Three SOM Faculty Members are 2025 Irene Perstein Award Recipients

The UCSF School of Medicine has awarded the 2025 Irene Perstein Awards to three outstanding faculty members. Established in 2007 through a bequest from Irene Holmes Perstein, the Irene Perstein Award honors her legacy by recognizing exceptional junior women scientists.

Charlotte Hurabielle Claverie, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology, was recognized for her research on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease with particularly severed effects in younger patients. The Perstein Award will support Dr. Hurabielle Claverie in applying a phage display system to a large, longitudinal cohort of SLE patients to identify lupus and flare-associated autoantibodies. Continue reading about Dr. Hurabielle Claverie’s work and Perstein Award.

Kayla Karvonen MD, MAS, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics, received the award for her research on the social drivers of long-term health outcomes in premature Black infants and young children. The Perstein Award will support her work as co-principal investigator of the BLOOM study – Black Love Opportunity and Outcome improvement in Medicine – which examines how racially concordant, multidimensional care can improve health outcomes for Black families. Continue reading about Dr. Karvonen’s work and Perstein Award.

Marilyn Thomas, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, was honored for her research into how attending a historically black college and university (HBCU) versus a predominantly white institution (PWI) influences dementia risk among Black American adults. Supported by the Mount Zion Health Fund, her Perstein Award will allow her to expand this work to explore the relationship between HBCU attendance and incident dementia, vascular dementia risk, and all-cause mortality. Her research will also examine whether proximity to an HBCU during high school impacts these outcomes, and assess the policy implications of public funding for of HBCUs versus PWIs. Continue reading about Dr. Thomas’ work and Perstein Award.