synapse (2.5.2015)

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Synapse Newspaper The UCSF Student synapse.ucsf.edu | Thursday, February 5, 2015 | Volume 59, Number 8 Mission Ready: A fleet of ambulances moves 131 patients from the Parnassus campus to the newly opened UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay on Sunday, Feb. 1. According to a statement from UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood and medical center CEO Mark Laret, hundreds of physicians, nurses and staff were involved in the move from around 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. “A village of determined people came together to create something extraordinary,” said the statement. The new medical center, constructed both to meet growing needs and address seismic structural concerns at existing facilities, includes the Benioff Children’s Hospital, Betty Irene Moore Women’s Hospital, Bakar Cancer Hospital and Ron Conway Family Gateway Medical Building. Its first baby was born at 12:11 p.m. on Sunday. Hanna Starobinets/Synapse Moving day arrives for new medical center IN THIS ISSUE Calendar » PAGE 2 Puzzles » PAGE 8 Mama M » BACK PAGE Comics » BACK PAGE [EXIT, PURSIED BY SCIENCE] Nye says ‘nay’ Beloved ‘science guy’ opposes genetically modified crops, but Harvard and Yale scientists may have containment solution. » PAGE 7 CAREER Yes, you CAN Professional development office taps its Career Alumni Network to support those in search of non-academic employment. » PAGE 4 Housing advisory committee proposes short-term changes By Bryne Ulmschneider and Taylor LaFlam Staff Writers Editor’s note: This is the second part in a series of articles the Synapse is writing cov- ering the housing challenges faced by UCSF students. The last issue of Synapse explored the history of campus housing at UCSF and the new housing projected in the recent UCSF Long Range Development Plan. San Francisco is an expensive city, and the UCSF students and administration know it. Soon the senior leadership will decide what actions to take to respond to concerns over how affordable it is to live in San Francisco while being supported by a meager graduate student stipend or student loan package. The UCSF administration seeks to address these concerns by tasking the housing advisory committee with find- ing immediately implementable housing solutions. In the next two weeks, senior leadership will hear the housing advisory committee’s recommendations and decide which, if any, to implement. “People are actively considering not coming to San Francisco because of hous- ing,” said Leslie Santos, a committee mem- ber and the director of campus housing. To increase access to below-market-rate housing necessary for recruiting top stu- dents, faculty and postdocs to UCSF, the housing advisory committee was tasked with the challenge of making more hous- ing available to incoming students without actually having any additional inventory until 2019 at the earliest. “None of the options were attractive,” said committee member Jason Cyster, a UCSF professor and former director of the BMS graduate program. The need for more UCSF housing was recognized by all, he said, but the committee’s purpose was to “give specific recommendations to the chancellor on how to use the housing that we actually have.” Added Santos: “The priority was to help new people to San Francisco get settled.” The housing advisory commit- tee included faculty from across all de- partments at UCSF, staff from the Of- fice of Student Life and the Housing Office, and stu- dents—including one of the reporters of this story. The housing advisory com- mittee is going to strongly recommend to the senior leadership that securing addi- tional funds to subsidize housing is critical to the mission of recruiting and retaining top talent here at UCSF. Other recommendations included pri- oritizing incoming students over currently enrolled students in order to aid in the transition to San Francisco. One challenge to ensuring incoming students have access to housing is that about 25 percent of the current housing inventory is being occupied by students who have been in housing since 2013. Susan Merrell/UCSF News While many look to the Mission Bay campus for long-term residential solutions, current options mainly involve setting limits on existing student housing. HOUSING » PAGE 10 Atul Butte to head new UCSF institute Lauren Shields Staff Writer UCSF recently appointed Atul Butte director of the new Institute of Computational Health Sciences. Butte will move from his current position as chief of the Division of Systems Medicine at Stanford University. His formal training in computer science as an undergraduate at Brown Univer- sity—combined with an M.D., Ph.D.— make Butte a unique candidate for the job. His credentials are further bolstered by roles as an investigator at Stanford, a former software engineer at Apple and Microsoft, and a founder of multiple bio- tech startups. The Institute of Computational Health Sciences began just four years ago. “The institute got started out of a initiative to try to expand bioinformatics and clini- cal informatics at UCSF,” said Katherine Pollard, a UCSF professor in biostatistics who became involved early on in the ef- forts to establish the nascent institute. The institute’s recruitment subcommit- tee, chaired by Pollard, has already begun to partner with other departments to bring new computational faculty to UCSF. Eight new investigators have been recruited thus BUTTE » PAGE 10 Butte

