Can Public Health Rebuild Trust? UCSF’s Dr. Monica Gandhi on Talking Across the Divide

On this episode of the Reaching Higher Podcast, host Aaron Strout talks with Dr. Monica Gandhi, UCSF infectious disease physician, medical director of San Francisco’s Ward 86 HIV clinic, and author of Endemic: A Post-Pandemic Playbook. Dr. Gandhi explains how lessons from the HIV epidemic shaped her public voice during the pandemic and why harm reduction, meeting people where they are, should guide public health messaging. She shares how Ward 86 pioneered long-acting injectable HIV therapy for unhoused patients, helping change national DHHS guidelines in 2024. The conversation covers integrating mental health into HIV care, protecting early career NIH scientists, low-cost urine adherence tests for global HIV care, the real-world impact of PEPFAR and USAID cuts, and the Ebola outbreak in DRC. She closes with her best advice for young doctors and researchers: play the long game, stay data driven, and don’t succumb to despair.

Show Links

• Endemic: A Post-Pandemic Playbook (Mayo Clinic Press): https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/product/endemic
• Dr. Monica Gandhi on X: https://x.com/MonicaGandhi9
• Dr. Monica Gandhi, UCSF profile: https://profiles.ucsf.edu/monica.gandhi
• International Rescue Committee (IRC): https://www.rescue.org
• amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research: https://www.amfar.org