Winter 2019

Beyond the Bullet: How we are stopping gun violence in our communities. PLUS: Meet the first genome surgeons, learn why some of us seem immune to the ravages of time, and discover the secrets beneath sugar’s sweet surface.

About this Issue:

Vol. 7, No. 2
Editorial Team

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Features

Photo of Mike Texada (left, sitting) and Jamal (right, standing) in front of a tan colored background.

Human Interest Winter 2019

Ending Gun Violence in Our Communities

Breaking the cycle of violence.

Portrait of Theo Roth, MD-PhD, in blue surgeon scrubs in front of an orange background; over his right shoulder is an illustrated double helix DNA strand with a little black oval shaped cartoon in a surgeon cap and mask holding scissors, hanging from the double helix.

Science Winter 2019

The First Genome Surgeons

Illustration of a repeating pattern of boxes that read “Sugar Shock.”

Health Winter 2019

Sugar’s Sick Secrets

Illustration of a silhouette of an elderly man with a cane, wearing a hat; there is a patchwork of colors in the silhouette.

Science Winter 2019

Decoding the Mystery of the Super-Ager

Human Interest

Addressing Violence as a National Disease

The only way to stop violent injury is to reframe it as a disease and a crisis of public health, say UCSF experts.

Science

Genome Editing: A 50-Year Quest

Scientists began searching for ways to edit genomes in the 1960s. It would not prove easy.

Illustration of small silhouettes of people taking apart and putting together a double helix.

Insights & Voices

Perspectives

We Left Our Homes for a Higher Calling

UCSF cancer researcher Hani Goodarzi, who is from Iran, writes about the human impact of the Trump Administration’s travel ban.
Ask the Expert

4 Strategies for Aging Well

UCSF experts share their science-backed strategies for aging well.
Ask the Expert

How Do We Make Medicine Moral?

Barbara Koenig, PhD, a leader in bioethics, weighs in on the questions raised by medicine’s ever-evolving technological prowess.
Ask the Expert

Bioethics in the Trenches

The real-life ethical quandaries faced in clinics, classrooms, and labs.
Ask the Expert

How Can I Support a Friend Facing a Medical Crisis?

Cynthia Perlis shares her top learnings from 30 years of listening to cancer patients at UCSF.

Portrait of Eric Topol, MD, in front of a white background.

Alumni Stories
Winter 2019

Leveraging Technology to Democratize Health

Cardiologist Eric Topol, MD, resident alum, is turning the medical establishment on its ear with his vision of a democratized health care system driven by patients and smartphones.

Books

Twisting Fate: My Journey with BRCA – from Breast Cancer Doctor to Patient and Back

UCSF oncologist Pamela Munster, MD, has advised thousands of women on how to deal with the life-altering diagnosis of breast cancer. But when she got a call saying that her own mammogram showed irregularities, she found herself experiencing a whole new side of the disease. Munster’s book weaves together her personal story with her team’s research on the BRCA gene, which is responsible for breast cancer and many other inherited cancers.

Videos

UCSF Osher Mini Medical School for the Public

Learn what goes on every day in UCSF’s classrooms and labs from the same faculty who are on the front lines, teaching students in the health professions. These courses for the rest of us delve into everything from the science of sleep to the biological basis of back pain to the latest studies on brain plasticity. Attend in person or watch past lectures online.

Podcasts

Carry the One Radio: “Jazz Bands and MRI Scans: How Brains are Creative”

Have you ever wondered what’s going on in a musician’s head while they improvise? In this episode, Charles Limb, MD, a UCSF surgeon and neuroscientist, explores the process of creativity by scanning the brains of jazz musicians and rappers as they improvise. Tune in to learn what brain processes allow creative thought and why creativity matters.