About Us

WELCOME to the newest division at UC San Diego Department of Pediatrics: the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Medicine, which launched on April 15, 2020!  The Division of AYA Medicine is dedicated to providing comprehensive, compassionate, trauma-informed and evidenced-based care to adolescents and young adults through developmentally designed clinical services, advocacy, scholarship and teaching. AYA Medicine faculty members include Dr. David Inwards-Breland (Division Chief), Dr. Maya Kumar, Dr. Kay Rhee, and Dr. Kanani Titchen.  

The Rady Children’s Hospital Adolescent and Young Adult Clinic opened on April 15, 2020 and provides consultative, evidenced based, trauma-informed, culturally aware, and confidential care for youth aged 10-26 years in San Diego County. Clinic services include eating and nutritional disorder management, mental health assessment with medication management, comprehensive contraceptive services including placement of long-acting reversible contraceptives, medical management of menstrual and gynecologic disorders, and STI screening and treatment.  

We have joined the multidisciplinary Center for Gender Affirming Care, providing comprehensive care to gender diverse youth including pubertal blockers, hormone replacement therapy, reproductive health care, mental health support, and extensive collaboration with community-based providers.  

We provide medical care on the multidisciplinary Medical Behavioral Unit at Rady Children’s Hospital, the only child and adolescent eating disorder inpatient unit in San Diego County, where we care for youth with eating and feeding disorders experiencing severe complications of malnutrition.  

Our division is dedicated to providing high-quality medical education, and we are active in training residents and medical students from the UC San Diego School of Medicine.  

Our faculty are active in many areas of scholarship and advocacy related to vulnerable youth, including nutritional disorders, human trafficking, mental health disorders, and gender diversity.  


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