Before joining UCSF, Dr. Guzel most recently served as the associate medical director of the Acute Rehabilitation Unit at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, Calif., an inpatient rehabilitation facility where she specialized in providing inpatient neurorehabilitation and acute care physiatry consults, as well as outpatient adult transitions of care for parents with pediatric onset disability such as cerebral palsy, and neurorehabilitation of stroke, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury, and amputation. She also developed a targeted musculoskeletal practice focusing on disorders of the intrinsic chain which includes TMJ, scapular and pelvic floor dysfunction. Her clinical expertise includes adult and pediatric tone evaluation and management, botulinum toxin chemodenervation for spasticity and dystonia, and advanced techniques like electromyography-guided, E-stim, and ultrasound-guided chemodenervation. Additionally, Dr. Guzel is skilled in baclofen pump reprogramming, ultrasound-guided intraarticular joint injections, and trigger point injections, ensuring personalized and effective treatment for her patients. Growing up in South Texas and Spain, she is bilingual and trained as a medical interpreter in Spanish. She can conduct clinical care in Spanish, Turkish and German.

Dr. Guzel’s research is rooted in advancing rehabilitation medicine, focusing on innovative treatments and diagnostic methods. She has contributed to studies on growth modulation by stimulating the growth plate non-invasively, road traffic injury prevention’s initiatives in low and middle income countries, critical illness myopathy in post-COVID rehabilitation, and pediatric acute cerebrovascular infarct associated with COVID-19 antibodies. Her work extends to exploring the efficacy of various rehabilitation techniques and their impacts on patient outcomes, reflecting her commitment to evidence-based practice and improving rehabilitation protocols. Her scholarly contributions include peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, and presentations at national and international conferences. She has a passion for global health and immigrant health and has volunteered in medical settings in Ecuador, Mexico, Romania, Turkey, Austria, and Haiti.

Dr. Guzel completed her Doctor of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, where she also earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Comparative Studies with a Global Health Certificate as an Angier B. Duke Memorial Scholar. She pursued an internal medicine internship at UCSF Fresno and a physical medicine and rehabilitation residency at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University (formerly known as The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), where she received the William Randolph Hearst Resident Leadership Award. Additionally, she gained valuable experience as an MD Fellow in Strategy and Management Consulting with McKinsey & Company. Dr. Guzel is board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation and holds various advanced life support certifications, underscoring her comprehensive training and dedication to her field.

Dr. Guzel will be seeing patients at the UCSF Redwood Shores Specialty Care Clinic on the Peninsula.