Leslie Suen, MD, MAS
Assistant Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, and the UCSF Partnerships for Research in Implementation Science for Equity (PRISE) Center. Dr. Suen works as a primary care and addiction medicine physician and health services researcher. Her research focuses on using implementation science to improve health systems, policies, and outcomes for people with substance use disorders.

• Methamphetamine Toxicities and Clinical Management.
  NEJM evidence 2023 Coffin PO, Suen LW
• Implementing Heart Plus: Design and Early Results of a Novel Comanagement Clinic for Patients With Stimulant-associated Cardiomyopathy.
  Journal of cardiac failure 2023 Davis JD, Bepo L, Suen LW, Mclaughlin MM, Adamo M, Abbs E, Lemke G, Azari S
• Cocaine Use is Associated With Increased LVMI in Unstably Housed Women With Polysubstance Use.
  Substance abuse 2023 Ravi A, Vittinghoff E, Wu AHB, Suen LW, Coffin PO, Hsue P, Lynch KL, Win S, Kazi DS, Riley ED
• "Get in and get out, get on with life": Patient and provider perspectives on methadone van implementation for opioid use disorder treatment.
  The International journal on drug policy 2023 Suen LW, Steiger S, Shapiro B, Castellanos S, Joshi N, Lambdin BH, Knight KR
• Impact of a high-volume overdose prevention site on social and drug disorder in surrounding areas in San Francisco.
  Drug and alcohol dependence 2023 Davidson PJ, Wenger LD, Morris T, Majano V, Browne EN, Lambdin BH, Suen LW, Kral AH
• Evaluating oxygen monitoring and administration during overdose responses at a sanctioned overdose prevention site in San Francisco, California: A mixed-methods study.
  The International journal on drug policy 2023 Suen LW, Wenger LD, Morris T, Majano V, Davidson PJ, Browne EN, Ray B, Megerian CE, Lambdin BH, Kral AH
• Telehealth Policy, Practice, and Education: a Position Statement of the Society of General Internal Medicine.
  Journal of general internal medicine 2023 Chen A, Ayub MH, Mishuris RG, Rodriguez JA, Gwynn K, Lo MC, Noronha C, Henry TL, Jones D, Lee WW, Varma M, Cuevas E, Onumah C, Gupta R, Goodson J, Lu AD, Syed Q, Suen LW, Heiman E, Salhi BA, Khoong EC…
• The Howard Street Method: A Community Pharmacy-led Low Dose Overlap Buprenorphine Initiation Protocol for Individuals Using Fentanyl.
  Journal of addiction medicine 2023 Noel M, Abbs E, Suen L, Samuel L, Dobbins S, Geier M, Soran CS
• The Howard Street Method: A Community Pharmacy-Led Low Dose Overlap Buprenorphine Initiation Protocol for Individuals Using Fentanyl.
  Journal of addiction medicine 2023 Noel M, Abbs E, Suen L, Samuel L, Dobbins S, Geier M, Soran CS
• A Mixed-methods Evaluation of an Addiction/Cardiology Pilot Clinic With Contingency Management for Patients With Stimulant-associated Cardiomyopathy.
  Journal of addiction medicine 2022 Leyde S, Abbs E, Suen LW, Martin M, Mitchell A, Davis J, Azari S
• A Mixed-methods Evaluation of an Addiction/Cardiology Pilot Clinic With Contingency Management for Patients With Stimulant-associated Cardiomyopathy.
  Journal of addiction medicine 2022 Leyde S, Abbs E, Suen LW, Martin M, Mitchell A, Davis J, Azari S
• Prevalence and factors associated with neck injection among people who inject drugs in San Francisco, California.
  Drug and alcohol dependence 2022 Duhart Clarke SE, Megerian CE, Suen LW, Wenger LD, Lambdin BH, Davidson PJ, Kral AH
• Triple Threat: Response to the Crises of COVID-19, Homelessness, and Opioid Use Disorder With a Novel Approach to Buprenorphine Delivery: A Case Series.
  Journal of addiction medicine 2022 Samuel L, Caygill-Walsh R, Suen LW, Mohebbi S, Geier M
• Scoping review of managed alcohol programs.
  Harm reduction journal 2022 Smith-Bernardin SM, Suen LW, Barr-Walker J, Cuervo IA, Handley MA
• A Seat at the Table.
  Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges 2022 Suen LW
• Federal and State Regulatory Changes to Methadone Take-Home Doses: Impact of Sociostructural Factors.
