Kenneth Pettersen, MD
Kenneth Pettersen, MD, MPH, FASAM
Assistant Clinical Professor
Associate Program Director – Research & Quality Improvement Lead
Dr. Kenneth Pettersen received his BS from UC San Diego and MPH from UC Berkeley. He completed medical school and internal medicine residency at UC San Francisco, where he graduated from the primary care track at San Francisco General Hospital. He joined the UCLA-Olive View faculty in 2018 and now leads residency initiatives in research and quality improvement.
Board-certified in addiction medicine and a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, Dr. Pettersen co-directs the Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT) Bridge Clinic and inpatient consult service. He serves as site director for the Eisenhower–UCLA Addiction Medicine Fellowship and frequently lectures across specialties on low-barrier, evidence-based care for patients with substance use disorders.
His research focuses on innovative addiction treatment models, including high-dose buprenorphine for fentanyl withdrawal and telemedicine for opioid use disorder. As Chair of the UCLA-Olive View Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, he works across ambulatory and inpatient settings to improve formulary access and value-based prescribing.
Outside the hospital, Dr. Pettersen enjoys coaching youth soccer, supervising sandcastle projects, and chasing after his Labrador Retriever.