The UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine (FCM) has named three early-career faculty members as recipients of awards that recognize their work to advance equity and health justice.
As FCM’s first “Health Justice Scholars,” Cory Johnson, MD, MPH, Adrian Tomes, MD, and Folashade Wolfe-Modupe, MD, MPH, will each receive $150,000 in funding over two years, to enhance their career development and advance work in their specific focus areas:
- Dr. Johnson - Anti-oppressive and community-centered approaches to integrated behavioral health in primary care
- Dr. Tomes - Health equity in the advancement and evolution of health informatics and telemedicine
- Dr. Wolfe-Modupe - Integrative healing services for diverse patient populations
FCM’s Health Justice Scholars Program was recently established through a gift from the Hellman Foundation. The program’s goal is to enhance the recruitment, retention, and career development of faculty members who are working to advance equity and health justice. Its emphasis is on individuals who are being recruited to new assistant professor rank faculty appointments or who have been an assistant professor in UCSF FCM for less than two years.
Scholars are selected by a committee chaired by Dr. Manuel Tapia, FCM Vice-Chair of Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Anti-Oppression, with additional membership comprised of FCM Department Chair Dr. Kevin Grumbach and FCM Executive Council Members Drs. Diana Coffa, Kirsten Day, Danielle Hessler Jones, and Teresa Villela.
“Drs. Johnson, Tomes, and Wolfe-Modupe are exemplary family physicians and emerging innovators in the areas of mental healthcare, health informatics, and integrative healing,” said Grumbach. “The Health Justice Scholars awards will not only support their continued career development, but they will also enable these talented faculty members to channel their insights, skills, and passions into programmatic activities that will elevate FCM and UCSF’s collective work in advancing health equity and providing whole-person care.”
Cory Johnson, MD, MPH - Anti-oppressive and community-centered approaches to integrated behavioral health in primary care
Dr. Johnson was appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine in July 2021 and a core faculty member of the department’s residency program based at SF General Hospital. He has a keen interest in cultivating and dispersing an anti-oppressive framework to integrated behavioral health in primary care, especially for black, indigenous, and other people of color.
We see patients from all walks of life and all stages of life. We see the different sides of their humanity. We celebrate and mourn with them. We are best positioned to advocate for and engage with communities on a public health level.
Cory Johnson, MD, MPH
Health Justice Scholar and Assistant Professor, UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine
Dr. Johnson said he chose family medicine “because we see patients from all walks of life and all stages of life. We see the different sides of their humanity. We celebrate and mourn with them. We are best positioned to advocate for and engage with communities on a public health level.” He chose UCSF because every resident and faculty member he met colleagues who shared the desire to make the world a better place in very tangible ways. “The people I work with are some of the coolest, down-to-earth, and most compassionate people I’ve ever met.”
Although a true Jamaican by heritage and heart, Dr. Johnson was born and raised in South Florida. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in History of Science with an emphasis on the intersection of medicine and societal norms. After college, he worked as a case manager for the psychiatry department at Montefiore Medical Center, where he provided support and skills training to people living under significant societal oppression. Dr. Johnson completed medical school and a masters of public health at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and then residency training in Family and Community Medicine at UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital. In his free time, Dr. Johnson explores the arts scene in SF and does a lot of reflective writing.
Adrian Tomes, MD - Health equity in the advancement and evolution of health informatics and telemedicine
Dr. Tomes is working to center socially marginalized populations and health equity in the advancement and evolution of health Informatics. He cites this area of interest stemming from the ongoing barriers to delivery of telemedicine among the most vulnerable populations, including lack of access to video equipment, lack of reliable internet, cost of wireless data consumption, unfamiliarity with virtual platforms, confidentiality, trust concerns, and language barriers. To that end, he will use support from the Health Justice Scholar program for sponsorship as he is enrolled in the UCSF Clinical Informatics fellowship.
I feel privileged to be able to form long-term partnering relationships built on trust and mutual respect with patients of all ages and backgrounds.
Adrian Tomes, MD
Health Justice Scholar and Physician, UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine
Dr. Tomes takes pride in centering his care around the physical, mental, and social needs of each patient. Having previously trained and worked in underserved communities, he is dedicated to advocating for health equity and serving patients of all backgrounds. Dr. Tomes said, “I feel privileged to be able to form long-term partnering relationships built on trust and mutual respect with patients of all ages and backgrounds.”
Born in Schwetzingen, Germany, Dr. Tomes moved to the Twin Cities in his youth. He earned his medical degree at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He then completed a residency in family and community medicine at Hennepin Healthcare, serving as chief resident. When he’s not at work, Dr. Tomes enjoys playing basketball, cooking, and spending time outdoors.
Folashade “Flo” Wolfe-Modupe, MD, MPH - Integrative healing services for diverse patient populations
Dr. Wolfe-Modupe was appointed an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine in July 2020 and is a core faculty member of the department’s residency program based at SF General Hospital.
[I'm] hoping to help enrich the world with more peace, justice, healing, and understanding.
Folashade “Flo” Wolfe-Modupe, MD, MPH
Health Justice Scholar and Assistant Professor, UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine
In applying to be a Health Justice Scholar, Dr. Wolfe-Modupe stated that she is “hoping to help enrich the world with more peace, justice, healing, and understanding,” and that she is “devoted to a practice that incorporates integrative medicine for our most vulnerable communities.” The award will support Dr. Wolfe-Modupe’s innovative program focusing on expanding integrative healing services for diverse patient populations and developing a curriculum on wellness and integrative approaches to primary care for healers in training.
A proud east-coaster with a west coast soul, Dr. Wolfe-Modupe was born in New York and raised in Arlington, Virginia. She graduated from Brown University with a degree in Africana studies and relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area to join Teach for America. For two years, Dr. Wolfe-Modupe worked as a high school science teacher in Richmond, Calif., during which time she honed a passion for health education, community-based work, and community healing through strong relationship building.
She carried these lessons with her to medical school at UCSF and then residency training in family and community medicine at the UCSF-SF General Hospital Family and Community Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Wolfe-Modupe strengthened her skills in integrative medicine through a fellowship with the UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine and the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine before joining UCSF faculty. In her free time, Dr. Wolfe-Modupe enjoys music, yoga, admiring art in all forms, and actively appreciating nature's beauty.
