Maya is a practicing general internist and a researcher in tobacco control with a focus on populations experiencing homelessness. Her work in the last decade has helped quantify tobacco use among marginalized communities and has led to interventions to improve smoke-free policies and access to cessation services in these populations.
Her intervention research involves deep collaboration with health systems and community organizations and has been supported by the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the San Francisco Cancer Initiative, as well as many others.
She earned her medical degree from Boston University, completed a residency in internal medicine at Columbia University in New York and earned her Master of Applied Science degree from UCSF.
In addition to her role as the director of the SCLC, Maya also serves as the co-director of the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education postdoctoral training program. She will continue her clinical work at the Richard H. Fine People’s Clinic at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.