Dr. Margot Kushel is a Professor of Medicine and Division Chief for the Center for Vulnerable Populations at UCSF/Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.  Dr. Kushel directs the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations and the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative.

Dr. Kushel’s research focuses on reducing the burden of homelessness on health through examining causes and consequences of homelessness, and evaluating strategies to prevent and end homelessness. She uses a variety of methods to better understand housing as a social determinant of health.

Dr. Kushel’s interest in homelessness in older adults and homelessness in medically complicated individuals led her to develop the HOPE HOME (Health Outcomes in Populations Experiencing Homelessness in Older Middle agE) cohort, an ongoing longitudinal cohort study examining the causes and effects of homelessness on adults aged 50 and over in Oakland, CA. She has pioneered methods to examine the impact of interventions to end chronic homelessness. Dr. Kushel works with diverse stakeholders at the local, regional, and national level to implement programmatic and policy changes based on her research.