Theresa Cheng, MD, JD

A native of rural South Carolina, Theresa Cheng, M.D., J.D. is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine and Associate Co-Director of Social Emergency Medicine at UCSF. She holds a M.D. from the Mayo Clinic and a J.D. with specialization in International Law from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Her areas of focus include incorporating social equity in emergency care through a human rights and international law lens. She co-authored a book chapter on homelessness in the textbook Social Injustice and Public Health, ed. 4th. Theresa previously worked for UNDP on medical neglect and coercion of HIV-positive people in Southeast Asia and partnered with the ACLU to investigate the reproductive health violations of migrants in detention centers. She is on the Board of Directors for the Andrew Levitt Center for Social Emergency Medicine. She is also on the Board of Directors for Al Otro Lado and for Border Kindness, binational non-profits providing legal and humanitarian support to displaced people. Most recently, she was a Skadden Fellow at Bay Area Legal Aid where she started Alameda County’s first and only street-based medical-legal partnership for unhoused people. She joined UCSF’s Acute Care Innovation Center as their Director of Social Equity in 2023. Her current research and advocacy projects span immigration health policy, reproductive health and autonomy, carceral health, and increasing health equity for intersectional vulnerable populations.

In her free time, she enjoys exploring the mom-and-pop restaurants of San Francisco and hiking with her husband and dog.