Alissa Kleinhenz, MD
Assistant Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

Dr. Alissa Kleinhenz is a classical hematologist at UCSF and serves as the Medical Director of Red Blood Cell Disorders. Her clinical and academic interests center on red blood cell disorders, particularly hemoglobinopathies such as thalassemia and sickle cell disease, as well as disorders of iron metabolism.

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She has a particular interest in the evaluation and management of iron overload, including rare inherited iron disorders. Drawing on her research background in CRISPR-based gene editing, Dr. Kleinhenz is also interested in advancing innovative therapies for red blood cell disorders, ranging from potentially curative approaches such as gene therapy and gene editing to emerging disease-modifying treatments.

Awards

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• Hematology Fellow of the Year, UCSF Department of Medicine, 2024
• Reza Gandjei Humanism Award, UCSF Internal Medicine Residency, 2023
• Alpha Omega Alpha, University of Michigan Medical School, 2020
• Department of Internal Medicine Senior Scholarship, University of Michigan Medical School, 2020
• Medical Research Fellowship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2018-2019
• Dean's Merit Scholarship, University of Michigan Medical School, 2015-2020
• Duke Biology Faculty Award, Duke University, 2014
• Phi Beta Kappa, Duke University, 2014

Education & Training

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• Hematology Fellowship University of California, San Francisco 2026
• Internal Medicine Residency University of California, San Francisco 2023
• MD University of Michigan Medical School 2020
• BS Biology, English Duke University 2014

Publications (6)

Top publication keywords:
Ribosomal ProteinsHealth PersonnelReceptor, Angiotensin, Type 1Academic Medical CentersAngiotensin IICoronavirus InfectionsBetacoronavirusPandemicsbeta-ArrestinsStudents, MedicalArrestinsZebrafishPneumonia, ViralAnemia, Diamond-BlackfanGTP-Binding Proteins

• Development of CRISPR_SCD001, an Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease after CRISPR-Cas9 Mediated Correction.
  Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy 2026 DeWitt M, Campo-Fernandez B, Roy S, Kleinhenz ALW, Davila A, Lennon M, Vu JT, Krishnappa N, Said S, Tseng CH, Park SH, Bao G, Magis W, Martin DIK, Boffelli D, Wyman SK, Kohn DB, Walters MC, Romero Z
• An atypical form of 60S ribosomal subunit in Diamond-Blackfan anemia linked to RPL17 variants.
  JCI insight 2024 Fellmann F, Saunders C, O'Donohue MF, Reid DW, McFadden KA, Montel-Lehry N, Yu C, Fang M, Zhang J, Royer-Bertrand B, Farinelli P, Karboul N, Willer JR, Fievet L, Bhuiyan ZA, Kleinhenz AL, Jadeau J, …
• Medical Students Are Not Essential Workers: Examining Institutional Responsibility During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
  Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges 2020 Menon A, Klein EJ, Kollars K, Kleinhenz ALW
• Angiotensin and biased analogs induce structurally distinct active conformations within a GPCR.
  Science (New York, N.Y.) 2020 Wingler LM, Skiba MA, McMahon C, Staus DP, Kleinhenz ALW, Suomivuori CM, Latorraca NR, Dror RO, Lefkowitz RJ, Kruse AC
• Molecular mechanism of biased signaling in a prototypical G protein-coupled receptor.
  Science (New York, N.Y.) 2020 Suomivuori CM, Latorraca NR, Wingler LM, Eismann S, King MC, Kleinhenz ALW, Skiba MA, Staus DP, Kruse AC, Lefkowitz RJ, Dror RO
• Structure of the M2 muscarinic receptor-β-arrestin complex in a lipid nanodisc.
  Nature 2020 Staus DP, Hu H, Robertson MJ, Kleinhenz ALW, Wingler LM, Capel WD, Latorraca NR, Lefkowitz RJ, Skiniotis G