Kristy Lamb, MD
Kristy Lamb grew up in the “Deep South,” but knew from an early age that she was a West Coast girl at heart. She completed her undergraduate studies at Vanderbilt University with a BS in Neuroscience, with the long-term plan to attend medical school, but knew she had a few things to accomplish beforehand. She spent one year as a ski bum in Vail and then made her way down from the mountains to Denver, where she worked first as a math teacher and then as a mental health counselor at Excelsior Youth Center, a residential treatment facility for teen girls. During that time, she earned a Masters in Humanities with a focus in Philosophy and Social Theory from the University of Colorado.
Finally, it was time to accept her destiny. She packed a U-haul truck and headed back East to Washington DC where she earned her MD from Georgetown University School of Medicine. During medical school, Kristy demonstrated strong interest in working with patients struggling with substance dependence: she volunteered with Prevention Works in Washington, DC to facilitate a needle exchange program, and sought out additional experience in dual-diagnosis outpatient rehabilitation. She also worked as a health educator at Casa de Gabriella, a women’s shelter with a focus on victims of domestic violence. Her interest in international health took her to Costa Rica, where she participated in the set-up of a free clinic in the small town of Quesada. Kristy earned the Georgetown University Robert R. Huntley, M.D. Award for Academic Excellence in Family Medicine. After four years in DC, she broke out of the East Coast to come to the UCSD Combined Residency.
On moving to San Diego, Kristy dyed her hair blonde and bought a surfboard. Although she's now back to brunette, and has not yet been asked to join the Roxy Surf Tour, Kristy has made San Diego home, along with her husband and best friend William and their 2 dogs.
During residency, Kristy has enjoyed exploring a variety of her medical interests. Her interest in psychotherapy led her to complete the San Diego Psychoanalytic Society and Institute Fellowship, and she created space for a psychotherapy clinic in her 5th year elective time. She is also participating in the Complementary and Integrative Medicine Fellowship through the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. Her commitment to community medicine continues, as she volunteers at the UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic to supervise medical students in the psychiatric clinic, and is in the inaugural class of the UCSD Fellowship in Public and Community Psychiatry. She was awarded the UCSD Medical Student Teaching Award in Psychiatry in 2010.
Outside of work, Kristy has run several marathons and triathlons, and is committed to her own personal practice of yoga and meditation. Kristy is a film buff and heads to Park City each year for the Sundance Film Festival – anxiously awaiting the festival that will one day premiere one of her husband’s screenplays. Her most recent and proud accomplishment is the birth of her beautiful baby girl, Zoe.
