A team led by UCSF's John Fahy, MD, has discovered why mucus in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis is thick, sticky and difficult to cough up, leaving these patients more vulnerable to lung infection.

Using techniques developed only over the past few years, UCSF researchers have completed experiments that overturn the scientific consensus on how the brain’s “hunger circuit” governs eating.

India Hook-Barnard, PhD, has been appointed Director of Research Strategy in the School of Medicine, where she will work with Executive Vice Dean Keith Yamamoto, PhD, developing and supporting research and research training programs.

UC San Francisco’s Jennifer Lai, MD, MBA, was recently selected as a “Top 40 under 40” in the Class of 2015 by the San Francisco Business Times. She is the only UCSF faculty member honored by the publication.

Two longtime UC San Francisco physician-researchers and a SFGH nurse have received the 2015 Heroes & Hearts Award bestowed by the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation. Diane Havlir, MD, Edgar Pierluissi, MD, and Maya Vasquez, RN, were honored at the Foundation’s annual awards luncheon on Feb. 12 for their “impact on the community through their work at The General.”

UCSF will convene a town hall on Thursday, Feb. 26 to update the community on its global and local response to the Ebola outbreak.

Visionary philanthropist Chuck Feeney has given another gift of $100 million to UCSF, now making him the single largest contributor ever to the University of California system.

Two dozen scientific papers published online simultaneously present the first comprehensive maps and analyses of the epigenomes of a wide array of human cell and tissue types.

It is awards season at UCSF and time to celebrate our colleagues who have gone above and beyond in serving others. Nominations are now being accepted and they are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24.