Headshot of Arissa Young, MD, in a white lab coat against a blue background.
Accepting new patients

Arissa Young, MD

  • Rheumatology
Westwood Specialty Care |
200 Medical Plaza, Suite 365 Los Angeles, CA 90095

About

Dr. Young is a physician-scientist in the Division of Rheumatology at UCLA who specializes in systemic sclerosis and connective tissue disease–associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD). She cares for patients with complex autoimmune rheumatic diseases, particularly those with lung and skin involvement.

Dr. Young completed fellowship training in Rheumatology followed by advanced fellowship training in connective tissue disease–associated interstitial lung disease. She is part of the UCLA Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) Program, which supports the development of physician-scientists pursuing translational research.

Her research focuses on the mechanisms driving skin and lung fibrosis in systemic sclerosis, with the goal of identifying pathways that contribute to disease progression and developing new therapies.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her children and traveling.

Languages

English

Education

Medical Board Certifications

Rheumatology, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2025
Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2022

Fellowship

Rheumatology, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, 2025

Residency

Internal Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 2021

Degrees

PhD, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, 2027
MD, Tufts University School of Medicine, 2017

Locations

Hospital Affiliations

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

Medical Services

Research

Interests

Systemic sclerosis, fibrosis, metabolomics, microbiome

Publications

Young A, Weltzien E, Kwan M, Castillo A, Caan B, Kroenke CH. Pre- to post-diagnosis weight change and associations with physical functional limitations in breast cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv. 2014 Dec;8(4):539-47.

 

Davis EJ, Salem JE, Young A, Green JR, Ferrell PB, Ancell KK, Lebrun-Vignes B, Moslehi JJ, Johnson DB. Hematologic Complications of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. Oncologist. 2019 May;24(5):584-588.

 

Young AC, Quach HT, Song H, Davis EJ, Moslehi JJ, Ye F, Williams GR, Johnson DB. Impact of body composition on outcomes from anti-PD1 +/- anti-CTLA-4 treatment in melanoma. J Immunother Cancer. 2020 Jul;8(2):e00082.

 

Patrinely JR Jr, Young AC, Quach H, Williams GR, Ye F, Fan R, Horn L, Beckermann KE, Gillaspie EA, Sosman JA, Friedman DL, Moslehi JJ, Johnson DB. Survivorship in immune therapy: Assessing toxicities, body composition and health-related quality of life among long-term survivors treated with antibodies to programmed death-1 receptor and its ligand. Eur J Cancer. 2020 Aug;135:211-220.

 

Owen CN, Shoushtari AN, Chauhan D, Palmieri DJ, Lee B, Rohaan MW, Mangana J, Atkinson V, Zaman F, Young A, Hoeller C, Hersey P, Dummer R, Khattak MA, Millward M, Patel SP, Haydon A, Johnson DB, Lo S, Blank CU, Sandhu S, Carlino MS, Larkin JMG, Menzies AM, Long GV. Management of early melanoma recurrence despite adjuvant anti-PD-1 antibody therapy☆. Ann Oncol. 2020 Aug;31(8):1075-1082.

 

Sugiura A, Andrejeva G, Voss K, Heintzman DR, Xu X, Madden MZ, Ye X, Beier KL, Chowdhury NU, Wolf MM, Young AC, Greenwood DL, Sewell AE, Shahi SK, Freedman SN, Cameron AM, Foerch P, Bourne T, Garcia-Canaveras JC, Karijolich J, Newcomb DC, Mangalam AK, Rabinowitz JD, Rathmell JC. MTHFD2 is a metabolic checkpoint controlling effector and regulatory T cell fate and function. Immunity. 2022 Jan 11;55(1):65-81.e9.

 

Voss K, Sewell AE, Krystofiak ES, Gibson-Corley KN, Young AC, Basham JH, Sugiura A, Arner EN, Beavers WN, Kunkle DE, Dickson ME, Needle GA, Skaar EP, Rathmell WK, Ormseth MJ, Major AS, Rathmell JC. Elevated transferrin receptor impairs T cell metabolism and function in systemic lupus erythematosus. Sci Immunol. 2023 Jan 13;8(79):eabq0178.

 

Steiner KK, Young AC, Patterson AR, Sugiura A, Watson MJ, Preston SEJ, Zhelonkin A, Jennings EQ, Chi C, Heintzman DR, Pahnke AP, Toudji YT, Hatem Z, Madden MZ, Arner EN, Sewell AE, Blount AK, Okparaugo R, Fallman E, Krystofiak ES, Sheldon RD, Gibson-Corley KN, Voss K, Nowinski SM, Jones RG, Mogilenko DA, Rathmell JC. Mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis and MECR regulate CD4+ T cell function and oxidative metabolism. J Immunol. 2025 May 1;214(5):958-976.

 

Andréasson, K., Young, A., Joshi, S., Labus, J. S., Low, A. H. L., Smith, V., McMahan, Z., Proudman, S., Valenzuela, A., Hunter, P., Kim, G. H., Bozovic, G., Goldin, J., Aja, E., Jacobs, J. P., & Volkmann, E. R. (2025). International Investigation of the Gut‐Lung Axis in Systemic Sclerosis‐Interstitial Lung Disease. Arthritis Care & Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.25623

 

Young, A. C., Andréasson, K., Labus, J., Matulionis, N., Jacobs, J. P., Christofk, H., & Volkmann, E. R. (2025). Characterization of the Fecal Metabolome in Patients With Early Systemic Sclerosis. ACR Open Rheumatology7(11). https://doi.org/10.1002/acr2.70127

 

Lee JY, Mahurkar-Joshi S, Young A, Labus JS, He B, Aja E, Jacobs JP, Volkmann ER. Ultra-processed food intake is associated with increased gastrointestinal tract symptoms and alterations in gut microbiota in patients with systemic sclerosis. Front Immunol. 2025 Oct 9;16:1610360. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1610360. PMID: 41142817; PMCID: PMC12546150.

Insurance

  • Aetna
  • Anthem Blue Cross
  • Blue Shield of California
  • Centivo
  • Cigna
  • First Health
  • Health Net of California
  • Interplan (part of HealthSmart)
  • Medicare Advantage
  • MultiPlan
  • UFCM Health System
  • Prime Health Services
  • Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
  • TRICARE
  • UnitedHealthcare

The list of health care plans above may not be comprehensive and could change. 
Please contact your benefits coordinator or health insurance company directly to verify coverage.

Visit our health insurance information page for more details.

Recognitions

2016                             Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society

2017                             Louis Weinstein Award 

2017                             AMWA Award 

2023                             Suzanne Eaton PhD Memorial Prize 

2024                             National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Award

2025                             American College of Rheumatology Distinguished Fellow Award

2025                             Bevra Hahn, MD Rheumatology Fellowship Award 

 

Links

https://sites.libsyn.com/436041/fecal-metabolome-in-early-systemic-sclerosis