  American journal of public health 2022 Wyatt JP, Suen LW, Coe WH, Adams ZM, Gandhi M, Batchelor HM, Castellanos S, Joshi N, Satterwhite S, Pérez-Rodríguez R, Rodríguez-Guerra E, Albizu-Garcia CE, Knight KR, Jordan A
• Structural Adaptations to Methadone Maintenance Treatment and Take-Home Dosing for Opioid Use Disorder in the Era of COVID-19.
  American journal of public health 2022 Suen LW, Coe WH, Wyatt JP, Adams ZM, Gandhi M, Batchelor HM, Castellanos S, Joshi N, Satterwhite S, Pérez-Rodríguez R, Rodríguez-Guerra E, Albizu-Garcia CE, Knight KR, Jordan A
• Rapid Overlap Initiation Protocol Using Low Dose Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in an Outpatient Setting: A Case Series.
  Journal of addiction medicine 2022 Suen LW, Lee TG, Silva M, Walton P, Coffin PO, Geier M, Soran CS
• Emergency department visits and trends related to cocaine, psychostimulants, and opioids in the United States, 2008-2018.
  BMC emergency medicine 2022 Suen LW, Davy-Mendez T, LeSaint KT, Riley ED, Coffin PO
• Effect of an Unsanctioned Safe Consumption Site in the United States on Syringe Sharing, Rushed Injections, and Isolated Injection Drug Use: A Longitudinal Cohort Analysis.
  Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) 2022 Suen LW, Davidson PJ, Browne EN, Lambdin BH, Wenger LD, Kral AH
• Do Ask, Tell, and Show: Contextual Factors Affecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Disclosure for Sexual and Gender Minority People.
  LGBT health 2022 Suen LW, Lunn MR, Sevelius JM, Flentje A, Capriotti MR, Lubensky ME, Hunt C, Weber S, Bahati M, Rescate A, Dastur Z, Obedin-Maliver J
• Factors associated with smoking cessation attempts in a public, safety-net primary care system.
  Preventive medicine reports 2022 Suen LW, Rafferty H, Le T, Chung K, Straus E, Chen E, Vijayaraghavan M
• Reduced Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalisation with Use of an Unsanctioned Safe Consumption Site for Injection Drug Use in the United States.
  Journal of general internal medicine 2022 Lambdin BH, Davidson PJ, Browne EN, Suen LW, Wenger LD, Kral AH
• Transition from Oxycodone to Buprenorphine/Naloxone in a Hospitalized Patient with Sickle Cell Disease: A Case Report.
  Journal of general internal medicine 2022 Leyde S, Suen L, Pratt L, DeFries T
• "The idea is to help people achieve greater success and liberty": A qualitative study of expanded methadone take-home access in opioid use disorder treatment.
  Substance abuse 2022 Suen LW, Castellanos S, Joshi N, Satterwhite S, Knight KR
• System-Level Quality Improvement Initiatives for Tobacco Use in a Safety-Net Health System During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
  Journal of primary care & community health 2022 Chung K, Rafferty H, Suen LW, Vijayaraghavan M
• Factors Associated with Pain Treatment Satisfaction Among Patients with Chronic Non-Cancer Pain and Substance Use.
  Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM 2021 Suen LW, McMahan VM, Rowe C, Bhardwaj S, Knight K, Kushel MB, Santos GM, Coffin P
• Improved syringe disposal practices associated with unsanctioned safe consumption site use: A cohort study of people who inject drugs in the United States.
  Drug and alcohol dependence 2021 Kral AH, Lambdin BH, Wenger LD, Browne EN, Suen LW, Davidson PJ
• Non-fatal stimulant overdose among homeless and unstably housed women in San Francisco, California.
  Drug and alcohol dependence 2021 Davy-Mendez T, Vittinghoff E, Dilworth SE, Suen LW, Braun C, Coffin PO, Satre DD, Riley ED
• National Prevalence of Alcohol and Other Substance Use Disorders Among Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations: NHAMCS 2014-2018.
  Journal of general internal medicine 2021 Suen LW, Makam AN, Snyder HR, Repplinger D, Kushel MB, Martin M, Nguyen OK
• What Sexual and Gender Minority People Want Researchers to Know About Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Questions: A Qualitative Study.
  Archives of sexual behavior 2020 Suen LW, Lunn MR, Katuzny K, Finn S, Duncan L, Sevelius J, Flentje A, Capriotti MR, Lubensky ME, Hunt C, Weber S, Bibbins-Domingo K, Obedin-Maliver J
• Thinking Outside the Visit: Primary Care Patient Perspectives on Helpful Advance Care Planning Methods.
  Journal of general internal medicine 2019 Suen LW, Leyde S, Min K, Volow A, Rabow M, Sudore RL