The research of faculty in the areas of Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology addresses the complex issues of understanding the regulation of tissue and organ function at the cell and molecular level. UCSF has a long history in the biological sciences that relate to this area of research that is reflected in current Organized Research Units including the Center for Reproductive Sciences, Hormone Research Institute, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Lung Biology Center, and Gladstone Institutes.

Among the specific research topics pursued are the biochemical basis of obesity, the role of extracellular matrix in regulating cell function, the biological basis of diabetes, reproductive biology, adrenal function, ion fluxes in skin and epithelium, and calcium homeostasis.

Tamara Alliston , PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology and Endrocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental and Stem Cell Biology
Skeletal Cell Differentiation and Matrix Quality

Kaveh Ashrafi, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology & Human Genetics
Genetics  and Neurobiology of Fat and Feeding Regulation

Montgomery Bissell, MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Liver Wound Repair

Nancy Boudreau, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Role of Homeobox genes in tumor induced angiogenesis and wound healing

Frances Brodsky, DPhil
Primary Research Interest: Immunology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Intracellular Membrane Traffic: Mechanisms & Immune Function

Laura Bull, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Genetics approaches to study of the biology of the liver in health and disease

Nigel Bunnett, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Protease switches for inflammation and pain signals

George Caughey, MD
Primary Research Interest: Immunology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Genetics, Structure and Function of Mast Cell Secretory Proteases

Pao-Tien Chuang, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Hedgehog Signaling in Mammalian Embryogenesis and Postnatal Physiology

Mary Dallman, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Brain-Pituitary-Adrenal Interrelationships

Jayanta Debnath, MD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Autophagy in Cell Survival, Tissue Homeostasis and Cancer

David Erle, MD
Primary Research Interest: Immunology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Immunopathogenesis of asthma; immune cell trafficking

John V. Fahy, MD, MSc
Primary Research Interest: Immunology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Mechanism Oriented Clinical Research in Airway Disease

Robert V. Farese, Jr., MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Cell Biology of Energy Metabolism

Donna Ferriero, MD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Injury Response in the Developing Nervous System

John Fike, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Radiation, neurogenesis and cognitive function

James Frank, MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Alveolar epithelial barrier regulation and repair in the lung

Michael German, MD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
The Biology of Pancreatic Beta Cells and Diabetes

Linda C. Giudice, MD, PhD, MSc
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Normal and abnormal endometrial development

Wen-Chi Hsueh, MPH, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Genetic epidemiology of aging- and metabolism- related complex traits in humans

Holly Ingraham, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Mechanisms and Impact of Environmental Factors on Neuroendocrine Development and Function

Robert Jaffe, MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Growth and Differentiated Function in Human Fetal Adrenal and Gonad

Meshell Johnson, MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Role of the alveolar epithelium in lung fluid balance

Diana Laird, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics, Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Molecular and cellular mechanisms of primordial germ cell development

Jacquelyn Maher, MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Tissue-protective cytokines; fatty liver disease

Emin Maltepe, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
The Regulation of Cell Fate by Oxygen and Mitochondria

Theodora Mauro, MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Ionic Fluxes Control Keratinocyte Adhesion, Differentiation and Secretion

Keith Mostov, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Morphogenesis and function of epithelial organs

Lennart Mucke, MD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Molecular Neurobiology of CNS Diseases

Stephen Nishimura, MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Mechanistic basis of integrin function homeostasis

Robert Nissenson, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Signal Transduction Mechanisms in Bone Cell Differentiation

Feroz Papa, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Protein misfolding diseases and novel therapies

David Pearce, MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Regulation of gene expression and epithelial ion transport by stress steroids.

Miguel Ramalho-Santos, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Regulation of Stem Cell Pluripotency and Reprogramming

Jeremy Reiter, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology and Cell Signaling
Signaling at the Primary Cilium, the Cell's Antenna

Thea Tlsty, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Regulation of Cancer Initiation in Human Tissues

Christian Vaisse, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Genetics of Metabolic Diseases

Thiennu Vu, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
The regulation of lung vascularization and development

Matthias Wabl, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Immunology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Retroelements and somatic mutation in immunity and autoimmune disease

Paul Wolters, MD
Primary Research Interest: Immunology
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Cellular and molecular pathogenesis of lung disease

Allison Xu, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Hypothalamic regulation of energy balance, obesity and type 2 diabetes

Hal Yee, Jr, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
The Biology of Tissue Pericytes/Myofibroblasts and their Role in Fibrotic Diseases