UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN FRANCISCO NEWS

Open Source Licensing Defuses Copyright Law's Threat to Medicine (Click Here to View) Enforcing copyright law could potentially interfere with patient care, stifle innovation and discourage research, but using open source licensing instead can prevent the problem, according to a physician – who practices both at the University of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco VA Medical Center – and a legal scholar at the UC Hastings College of Law.

 

OTHER UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN FRANCISCO NEWS

Media Advisory: UCSF Hosts Chef Corey Lee in Science of Cooking Program
A UCSF program titled, "Science & Cooking," will feature a discussion on the increasingly parallel technologies behind modern cooking and bioscience, with guest speakers David Weitz, a physics professor at Harvard University, and Corey Lee, award-winning chef and owner of San Francisco's Benu restaurant.


UCSF Leaders to Discuss Roadmap to Creating an Inclusive Campus
UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann and leaders at UCSF will participate in a live webcast discussion about how the University is working to create an inclusive campus community on April 10.


Gladstone Scientists Identify Key Mechanism Involved in Type 2 Diabetes
Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered a key protein that regulates insulin resistance — a breakthrough that points to a potentially new way to treat or forestall type 2 diabetes, a rapidly growing global health problem.


UC Regents Discuss Tentative Multi-Year Funding Plan
The University of California Board of Regents heard a report today (March 29) on UC's efforts to secure a framework for a multi-year funding plan with the state, including administrators' efforts to avoid a tuition increase in the coming year.


UCSF Issues Statement After Police Arrest Three at UC Regents Meeting
Three UCLA students were arrested on March 29 after a scuffled ensued outside the UC Regents meeting at UCSF Mission Bay.


Greater Traumatic Stress Linked with Elevated Inflammation in Heart Patients
Greater lifetime exposure to the stress of traumatic events was linked to higher levels of inflammation in a study of almost 1,000 patients with cardiovascular disease led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.


LGBT Forum Attracts 200 Interprofessional Health Students
The UCSF Center for LGBT Health & Equity convened a health forum for the fourth consecutive year, attracting 200 interprofessional health students for two days of education about the long-overlooked health concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people.


Integrative Medicine Classes Help Breast Cancer Survivors Recover
Long considered a New Age way of meditating and exercising, yoga, qigong and tai chi have increasingly become popular among cancer patients who regain strength and balance after chemotherapy and surgery.


Expert to Talk About Neurological Basis of Pain and Its Control
The UCSF community is invited to hear Allan Basbaum's lecture, “The Neurological Basis of Pain and Its Control,” on April 17 as part of the Second Annual Faculty Research Lecture in Translational Science.


Intel Fellow to Talk About Health Innovation
The UCSF community is invited to hear Eric Dishman, director of Health Innovation and Policy for Intel’s Digital Health Group, talk about Intel's approach to health care at UCSF on April 5. 


Family Medicine Residency Anniversary Addresses Changing Climate of Health Care
If the U.S Supreme Court allows for the ongoing expansion and adoption of national health care reform, it will mean a greater role for family medicine practitioners as the previously uninsured seek primary care physicians to gain access to the health care system.


Confronting HIV in Oakland
To effectively confront the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Oakland, the medical community needs to connect with African-American young men, who are a particularly vulnerable group of individuals who may not know they are at high risk and may not be receiving the information they need to protect themselves.


Trauma Drives HIV Epidemic in Women
Physical violence, sexual abuse and other forms of childhood and adult trauma are major factors fueling the epidemic of HIV/AIDS among American women, who account for at least 27 percent of new U.S. cases.


Video Depicts Women With HIV
A recent theatrical performance in San Francisco titled, "Dancing with the Clown of Love," explores the subjects of HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, prisons, trauma and how they affect the lives of women.


Family Medicine Residency at SFGH: Past, Present and Future
The UCSF Family and Community Medicine Residency Program at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH) celebrates its 40th anniversary. It has trained more than 400 family doctors who have cared for tens of thousands of underserved patients and advocated for millions more.


UC to Verify Family Member Eligibility for Health Coverage
The University of California is requiring that all faculty, staff and retirees who have one or more family members enrolled for coverage to provide documentation verifying their family members’ eligibility.


Radiation Risks from Fukushima Are Likely to Be Less than for Chernobyl
Radiation exposures to the people in Japan from meltdowns at three Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant reactors in the wake of last year’s devastating earthquake and 45-foot tsunami have been less than what people were exposed to in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster a quarter century ago, according to two experts who spoke at UCSF.


Media Advisory: UCSF Health Reform Experts Available for Media Comment
Friday, March 23, marks the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, which set in motion a series of reforms that will roll out over the course of four years and grant 32 million more Americans insurance coverage. Next week the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear three days of arguments related to the legal challenges to the health care reform law.


