Neeta Thakur, MD

Associate Professor in Res

Dr. Neeta Thakur is a pulmonary and critical care physician at UCSF who examines the role of social and environmental stressors on asthma and COPD in historically marginalized communities. Better definitions of the mechanism of how social and environmental stressors impact asthma and COPD will allow for the development of targeted interventions and therapies to improve related outcomes in historically marginalized communities. Dr. Thakur completed a dual degree program in public health and medicine at the University of Arizona focused on community health and program development and evaluation. She came to UCSF for residency in Internal Medicine and stayed to complete her Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellowship and has expertise in clinical research methods, social epidemiology, and implementation sciences. Dr. Thakur's experience as a clinician, and now Medical Director of the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG) Chest Clinic, gives her first-hand insight on how social and environmental stress negatively affect asthma and COPD outcomes and practical knowledge of the existing barriers to adoption of evidence-based interventions into practice.

Dr. Thakur’s NIH supported research focuses on: 1) defining obstructive lung disease phenotypes that exist in racially and ethnically diverse communities and how these are shaped by social and environmental stressors and 2) identifying community-specific drivers that place individuals at high risk for poor outcomes and 3) co-developing place-based and targeted interventions aimed at social and environmental stressors to improve respiratory outcomes in historically marginalized populations. To successfully achieve these goals, Dr. Thakur employs community-engaged approaches that range from querying community stakeholders for input to participatory action research through our Youth Participatory Action Research program and our environmental justice portfolio.

Education
2020 - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training, University of California, San Francisco
Certificate, 2019 - Implementation Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
Research Fellowship, 2015 - Clinical Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco
Certificate, 2013 - Advance Training in Clinical Research, University of California, San Francisco
Clinical Fellowship, 2013 - Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Residency, 2010 - Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
M.D./M.P.H., 2007 - School of Medicine, University of Arizona
B.S., 2002 - Physiology, University of Arizona
Websites
Publications

  1. Spece LJ, Hee Wai T, Donovan LM, Duan KI, Plumley R, Crothers KA, Thakur N, Baugh A, Hayes S, Picazo F, Feemster LC, Au DH. The Impact of Changing Race-Specific Equations for Lung Function Tests among Veterans with COPD. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2024. PMID: 38820262


  2. Thakur N, Balmes JR. Fine-Scale Neighborhood Air Pollution Mapping: A First Step Towards Decoding Racial Asthma Disparities. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2024. PMID: 38602863


  3. de la Rosa R, Le A, Holm S, Ye M, Bush NR, Hessler D, Koita K, Bucci M, Long D, Thakur N. Associations Between Early-Life Adversity, Ambient Air Pollution, and Telomere Length in Children. Psychosomatic medicine 2024. PMID: 38588482


  4. Hayes S, Duan KI, Wai TH, Picazo F, Donovan LM, Spece LJ, Plumley R, Slatore CG, Thakur N, Crothers K, Au DH, Feemster LC. Association Between Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Prevalence Among U.S. Veterans. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2024. PMID: 38252425


  5. DeDent AM, Collard HR, Thakur N. Neighborhood Health and Outcomes in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2023. PMID: 37962494


  6. Martinez A, Ye M, Hessler D, de la Rosa R, Benson M, Gilgoff R, Koita K, Bucci M, Harris NB, Long D, Thakur N. Adverse Childhood Experiences and Related Events are Associated with Asthma Symptoms in Children. Academic pediatrics 2024. PMID: 38246348


  7. Okelo SO, Chesley CF, Riley I, Diaz AA, Collishaw K, Schnapp LM, Thakur N. Accelerating Action: Roadmap for the American Thoracic Society to Address Oppression and Health Inequity in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2023. PMID: 37934586


  8. Okelo SO, Chesley CF, Riley I, Diaz AA, Collishaw K, Schnapp LM, Thakur N. Historical Reflection as the American Thoracic Society Moves to Combat Racism in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2023. PMID: 37486277


