Marlene Martin, MD
Professor
Marlene Martin, MD, is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at UCSF, Founding Director of the nationally recognized Addiction Care Team (ACT) at San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG), Physician Chief of Care Experience at ZSFG, and Director of Addiction Initiatives for the UCSF Latinx Center of Excellence. She is committed to transforming systems of care to improve health outcomes for marginalized communities and ensuring that care is compassionate, accessible, and equitable.
Dr. Martin was born and raised in Los Angeles in a bilingual, bicultural Mexican immigrant family and is a first-generation college graduate. She attended Stanford University for both college and medical school, was an NIH Fogarty Scholar in Peru, and completed her internal medicine residency at UCSF.
Her career has centered on advancing health equity and transforming systems of care for patients with substance use disorders and immigrants through innovation, interprofessional collaboration, and community partnerships. At ZSFG, she launched ACT, a consult service that delivers evidence-based, compassionate addiction care and serves as a model for hospitals nationwide. Through ACT, she has championed anti-stigma and healthcare education initiatives, including the Every ACT Matters campaign, ACT Nurse Liaison Program, and hospital-wide policies supporting dignified, person-centered care.
As Director of Addiction Initiatives for the UCSF Latinx Center of Excellence, Dr. Martin partners with community organizations to address inequities for the Latine community. She co-led the Latine COVID-19 Enhanced Case Investigation and Contact Tracing program, and with support from the California Health Care Foundation, co-developed the Program for Education in Drugs and Alcohol for Latine (PEDAL), a Spanish-language curriculum training promotores (community health workers) to recognize and address substance use in their communities.
A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Martin served as a UCSF PRIME coach from 2019–2023 and remains deeply committed to diversifying the healthcare workforce. She also contributes nationally as a Board Member for the National Harm Reduction Coalition, a member of the American Hospital Association’s Behavioral Health Committee, and former AMERSA board member. She is board certified in internal medicine and addiction medicine. She is an Innovations Leader for the UCSF Action Research Center. Dr. Martin has been recognized with multiple honors, including the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation's Hero and Heart Award and induction into the UCSF Council of Master Clinicians.