and are ready to contribute your skills and expertise to this impactful mission, we encourage you to explore opportunities to join our growing team and help build a future where all Black families thrive.

Apply Today