  9. Hazlehurst MF, Dearborn LC, Sherris AR, Loftus CT, Adgent MA, Szpiro AA, Ni Y, Day DB, Kaufman JD, Thakur N, Wright RJ, Sathyanarayana S, Carroll KN, Moore PE, Karr CJ. Long-term ozone exposure and lung function in middle childhood. Environmental research 2023. PMID: 37967704


  10. Baugh AD, Acho M, Arhin A, Barjaktarevic I, Couper D, Criner G, Han M, Hansel N, Krishnan J, Malcolm K, Namen A, Peters S, Schotland H, Sowho M, Zeidler M, Woodruff P, Thakur N. African American race is associated with worse sleep quality in heavy smokers. Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine 2023. PMID: 37128722


  11. Baugh AD, Woodruff P, Shiboski S, Glidden DV, Ortega VE, Thakur N. Spirometry in Mixed Race Civil War Veterans. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2023. PMID: 37159952


  12. Ye M, Hessler D, Ford D, Benson M, Koita K, Bucci M, Long D, Harris NB, Thakur N. Pediatric ACEs and related life event screener (PEARLS) latent domains and child health in a safety-net primary care practice. BMC pediatrics 2023. PMID: 37461038


  13. Thakur N, Martinez A. Housing Reparations as an Avenue to Counter the Impact of Structural Racism on Asthma. JAMA 2023. PMID: 37191711


  14. Baugh A, Thakur N. Race, Racism, and Respiratory Health. Clinics in chest medicine 2023. PMID: 37517827


  15. Bhakta NR, Bime C, Kaminsky DA, McCormack MC, Thakur N, Stanojevic S, Baugh AD, Braun L, Lovinsky-Desir S, Adamson R, Witonsky J, Wise RA, Levy SD, Brown R, Forno E, Cohen RT, Johnson M, Balmes J, Mageto Y, Lee CT, Masekela R, Weiner DJ, Irvin CG, Swenson ER, Rosenfeld M, Schwartzstein RM, Agrawal A, Neptune E, Wisnivesky JP, Ortega VE, Burney P. Race and Ethnicity in Pulmonary Function Test Interpretation: An Official American Thoracic Society Statement. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2023. PMID: 36973004


  16. de la Rosa R, Zablotny D, Ye M, Bush NR, Hessler D, Koita K, Bucci M, Long D, Thakur N. Biological Burden of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Children. Psychosomatic medicine 2023. PMID: 36728584


  17. Martinez A, Thakur N. Structural Racism and the Social Determinants of Health in Asthma. Advances in experimental medicine and biology 2023. PMID: 37464118


  18. Long D, Hessler D, Koita K, Bucci M, Benson M, Gilgoff R, Thakur N, Burke Harris N. Screening for adverse childhood experiences in pediatrics: A randomized trial of aggregate-level versus item-level response screening formats. PloS one 2022. PMID: 36520927


  19. Diaz AA, Thakur N, Celed?n JC. Lessons Learned from Health Disparities in Coronavirus Disease-2019 in the United States. Clinics in chest medicine 2022. PMID: 37085230


  20. Baugh AD, Thakur N, Woodruff PG. Reply to: US Occupational Historical Perspective on Race and Lung Function. 2022. PMID: 35503237


  21. Baugh A, Buhr RG, Quibrera P, Barjaktarevic I, Barr RG, Bowler R, Han MK, Kaufman JD, Koch AL, Krishnan J, Labaki W, Martinez FJ, Mkorombindo T, Namen A, Ortega V, Paine R, Peters SP, Schotland H, Sundar K, Zeidler MR, Hansel NN, Woodruff PG, Thakur N. Risk of COPD exacerbation is increased by poor sleep quality and modified by social adversity. 2022. PMID: 35665826


  22. Jeung J, Hessler Jones D, Frame L, Gilgoff R, Long D, Thakur N, Koita K, Bucci M, Burke Harris N. A Caregiver-Child Intervention for Mitigating Toxic Stress ("The Resiliency Clinic"): A Pilot Study. Maternal and child health journal 2022. PMID: 35947275


