Kanani Titchen, M.D.

Bio

Dr. Kanani Titchen is an adolescent and young adult medicine specialist at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego and an assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine. She is board certified in both pediatrics and adolescent medicine

Dr. Titchen earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and music from Tufts University before earning her premedical certificate from Columbia University and her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, where she also completed her pediatrics residency. She completed an adolescent medicine fellowship at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, N.Y.

Dr. Titchen has expertise in trauma-sensitive adolescent sexual and reproductive health and human trafficking, and is the director of the Adolescent Reproductive Medicine Clinic. She counsels teens and young adults about healthy relationships; provides all reversible forms of contraception (birth control) for pregnancy prevention, gender-affirming care, painful periods, heavy periods and menstrual regulation; inserts and removes hormonal implants and hormonal and non-hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs); evaluates and treats sexually transmitted infections; offers pregnancy testing, options counseling and referrals for pregnancy management; and provides Pap smears and pelvic exams in a trauma-informed manner. The Adolescent Reproductive Medicine Clinic partners with UC San Diego gynecologic specialists to co-manage patients with uterine anomalies, provides referrals for those individuals requiring surgical evaluation and fertility preservation, and partners with the Rady Children's Center for Gender-Affirming Care to provide health care for LGBTQ youth.

Dr. Titchen also partners with mental health counseling services to manage medication for psychological challenges such as depression, anxiety and premenstrual dysphoric disorder and to co-manage eating disorders, including female athlete triad.

Dr. Titchen serves on committees for the Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics. She is a member of the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology and is a Nexplanon trainer with Merck/Organon. She is a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of human trafficking and a consultant to the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

When not at work, Dr. Titchen enjoys athletics, theater, film, music, spending time outdoors and visiting family in Hawaii.

Publications

Educating paediatric health-care providers about human trafficking
Coughlin C, Greenbaum J, Titchen K

Advocating for Survivors of Human Trafficking
Savla D, Titchen K

The Impact of Human Trafficking Training on Healthcare Professionals Knowledge and Attitudes
Lee H, Geynisman-Tan J, Hofer S, Anderson E, Caravan S, Titchen K

Ethanol drinking in socially housed squirrel monkeys
Mandillo S, Titchen K, Miczek KA

Carrageenan/MIV-150 (PC-815), a combination microbicide
Fernandez-Romero JA, Thorn M, Turville SG, Titchen K, Sudol K, Li J, Miller T, Robbiani M, Maguire RA, Buckheit RW Jr, Hartman TL, Phillips DM

Just Like That: The art of organ recovery. Hektoen International Journal of Medical Humanities
Titchen, KE

Student Team-Taught Surface Anatomy
Titchen K, Shaner J, Paziana K, Vu D, Donohue J, Deming A, Armenti V

Caveolin-1 and accelerated host aging in the breast tumor microenvironment: chemoprevention with rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor and anti-aging drug
Mercier I, Camacho J, Titchen K, Gonzales DM, Quann K, Bryant KG, Molchansky A, Milliman JN, Whitaker-Menezes D, Sotgia F, Jasmin JF, Schwarting R, Pestell RG, Blagosklonny MV, Lisanti MP

Domestic Sex Trafficking of Minors: Medical Student and Physician Awareness
Titchen KE, Loo D, Berdan E, Rysavy MB, Ng JJ, Sharif I

Ovarian Cystadenoma in a Trafficked Patient
Titchen KE1, Katz D2, Martinez K2, White K2

Fasoracetam in adolescents with ADHD and glutamatergic gene network variants disrupting mGluR neurotransmitter signaling
Elia J, Ungal G, Kao C, Ambrosini A, De Jesus-Rosario N, Larsen L, Chiavacci R, Wang T, Kurian C, Titchen K, Sykes B, Hwang S, Kumar B, Potts J, Davis J, Malatack J, Slattery E, Moorthy G, Zuppa A, Weller A, Byrne E, Li YR, Kraft WK, Hakonarson H

Multi-level prevention of human trafficking: The role of health care professionals
Greenbaum VJ, Titchen K, Walker-Descartes I, Feifer A, Rood CJ, Fong HF

Sexting and Young Adolescents: Associations with Sexual Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence
Titchen KE, Maslyanskaya S, Silver EJ, Coupey SM