Maile Young Karris, MD, is a board-certified infectious disease physician who specializes in caring for individuals with HIV. She is a part of UC San Diego Health’s Owen Clinic, one of the nation’s outstanding primary care centers for HIV positive men and women. Her clinical practice includes caring for individuals newly diagnosed with HIV and helping individuals living with HIV age successfully.

Dr. Karris has expertise in non-HIV associated infections in individuals with HIV and in preventing HIV infection (pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP). Her research focuses on understanding the barriers and facilitators that contribute to poor HIV linkage and retention; the biology and delivery of PrEP for HIV prevention; the impact of inflammation and other factors on HIV clinical outcomes, and care models for adults with HIV who are aging. She is an active HIV researcher and member of the UC San Diego Center for AIDS Research.

As an associate profession in the Department of Medicine, she also participates in mentoring and educating internal medicine residents and infectious disease fellows.

Dr. Karris completed a fellowship in infectious disease at UC San Diego School of Medicine and a a residency in internal medicine at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Ore. She earned her medical degree from University of Hawaii at Manoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu. She is board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease.

Dr. Karris is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and Women Give San Diego, a group that funds non-profit organizations in San Diego County to provide underserved women and girls with opportunities to enhance their participation the local economy.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Dr. Deiss is a physician at UC San Diego Health’s Owen Clinic, one of the nation’s outstanding primary care centers for people with HIV.

Darcy A. Wooten, MD, MS, is an infectious disease specialist who diagnoses and treats diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. These include hepatitis viruses, tuberculosis, influenza, and HIV/AIDS, among others.

Dr. Wooten provides primary care for adults with HIV and specialized care and treatment for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV). She also has expertise in general infectious diseases, including infections of the sinuses, heart, brain, lungs, gastrointestinal system, urinary tract, pelvic organs, and bones. Dr. Wooten’s research interests include medical education and problem-based learning, HIV and HCV screening, and quality improvement to enhance care delivery to HIV-infected patients.

As an associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Dr. Wooten is active in teaching medical students and residents, and lectures on topics in infectious disease, antibiotics and HIV.

She has been published in numerous medical journals, including Journal of Hospital Medicine, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, and Transplant Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Wooten earned her medical degree and completed her internal medicine residency from University of California, San Francisco. She earned her master’s degree from UC Berkeley in Health and Medical Sciences. Dr. Wooten completed her infectious diseases fellowship at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. During her fellowship, Dr. Wooten was awarded fellow of the year and was involved in several hospital committees. She is board certified in internal medicine.

Dr. Wooten serves on the Infection Control Committee and the Infectious Diseases Division Clinical Competency Committee at UC San Diego Medical Center. She is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of American and Society of General Internal Medicine. 

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Gabriel Wagner, MD, is a board-certified infectious disease specialist who cares for adults with HIV and AIDS at the Owens Clinic. He treats individuals at all stages of HIV disease and helps monitor and manage their health.

Dr. Wagner also conducts research at the UC San Diego Center for AIDS Research. His research interests focus on the study of HIV superinfection, i.e., re-infection of an HIV-positive individual). He has been published in several medical journals, including The Journal of Infectious Diseases, AIDS, and Journal of Virology.

He completed a fellowship in infectious diseases at UC San Diego School of Medicine and a residency in internal medicine at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Wagner earned his medical degree from University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences in Toledo, Ohio. He is board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease.

Dr. Wagner was born in Peru and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Outside of work, he enjoys playing guitar, hiking, snowboarding, and films.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Francesca J. Torriani, MD, is a professor of clinical medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of California, San Diego. She sees patients in the Owen Clinic and the infectious diseases clinic. She also cares for people during hospital stays.

Dr. Torriani is medical director of the UC San Diego Infection Prevention and Clinical Epidemiology and the tuberculosis control units at UC San Diego Health. In collaboration with Atlas Public Health, she has been instrumental in creating an extensive electronic microbiology surveillance and pharmacy utilization program called Guardian that allows for internal data mining, surveillance, unit-specific antibiogram production, and external reporting of contagious infections to San Diego Public Health and to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI).

