Category: Health and Medicine

  • Evolving Medical Training

    Dr. Rebecca Berman was recently recruited to UCSF to direct the internal medicine residency program, generally considered to be one of the nation’s finest. Dr. Berman comes to UCSF from Harvard, where she directed the primary care residency program at Brigham & Womens Hospital. She sits down with Dr. Bob Wachter, Chair, Department of Medicine,…

  • When Should You Seek Medical Care?

    Knowing when to seek medical care can save your life but how can you tell if your complaint is best ignored or worth a trip to the doctor? Googling your symptoms can amplify concerns rather than ameliorate them but often common complaints are not a cause for worry. This series features leaders in their field…

  • Shaping Our Dynamic Microbiomes for Lifelong Health

    Our life-spans are ever-increasing, but our health-spans are not, leading to long periods of unpleasant and expensive suffering with chronic conditions. Many of these conditions have recently been linked to the microbiome. We are constantly shaping our microbiomes through the foods we eat, the environments we experience, even the people we live and work with.…

  • An Update on Osteoporosis

    Our skeleton is not a fixed structure. We are building bone and breaking down bone throughout our entire life. When and how does normal musculoskeletal aging become a medical issue? Gina Woods, MD, a board-certified endocrinologist, explains the ways bone density changes over time and what internal and external factors can influence bone density. She…

  • Beyond Food and Exercise: the Other Factors in the Obesity Epidemic

    Everything you come in contact with, every second of every day, makes an impact on your health. It’s known as the exposome. It’s a relatively new concept, first defined in 2005. The exposome includes the food you eat, the beauty products you use, the air you breathe, your friends and family, and everything in between.…

  • Genetics and Alzheimer’s Disease

    Every 65 seconds, someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s disease. What can be done to stem the tide of this devastating disease? Researchers are looking to our genes. “One of the goals of genetics is to try and come up with as strong a set of predictors as is possible. This has influenced the…

  • Cancer from an Evolutionary Perspective

    Humans have a relatively high risk of developing cancer in their lifetimes. But cancer is not unique to humans. Across the tree of life, we can trace cancer vulnerabilities back to the origins of multicellularity. Cancer is observed in almost all multicellular phyla, including lineages leading to plants, fungi, and animals. However, species vary remarkably…

  • The Future of Single-Payer Health Care in California

    Health care is one of the hottest issues in California politics. Last year, state lawmakers shelved a controversial single-payer bill. So, what’s next? California State Assembly Member David Chiu sat down with Dr. Andrew Bindman at UCSF to discuss the complex realities of health care reform. Chiu represents the 17th Assembly District, which covers eastern…

  • Guns, Obesity, and Opioids

    They may not seem related, but Dr. Sandro Galea, Dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, says we can approach guns, obesity and opioids in the same manner: population health. Dr. Galea breaks down the key concepts of population health – a relatively new field – during the inaugural Colloquium on Population Health…

  • Aging Well

    Evidence is building for the importance of physical and social activity as the way to optimize wellbeing in older age. UCSF Geriatrics faculty review their research and cutting-edge work on improving physical, social and emotional wellbeing in older adults. Explore topics on the myths of aging, improving surgical outcomes, the science of longevity, social connection…