UCSF gynecologic oncologist John K. Chan, MD, is leading a nationwide endeavor to evaluate a new strategy called “dose-dense” chemotherapy to improve treatment outcomes for women with ovarian cancer.

A team of researchers led by scientists at UCSF has developed a way to uncover the evolution of human cancer cells, determining the order in which mutations emerge in them as they wend their way from a normal, healthy state into invasive, malignant masses.

The UCSF Diabetes Family Fund for Innovative Patient Care, Education and Scientific Discovery, created by one anonymous donor who is committed to diabetes research, is financing 11 projects that support creative, collaborative and imaginative innovations in diabetes clinical care, patient education, medical training and clinical and basic research. 

By mapping neurons and neuron circuitry during movement, Sabes’ lab hopes to one day to be able to print this information back into the brain. If feasible, such therapy could offer new hope to stroke victims whose brains are unable to recover on their own.

Swallowing pills means medication must face the challenge of surviving the harsh environment of the digestive tract. As a result, people must take larger doses than they need. Using micro and nano-fabrication techniques developed by the computer chip industry, Desai’s lab is creating tiny devices that take multiple drugs directly to where they are needed, using less medication, minimizing side effects and making the process safer for the patient. 

In the era of prostate cancer screening, mortality rates have fallen 40 percent. The price of that has been over-diagnosis and over-treatment, something the current health care system cannot sustain. One of the major goals of Cooperberg’s research is to develop better risk assessment tools and instruments that can give the patient and doctor more confidence that the patient’s cancer will not progress.