Aleksandar Rajkovic, PhD, MD

Aleksandar Rajkovic, MD, PhD

Stuart Lindsay Distinguished Professor in Experimental Pathology, UCSF

Chief Genomics Officer, UCSF Health; Professor, Dept. of Pathology, Dept. of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, UCSF

Cancer Center Program Membership

Cancer Control

Phone: (415) 502-4961

Box 0794, UCSF
San Francisco, CA 94143-0794

Physician Biography

UCSF Profiles

Research Summary

My work focuses on implementing precision medicine tools across UCSF and evaluate its clinical significance and validity. UCSF envisions a future where we will be able to predict and prevent disease in everyone and where every person has access to comprehensive molecular screening that includes genomics and other measurements in order to precisely predict, prevent, and treat their specific health conditions, including susceptibility to pandemics such as COVID-19, childhood and adult diseases which include cancer, diabetes, heart and neurological diseases. It is our vision that preventive precision medicine that incorporates genomics, epigenomics, metabolomics and other advanced molecular tools can predict and prevent vast majority of human disease. To this end we are building computational, analytical, and other tools to implement our vision.

As a first step, we have launched the pilot Whole Genome Sequencing Program for all to evaluate its utility in clinical and research setting. By integrating data from the electronic health record, biological samples stored in our biobank, and other data sets for approximately 1,000 volunteers from the UCSF, we will immediately provide our patients with their predisposition to cancer and other actionable diseases as well as build analytics for continuous re-analysis to refine and provide novel predictions.

The UCSF genomic database will strive to match the diversity of UCSF patient population to ensure that precision medicine at UCSF serves our entire community and we have engaged community leaders to better understand cultural and racial barriers to our precision medicine efforts.

UCSF established first nationwide Preventive Genomics clinic to counsel and test individuals interested in learning about their genomes. UCSF is now one of the first institutions to offer whole genome sequencing in quest to return actionable results and better understand how the unknown 99% of the genome contributes to health. This clinic will serve as the nidus for our efforts to build molecular preventive care.

Research Funding

  • May 15, 2021 - March 31, 2026 - Trio Analysis of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Integrated Bioinformatics Genomics Study (TRIOS) , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01HD105256
  • April 1, 2019 - March 31, 2024 - Project 2 PI: The Origin and Cellular Heterogeneity of Uterine Leiomyomas , . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P50 HD098580-01
  • April 1, 2019 - March 31, 2024 - The Origin and cellular heterogeneity of uterine leiomyomas , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NICHD, Sponsor Award ID: P50 HD098580 01
  • July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2022 - Med12 mechanisms of uterine leiomyoma formation , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01HD088629
  • August 8, 2018 - July 31, 2021 - Small molecule GPR10 antagonists for the treatment of uterine fibroids , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01HD094373
  • September 25, 2003 - June 30, 2019 - Transcriptional Regulation of Early Folliculogenesis , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01HD044858
  • April 1, 2012 - January 31, 2018 - Genomic Basis of Premature Ovarian Insufficiency , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01HD070647
  • May 1, 2014 - April 30, 2016 - Genomic integrity of the X chromosome & Ovary-Specific Autosomal Genes , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21HD074278
  • September 30, 2009 - August 31, 2012 - LIM Homeodomain Regulated Genetic Pathways in Oogenesis and Ovarian Failure , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01HD056351
  • September 4, 2009 - July 31, 2011 - THE ROLE OF HORMAD1 IN GERM CELL DEVELOPMENT AND MEIOSIS , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R03HD054829
  • April 11, 2008 - March 31, 2011 - Genetics of Human Ovarian Failure , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21HD058125
  • August 1, 2004 - July 31, 2006 - The role of Obox in mammalian oogenesis , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R03HD047514

Education

The Johns Hopkins University, BA, 05/85/ Chemistry
Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, PhD, 01/91, Molecular Biology
Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, MD, 05/92/ Doctor of Medicine

Honors & Awards

  • 1985
    Phi Beta Kappa
  • 1983
    American Chemical Society Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry
  • 1997
    First Place Award, Research Day, Cleveland Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • 1997
    Peter Adam Research Award, Metrohealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
  • 2013
    Elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigators (ASCI)
  • 2018
    Elected to American Association of Physicians (AAP)
  • 2020
    Elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)