Medical Students Mark 'Match Day' at UCSF
UCSF medical students participated with their peers around the country in the annual rite of passage known as Match Day, when they found out which residency program they have been assigned and where they will work.


Japan Earthquake and Tsunami One Year Later -- Lingering Impacts and Lessons
A year later, the Japanese public continues to be concerned about radiation contamination, cleanup, public health and the struggles of those in communities affected by the catastrophic earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor meltdowns.


UCSF Medical Center Volunteer Marks 47 Years of Service to Patients
Nearly 93, Emma Kahn, who has been volunteering at UCSF since 1965, recently marked her 47th anniversary serving the UCSF Medical Center, where she has logged more than 7,600 hours helping patients.


No Evidence that Higher Regional Health Care Costs Indicate Inappropriate Care, Study Shows
Evidence does not support the widely held belief that regions of the United States that spend more on health care and have higher rates of health care use deliver more unnecessary care to patients, or that low-cost areas deliver higher quality and more efficient care, according to a new study.


QB3, Pfizer Expand Support for Translational Research
The California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) has renewed and expanded a three-year agreement with Pfizer Inc. to collaborate on research projects at the University of California with the potential to transform world-class science into better medicine.


Art at UCSF Mission Bay Is Featured as the Third Episode on UCTV Prime
Art at UCSF Mission Bay is featured as the third episode on UCTV Prime, a new YouTube original channel from the University of California. The series, “Naked Art,” began with a tour of the public art collection at UC San Diego and continued with a piece about UCLA’s Murphy Sculpture Garden.


Lloyd M. Kozloff, Pioneer of Molecular Biology, Dies
Lloyd Kozloff, an influential microbiologist and dean emeritus of the UCSF Graduate Division, died of heart failure on March 10, 2012, at his sea-side home in Fort Bragg, California. He was 88.


National Health Policy Expert to Talk Politics of Universal Health Care
Stuart H. Altman, PhD, professor of national health policy at Brandeis University, will talk about "Power, Politics and Universal Health Care," at a seminar at UCSF on March 22.


Deprived of Sex, Jilted Flies Drink More Alcohol
Now a group of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has discovered that a tiny molecule in the fly’s brain called neuropeptide F governs this behavior—as the levels of the molecule change in their brains, the flies’ behavior changes as well.


Tobacco Smoke Affects Early Human Embryonic Development
Scientists have gained insight into how second-hand tobacco smoke damages the earliest stages of human embryonic development.


UCSF to Launch New Data Security Campaign
UCSF is launching a campuswide IT Security Awareness Campaign that will include prizes, tips and training on protecting the University’s data assets, including patients’ personal and health information.


UCSF Patients Part of Nation's Longest Living Kidney Transplant Chain
Gabriel Baty and Olivo Cienfuegos each needed a kidney to survive. Neither man had a donor who was a match. But each had a family member willing to donate a kidney to a stranger, allowing them all to be part of chain which would, in turn, give Baty and Cienfuegos kidneys from other strangers.


UCSF Hosts Symposium on Japan Earthquake and Disasters - One Year Later
The UCSF departments of psychiatry and pediatrics and UCSF Global Health Sciences hosting a multidisciplinary symposium about Japan one year after the catastrophe, featuring first-hand details from many who responded to the disaster last year.


Blood Vessel Disease of Retina May be Marker of Cognitive Decline
Women 65 or older who have even mild retinopathy, a disease of blood vessels in the retina, are more likely to have cognitive decline and related vascular changes in the brain, according to a multi-institutional study led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).


White House Names San Francisco HIV/AIDS Leader to National Post
President Barack Obama appointed UCSF AIDS expert Grant Colfax, MD, as the director of the Office of National AIDS Policy today.


Ob-Gyns Can Prevent Negative Health Impacts of Environmental Chemicals
Ob-gyns are uniquely positioned to play a major role in reducing the effects of toxic chemicals on women and babies, according to an analysis led by UCSF researchers.


UCSF Translational Science Institute Expands Board of Directors
UCSF's Clinical and Translational Science Instiute has expanded its board of directors to focus on accountability and to reflect the interests of the broader University community.


Nursing School Dean: A Life of Listening and Caring
UCSF's first male dean of the School of Nursing, David Vlahov, PhD, RN, an epidemiologist who specializes in partnering with community organizations to improve urban health, was profiled recently in a front page story in the San Francisco Chronicle.


TEDMED Talks to Stream Live at UCSF
An offshoot of the popular TED conference series that addresses innovations in health and medicine will be streamed live to UCSF campuses from April 10 to 13.


UCSF Ranks Among Nation's Best Medical, Pharmacy Schools in U.S. News Survey
UCSF’s School of Pharmacy ranked first in its field this year, while its School of Medicine tied for third place nationwide, according to a new survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report.


