Alumni leaders in anesthesia

Annemarie Thompson, MD

Residency Class of 2002

Smiling woman with long brown hair, wearing a white lab coat with a dark gray background.


For Dr. Annemarie Thompson, UCSF wasn’t just a training ground—it was a defining chapter that continues to shape her career decades later.

A “double alum” of UCSF’s Departments of Medicine and Anesthesia, Thompson spent seven formative years at UCSF completing both her internal medicine and anesthesiology residencies. Reflecting on that time, she describes it as “one of the most exceptional periods” of her professional life—an experience that built the foundation for everything that followed.

“It was a formative time of my career… I do not for one minute ever regret going to UCSF,” she said.

Drawn initially by the people she met during her residency interview, Thompson found herself immersed in a culture defined by curiosity, collaboration, and deep commitment to patient care. Training across Moffitt-Long, the VA, and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, she credits not only world-class faculty, but also patients themselves as central to her education.

“Patients are the best teachers—and at UCSF, I could not have had better teachers,” she said. “The faculty were second to none—approachable, passionate, and deeply invested in training the next generation of physician leaders.”

Just as influential were her peers. Surrounded by “incredibly brilliant colleagues,” Thompson says the environment pushed her to continually elevate her clinical knowledge and approach to care. That culture of excellence—and humility—left a lasting mark.

After UCSF, Thompson joined Vanderbilt University, where her career continued to evolve. Following advice from UCSF Department of Anesthesia Chair Dr. Michael Gropper, she pursued a fellowship in adult and pediatric cardiac anesthesia—even after beginning her attending career. The decision, she says, was transformative.

“It gave me a smaller group within a larger organization—a true sense of community and family,” she said, echoing another piece of Gropper’s advice: find connection within complexity.

Today, Thompson has emerged as a national leader in perioperative cardiovascular care. Most recently, she served as chair of the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology perioperative guidelines committee, helping shape clinical standards used worldwide.

Even at that level, she still feels the imprint of UCSF.

“UCSF continues to play a pivotal role in my career,” she said, noting the opportunity to collaborate again with former mentors and colleagues on national committees. “These are people who are incredible ambassadors of medicine.”

Beyond clinical and academic achievements, Thompson emphasizes that UCSF shaped her core philosophy of care—one grounded in trust and privilege.

“It’s such an honor to take care of patients,” she said. “That’s something UCSF instilled deeply.”

Looking back, she credits UCSF not just with training her as a physician, but with giving her the confidence to lead, to collaborate, and to imagine wider impact.

“Going to UCSF was probably the best thing for my professional career,” she said. “It gave me the skills and the knowledge to help others in ways I might not have otherwise imagined.”  

Submit your story here.