Since 2010, Dr. Torriani has served on the Metrics Group for CA HAI Reporting, an independent group of experts discussing best standards and methods for HAI reporting in California. Dr. Torriani has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals including The Journal of Infectious Diseases, AIDS, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, and Clinical Infectious Diseases and New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

In June 2013, Dr. Torriani was awarded a 1.35 million dollar 3-year grant from the UC Office of the President to prevent surgical site infections (SSI). The goal of this grant was to standardize and implement the education of patients, CHG bathing and wound care after orthopedic, neurosurgical and colorectal surgeries at all 5 UC academic medical centers.

Dr. Torriani joined UC San Diego Health in 1995 after completing a fellowship in infectious diseases. Dr. Torriani earned her medical degree from the University Medical School in Lausanne, Switzerland.

She is fluent in five languages: Italian, French, German, Spanish and English.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Amutha Rajagopal, MD, is a board-certified internal medicine and infectious disease physician who cares for patients with HIV, hepatitis C and opioid use disorders. She is a part of UC San Diego Health’s Owen Clinic, one of the nation’s outstanding primary care centers for HIV positive individuals. Dr. Rajagopal is also an expert in the treatment of patients hospitalized with serious infections.

Dr. Rajagopal completed a fellowship in infectious diseases and global health at the University of Chicago where she was chief fellow. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla. She also completed a residency in general preventive medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, where she earned her medical degree. Dr. Rajagopal also holds a master’s degree in public health with an emphasis in epidemiology from San Diego State University School of Public Health. She is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases.

Outside of work, Dr. Rajagopal enjoys spending time with loved ones and outdoor adventures, including hiking. She also enjoys serving the community and has volunteered at the San Diego County Migrant Family Shelter and the St. Leo Medical Clinic in Solana Beach. Dr. Rajagopal speaks Spanish fluently.

Robert Deiss, MD, is a board-certified infectious disease specialist who specializes in treating people living with HIV. His patients may also have other health conditions, including opportunistic infections or mental health disorders.

Dr. Deiss is a physician at UC San Diego Health’s Owen Clinic, one of the nation’s outstanding primary care centers for people with HIV.

Prior to joining the Owen Clinic, Dr. Deiss was a researcher and staff physician at the Naval Medical Center San Diego. He also spent a year in Mozambique through Doctors Without Borders, primarily treating patients with advanced HIV and related diseases, including tuberculosis, cryptococcal meningitis and Kaposi’s sarcoma.

Dr. Deiss is an active researcher who has published peer-reviewed articles on substance abuse and HIV-related risk; sexually transmitted infections in the U.S. military, and tuberculosis among people who inject drugs in the San Diego/Tijuana border region. His work has appeared in many journals including Clinical Infectious Diseases, Drug and Alcohol Dependence and American Journal of Public Health.

Dr. Deiss completed residency training in internal medicine and fellowship training in infectious disease at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He earned his medical degree from UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Dr. Deiss is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. He is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association.

Outside of work, he enjoys tennis, bicycling and creative writing.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Katherine Promer, MD, is a board-certified infectious disease physician who provides primary care services, specializing in caring for individuals with HIV. She is a part of UC San Diego Health’s Owen Clinic, one of the nation’s outstanding primary care centers for HIV positive individuals.

Dr. Promer also has experience with tropical medicine and Chagas disease, and has research interests in epidemiology and drug discovery. Her current work focuses on COVID-19 vaccine trials.

She completed an infectious diseases fellowship and an internal medicine residency at UC San Diego Health. Dr. Promer earned her medical degree from University of Toledo in Ohio and is board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease. She is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Academy of HIV Medicine and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

In her free time, Dr. Promer enjoys dancing, yoga and jogging with her dog. She speaks Spanish fluently.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Scott Letendre, MD, is an infectious disease specialist who cares for people at UC San Diego Health’s Owen Clinic, one of America’s top HIV care programs. He also provides consultation and care for patients staying in the hospital for infectious diseases. Dr. Letendre specializes in understanding the effects of chronic viral infections such as HIV and hepatitis C on the brain.

