About Us

John W Severinghaus MD, founder of the UCSF Hypoxia Research Laboratory, died June 2nd, 2021 at age 99. His innumerable contributions included the invention of modern blood gas analysis and blood gas machines. He also contributed fundamentally to understanding the control of breathing and adaptation to high altitudes in humans. His interest in hypoxia and high-altitude medicine led to the founding of the Hypoxia Research Laboratory in 1958, shortly after his arrival in San Francisco.

Dr. Bickler joined Dr. Severinghaus as a research fellow in 1986 and he has directed the laboratory since Dr. Severinghaus’ retirement in the early 1990’s. In addition to the Hypoxia Lab for industry sponsored clinical studies, Dr. Bickler directs a basic science laboratory that is involved in studying how neurons adapt to oxygen deprivation. He also oversees our high altitude protocols, clinical projects investigating regional and cerebral oximetry during neurosurgery, and a pilot study examining the effects of acute hypoxia.

Dr. Feiner has been involved in the Hypoxia Lab since his fellowship in 1992. Much of his research has focused on hypoxia, pulse oximetry and pulmonary physiology. He is interested in diving medicine and free-diving and has been a safety physician at a number of free-diving competitions. He continues to do medical missions with Operation Rainbow, which does orthopedic surgery mainly in Central and South America.

Michael Lipnick, MD is an anesthesiologist and intensivist and Principal Investigator of the UCSF Hypoxia Lab. A graduate of the UCSF School of Medicine, he completed residency training in Internal Medicine at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and in Anesthesiology at UCSF, followed by Critical Care fellowship at UCSF. Dr. Lipnick is an Associate Editor for User Experience at JAMA and served as a Commissioner for the Lancet Global Health Commission on Medical Oxygen Security. He is also co-Director of the UCSF WHO Collaborating Center for Emergency, Critical and Operative Care and co-founder of several global health initiatives including the OpenOximetry.org and OpenCriticalCare.org Projects.

Dr. Law completed residency in anesthesiology at the University of Toronto, and holds an M.Sc. in health policy, planning and finance from the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is Associate Director of Research for the UCSF Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia and is currently  funded by the IARS to apply advanced machine learning in models in pulse oximetry research. Dr. Law and Dr. Feiner oversee data analytics for the Hypoxia Lab.

Dr. Leeb is an Australian-trained anesthesiologist with a strong interest in global health equity and pediatric anesthesia. He has recently completed a fellowship in pediatric anesthesia at the Red Cross Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa and the UCSF CHESA fellowship. He has also completed a master of public health to better understand the broader issues affecting access to equitable health care globally. Gregory has assisted in developing community clinics and ongoing nurse education in Sierra Leone and worked as a medical aero-retrievalist in rural and remote Australia with Australia’s First Nations communities. He hopes to continue to develop his understanding of global surgery and health equity.

Wei Zhou, MD, PhD is an anesthesiologist specializing in the care of neurosurgical and obstetric patients. He is also a physician-scientist studying how neural circuits and molecular mechanisms regulate anesthesia-related consciousness. Dr. Zhou’s research focuses on the hypothalamic orexin/hypocretin system, using chemogenetics, optogenetics, and in vivo imaging to dissect how specific brain pathways influence anesthesia depth and recovery. In parallel, he is developing a clinical strategy to facilitate the reversal of general anesthesia.
With a background in molecular biology, electrophysiology, and clinical anesthesiology, he is committed to bridging basic neuroscience with real-world anesthetic care, aiming to develop mechanistic insights and innovative tools that improve perioperative outcomes.

Dr. James Ramsay is a cardiac anesthesiologist and longtime faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco. He completed his medical training at the University of British Columbia, McGill University, and the University of Oxford. After nearly a decade on the UCSF faculty, he retired from full-time clinical practice in 2023 but remains on staff and continues as an active co-investigator in the UCSF Hypoxia Lab.

Dr. Hendrickson is a physician scientist practicing Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine where she works on several clinical and translational research projects aimed understanding the pathobiology of pneumonia, sepsis, and severe COVID-19 disease and improving clinical outcomes for critically ill patients. She is the Medical Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, the county’s safety net hospital. Outside of work, Carolyn enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, sailing, and camping with her partner, young children, and dog. She recently took up gravel biking.

Dr. Pirraacchio is the Chief of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

He received his medical degree in 1999 from Lariboisiere Medical School, Paris Diderot University, before completing a fellowship in critical care at Hôpital Lariboisière from 2003-2005, where he subsequently joined the faculty. In 2012, Dr. Pirracchio also received a doctoral degree in epidemiology and biostatistics at Paris Diderot University, then completed a postdoc in biostatistics at UC Berkeley in 2013.

Dr. Pirracchio was an Assistant Professor in Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou at Paris Descartes University from 2005-2010 before assuming the role of Head of the Surgical & Trauma Critical Care team at the Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou at Paris Descartes University from 2010-2013. Dr. Pirracchio achieved the highest French academic degree of Habilitation in 2014.

