Summer 2025

Microplastics have spread into our air, food, water, and even inside us. Scientists are just beginning to understand what their presence means for our health. PLUS: How researchers are working to rewire the brain’s pain pathways to stop chronic pain, supporting aspiring physicians without traditional med-school-ready resumes, and the race to find safer anesthetics.

Behind the cover

About this Issue:

Vol. 14, No. 1
Editorial Team

Features

Sculpture of the anatomical insides of a human body, made entirely out of pieces of colorful plastic.

Health Summer 2025

The Plastic Inside Us

Tiny fragments, many too small to see with the naked eye, have infiltrated our bodies. What does that mean for our health?

Collage-style illustration of the silhouette of a man pushing a pulsating red dot up a mountain. Collaged diagrams of brains make up the mountain.

Science Summer 2025

Can We Train Our Brain to Unlearn Chronic Pain?

Olivia Waters smiles and stands outside the Clinical Sciences Building at UCSF’s Parnassus Heights campus.

Human Interest Summer 2025

Breaking Through

Illustration of two scientists wearing white lab coats standing in a green field with a glowing horizon line. The sky is a deep purple with zebrafish swimming toward the horizon.

Science Summer 2025

The Quest to Reinvent Anesthesia

Insights & Voices

7 Ways UCSF Is Exploring the Eyes

Researchers and clinicians are advancing the science of sight to ensure the health of these complex and crucial organs.
Perspectives

Open Smiles

“With this piece, I wanted to reflect the creativity and collaboration that make offering care to these children possible,” says artist Rachel Howard of her collage. It depicts a UCSF School of Dentistry partnership that uses telehealth to bring preventive dental care to kids in rural schools.
Ask the Expert

Why Is Discovery Research So Important?

Neuroscientist Grae Davis, PhD, unpacks why public understanding of science matters.
Ask the Expert

Can Music Benefit Our Brains?

An expert in cognitive neuroscience shares the ways that music may help flex our neurons, plus her top tips for a music-filled life.
Mythbuster

How Does Marijuana Affect Our Bodies?

What scientists are learning about weed’s health effects might come as a surprise.
Ask the Expert

Five Questions for Joanne Chun

The School of Pharmacy’s Joanne Chun, PharmD ’93, PhD ’96, leads a new master’s degree program focused on AI’s transformation of drug discovery and development.

Alumni Stories
Summer 2025

Community Pharmacy Pioneer

Maria Lopez, PharmD ’01, didn’t just want to own a pharmacy – she wanted to redefine what one could be. “I wanted to create something different, something more personal,” says Lopez, the 2025 Alumni Humanitarian Service Award winner.

Books

On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters

Bonnie Tsui’s latest book is a “celebration of musculature ... vivid, thought-provoking, undeniably fascinating,” according to Kirkus Reviews. She researched it by visiting UCSF’s Anatomy Learning Center with Amber Fitzsimmons, DPTSc ’13, chair of physical therapy, as her guide, uncovering how the perception of muscle shapes cultural ideas of power and beauty.

Videos

Finding HIV: A Swipe in the Right Direction

What do Tinder and the immune system have in common? Both swipe to find the perfect match, but instead of love, the immune system is hunting virus-infected cells. UCSF PhD student Sophia Miliotis explains it all in her clever, three-minute Grad Slam talk – and made history as UCSF’s first-ever winner of the UC-wide competition. Watch it now on UCSF’s YouTube channel.

Podcasts

The Health Technology Podcast

Curious about the future of health care? This UCSF Rosenman Institute podcast explores big ideas like at-home tests for early cancer detection and the next wave of weight loss treatments. Hear insights from the front-line innovators and entrepreneurs tackling health’s biggest challenges.