His research examines the effects of HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) on brain health, including cognition, memory and cerebrovascular disease. He is also interested in understanding the aging process among patients who have been on antiretroviral therapy for a long time.

Dr. Letendre completed a fellowship in infectious disease at Duke University School of Medicine as well as a fellowship in neurologic HIV research at UC San Diego School of Medicine. He completed residency training at Naval Medical Center, San Diego. He earned his medical degree from Georgetown University, School of Medicine.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Jill Blumenthal, MD, is a board-certified infectious disease physician who provides primary care services and specializes in caring for children, teens, and adults with HIV and AIDS. She has expertise in caring for transgender and gender nonbinary individuals seeking hormone replacement therapy and other supportive care.

She also has extensive experience in HIV prevention using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV-uninfected individuals. Dr. Blumenthal cares for people at the UC San Diego Mother, Child and Adolescent HIV Program and UC San Diego Health’s Owen Clinic, one of America’s top HIV care programs.

Her approach to care emphasizes the importance of treatment as prevention and understanding the complex medical and psychosocial factors that affect HIV-infected and at-risk HIV-uninfected individuals.

As an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Dr. Blumenthal educates medical and pharmacy students, internal medicine residents and infectious disease fellows. She conducts research at the AntiViral Research Center at UC San Diego School of Medicine, acting as a lead investigator and co-investigator of studies related to PrEP and HIV screening in vulnerable populations. Her work has been published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and the Encyclopedia of AIDS.

Dr. Blumenthal is actively involved in community HIV prevention and education efforts. She is a guest lecturer at San Diego City College and frequently gives talks in the community about HIV, sexual health and prevention. She serves on medical staff at yearly weekend retreats designed to encourage and empower HIV-infected and affected children and adults and is an advisory board member of the Laurel Foundation Trans Camp for Youth. She also serves as the medical director for the Chicano Federation Beehive Project, a project that studies HIV prevention and resources specifically in the San Diego area.

Before joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. Blumenthal provided care at the Gay Men’s Health and Transgender Clinic at the Family Health Centers in San Diego, where she continues to care for patients part-time.

Dr. Blumenthal completed a fellowship in infectious diseases at UC San Diego School of Medicine and her residency in internal medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital. She earned her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College at Cornell University in New York. She is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases.

She is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the International AIDS Society, the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, and the US Women and PrEP Working Group.

In her free time, Dr. Blumenthal enjoys music, concerts, yoga, dancing, hiking, and cheering on New York sports teams.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Laura Bamford, MD, is a board-certified infectious disease specialist who specializes in treating people living with HIV and at high risk of contracting HIV. Her patients may also have an opioid use disorder or hepatitis C.

Dr. Bamford is the medical director at the Owen Clinic, one of the nation’s outstanding HIV primary care clinics.

Prior to joining UC San Diego Health in 2020, she was medical director of Clinica Bienestar (Well Being Services), an HIV clinic in Philadelphia with Spanish-speaking physicians and staff.

An associate professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Bamford conducts original peer-reviewed research related to infectious disease. Her research interests include HIV prevention in people who inject drugs.

Dr. Bamford completed fellowship training in infectious disease at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She completed residency training in internal medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York and earned her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College.

Outside of work, she enjoys listening to music, biking, running, skiing and traveling.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Joseph Lonergan, MD, is a board-certified internal medicine doctor who provides primary care and specialized HIV care to people living with HIV/AIDS. He also sees patients at risk for HIV infection who are interested in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Dr. Lonergan is part of UC San Diego Health’s Owen Clinic, one of the nation’s outstanding primary care centers for HIV positive men and women, and has been caring for patients at the Owen Clinic for more than 20 years.

Dr. Lonergan enjoys staying on top of the latest medical advances and passing along these breakthroughs to patients. His goal is to provide people with the best and most comprehensive care possible. He also enjoys getting to know his patients beyond their medical problems so that he can personalize and individualize their care.

A strong patient advocate, Dr. Lonergan enjoys using his many years of experience to help patients navigate through complications in the medical system.