Dr. Ehie not only currently serves as the Anesthesia Co-Director for the Health Volunteer Overseas, but she also serves as Chair of the SEA Global Health Outreach Committee. She is currently the Chair for the California Society of Anesthesiologists Committee of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI), Vice Chair of the Society of Pediatric Anesthesia Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, and she is the Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care.

Emmanuel Aporu completed a three-year anesthesiology residency at Makerere University in May 2025 and is a member of the Association of Anesthesiologists of Uganda. Through the UCSF CHESA Global Health Equity Fellowship, he developed an interest in research focused on improving access to safe perioperative care for underserved populations in Uganda. He supports the daily operations of the Uganda Hypoxia Lab with mentorship from faculty at UCSF, Makerere University, and Lifebox Foundation.

Fred Bulamba, MBBS, MMed, PhD, is an anaesthesia care specialist, clinical and laboratory researcher, and Co-Principal Investigator of the AAU–CHESA Hypoxia Lab in Uganda. He completed his medical training and residency in Anaesthesiology at Makerere University, followed by a fellowship with the College of Anaesthesiologists of East, Central and Southern Africa. He earned his PhD in Maternal Health from Queen Mary University of London, where his research focused on postpartum hemorrhage as a leading contributor to maternal mortality in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr. Bulamba served as Academic Faculty in the BSc. Anaesthesia program at Busitema University, where he supported both clinical training and the delivery of safe perioperative care to improve patient outcomes. He previously served as Head of the Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care at Busitema University, overseeing academic, clinical, and administrative functions. His work spans perioperative and critical care, aeromedical care, and strengthening anaesthesia workforce capacity, with a focus on advancing equitable and high-quality care systems.

Philip Ewoku carries out clinical operations at the Uganda Hypoxia Lab, building on experience in laboratory systems compliant to regulatory standards across infectious diseases (HIV, Hep B) and nutrition programs, now applied to medical device research.

Cornelius Sendagire, MBChB, MMed, is a cardiac anesthesiologist and intensivist and Principal Investigator of the AAU Hypoxia Lab. He completed his medical training and residency in Anaesthesiology and Critical Care at Makerere University, followed by fellowship training in Cardiac Anaesthesia at the Uganda Heart Institute, including additional training at the Magdi Yacoub Heart Centre, and a fellowship in Simulation Medical Education at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Sendagire serves as a Consultant in Cardiac Anaesthesia and Critical Care at the Uganda Heart Institute and as a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at C-Care International Hospital Kampala. He is also a Lecturer at Makerere University and co-founder of the Uganda Hypoxia Lab, where his work focuses on advancing device equity and building scalable ICU systems across Africa.

Bernadette is an Australian trained anesthesiologist with an ongoing interest in expanding her understanding of, and skills in, medicine across diverse communities. She has worked in Darwin with Australia’s First Nations communities; in Lusaka, Zambia, with the Global Anesthesia Development Project; Barbados and Nan in Northern Thailand.

Dr. Carragee is a UCSF Pediatric Anesthesiologist. He is a former wilderness guide, primarily based in Alaska, who has climbed 3 of the 7 summits.  Previously, he participated in​ the NASA Twin Study on Epigenetic Changes during prolonged Space Travel. His Global Health experience includes time at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in Moshi, Tanzania.  He enjoys working in the Hypoxia Lab!

Danni joined the Hypoxia Lab in October 2023 and her background focuses on biostatistics and data science. She is excited to explore how her background may contribute to global health and health equity.

David is a statistician in the Department of Anesthesia at UCSF where he collaborates with investigators on a wide variety of research projects. He received his doctoral degree in Biostatistics from UC Berkeley in 2023 for work on causal inference and targeted statistical estimation in clinical trials with time-to-event outcomes.  Outside of work, David enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, watching and/or participating in combat sports, and exploring the Bay Area wine scene.

Bunmi Okunlola is a Clinical Instructor of Anesthesia at NYU and member of the UCSF Hypoxia Lab research team. After completing her medical training and anesthesia residency at Mount Sinai in New York, Bunmi joined the CHESA team in 2020 as a Global Health Equity Fellow. During her Fellowship year she was based at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and her projects included development of a Health Equity Curriculum for residents in multiple perioperative departments. Bunmi also led a research project focusing on equity in pulse oximetry.

Mike Bernstein is an engineer with extensive experience in pulse oximeter device development and validation. For nearly 40 years he has worked for leading oximeter manufacturers to develop and improve pulse oximeter technologies. He was the collaborating lead engineer for the UCSF Hypoxia Lab and has also served as a collaborator and advisor for Lifebox.

René Vargas Zamora carries out clinical operations at the UCSF Hypoxia Lab. He obtained a program certificate in clinical trials management from the University of Delaware and a Good Clinical Practice certificate from NIDA Clinical Trials Network. Holding a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from National Taiwan University and a strong background working in poverty alleviation – Vargas Zamora seeks to transition into a new career in clinical research that focuses on health equity.

Lea El Rassi supports clinical operations at the UCSF Hypoxia Lab since August 2025.

She obtained her B.S. in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology from UCLA in 2024, during which she conducted qualitative research in surgical equity as part of PASE at UCLA.