UC President Pens Open Letter to UC Community
UC President Mark Yudof today wrote an open letter to the community asking all of University of California students, faculty and staff members to foster a climate of tolerance, civility and open-mindedness.


UCSF University Relations Wins Two Western Regional Awards for Advancing Education
The news team at UCSF’s University Relations and Strategic Communications has won two awards for its communications from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), District VII.


Teaching Fat Cells to Burn Calories
In the war against obesity, one’s own fat cells may seem an unlikely ally, but new research from UCSF suggests ordinary fat cells can be reengineered to burn calories.


Questions About Clinical Research? UCSF's New HUB Website Has Answers
UCSF has launched a new web portal that offers researchers, study coordinators and study participants an easy-on-the-eyes, logically arranged and comprehensive tool that will guide them to a wealth of much-needed information about clinical trials.


Link Between Abortion and Mental Health Problems Debunked
A study purporting to show a cause-and-effect link between abortion and subsequent mental health problems has fundamental analytical errors that render its conclusions invalid, according to researchers at UCSF and the Guttmacher Institute.


QB3 Bioscience Startups Going Strong at Six-Year Mark
The California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences or QB3 and its partners have helped launch 60 new bioscience companies, created more than 280 jobs and attracted $226 million in funding in a growing network of five incubators at UCSF Mission Bay and at UC Berkeley.


Chancellor to Present 2012 Award for Advancement of Women to Three
UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann will award three members of the campus community for their efforts to advance women at UCSF and beyond at ceremony on March 28 in the Kalmanovitz Library on the Parnassus campus.


Top Medical Educator Molly Cooke to Direct Global Health Sciences Education
Molly Cooke, a professor of medicine and founding director of the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators at UCSF, has been appointed the first director of education for Global Health Sciences.


Nominations Sought for UCSF's 2012 Sustainability Awards
Members of the UCSF community are encouraged to nominate a green champion — staff, student, faculty, or a team who deserves recognition for their sustainability efforts.


Graduate Student to Receive Award from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Feng-Yen Li, a PhD candidate in biomedical sciences at UCSF, is among 13 graduate students from throughout North America chosen to receive the 2012 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award.


Comprehensive Guidelines Needed for Young Adult Preventive Care
With no specific clinical preventive care guidelines targeting young adults, health care providers are missing key opportunities to improve the health of this population through preventive screening and intervention.


Neurologist Bruce Miller Discusses Alzheimer's, FTD on Charlie Rose Show
Neurologist Bruce Miller, MD, director of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, participated in a roundtable discussion on Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia on the "Charlie Rose Show."


Fighting Infections: Old Drug Reveals New Tricks
A drug once taken by people with HIV/AIDS, but long ago shelved after newer, modern antiretroviral therapies became available, has now shed light on how the human body uses its natural immunity to fight the virus — work that could help uncover new targets for drugs.


Treating Neurological Disorders With Music Therapy
UCSF’s efforts to harness and understand the impact of music therapy on the brain was featured in a recent PBS NewsHour story on “The Healing Power of Music.”


Multitasking Is Subject of PBS Program to Air March 4
Adam Gazzaley, a neurologist and director of the UCSF Neuroscience Imaging Center, will be featured in a PBS-sponsored program, “The Distracted Mind with [UCSF’s] Dr. Adam Gazzaley,” that airs on KQED PLUS (channel 10 on Comcast) on Sunday, March 4 at 10 a.m.


Schizophrenia Patients' Ability to Monitor Reality May Be Helped by Computerized Training
People with schizophrenia who completed 80 hours of intensive, computerized cognitive training exercises were better able to perform complex tasks that required them to distinguish their internal thoughts from reality.


Bruce Miller, MD, Discusses Alzheimer's, FTD on Charlie Rose Show
Bruce Miller, MD, director of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, participated in a roundtable discussion on Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia on the Charlie Rose Show.


Media Advisory: UCSF Students Offer Health Screenings at Bayview Health Fair
Graduate students in the UCSF schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy will offer a range of complimentary health screenings during the Bayview YMCA Health & Wellness Fair this weekend.


Cancer Therapy More Potent When It Hits Two Targets
Simultaneous targeting of two different molecules in cancer is an effective way to shrink tumors, block invasion, and stop metastasis, scientists at UCSF have found — work that may improve the effectiveness of combination treatments that include drugs like Avastin.


Statins Linked with Lower Depression Risk in Heart Disease Patients
Patients with heart disease who took cholesterol-lowering statins were significantly less likely to develop depression than those who did not, in a study by Mary Whooley, MD, a physician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and a professor of medicine at UCSF.


