Kensho Iwanaga, MD, MS
Professor
Pediatrics
School of Medicine

Kensho Iwanaga, MD, MS is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary, Cystic Fibrosis, and Sleep Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Iwanaga is the Program Director for the UCSF Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship. Since 2023, he has served on the Executive Committee for the Pediatric Pulmonary Training Directors Association. Iwanaga is committed to providing robust and individualized mentoring for students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty.

Awards

Show all (2) Hide

• Excellence in Teaching Award, UCSF Academy of Medical Educators, 2025
• Excellence in Teaching Award, UCSF Academy of Medical Educators, 2020

Education & Training

Show all (6) Hide

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training University of California, San Francsico 2021
• Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship Seattle Children's Hospital 2013
• M.S. Epidemiology University of Washington School of Public Health 2013
• Pediatric Chief Residency Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland 2010
• Pediatric Residency Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland 2009
• M.D. University of California, Irvine College of Medicine 2006

Interests

Show all (14) Hide

• asthma
• epidemiology
• translational research
• medical education
• sickle cell lung disease
• aerodigestive medicine
• tracheostomy and ventilator dependence
• respiratory therapies
• flexible bronchoscopy
• cystic fibrosis
• bronchopulmonary dysplasia
• interdisciplinary training
• sleep medicine
• pulmonary function testing

Websites

Show all (2) Hide

• Kensho Iwanaga | UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco (ucsfbenioffchildrens.org)
• UCSF Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship Program (pediatrics.ucsf.edu)

Publications (16)

Top publication keywords:
Immunocompromised HostMetagenomeInterleukin-8TracheostomyMycobacterium Infections, NontuberculousParticulate MatterCystic FibrosisTuberculosis, PulmonaryAir PollutantsPatient Care TeamMucin 5ACLaryngostenosisTransforming Growth Factor beta2Substance-Related DisordersAsthma

• Upper and Lower Respiratory Tract Compartmentalization in Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation.
  American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology 2026 Evans EM, Mayday MY, Pearce EM, Iwanaga K, Ly NP, Church GD, Reyes G, Simon MR, Blum J, Kim H, Mu J, Baez-Maidana J, Auletta JJ, Shaw PJ, Kreml EM, Martin PL, Duncan CN, Rowan CM, Godder K, Hurley C, …
• A Joint Conversation: People With Cystic Fibrosis' Perception of Healthcare Teams' Knowledge, Comfort, and Barriers in Discussing Substance Use.
  Pediatric pulmonology 2025 Vaziri S, McGarry ME, Cuneo AA, Willen SM, Iwanaga K, Neemuchwala F, Gibb ER, Chan M, Ly NP
• Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship Interviews: The More Options, the Better.
  ATS scholar 2024 Richard K, Kirkby S, Bishay L, Martinez-Fernandez TM, Iwanaga K, Sheares BJ, De A, Nelson BA
• Time to be blunt: Substance use in cystic fibrosis.
  Pediatric pulmonology 2024 Vaziri S, McGarry ME, Huang CY, Cuneo AA, Willen SM, Iwanaga K, Neemuchwala F, Gibb ER, Chan M, Ly NP
• Food insecurity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in cystic fibrosis households.
  Pediatric pulmonology 2022 Lim JT, Ly NP, Willen SM, Iwanaga K, Gibb ER, Chan M, Church GD, Neemuchwala F, McGarry ME

Show all (11 more) Hide

• Pulmonary Metagenomic Sequencing Suggests Missed Infections in Immunocompromised Children.
  Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2019 Zinter MS, Dvorak CC, Mayday MY, Iwanaga K, Ly NP, McGarry ME, Church GD, Faricy LE, Rowan CM, Hume JR, Steiner ME, Crawford ED, Langelier C, Kalantar K, Chow ED, Miller S, Shimano K, Melton A, Yanik …
• What is learned from measuring aerobic capacity in healthy children and young adults with cystic fibrosis
  Annals Pediatr Res 2019 Faricy LE, Iwanaga K, Ly NP
• Early-life ozone exposure associated with asthma without sensitization in Latino children.
  The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 2016 Nishimura KK, Iwanaga K, Oh SS, Pino-Yanes M, Eng C, Keswani A, Roth LA, Nguyen EA, Thyne SM, Farber HJ, Serebrisky D, Meade K, LeNoir MA, Rodriguez-Cintron W, Borrell LN, Bibbins-Domingo K, Lurmann F…
• Urban particulate matter induces pro-remodeling factors by airway epithelial cells from healthy and asthmatic children.
  Inhalation toxicology 2013 Iwanaga K, Elliott MS, Vedal S, Debley JS
• Mycobacterium abscessus complex lung infection in a toddler with a tracheostomy.
  Pediatric pulmonology 2013 Iwanaga K, Carter ER
• Inflammatory and growth mediators in growing preterm infants.
  Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM 2007 Ahmad I, Zaldivar F, Iwanaga K, Koeppel R, Grochow D, Nemet D, Waffarn F, Eliakim A, Leu SY, Cooper DM
• Effect of a high-fat meal on the growth hormone response to exercise in children.
  Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM 2006 Galassetti P, Larson J, Iwanaga K, Salsberg SL, Eliakim A, Pontello A
• Inflammatory cytokine, growth factor and counterregulatory responses to exercise in children with type 1 diabetes and healthy controls.
  Pediatric diabetes 2006 Galassetti PR, Iwanaga K, Crisostomo M, Zaldivar FP, Larson J, Pescatello A
• Effect of prior hyperglycemia on IL-6 responses to exercise in children with type 1 diabetes.
  American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism 2005 Galassetti PR, Iwanaga K, Pontello AM, Zaldivar FP, Flores RL, Larson JK
• Clinical significance of occult metastatic melanoma in sentinel lymph nodes and other high-risk factors based on long-term follow-up.
  World journal of surgery 2005 Leong SP, Kashani-Sabet M, Desmond RA, Kim RP, Nguyen DH, Iwanaga K, Treseler PA, Allen RE, Morita ET, Zhang Y, Sagebiel RW, Soong SJ
• Internal mammary sentinel lymph node mapping for invasive breast cancer: implications for staging and treatment.
  The breast journal 2005 Park C, Seid P, Morita E, Iwanaga K, Weinberg V, Quivey J, Hwang ES, Esserman LJ, Leong SP