  23. DeDent AM, Collard HR, Thakur N. Disparities in Rural Populations with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. 2022. PMID: 35390330


  24. Baugh AD, Shiboski S, Hansel NN, Ortega V, Barjakteravic I, Barr RG, Bowler R, Comellas AP, Cooper CB, Couper D, Criner G, Curtis JL, Dransfield M, Ejike C, Han M, Hoffman E, Krishnan J, Krishnan JA, Mannino D, Paine Iii R, Parekh T, Peters S, Putcha N, Rennard S, Thakur N, Woodruff PG. Reconsidering the Utility of Race-Specific Lung Function Prediction Equations. 2021. PMID: 34913855


  25. Santhosh L, Block B, Kim SY, Raju S, Shah RJ, Thakur N, Brigham EP, Parker AM. Response. 2022. PMID: 35000721


  26. Avitzur N, Noth EM, Lamidi M, Nathan SD, Collard HR, DeDent AM, Thakur N, Johannson KA. Relative environmental and social disadvantage in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. 2021. PMID: 34949724


  27. Martinez A, de la Rosa R, Mujahid M, Thakur N. Structural racism and its pathways to asthma and atopic dermatitis. 2021. PMID: 34743832


  28. Bhakta NR, Kaminsky DA, Bime C, Thakur N, Hall GL, McCormack MC, Stanojevic S. Addressing Race in Pulmonary Function Testing by Aligning Intent and Evidence with Practice and Perception. Chest 2021. PMID: 34437887


  29. Thakur N, Lovinsky-Desir S, Appell D, Bime C, Castro L, Celedón JC, Ferreira J, George M, Mageto Y, Mainous Iii AG, Pakhale S, Riekert KA, Roman J, Ruvalcaba E, Sharma S, Shete P, Wisnivesky JP, Holguin F. Enhancing Recruitment and Retention of Minority Populations for Clinical Research in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine: An Official American Thoracic Society Research Statement. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2021. PMID: 34347574


  30. Ejike CO, Woo H, Galiatsatos P, Paulin LM, Krishnan JA, Cooper CB, Couper DJ, Kanner RE, Bowler RP, Hoffman EA, Comellas AP, Criner GJ, Barr RG, Martinez FJ, Han MK, Martinez CH, Ortega VE, Parekh TM, Christenson SA, Thakur N, Baugh A, Belz DC, Raju S, Gassett AJ, Kaufman JD, Putcha N, Hansel NN. Contribution of Individual and Neighborhood Factors to Racial Disparities in Respiratory Outcomes. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2020. PMID: 33007162


  31. Santhosh L, Block B, Kim SY, Raju S, Shah RJ, Thakur N, Brigham EP, Parker AM. Rapid Design and Implementation of Post-COVID-19 Clinics. Chest 2021. PMID: 33811910


  32. Spece LJ, Epler EM, Duan K, Donovan LM, Griffith MF, LaBedz S, Thakur N, Wiener RS, Krishnan JA, Au DH, Feemster LC. Reassessment of Home Oxygen Prescription after Hospitalization for COPD: A Potential Target for De-implementation. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2020. PMID: 33075243


  33. Contreras MG, Keys K, Magaña J, Goddard PC, Risse-Adams O, Zeiger AM, Mak ACY, Samedy-Bates LA, Neophytou AM, Lee E, Thakur N, Elhawary JR, Hu D, Huntsman S, Eng C, Hu T, Burchard EG, White MJ. Native American Ancestry and Air Pollution Interact to Impact Bronchodilator Response in Puerto Rican Children with Asthma. Ethnicity & disease 2021. PMID: 33519158


  34. Thakur N, Lovinsky-Desir S, Bime C, Wisnivesky JP, Celedón JC. The Structural and Social Determinants of the Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the U.S. COVID-19 Pandemic: What's Our Role? American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2020. PMID: 32677842


