2024 UCSF Medal

We salute Jennifer Doudna, a biochemist at the University of California, Berkeley, for her groundbreaking career in science and training the next generation of scientists. Her co-development of CRISPR-Cas9 – a genome engineering technology that allows researchers to edit DNA – in collaboration with Emmanuelle Charpentier, PhD, earned them the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and forever changed the course of human and agricultural genomics research.

We honor Sandra R. Hernández for her lifetime commitment to public health and public service. Prior to taking the helm at the California Health Care Foundation, Sandra was CEO of the San Francisco Foundation and director of public health for the City and County of San Francisco. As a UCSF resident, Sandra practiced at Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center during the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and has been a valued member of the UCSF community ever since.

We commend William “Bill” Oberndorf, for his longtime leadership in rallying the philanthropic community to support UCSF’s mission in research, care delivery and graduate health sciences education. As chair of the UCSF Board of Directors from 2011 to 2020, he co-chaired a multi-year campaign that raised more than $6 billion to support UCSF.

We honor former Congresswoman Jackie Speier for her 40-year commitment to public service and steadfast advocacy for women, children, the LGBTQ community and the disenfranchised. She has dedicated her life to eliminating government corruption, protecting whistleblowers, addressing sexual assault in the military, and working to strengthen the national and economic security of the U.S.