Dr. Lonergan is passionate about educating and mentoring medical students, residents and infectious diseases fellows to prepare them to become the next generation of HIV medical providers. He has published many articles in his area of research interest (complications of HIV and antiretroviral therapy). His work has appeared in leading HIV focused medical journals, including AIDS, Clinical Infectious Disease and JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

He completed a residency in internal medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Dr. Lonergan earned his medical degree with honors at Dartmouth School of Medicine. He is board certified in internal medicine.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Lonergan enjoys spending time with his husband, traveling, reading, learning Spanish, going to the theater and playing tennis.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Daniel Lee, MD, is a board-certified internal medicine physician who provides primary care services, specializing in caring for individuals with HIV. He is a part of UC San Diego Health’s Owen Clinic, one of the nation’s outstanding primary care centers for HIV positive individuals.

Along with his board certification in internal medicine, he is also credentialed by the American Academy of HIV Medicine as a HIV specialist. He established the Lipid/Lipodystrophy Clinic to address the issues of long term metabolic complications often associated with therapies for HIV. He also conducts research in these areas.

Dr. Lee’s philosophy in providing quality, compassionate care to those affected by HIV includes building a strong rapport with patients and furnishing them with information that will assist them with decision-making. He has been providing quality care to patients for over 15 years and is dedicated to continue his mission through clinical care, research and educating medical students and residents.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Dr Shira Abeles, MD, is a board-certified infectious disease specialist and medical director of Antimicrobial Stewardship at UC San Diego Health. She cares for patients with general infectious disease as well as people with HIV.

She is part of UC San Diego Health’s Owen Clinic, one of the nation’s outstanding primary care centers for HIV positive men and women.

Her research focuses on evaluating methods for curbing unnecessary antibiotic use in health care settings.

Dr. Abeles completed an infectious disease fellowship and a residency in internal medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. She earned her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She is board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease.

She is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Infectious Disease Society of America, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, and the Infectious Disease Association of California.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Dr. Jennifer Blanchard MD is a Internal Medicine specialist focused health provider in San Diego, California.

Dr. Jennifer Blanchard MD graduated from Georgetown University of Medicine in 1996. Having more than 25 years of diverse experiences, especially in Internal Medicine, affiliates with hospitals such as UC San Diego Health Hillcrest – Owens Clinic.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Edward Cachay, MD, is a board-certified infectious disease physician who specializes in caring for individuals with HIV. He is a part of UC San Diego Health’s Owen Clinic, one of the nation’s outstanding primary care centers for HIV positive men and women.

Dr. Cachay heads the human papillomavirus anal dysplasia screening program, performing high-resolution anoscopies and infrared coagulation procedures for the treatment of precursors of anal cancer.

He is committed to the care of his patients and the improvement of their physical health and well being. He also values the ability to care for and serve populations in need. Dr. Cachay says, “I look forward to continuing to serve and help my patients whose personal histories and dedication have inspired me to be a better physician and person every day.”

As a professor in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, Dr. Cachay educates medical students, residents and fellows at UC San Diego School of Medicine. He also focuses on designing and implementing clinical programs and trials that help to enhance the care of patients living with HIV. This includes having established UC San Diego Health’s first HIV primary care-based model for the treatment of hepatitis C in the people living with HIV .

Dr. Cachay completed a fellowship in infectious disease and a residency in internal medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from National University Federico Villarreal in Peru and holds a master’s degree in advanced science and clinical research from UC San Diego. He is board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease.

Address: 4168 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103

Our office is conveniently located near downtown San Diego and the Banker’s Hill neighborhood.  Dr. Caperna and his friendly staff strive to provide the best level of health care available, utilizing the most up to date technology while taking a holistic approach to your healing.

We accept most major insurance, including Medicare, Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, United Healthcare, Cigna, Humana, and more.

• Board certified general adult internal medicine.
• Experienced care for all stages of HIV.
• Urgent and same day appointments available.
• Most major insurance plans accepted.
• Se habla Espanol.
• LGBTQ welcome.

Address: 2333 1st Avenue, Suite 104 San Diego, CA 92101