  35. Thakur N, Hessler D, Koita K, Ye M, Benson M, Gilgoff R, Bucci M, Long D, Burke Harris N. Pediatrics adverse childhood experiences and related life events screener (PEARLS) and health in a safety-net practice. Child abuse & neglect 2020. PMID: 32898839


  36. Magaña J, Contreras MG, Keys KL, Risse-Adams O, Goddard PC, Zeiger AM, Mak ACY, Elhawary JR, Samedy-Bates LA, Lee E, Thakur N, Hu D, Eng C, Salazar S, Huntsman S, Hu T, Burchard EG, White MJ. An epistatic interaction between pre-natal smoke exposure and socioeconomic status has a significant impact on bronchodilator drug response in African American youth with asthma. BioData mining 2020. PMID: 32636926


  37. Vanderburg S, Alipanah N, Crowder R, Yoon C, Wang R, Thakur N, Slown K, Shete PB, Rofael M, Metcalfe JZ, Merrifield C, Marquez C, Malcolm K, Lipnick M, Jain V, Gomez A, Burns G, Brown LB, Berger C, Auyeung V, Cattamanchi A, Hendrickson CM. Management and Outcomes of Critically-Ill Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia at a Safety-net Hospital in San Francisco, a Region with Early Public Health Interventions: A Case Series. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences 2020. PMID: 32511538


  38. Sullivan K, Thakur N. Structural and Social Determinants of Health in Asthma in Developed Economies: a Scoping Review of Literature Published Between 2014 and 2019. Current allergy and asthma reports 2020. PMID: 32030507


  39. Nardone A, Casey JA, Morello-Frosch R, Mujahid M, Balmes JR, Thakur N. Associations between historical residential redlining and current age-adjusted rates of emergency department visits due to asthma across eight cities in California: an ecological study. The Lancet. Planetary health 2020. PMID: 31999951


  40. Thakur N, Borrell LN, Ye M, Oh SS, Eng C, Meade K, Avila PC, Farber HJ, Serebrisky D, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Rodriguez-Cintron W, Kumar R, Bibbins-Domingo K, Thyne S, Sen S, Rodriguez-Santana JR, Burchard EG. Acculturation is Associated with Asthma Burden and Pulmonary Function in Latino Youth: The GALA II Study. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 2019. PMID: 30682453


  41. Koita K, Long D, Hessler D, Benson M, Daley K, Bucci M, Thakur N, Burke Harris N. Development and implementation of a pediatric adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and other determinants of health questionnaire in the pediatric medical home: A pilot study. PloS one 2018. PMID: 30540843


  42. Spear ML, Hu D, Pino-Yanes M, Huntsman S, Eng C, Levin AM, Ortega VE, White MJ, McGarry ME, Thakur N, Galanter J, Mak ACY, Oh SS, Ampleford E, Peters SP, Davis A, Kumar R, Farber HJ, Meade K, Avila PC, Serebrisky D, Lenoir MA, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Cintron WR, Thyne SM, Rodriguez-Santana JR, Ford JG, Chapela R, Estrada AM, Sandoval K, Seibold MA, Winkler CA, Bleecker ER, Myers DA, Williams LK, Hernandez RD, Torgerson DG, Burchard EG. A genome-wide association and admixture mapping study of bronchodilator drug response in African Americans with asthma. The pharmacogenomics journal 2018. PMID: 30206298


  43. Gignoux CR, Torgerson DG, Pino-Yanes M, Uricchio LH, Galanter J, Roth LA, Eng C, Hu D, Nguyen EA, Huntsman S, Mathias RA, Kumar R, Rodriguez-Santana J, Thakur N, Oh SS, McGarry M, Moreno-Estrada A, Sandoval K, Winkler CA, Seibold MA, Padhukasahasram B, Conti DV, Farber HJ, Avila P, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Lenoir M, Meade K, Serebrisky D, Borrell LN, Rodriguez-Cintron W, Thyne S, Joubert BR, Romieu I, Levin AM, Sienra-Monge JJ, Del Rio-Navarro BE, Gan W, Raby BA, Weiss ST, Bleecker E, Meyers DA, Martinez FJ, Gauderman WJ, Gilliland F, London SJ, Bustamante CD, Nicolae DL, Ober C, Sen S, Barnes K, Williams LK, Hernandez RD, Burchard EG. An admixture mapping meta-analysis implicates genetic variation at 18q21 with asthma susceptibility in Latinos. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 2018. PMID: 30201514