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Volume 59, Issue 8

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Page 1: Synapse (2.5.2015)

Synapse NewspaperThe UCSF Student

synapse.ucsf.edu | Thursday, February 5, 2015 | Volume 59, Number 8

Mission Ready: A fleet of ambulances moves 131 patients from the Parnassus campus to the newly opened UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay on Sunday, Feb. 1. According to a statement from UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood and medical center CEO Mark Laret, hundreds of physicians, nurses and staff were involved in the move from around 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. “A village of determined people came together to create something extraordinary,” said the statement. The new medical center, constructed both to meet growing needs and address seismic structural concerns at existing facilities, includes the Benioff Children’s Hospital, Betty Irene Moore Women’s Hospital, Bakar Cancer Hospital and Ron Conway Family Gateway Medical Building. Its first baby was born at 12:11 p.m. on Sunday.

Hanna Starobinets/Synapse

Moving day arrives for new medical center

IN THIS ISSUECalendar » PAGE 2 Puzzles » PAGE 8 Mama M » BACK PAGEComics » BACK PAGE

[EXIT, PURSIED BY SCIENCE]Nye says ‘nay’Beloved ‘science guy’ opposes genetically modified crops, but Harvard and Yale scientists may have containment solution. » PAGE 7

CAREERYes, you CANProfessional development office taps its Career Alumni Network to support those in search of non-academic employment. » PAGE 4

Housing advisory committee proposes short-term changesBy Bryne Ulmschneider and Taylor LaFlamStaff Writers

Editor’s note: This is the second part in a series of articles the Synapse is writing cov-ering the housing challenges faced by UCSF students. The last issue of Synapse explored the history of campus housing at UCSF and the new housing projected in the recent UCSF Long Range Development Plan.

San Francisco is an expensive city, and the UCSF students and administration know it. Soon the senior leadership will decide what actions to take to respond to concerns over how affordable it is to live in San Francisco while being supported by a meager graduate student stipend or student loan package. The UCSF administration seeks to address these concerns by tasking the housing advisory committee with find-ing immediately implementable housing solutions. In the next two weeks, senior

leadership will hear the housing advisory committee’s recommendations and decide which, if any, to implement. “People are actively considering not coming to San Francisco because of hous-ing,” said Leslie Santos, a committee mem-ber and the director of campus housing. To increase access to below-market-rate housing necessary for recruiting top stu-dents, faculty and postdocs to UCSF, the housing advisory committee was tasked with the challenge of making more hous-ing available to incoming students without actually having any additional inventory until 2019 at the earliest. “None of the options were attractive,” said committee member Jason Cyster, a UCSF professor and former director of the BMS graduate program. The need for more UCSF housing was recognized by all, he said, but the committee’s purpose was to “give specific recommendations to the chancellor on how to use the housing that we actually have.”

Added Santos: “The priority was to help new people to San Francisco get settled.” The housing advisory commit-tee included faculty from across all de-partments at UCSF, staff from the Of-fice of Student Life and the Housing Office, and stu-dents—including one of the reporters of this story. The housing advisory com-mittee is going to strongly recommend to the senior leadership that securing addi-tional funds to subsidize housing is critical to the mission of recruiting and retaining top talent here at UCSF. Other recommendations included pri-oritizing incoming students over currently

enrolled students in order to aid in the transition to San Francisco. One challenge to ensuring incoming students have access to housing is that about 25 percent of the current housing inventory is being occupied by students who have been in housing since 2013.

Susan Merrell/UCSF NewsWhile many look to the Mission Bay campus for long-term residential solutions, current options mainly involve setting limits on existing student housing.

HOUSING » PAGE 10

Atul Butte to head new UCSF instituteLauren ShieldsStaff Writer

UCSF recently appointed Atul Butte director of the new Institute of Computational Health Sciences. Butte will move from his current position as chief of the Division of Systems Medicine at Stanford University. His formal training in computer science as an undergraduate at Brown Univer-sity—combined with an M.D., Ph.D.—make Butte a unique candidate for the job. His credentials are further bolstered by roles as an investigator at Stanford, a former software engineer at Apple and Microsoft, and a founder of multiple bio-tech startups. The Institute of Computational Health Sciences began just four years ago. “The institute got started out of a initiative to try to expand bioinformatics and clini-cal informatics at UCSF,” said Katherine Pollard, a UCSF professor in biostatistics who became involved early on in the ef-forts to establish the nascent institute. The institute’s recruitment subcommit-tee, chaired by Pollard, has already begun to partner with other departments to bring new computational faculty to UCSF. Eight new investigators have been recruited thus

BUTTE » PAGE 10

Butte

Page 2: Synapse (2.5.2015)

2 | February 5, 2014 | synapse.ucsf.edu

VALENTINE’S DAY CARD MAKINGFriday, February 6, noon-1:30 p.m., Genentech Hall Atrium, Mission BayCreate a handmade card for your loved ones to make their day extra special or donate one of your handmade cards and brighten the day of someone else.