Hepatitis C, a Leading Killer, Is Frequently Undiagnosed But Often Curable
Hepatitis C virus has overtaken the AIDS virus, HIV, as a cause of death in the United States. About 3 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with hepatitis C, but more than half with the disesae are undiagnosed, according to new research. Some advocate screeening all baby boomers for the virus.


UCSF Police Arrest Burglary Suspect at Mission Bay
In the early morning hours on February 20, UCSF Police Department officers arrested a suspect who allegedly burglarized the Mission Bay Housing Office.


Cancer Research Shows Promise of New Drugs
Uncovering the network of genes regulated by a crucial molecule involved in cancer called mTOR, which controls protein production inside cells, researchers at UCSF have discovered how a protein “master regulator” goes awry, leading to metastasis, the fatal step of cancer.


Babies' Colic Linked to Mothers' Migraines
A study of mothers and their young babies by neurologists at UCSF has shown that mothers who suffer migraine headaches are more than twice as likely to have babies with colic than mothers without a history of migraines.


Anticipation of Stressful Situations Accelerates Cellular Aging
The ability to anticipate future events allows us to plan and exert control over our lives, but it may also contribute to stress-related increased risk for the diseases of aging, according to a study by UCSF researchers.


Specialized Twin Center to Open at Mission Bay Medical Center
With advances in infertility treatments and more women who choose to wait a few years before having children, today’s new parents are much more likely to welcome two bundles of joy than ever before.


UCSF School of Dentistry to Offer Free Dental Care for Children
Dental students and clinical faculty members from the UCSF School of Dentistry Clinic will give free dental care and education during the annual "Give Kids A Smile" program this Saturday, Feb. 17.


Elizabeth Boyd Named UCSF Research Integrity Officer
Elizabeth Boyd, UCSF’s associate vice chancellor, Ethics and Compliance, has been named the UCSF Research Integrity Officer (RIO).


UCSF to Host Alumni Weekend and Reunions in April
UCSF will welcome alumni back to San Francisco April 20 and 21 for a series of events, including an exclusive breakfast with Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, an evening at the San Francisco Symphony and lectures and panel discussions about the latest in research and health care.


Improved Emergency Treatment for Prolonged Seizures
When a person is experiencing a prolonged convulsive seizure, quick medical intervention is critical.


Stem Cell Study in Mice Offers Hope for Treating Heart Attack Patients
A UCSF stem cell study conducted in mice suggests a novel strategy for treating damaged cardiac tissue in patients following a heart attack, which an estimated 785,000 Americans will experience this year.


UCSF to Establish Chancellor's First-Year Graduate Fellowship Program
UCSF will offer new funding this fall to provide innovative and cutting-edge training for the next generation of graduate academic students.


Parnassus Avenue Construction to Run Through July
The City of San Francisco plans to repave and make other modifications on Parnassus Avenue between 5th Ave and Clayton Street, a project that will take about six months to complete.


Paul Volberding Takes Leading Roles with UCSF's ARI, Global Health Sciences
Paul Volberding, MD, one of the world's leading experts on treatment for patients infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, became the new director of the AIDS Research Institute (ARI) at UCSF on Feb. 13.


Future Looks Bright for Congenital Heart Disease Patients
Peter Barnett may be the most physically active man in Mill Valley, California, thanks to UCSF's specialized cardiac care which is essential to the growing number of adults who need ongoing treatment for heart defects they've had since birth.


Great Manager Profile: Kevin Souza
UCSF's occasional series profiling great managers continues with a focus on Kevin Souza, who began 25 years ago as a manager of a basic science research lab in endocrinology.


Glide Health Services Recognized as National Model
UCSF’s Patricia Dennehy, director of the nurse-managed Glide Health Services center, is among five Californians to receive the 2012 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards today for applying proven, innovative approaches to some of the state’s most difficult problems.


Ombuds Works as a Neutral Party to Keep the Peace Across UCSF
Randy Daron, recently appointed UCSF Ombuds, finds himself frequently explaining the meaning of the word “Ombuds” to members of the UCSF community.


Tenofovir, Leading HIV Medication, Linked with Risk of Kidney Damage
Tenofovir, one of the most effective and commonly prescribed antiretroviral medications for HIV/AIDS, is associated with a significant risk of kidney damage and chronic kidney disease that increases over time, according to a study of more than 10,000 patients led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).


Tenofovir: Q&A for Patients and Providers
Scientists at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco have published a study showing that one of the most effective and commonly prescribed antiretroviral medications for HIV/AIDS, tenofovir, is associated with a significant risk of kidney damage and chronic kidney disease that increases over time. See accompanying news release, Tenofovir, Leading HIV Medication, Linked with Risk of Kidney Damage.


Chancellor Names "Future of UCSF" Working Group Members
UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann today named members of the “Future of UCSF" working group, charged with exploring changes to UCSF’s current governance structure and financial relationship with the UC system.