  44. Nardone A, Neophytou AM, Balmes J, Thakur N. Ambient Air Pollution and Asthma-Related Outcomes in Children of Color of the USA: a Scoping Review of Literature Published Between 2013 and 2017. Current allergy and asthma reports 2018. PMID: 29663154


  45. Hiatt RA, Handley MA, Ling PM, Burchard E, Thakur N, Bibbins-Domingo K. Origins of Cancer Disparities in Young Adults: Logic Models to Guide Research. Volume 53 of Issue 3S1. American journal of preventive medicine 2017. PMID: 28818252


  46. Carlson S, Borrell LN, Eng C, Nguyen M, Thyne S, LeNoir MA, Burke-Harris N, Burchard EG, Thakur N. Self-reported racial/ethnic discrimination and bronchodilator response in African American youth with asthma. Volume 12 of Issue 6. PloS one 2017. PMID: 28609485


  47. Galanter JM, Gignoux CR, Oh SS, Torgerson D, Pino-Yanes M, Thakur N, Eng C, Hu D, Huntsman S, Farber HJ, Avila PC, Brigino-Buenaventura E, LeNoir MA, Meade K, Serebrisky D, Rodríguez-Cintrón W, Kumar R, Rodríguez-Santana JR, Seibold MA, Borrell LN, Burchard EG, Zaitlen N. Differential methylation between ethnic sub-groups reflects the effect of genetic ancestry and environmental exposures. Volume 6. eLife 2017. PMID: 28044981


  48. Oh SS, Du R, Zeiger AM, McGarry ME, Hu D, Thakur N, Pino-Yanes M, Galanter JM, Eng C, Nishimura KK, Huntsman S, Farber HJ, Meade K, Avila P, Serebrisky D, Bibbins-Domingo K, Lenoir MA, Ford JG, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Rodriguez-Cintron W, Thyne SM, Sen S, Rodriguez-Santana JR, Williams K, Kumar R, Burchard EG. Breastfeeding associated with higher lung function in African American youths with asthma. Volume 54 of Issue 8. The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma 2016. PMID: 27929698


  49. Thakur N, Barcelo NE, Borrell LN, Singh S, Eng C, Davis A, Meade K, LeNoir MA, Avila PC, Farber HJ, Serebrisky D, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Rodriguez-Cintron W, Thyne S, Rodriguez-Santana JR, Sen S, Bibbins-Domingo K, Burchard EG. Perceived Discrimination Associated With Asthma and Related Outcomes in Minority Youth: The GALA II and SAGE II Studies. Volume 151 of Issue 4. Chest 2016. PMID: 27916618


  50. Neophytou AM, White MJ, Oh SS, Thakur N, Galanter JM, Nishimura KK, Pino-Yanes M, Torgerson DG, Gignoux CR, Eng C, Nguyen EA, Hu D, Mak AC, Kumar R, Seibold MA, Davis A, Farber HJ, Meade K, Avila PC, Serebrisky D, Lenoir MA, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Rodriguez-Cintron W, Bibbins-Domingo K, Thyne SM, Williams LK, Sen S, Gilliland FD, Gauderman WJ, Rodriguez-Santana JR, Lurmann F, Balmes JR, Eisen EA, Burchard EG. Air Pollution and Lung Function in Minority Youth with Asthma in the GALA II (Genes-Environments and Admixture in Latino Americans) and SAGE II (Study of African Americans, Asthma, Genes, and Environments) Studies. Volume 193 of Issue 11. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2016. PMID: 26734713