Selected Publications

  1. Biswas S, So J, Wallerstein R, Gonzales R, Tout D, DeAngelis L, Rajkovic A. Assessing the Utilization of Electronic Consultations in Genetics: Seven-Year Retrospective Study. JMIR Form Res. 2025 Apr 30; 9:e63028.  View on PubMed
  2. Bulun SE, Yin P, Wei JJ, Zuberi A, Iizuka T, Suzuki T, Saini P, Goad J, Parker JB, Adli M, Boyer T, Chakravarti D, Rajkovic A. Uterine Fibroids. Physiol Rev. 2025 Apr 11.  View on PubMed
  3. Goad J, Rajkovic A. Uterine fibroids at single-cell resolution: unveiling cellular heterogeneity to improve understanding of pathogenesis and guide future therapies. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2025 Apr; 232(4S):S124-S134.  View on PubMed
  4. Tamraz B, Shin J, Khanna R, Van Ziffle J, Knowles S, Stregowski S, Wan E, Kamath R, Collins C, Phunsur C, Tsai B, Kong P, Calanoc C, Pollard A, Sawhney R, Pleiman J, Devine WP, Croci R, Sashikanth A, Kroon L, Cucina R, Rajkovic A. Clinical implementation of preemptive pharmacogenomics testing for personalized medicine at an academic medical center. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2025 Mar 01; 32(3):566-571.  View on PubMed
  5. Witchel SF, Rajkovic A, Yatsenko SA. Discrepancies Between Sex Prediction and Fetal Sex After Prenatal Noninvasive Cell-Free DNA Screening. J Endocr Soc. 2025 Jan 06; 9(2):bvaf007.  View on PubMed
  6. Schmitz MJ, Bashar A, Soman V, Nkrumah EAF, Al Mulla H, Darabi H, Wang J, Kiehl P, Sethi R, Dungan J, Gregg AR, Rajkovic A, Yatsenko SA, Chandran U, Aarabi M. Leveraging diverse genomic data to guide equitable carrier screening: Insights from gnomAD v.4.1.0. Am J Hum Genet. 2025 Jan 02; 112(1):181-195.  View on PubMed
  7. Alfahel L, Rajkovic A, Israelson A. Protocol for handling and using SOD1 mice for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis pre-clinical studies. STAR Protoc. 2024 Dec 20; 5(4):103459.  View on PubMed
  8. Tang S, Guo T, Song C, Wang L, Zhang J, Rajkovic A, Lin X, Chen S, Liu Y, Tian W, Wu B, Wang S, Wang W, Lai Y, Wang A, Xu S, Jin L, Ke H, Zhao S, Li Y, Qin Y, Zhang F, Chen ZJ. MGA loss-of-function variants cause premature ovarian insufficiency. J Clin Invest. 2024 Nov 15; 134(22).  View on PubMed
  9. Daghsni M, Sheehan E, Madan-Khetarpal S, Aarabi M, Witchel SF, Rajkovic A, Yatsenko SA. Recurrent Xp22.31-Yq11 Unbalanced Translocations: Molecular Diagnosis and Clinical Implications in Three Families. Am J Med Genet A. 2025 Mar; 197(3):e63913.  View on PubMed
  10. Alfahel L, Rajkovic A, Israelson A. Translational challenges in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis therapy with macrophage migration inhibitory factor. Neural Regen Res. 2025 Sep 01; 20(9):2583-2584.  View on PubMed
  11. Levy B, Liu J, Iqbal MA, DuPont B, Sahajpal N, Ho M, Yu J, Brody SJ, Ganapathi M, Rajkovic A, Smolarek TA, Boyar F, Bui P, Dubuc AM, Kolhe R, Stevenson RE. Multisite Evaluation and Validation of Optical Genome Mapping for Prenatal Genetic Testing. J Mol Diagn. 2024 Oct; 26(10):906-916.  View on PubMed
  12. Aarabi M, Darabi H, Bashar A, Bellissimo D, Rajkovic A, Yatsenko SA. Copy-number variants in the ACMG secondary finding genes: A reporting framework for clinical cytogeneticists. Genet Med Open. 2024; 2:101839.  View on PubMed
  13. Pinard A, Rajkovic A. Bridging the Genetic Divide: Ensuring Equitable Access to Neurologic Genetic Testing. Neurology. 2024 Mar 26; 102(6):e209289.  View on PubMed
  14. Aminbeidokhti M, Qu JH, Belur S, Cakmak H, Jaswa E, Lathi RB, Sirota M, Snyder MP, Yatsenko SA, Rajkovic A. Miscarriage risk assessment: a bioinformatic approach to identifying candidate lethal genes and variants. Hum Genet. 2024 Feb; 143(2):185-195.  View on PubMed
  15. Alkhunaizi E, Albrecht JP, Aarabi M, Witchel SF, Wherrett D, Babul-Hirji R, Dupuis A, Chiniara L, Chater-Diehl E, Shago M, Shuman C, Rajkovic A, Yatsenko SA, Chitayat D. 45,X/46,XY mosaicism: Clinical manifestations and long term follow-up. Am J Med Genet A. 2024 03; 194(3):e63451.  View on PubMed
  16. Vanderschelden RK, Rodriguez-Escriba M, Chan SH, Berman AJ, Rajkovic A, Yatsenko SA. Heterozygous TP63 pathogenic variants in isolated primary ovarian insufficiency. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2023 Sep; 40(9):2211-2218.  View on PubMed
  17. Rajkovic A. Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine for Neonatal Care. J Pediatr. 2023 10; 261:113575.  View on PubMed
  18. Aminbeidokhti M, Qu JH, Belur S, Cakmak H, Jaswa E, Lathi RB, Sirota M, Snyder MP, Yatsenko SA, Rajkovic A. Preconception Genetic Carrier Screening for Miscarriage Risk Assessment: A Bioinformatic Approach to Identifying Candidate Lethal Genes and Variants. medRxiv. 2023 Jun 03.  View on PubMed
  19. Rodríguez-Escribà M, Rodríguez-Alonso B, Belur S, Rajkovic A. Sohlh1 loss of function male and female infertility model impacts overall health beyond gonadal dysfunction in mice†. Biol Reprod. 2023 04 11; 108(4):619-628.  View on PubMed
  20. Roger J, Xie F, Costello J, Tang A, Liu J, Oskotsky T, Woldemariam S, Kosti I, Le B, Snyder MP, Giudice LC, Torgerson D, Shaw GM, Stevenson DK, Rajkovic A, Glymour MM, Aghaeepour N, Cakmak H, Lathi RB, Sirota M. Leveraging electronic health records to identify risk factors for recurrent pregnancy loss across two medical centers: a case-control study. Res Sq. 2023 Mar 31.  View on PubMed

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