Grace Dammann is a family physician, educator, and nationally recognized leader in HIV care, pain management, and compassionate, patient-centered medicine. She serves as medical director of the Pain Clinic at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco, home to the only pain clinic of its kind in a U.S. skilled nursing facility.
Over a career spanning more than three decades, Dr. Dammann established Laguna Honda's pioneering HIV Unit during the height of the AIDS epidemic, co-founded the Tom Steele Clinic serving people living with HIV in Marin County, and served as assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco. She has also provided statewide clinical consultation through the UCSF HIV Warmline and contributed to San Francisco's COVID-19 response as a consulting clinician.
An internationally respected speaker, Dr. Dammann has presented widely on chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, resilience, and compassionate healthcare. Her work has been recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who honored her for her compassionate service to people living with HIV, and she received the Deep Medicine Award for her contributions to the art and science of healing. Following her own remarkable recovery from a life-changing traumatic brain injury, chronicled in the documentary States of Grace, Dr. Dammann continues to inspire healthcare professionals and the public through her teaching, writing, and advocacy. In addition to her medical practice, she is an ordained Soto Zen priest and teacher, integrating compassion, ethics, and mindfulness into her work and community service.