Who's Who in the "Future of UCSF" Working Group
UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann named a working group consisting of 13 leaders from UC, UCSF and business who have agreed to take on the critically important assignment of exploring a new business model for the health sciences university.


UCSF Issues Joint Statement From Kidney Transplant Candidate, Chief Medical Officer
UCSF is committed to helping kidney transplant candidate Jesus Navarro, who remains on the waiting list, according to a joint statement released by him and Chief Medical Officer Joshua Adler, MD.


Media Advisory: Black History Month Conference
The Second Annual Florence Stroud Black History Month Conference Series presents a special symposium, "Joining Forces: Answering the Call to Serve Military Families.'' The event will focus on the myriad challenges facing members of the military and their families, including post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, and other psychological issues.


Pediatric Dentist Applies Science to Prevent Cavities
Pediatric dentist Ling Zhan is working to better understand the risk factors for cavities, and balance these with proven prevention measures, which has proven to be successful by adults.


State Economy to Get Big Jolt with Proposed New Tax on Cigarettes, Study Finds
A new UCSF analysis has found that a state ballot initiative to increase the cigarette tax would create about 12,000 jobs and nearly $2 billion in new economic activity in California.


In Autism, Gene Findings May Help Explain Biology and Guide Drug Discovery
UCSF gene hunter Lauren Weiss is homing in on a network of genes – linked to a protein suspect identified earlier – that may hold clues to autism and lead to new ways to identify those at risk and new ideas about prevention and treatment.


What Patients Talk About When They Talk About Doctors
An analysis of hundreds of reviews posted to physician-rating sites on the Internet revealed that patients generally give their doctors favorable reviews in this forum. If they complain, it is generally about the experience of going to the doctor—finding parking, long waits in the office, and unfriendly office staff.


Combined Approach to Global Health Can Save Lives at Lower Cost
A new analysis published this week demonstrates that confronting several diseases at once is a viable way to make the most of limited donor dollars and national health care budgets, and save more lives.


UCSF Spinal Surgery Saves Former Gymnast's Life
In a triumph of the human spirit and life-saving health care, Angelica Galang, 23, is now attending law school after UCSF neurosurgeon Philip Weinstein removed a five-inch tumor in one of the most complex spinal surgeries of its kind.


Media Advisory: UCSF to Host Symposium on Tobacco Research
A UCSF symposium, “It’s About a Billion Lives,’’ will feature new research on tobacco. A wide range of topics will be presented including discussions about the harmful effects of cigarette smoke exposure, the public health consequences of “electronic’’ cigarettes, and how discount pricing of cigarettes has raised smoking rates among poor people in China.


Male and Female Behavior Deconstructed
Hormones shape our bodies, make us fertile, excite our most basic urges, and as scientists have known for years, they govern the behaviors that separate men from women. But how?


UCSF's New Dean Wants to Raise Profile of Graduate Education
UCSF has named Elizabeth Watkins, director of graduate studies for the History of Health Sciences program and a professor in the Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine, dean of the Graduate Division.


Goals for Blood Pressure in Kidney Disease Patients May Be Unrealistic, Suggests Study
An upward revision of the blood pressure numbers used to identify risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) might actually help doctors provide better care for their patients, said the authors of a study in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).


Vigorous Exercise Linked to Gene Activity in Prostate
Scientists at UCSF have identified nearly 200 genes in the healthy prostate tissue of men with low-grade prostate cancer that may help explain how physical activity improves survival from the disease.


Societal Control of Sugar Essential to Ease Public Health Burden
Sugar should be controlled like alcohol and tobacco to protect public health, according to a team of UCSF researchers, who maintain in a new report that sugar is fueling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually worldwide.


UCSF School of Medicine Leaders Explore Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics was the focus of this year’s daylong UCSF School of Medicine leadership retreat on January 20. Campus leaders examined the question of how to optimally develop, organize and integrate clinical-outcome data, research data, business intelligence, and population data so that information is accessible and usable to empower research and improve medical practice.


UC to Host Forum on Breast Cancer Risks and Prevention
The Athena Breast Health Forum will host the first of an ongoing series of live discussions between breast cancer experts, health care providers, patients and community members about critical issues and advances in breast health on February 7.


New Lung Cancer Test Predicts Survival
In the two largest clinical studies ever conducted on the molecular genetics of lung cancer, an international team led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has demonstrated that an available molecular test can predict the likelihood of death from early-stage lung cancer more accurately than conventional methods.


Celebrating UCSF's Diversity on Lunar New Year
UCSF Alumnus E. Leong Way, 95, was among members of the UCSF community to celebrate the Lunar New Year during an event at UCSF on Jan. 24.


