Christopher Brunson, MD

Assistant Professor
Chair, UCSF Radiology Opportunity & Outreach Committee
Director of Wellbeing & Opportunity and Inclusion at ZSFG Radiology
Assistant Professor
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Biography

Dr. Brunson received his medical degree at UCSF. After an internship with the UCSF-East Bay Surgery Program at Highland Hospital and Kaiser Oakland, he completed his integrated interventional radiology residency at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Dr. Brunson was chief interventional radiology resident and served Graduate Medical Education as an executive member to the advisory and diversity committees, and as a search committee member for associate dean. Dr. Brunson has received the RSNA Roentgen Resident/Fellow Research Award and the University of Arizona GME Resident Academic Career Scholarship. While he was a UCSF medical student, Brunson was an organizer with #whitecoatsforBlacklives, a movement to draw attention to the effects of racial disparities on health care.

Dr. Brunson’s clinical practice and research program focuses on oncologic outcomes and healthcare disparities, particularly in patients with NASH/NAFLD, as well as advanced dosimetry, particularly tumor perfusion augmentation. His publications have focused on interventional radiology methods for managing liver tumors, the use of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation, and comparisons of 2-D perfusion angiography and Tc-99m MAA SPECT/CT.

Publications: 
McGregor H, Woodhead G, Struycken L, Khan A, McNiel D, Brunson C, Hennemeyer C. Gallbladder Cryoablation for Calculous Cholecystitis Initially Treated with Percutaneous Drainage: A Prospective Trial in High-Risk Patients. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2025 07; 36(7):1114-1119.
Brunson C, Struycken L, Schaub D, Ref J, Goldberg D, Hannallah J, Woodhead G, Young S. Comparative outcomes of trans-arterial radioembolization in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis/non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-induced HCC: a retrospective analysis. Abdom Radiol (NY). 2024 08; 49(8):2714-2725.
Brunson CP, McGregor HJ, Hennemeyer CT, Patel MV, Woodhead GJ, Young SJ. Measurement of the Tumor-to-Normal Ratio for Radioembolization of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Prospective Study Comparing 2-Dimensional Perfusion Angiography, Technetium-99m Macroaggregated Albumin, and Yttrium-90 SPECT/CT. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2024 01; 35(1):94-101.
Patel MV, McNiel D, Brunson C, Kuo PH, Hennemeyer CT, Woodhead G, McGregor H. Prior ablation and progression of disease correlate with higher tumor-to-normal liver 99mTc-MAA uptake ratio in hepatocellular carcinoma. Abdom Radiol (NY). 2023 02; 48(2):752-757.
McGregor H, Weise L, Brunson C, Struycken L, Woodhead G, Celdran D. Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation to Occlude the Thoracic Duct: Preclinical Studies in Swine for a Potential Alternative to Embolization. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2022 10; 33(10):1192-1198.
McGregor H, Brunson C, Woodhead G, Khan A, Hennemeyer C, Patel M. Quantitative Assessment of the Hemodynamic Effects of Intra-Arterial Nitroglycerin on Hepatocellular Carcinoma using Two-Dimensional Perfusion Angiography. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2021 02; 32(2):198-203.
McGregor H, Brunson C, Woodhead G, Patel MV, Hennemeyer C. Caudal Migration and Endovascular Retrieval of Two VIATORR CX Stent Grafts during Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Placement. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2020 03; 31(3):512-515.
Rodgers JT, King KY, Brett JO, Cromie MJ, Charville GW, Maguire KK, Brunson C, Mastey N, Liu L, Tsai CR, Goodell MA, Rando TA. mTORC1 controls the adaptive transition of quiescent stem cells from G0 to G(Alert). Nature. 2014 Jun 19; 510(7505):393-6.
Li X, Liu X, Cui L, Brunson C, Zhao W, Bhat NR, Zhang N, Wen X. Engineering an in situ crosslinkable hydrogel for enhanced remyelination. FASEB J. 2013 Mar; 27(3):1127-36.
Onitilo AA, Lazarchick J, Brunson CY, Frei-Lahr D, Stuart RK. Autologous bone marrow transplant in a patient with sickle cell disease and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Transplant Proc. 2003 Dec; 35(8):3089-92.