MUSLIM FRIDAY PRAYER SERVICES Friday, February 6, 1:30-2 p.m., Helen Diller, 160, Mission Bay1-1:30 p.m., Medical Sciences,157, ParnassusThe Muslim Community at UCSF holds regular Friday prayer services (Jum’a) ev-ery week. Come join your fellow brothers and sisters for prayer and socializing.

MISSION BAY RIPSFriday, February 6, 4-5 p.m., Genentech Hall Auditorium, Mission BayRIPS is a seminar series wherein one stu-dent and one postdoc present their current research. Talks are 15 minutes in length and are preceded by a 20-minute social. Snacks and beverages are provided.

CAMPUS EVANGELISTIC FELLOWSHIPFriday, February 6, 7-10:30 p.m., Nursing 517, ParnassusJoin the Campus Evangelistic Fellowship for their weekly meeting with Bible study, hymn-singing and fellowship.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS FAN FESTFriday, February 7, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., AT&T ParkJoin the 2014 World Series Champions, the SF Giants, at the 2015 Fan Fest cel-ebration. This year’s event is on Saturday, February 7. Meet some of the players, get autographs, and find your gear for this year’s season. Buy single game tickets, get your picture taken with the World Series trophies and more.

ASGD MONTHLY MEETINGMonday, February 9, 6-7 p.m., Library, CL220, ParnassusASGD invites graduate students interested in learning about various issues (e.g. CA residency problems, Gaps in Workers’ Compensation coverage, Building Gradu-ate Student Community, etc.) affecting students at UCSF to come to the Board Meeting. It is also a great opportunity to meet other students in other PhD and Masters programs. No RSVP is necessary.

BUSINESS CLUB: SANOFITuesday, February 10, 5-7 p.m., Mission Hall, 1407, Mission BayJoin the Business Club for a panel discus-sion surrounding the opportunities and chal-lenges of transitioning to a business career from academia with speakers from Sanofi.

CARRY THE ONE RADIO WORKSHOP Tuesday, February 10, 5 -7 p.m., Mission Hall, 1107, Mission BayCarry the One Radio is a UCSF-based sci-ence podcast. The show is run completely by a dedicated group of young scientists who want to share their enthusiasm for research with a wider audience. The group meets weekly to workshop various pieces. No radio experience needed.

SCIENCE POLICY GROUP DISCUSSION Tuesday, February 10, 5:30-7 p.m., Genentech Hall, S204, Mission BayChris Schaffer, a Cornell professor in biomedical engineering, will present to the Science Policy. Chris did a sabbatical in Washington DC in the office of a repre-sentative and is very interested in science education policy.

ENTREPRENEUR’S CLUB Tuesday, February 10, 6-8 p.m., Library 220, Parnassus

Speaker Caleb Bell, CEO of Bell Biosys-tems was living on food stamps and “tech-nically homeless.” Since then, he has been accepted into Thiel Foundation’s Breakout Labs, Stanford’s StartX accelerator, and raised millions from investors and grant funding. The Stanford Ph.D. will describe his path and why he believes that entrepre-neurs are born, not made. Tickets (free for UCSF): entrepreneurs-club-with-caleb-bell-ceo-bell-biosystems-entrepreneurs-dont-give-up-tickets-15474997133

FARMERS’ MARKETWednesday, February 11, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Gene Friend Way Plaza, Mission Bay10 a.m.-3 p.m., ACC, 400 Parnassus Ave., ParnassusShop the Farmers’ Markets on Wednes-days to pick up locally grown produce and more. Sponsor: Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association.

WINTER HUMP DAY SERIES: STI’S WHAT SHOULD I KNOW?Wednesday, February 11, noon-1 p.m., Health Sciences West, 303, ParnassusWhat should I know about sexually trans-mitted infections (STI’s) for my patients and myself? Lee Fagen, RNP provides up-dates about STI’s and provides ample time to answers your questions. Free lunch for students with RSVP.