Prominent Speakers to Discuss Population Growth at Global Health Forum
More than 300 people — many of them University of California faculty, students and staff — will gather at UC Berkeley on February 4, for the second UC Global Health Day, sponsored by the UC Global Health Institute.


In Memoriam: John Corrin Hutchinson, MD
John Corrin Hutchinson, MD, or “Hutch” to many, professor emeritus and Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, passed away peacefully on Jan. 14, 2012. He was 84.


Survival Rates for Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplants Top in Nation
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital and UCSF Medical Center are rated as over performers with the best overall survival rates for children and adults who undergo brone marrow transplants, according a review by the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research.


UCSF Releases Second Version of Mobile App for Information to Go
UCSF is offering a new version of its mobile app to keep news and information about the University handy for people on the go.


Gladstone Scientists Identify Protein that Contributes to Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease
Scientists at the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes have identified a protein that exacerbates symptoms of Parkinson’s disease — a discovery that could one day lead to new treatments for people who suffer from this devastating neurodegenerative illness.


Colleagues React to Koda-Kimble's Legacy at UCSF
Colleagues of UCSF School of Pharmacy Dean Mary Anne Koda-Kimble reflect on her leadership and on their experiences working with her as she plans to step down from the post at the end of June.


Team Finds New Way to Image Brain Tumors and Predict Recurrence
A UCSF team has developed methods to reveal a molecular marker in tissue samples from brain tumors that has been linked to better survival odds.


UCSF Shares $25-Million Grant To Find Epilepsy Genes
More than 4,000 people with various forms of epilepsy will have their DNA decoded over the next five years in a study led by researchers at UCSF and several collaborating institutions.


Gladstone Scientists Identify Genetic Mechanism Linked to Congenital Heart Disease
Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have identified a finely tuned mechanism by which fetal heart muscle develops into a healthy and fully formed beating heart—offering new insight into the genetic causes of congenital heart disease and opening the door to one day developing therapies to fight this chronic and potentially fatal disorder.


Physicians Emphasize Importance of Story Telling to Advance Patient Care
Two doctors who have learned the art of telling stories are convinced that it has become indispensable to top-notch medical care.


Chancellor Proposes New Approach to Secure UCSF's Financial Future
UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann proposed to the UC Regents on Jan. 19 that a working group be formed to help UCSF explore options to secure its financial future so it can realize its vision to become the world’s preeminent health sciences innovator.


UCSF Team Uncovers How Immune Cells Move Against Invaders
UCSF scientists have discovered the unexpected way in which a key cell of the immune system prepares for battle. The finding, they said, offers insight into the processes that take place within these cells and could lead to strategies for treating conditions from spinal cord injury to cancer.


UCSF Tops Public Institutions in NIH Biomedical Research Funds
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) received more research funds from the National Institutes of Health than any other public institution in 2011 and ranked second among all institutions nationwide, according to new figures released by the NIH. The funding helps UCSF continue to perform world-renowned health sciences research amid state budget cutbacks.


UCSF Taps 17-Year Interprofessional Expert to Lead New Center
Scott Reeves, a world-renowned British social scientist, is the new director of UCSF’s Center for Innovation in Interprofessional Healthcare Education, which will work to develop curricula and robust assessment tools that focus on quality and safety.


All UC Campuses to Become Smoke Free
UC President Mark Yudof has requested that chancellors at all 10 campuses form committees to implement a smoke-free policy that also bans the use, sale and promotion of tobacco products on University property.


Saving Dogs with Spinal Cord Injuries
Dogs with spinal cord injuries may soon benefit from an experimental drug being tested by researchers at UCSF and Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences — work that they hope will one day help people with similar injuries.


Some Breast Cancer Spread May Be Triggered By Targetable Protein, Study Shows
Scientists from the University of Helsinki, Finland, and UCSF have identified a cleaver-wielding protein that frees some tumor cells, allowing them to further misbehave. The discovery points to a new target for therapy.


Women Soldiers See More Combat Than In Prior Eras, Have Same PTSD Rate as Men, Study Says
Women who served in the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan were involved in combat at significantly higher rates than in previous conflicts, and screened positive for post-traumatic stress disorder at the same rate as men, according to a study led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.


Stem Cell Odyssey Leads from Tusks and Teeth to Gut
Medical geneticist Ophir Klein's studies of stem cells in tooth development and of stem cell changes in the gut may lead to new strategies for regenerating teeth and for treating craniofacial abnormalities.


UCSF to Celebrate Multiculturalism with Photo Exhibit
The UCSF community is invited to view the "100% You Photo Exhbit," on display beginning January 11, and hear from pioneering artist Kip Fulbeck at UCSF on January 17.


College Athlete with Prosthetic Leg Pursues Paralympics
A Bay Area athlete is chasing his dreams of competing in the 2012 Paralympics with the help of experts at UCSF. And while he has yet to qualify for the global competition, he’s already beating his disability.