She later her M.S. in Global Health from UCSF in 2025. As part of her capstone, she conducted qualitative work on alternative to Post-Partum Hemorrhage prevention in Malawi with Partners in Health.

Kelvin Moore Jr. is a UCSF School of Medicine Class of 2025 graduate. With career interests in anesthesiology and an overarching passion for implementing health equity, he believes that working on OpenOximetry is an excellent opportunity to propel his interests as well as contribute to a canon of work that highlights and addresses the disparate medical conditions seen domestically and globally.

Prior to his appointment with the Hypoxia Lab, he served as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. He holds two Bachelor of Arts in Public Health and Biology from Brown University.

Dr. Auchus graduated medical school from UCSF where she pursued interests in anesthesia and global health equity with the Open Oximetry team. Dr. Auchus has been a key contributor to building the oximetry database, FAQs, and studies on oximeter performance on varied skin pigments. She is also a research associate in the Hypoxia Lab where she has been actively studying the performance of inexpensive oximeters. She will be completing her residency in anesthesiology at UCSF.

Dr. Lester is a dermatologist and faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She founded the UCSF Skin of Color Clinic, where she is the director. The clinic looks to address health disparities by providing dermatological care to people of color.

Dr. Sky Vanderburg, MD MPH is a physician-scientist with a passion for redesigning critical care to maximize clinical impact while reducing inequity and waste. Aside from his clinical duties as a pulmonologist & intensivist, his research portfolio at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) includes initiatives to evaluate and reengineer respiratory support devices to conserve oxygen. He is also a technical advisor for US Government (USAID) and WHO programs aiming to evaluate and improve oxygen delivery in resource-variable settings. In his spare time, he can be found at the San Francisco Opera or swimming in the bay.

As a public health professional, Fekir worked in Southern Africa for several years leading research and implementation projects. She worked as a Strategic Information Fellow with CDC Mozambique analyzing programmatic data and supporting Implementing Partners develop data collection tools. Most recently, Fekir worked as the in-country lead for IGHS’ portfolio of projects in Namibia conducting HIV research and launching national-level informatics projects.

Currently, Fekir is a Program Manager at the Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia. In this role, she supports the Open Oximetry project (https://openoximetry.org), which aims to solve challenges in equitable global access to pulse oximeters, and the COVID-19 Global Goods project (https://opencriticalcare.org) including the COVID-19 Guidelines Dashboard, Resource Library, and Oxygen Calculator.

Ashlee is primarily dedicated to supporting the OpenOximetry project by expanding research outreach initiatives, conducting data analysis, and curating the Diversity Toolkit, a tool to be utilized by research principal investigators wanting to conduct more diverse research. Additionally, she is a 4th year UC Berkeley Molecular and Cell Biology student and will be attending medical school with the goal of practicing Cosmetic and Skin Cancer Dermatology, Pediatric Anesthesiology, or Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery.

Casey Norlin grew up moving around the US and UK before attending Northwestern University where she majored in Neuroscience, enjoyed taking Anthropology courses, and was heavily involved in student theatre. She then worked as a Management Fellow for Cancer Treatment Centers of America before attending LSU New Orleans for medical school. As a current intern at Tulane University, she is interested in learning about how health systems function across countries, particularly in low-resource settings, and investigating how global partnerships can foster bi-directional learning. She’s excited to start her Anesthesiology residency training years at UCSF in July of 2024.

Tianyue is a 1st-year PhD student in Biostatistics at UC Berkeley and has been collaborating with the Hypoxia Lab since 2023. He is involved in several projects trying to leverage statistical tools to identify features that affect the performance of pulse oximeters. He is also broadly interested in machine learning for health care and causal inference. He enjoys football, traveling and music during his spare time.

Nick’s interests lie at the intersection of medicine and data science.

Ella joined the Hypoxia Lab as a Clinical Research Coordinator in April of 2023. She oversees subject and sponsor study scheduling for pulse oximetry testing with the lab. She also assists with data collection and management for both the OpenOximetry and EquiOx projects.

Before coming to UCSF, Ella graduated from Macalester College in 2022 with a Bachelor’s in Biology and Community and Global Health. She has an EMT license and worked at Planned Parenthood as a Medical Assistant after graduation. Along with an internship at OHSU where she assisted research on nontuberculous myobacteria, she worked with her professor while studying in Sweden on a research project in human trafficking for the purpose of organ removal. In her free time, she crochets her friends sweaters and practices aerial.

Brandon is a 4th year UCSF medical student working with the Hypoxia Lab and CHESA. He is interested in a career in anesthesiology and critical care. During medical school, Brandon pursued activities centered around URM community engagement, diversity and health equity. He is currently collaborating with the OpenOximetry skin pigmentation subgroup on low-cost colorimeter comparisons and the global characterization of skin pigmentation. Brandon holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from San Diego State University.

Seth Bokser is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Clinical Informaticist at UCSF Data Core.

His research focuses on neonatal skin reflectance and improving transcutaneous device diagnostics, including transcutaneous bilirubin and pulse oximetry.

He is working with the Open Oximetry Project and collaborators at Kenyatta University in Kenya to further understand and improve pulse oximetry for newborn and pediatric populations.