Esteban G. Burchard, MD, MPH

Esteban González Burchard, M.D., M.P.H. is a physician-scientist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Burchard has formal training and expertise in internal medicine, pulmonary and critical care medicine, epidemiology, molecular genetics, genetic and clinical research. Dr. Burchard is the Director of the UCSF Asthma Collaboratory, a large inter disciplinary research program focusing on minority children and gene-environment interactions for asthma. Dr. Burchard initiated and now directs the largest study of asthma in minority children in the U.S. Dr. Esteban González Burchard has more than 300 peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Burchard was the first in the world to demonstrate that genetic ancestry strongly correlates with lung function in African Americans and Latinos, even after accounting for social determinants of health, including socioeconomic status, experiences of perceived discrimination, and environmental factors.

Dr. Burchard’s work provides the strongest evidence to date that clinical algorithms, such as those used in pulmonary function testing or estimating glomerular filtration rate, should adjust for genetic ancestry. This work combines the rigor of genetic ancestry determination with social factors-both of which must be considered for health professionals to do justice to all patients seeking their care. His continuous and ongoing work of over two decades provides a rigorous scientific approach to dissecting inherited and environmental influences on health outcomes; it is the exemplar of how the medical profession should approach the broad problem of considering “race” in medicine and health.

This body of work epitomizes Dr. Burchard’s ongoing drive to use science to improve the care of minority patients, mentorship of minority physicians and scientists, and improve diversity, equity and inclusion in science and medicine.

Visit my lab page to learn more: https://pharm.ucsf.edu/burchard