New Website Helps Doctors Assess Life Expectancy of Older Patients
A team led by researchers from the San Francisco VA Medical Center and UCSF has completed the first systematic review of prognostic indices used to calculate a patient’s life expectancy, and created a website that puts these indices in one central location.


Study Offers Clue As to Why Alcohol is Addicting
Drinking alcohol leads to the release of endorphins in areas of the brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward, according to a study led by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at UCSF.


How Many Lives Could a Soda Tax Save?
A group of scientists at UCSF and Columbia University estimates that slapping a penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages would prevent nearly 100,000 cases of heart disease, 8,000 strokes and 26,000 deaths every year.


"ER" Producer and Physician to Address Future of Emergency Care in America
John Maa, MD, an assistant professor in the UCSF Department of Surgery, and Neal Baer, MD, executive producer of TV's "ER" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," will address "The Futre of Emergency Care in America - Doctors as Storytellers" on January 11 in Cole Hall on the Parnassus campus.


Three to Receive MLK Award for Exceptional Leadership in Advancing Diversity at UCSF
Three outstanding members of the UCSF community will receive 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards for their exceptional leadership in advancing the goal of achieving greater ethnic and cultural diversity at UCSF.


Tobacco Company Misrepresented Danger from Cigarettes, Study Finds
A new UCSF analysis of tobacco industry documents shows that Philip Morris USA manipulated data on the effects of additives in cigarettes, including menthol, obscuring actual toxicity levels and increasing the risk of heart, cancer and other diseases for smokers.


UCSF to Host Wellness Expo on January 18
The UCSF community is invited to attend "Living Well at UCSF" at the Second Annual Wellness Expo on Wednesday, Jan. 18 in the Millberry Union on the Parnassus campus.


Flatworm Flouts Fundamental Rule of Biology
A tiny, freshwater flatworm found in ponds and rivers around the world that has long intrigued scientists for its remarkable ability to regenerate has now added a new wrinkle to biology.


First Baby Born at UCSF in 2012
Weighing in at 7 pounds, 15 ounces, Joey Santino Gutierrez was the first baby born at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in 2012.


Maternal Liver Grafts More Tolerable for Children with Rare Disease
Children with a rare, life-threatening disease that is the most common cause of neonatal liver failure – biliary atresia – better tolerate liver transplants from their mothers than from their fathers, according to a UCSF-led study.


Technology Becoming Key to Personalized Patient Care at UCSF
UCSF is implementing ever-more-advanced technologies designed to make life easier for patients and care providers. Some of the changes will coincide with the opening in 2015 of the new UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay.


Media Advisory: Coverage Opportunities for First Baby Born In 2012
The first San Francisco baby born in 2012 is always an exciting story to kick off the new year. If that baby is born at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, we will be coordinating with media in an effort to offer access to the family for interviews and photography.


Open Source Licensing Defuses Copyright Law's Threat to Medicine
Enforcing copyright law could potentially interfere with patient care, stifle innovation and discourage research, but using open source licensing instead can prevent the problem, according to a physician – who practices both at the University of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco VA Medical Center – and a legal scholar at the UC Hastings College of Law.


UCSF Experts Highlight Need for Innovation in Recruiting Participants for Clinical Trials
In a commentary published in the November issue of Academic Medicine, top recruitment experts at UCSF urge academic medical researchers to embrace new methods for recruiting participants into clinical trials.


UCSF Biochemist Wins Prestigious Prize
Peter Walter, PhD, a professor in the Biochemistry and Biophysics Department within the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco has been awarded the 2012 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for his “outstanding research achievements in the field of cell biology.”


UCSF Cancer-Drug Spinoff Acquired for $190M
A cancer drug company founded by UCSF Professor Kevan Shokat, PhD, has been acquired by Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals in an effort to add two novel drug projects to Takeda’s pipeline of potential oncology therapies.


UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay Incorporates Best Practices in Seismic Safety
Exactly 22 years after a 6.9 earthquake caused widespread structural damage in the San Francisco Bay Area, members of the UCSF community gathered on a picture-perfect morning to celebrate a construction milestone at an emerging medical center that incorporates the best practices in seismic safety.


Media Advisory: Three UCSF Researchers Honored by Top Science Association
Three UCSF researchers will be awarded the distinction of fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in February 2012 for their scientific research in reproductive medicine, statistics and stem cells.


Pathogenic Landscape of HIV
In perhaps the most comprehensive survey of the inner workings of HIV, an international team of scientists led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco has mapped every apparent physical interaction the virus makes with components of the human cells it infects—work that may reveal new ways to design future HIV/AIDS drugs.


President Obama Honors UCSF Internship Program
The UCSF Science & Health Education Partnership (SEP) High School Internship Program was honored with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring on Dec. 12 at an awards ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C.


