Carla Kuon, MD

Dr. Carla Kuon is an integrative medicine doctor – a specialist in combining standard treatments with complementary therapies – who cares for patients with blood cancers. She has particular interests in nutrition, immune system function, medical applications that use information about genetic makeup, mind-body medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. She guides patients with chronic illnesses to improve their health through a whole-person approach that includes lifestyle modifications, such as making nutritional changes, reducing stress and addressing the underlying drivers of illness.

For more than seven years, Kuon co-managed UCSF's hematology-oncology inpatient service. She directs the massage therapy consultation service for patients undergoing chemotherapy for blood cancers.

In 2023, Kuon was named director of the OPTIMAL Clinic, which provides integrative treatments for patients recovering from long COVID. To address a critical care gap for patients with the condition, she created an innovative – and ultimately successful – group medical visit model. The OPTIMAL Clinic was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to further study the impact of long COVID and was also distinguished with a UCSF PIPE Interprofessional Collaboration Award.

Kuon earned her medical degree from the Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at UT (University of Texas) Health San Antonio. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Tufts Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in integrative medicine at UCSF.