  51. Oh SS, Galanter J, Thakur N, Pino-Yanes M, Barcelo NE, White MJ, de Bruin DM, Greenblatt RM, Bibbins-Domingo K, Wu AH, Borrell LN, Gunter C, Powe NR, Burchard EG. Diversity in Clinical and Biomedical Research: A Promise Yet to Be Fulfilled. Volume 12 of Issue 12. PLoS medicine 2015. PMID: 26671224


  52. McGarry ME, Castellanos E, Thakur N, Oh SS, Eng C, Davis A, Meade K, LeNoir MA, Avila PC, Farber HJ, Serebrisky D, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Rodriguez-Cintron W, Kumar R, Bibbins-Domingo K, Thyne SM, Sen S, Rodriguez-Santana JR, Borrell LN, Burchard EG. Obesity and bronchodilator response in black and Hispanic children and adolescents with asthma. Volume 147 of Issue 6. Chest 2015. PMID: 25742612


  53. Pino-Yanes M, Thakur N, Gignoux CR, Galanter JM, Roth LA, Eng C, Nishimura KK, Oh SS, Vora H, Huntsman S, Nguyen EA, Hu D, Drake KA, Conti DV, Moreno-Estrada A, Sandoval K, Winkler CA, Borrell LN, Lurmann F, Islam TS, Davis A, Farber HJ, Meade K, Avila PC, Serebrisky D, Bibbins-Domingo K, Lenoir MA, Ford JG, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Rodriguez-Cintron W, Thyne SM, Sen S, Rodriguez-Santana JR, Bustamante CD, Williams LK, Gilliland FD, Gauderman WJ, Kumar R, Torgerson DG, Burchard EG. Genetic ancestry influences asthma susceptibility and lung function among Latinos. Volume 135 of Issue 1. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 2014. PMID: 25301036


  54. Thakur N, Martin M, Castellanos E, Oh SS, Roth LA, Eng C, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Davis A, Meade K, LeNoir MA, Farber HJ, Thyne S, Sen S, Bibbins-Domingo K, Borrell LN, Burchard EG. Socioeconomic status and asthma control in African American youth in SAGE II. Volume 51 of Issue 7. The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma 2014. PMID: 24654704


  55. Thakur N, McGarry ME, Oh SS, Galanter JM, Finn PW, Burchard EG. The lung corps' approach to reducing health disparities in respiratory disease. Volume 11 of Issue 4. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2014. PMID: 24697756


  56. Thakur N, Oh SS, Nguyen EA, Martin M, Roth LA, Galanter J, Gignoux CR, Eng C, Davis A, Meade K, LeNoir MA, Avila PC, Farber HJ, Serebrisky D, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Rodriguez-Cintron W, Kumar R, Williams LK, Bibbins-Domingo K, Thyne S, Sen S, Rodriguez-Santana JR, Borrell LN, Burchard EG. Socioeconomic status and childhood asthma in urban minority youths. The GALA II and SAGE II studies. Volume 188 of Issue 10. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2013. PMID: 24050698


  57. Nishimura KK, Galanter JM, Roth LA, Oh SS, Thakur N, Nguyen EA, Thyne S, Farber HJ, Serebrisky D, Kumar R, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Davis A, LeNoir MA, Meade K, Rodriguez-Cintron W, Avila PC, Borrell LN, Bibbins-Domingo K, Rodriguez-Santana JR, Sen S, Lurmann F, Balmes JR, Burchard EG. Early-life air pollution and asthma risk in minority children. The GALA II and SAGE II studies. Volume 188 of Issue 3. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2013. PMID: 23750510


  58. Thakur N, Blanc PD, Julian LJ, Yelin EH, Katz PP, Sidney S, Iribarren C, Eisner MD. COPD and cognitive impairment: the role of hypoxemia and oxygen therapy. Volume 5. International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 2010. PMID: 20856825