Breakthrough in Treatment to Prevent Blindness
A UCSF study shows a popular treatment for a potentially blinding eye infection is just as effective if given every six months versus annually.


Heart Attacks, Other Emergencies Spike During Holidays
During his 23-year career, Steven Polevoi, MD, the medical director of the UCSF Emergency Department, has done everything from treat traumatic injuries to deliver babies. While medical emergencies occur throughout the year, Polevoi sees the winter season and its related overindulgence as a pivotal time for preventing emergencies by listening to our bodies.


Breast Cancers at Lower-Risk Detected with Widespread Use of Mammograms
As a woman ages, her chances of being diagnosed with a lower-risk breast tumor increase, according to a novel study led by UCSF which found that for women over 50, a substantial number of cancers detected by mammograms have good prognoses.


New Book Describes UCSF's Metamorphosis into Major Biomedical Center
The UC Medical Humanities Consortium, a multi-campus collaborative, recently hosted a celebration of the publication of four new books, including one by professor emeritus Henry Bourne, who chronicles the rise of UCSF as biomedical powerhouse.


UCSF-Led Team Discovers Cause of Rare Disease
A large, international team of researchers led by scientists at UCSF has identified the gene that causes a rare childhood neurological disorder called PKD/IC, or “paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia with infantile convulsions,” a cause of epilepsy in babies and movement disorders in older children.


Many Disabled Seniors Want to Discuss Long-Term Prognosis with Their Doctors
A majority of disabled seniors in a long-term care program wanted their doctors to talk with them about their life expectancy, but only one reported having had such a discussion, in a study by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.


UCSF Receives Grant to Improve Safety of Blood Transfusions
UCSF and its affiliate Blood Systems Research Institute have been awarded nearly $33 million in research contracts for four projects as part of a major new research initiative designed to improve the safety and effectiveness of blood transfusions in the United States and abroad.


Gladstone Scientists Identify Human Proteins that May Fuel HIV/AIDS Transmission
Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered new protein fragments in semen that enhance the ability of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to infect new cells—a discovery that one day could help curb the global spread of this deadly pathogen.


UCSF to Receive Tobacco Papers, Funding to Improve Public Access to the Documents
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a proposed consent order today with a federal district court that tobacco companies provide $6.25 million to improve free public access to tobacco documents via the Internet. The court will provide this money to the UCSF Legacy Library for this purpose.


UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann Featured on BioCentury This Week
UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, former president for product development at Genentech, is featured in a video interview for BioCentury Publications Inc., a major biopharmaceutical news media source, which first aired online on Dec. 11.


UCSF Senior Vice Chancellor Gives Update on Shuttle Safety
UCSF Senior Vice Chancellor Plotts updated the UCSF community on improvements made to enhance safety of the campus shuttle service since the death of professor Kevin Mack in an accident on July 14.


UCSF's Blackburn Inducted into the California Hall of Fame
UCSF Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, whose co-discovery of an enzyme involved in cell aging and cancers opened a whole new field of scientific inquiry, was inducted into the California Hall of Fame on Dec. 8, 2011. 


Immunity Against the Cold
Throughout the interior spaces of humans and other warm-blooded creatures is a special type of tissue known as brown fat, which may hold the secret to diets and weight-loss programs of the future.


Stem Cell and Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell and other Genetic Diseases
A cure for sickle cell anemia and other life-threatening genetic disorders that arise in the blood is the goal of a new $6.7-million, five-year research project headed by UCSF scientist Y. W. Kan, a pioneer of modern genetics and the diagnosis of genetic diseases before birth.


Comfort Food May Be "Self-Medication" for Stress, Dialing Down Stress Response
A new study indicates that humans may “self-medicate” when faced with chronic stress, by eating more comfort foods containing sugar and fat.


Study Aims to Understand Adolescent Risky Behavior
A new study has found that providing information about ways to prevent injury and illness to adolescents in a primary care setting can lessen certain kinds of risky behavior.


Study Challenges Decades-Old Treatment Guidelines for Anorexia
Adolescents hospitalized with anorexia nervosa who receive treatment based on current recommendations for refeeding fail to gain significant weight during their first week in the hospital, according to a new study by UCSF researchers.


Stress Response Predictor in Police Officers May Be Relevant for Military
Police academy recruits who showed the greatest rise in the stress hormone cortisol after waking up in the morning were more likely to show acute stress symptoms in response to trauma years later as police officers, according to a study by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, the University of California, San Francisco and New York University Langone Medical Center.


Chancellor Welcomes Ideas on How UCSF Can Achieve its Vision
UCSF leaders are taking the final step in developing a three-year plan to guide the University through 2015 and they welcome feedback from the campus community on achieving the vision and goals.