BROWN BAG SEMINAR: EBOLA, STORIES FROM THE FIELDWednesday, February 11, noon-1 p.m., Nursing, 417, ParnassusJoel Adelson, public health physician and emeritus member of the UCSF Institute for Health & Aging faculty, and Farrah Kashfipour, critical care nurse and UCSF Global Health Sciences fellow, will share their experiences from 5 weeks working with Partners in Health to care for Ebola patients in Liberia.

SYNAPSE MEETINGWednesday, February 11, 12:30-1:30 p.m. MU 108, Parnassus Get involved with writing, editing, pho-tography and more for UCSF’s one and only student newspaper, Have fun and let your voice be heard, all while gaining valuable communications experience and clips. Come with your story ideas or other interests to discuss, and we’ll do the rest.

CULTURAL FILM SERIES: ‘VALENTINE ROAD’Wednesday, February 11, 5-7 p.m., Cole Hall, ParnassusJoin the Multicultural Resource Cen-ter and LGBT Resource Center for a screening of “Valentine Road” with a special questions and answer session with the Director, Marta Cunningham. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP by February 11. facebook.com/events/1542490642668105

UCSF RUN CLUB Wednesday, February 11, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Millberry Union Central Desk, ParnassusPlease drop by and join UCSF Fit & Rec for a run! Each Wednesday night the Run Club runs various distances (3-6 miles) at a 9-11 minute per mile.

IMN MIDWEEK MEDITATION HOURWednesday, February 11, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Library, CL215, ParnassusThe Integrative Medicine Network invites everyone in the UCSF community to ex-perience a weekly guided meditation. All are welcome, whether you are looking to combat day-to-day stress using meditation or you’d like to uncover subtle layers of yourself by diving deep. No experience in meditation is necessary.

ENGLISH CORNERWednesday, February 11, 6-8:30 p.m., Nursing, 527, ParnassusEnglish Corner is an informal conver-sational English class given as a free community service and provided on a voluntary basis by both people born and raised in the United States as well as many people who have, at one time in their lives, experienced life as a new immigrant.

FOOD TRUCK THURSDAYS AT MISSION BAYThursday, February 12, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Fourth Street & Nelson Rising Lane, Mission BayJoin the food truck lunch party every Thursday at Mission Bay and explore the tasty culinary options to break up your routine. Each week will feature two dif-ferent vendors, so there will always be something new. Grab some friends, get some food, and take your lunch experi-ence up a notch. Rumor has it: come early and don’t miss out.http://campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/retail/services/dine/food_trucks

TOASTMASTERS MEETINGS

Thursday, Feb. 12, noon-1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, noon-1 p.m. Nursing 729, ParnassusToastmasters empowers people to achieve their full potential. Through the Toast-masters’ meetings, people throughout the world can improve their communication and leadership skills, and find the courage to change. Be the speaker and leader you want to be! Attend one of the Toastmas-ters’ meetings to learn more. Meetings are open to UCSF students, faculty, staff and volunteers.

CHANCELLOR’S CONCERT SERIESThursday, February 12, noon-12:45 p.m., Cole Hall, ParnassusLooking for a place to study or relax be-tween classes? CLS Arts & Events has got just what you need. The Chancellor’s Con-cert Series on Thursdays is a great place to set up your laptop and study or just take a break from classes while listening to clas-sical music. Seating begins at noon. Lunch will be served while supplies last.

DOG DAYS OF FEBRUARYThursday, February 12, noon-2 p.m., MU 111W, Parnassus Take time to DeStress with this week’s visitor from Animal Assisted Therapy of SPCA. Enjoy some tea or hot chocolate, and leave your stress at the door!

NATIONAL BLACK HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAYThursday, February 12, 3-4:30 p.m., Mis-sion Hall, 1406, Mission BayCome to a screening of “Endgame: AIDS in America.” The screening will be fol-lowed by a discussion facilitated by Lau-ren Broussard and Byron Mason, Center for AIDS Prevention Studied (CAPS). RSVP by February 12. Sponsors: CAPS, Multicultural Resource Center, and LGBT Resource Centerfacebook.com/events/351249591744493

SWEET REVENGE SCREENING AND PANEL DISCUSSIONThursday, February 12, 7-8:45 p.m., Cole Hall, ParnassusJoin the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine for a free screening of Sweet Revenge followed by a panel discussion with Drs. Lustig, Hecht, and Epel.

VALENTINE’S DAY CARD MAKING AND SALEFriday, February 13, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Millberry Union Conference Center, Parnassus

Campus Life Services Arts & Events present Valentine’s Day Card Making and Sale. Create a handmade card for your loved ones to make their day extra special! Donate one of your handmade cards to the UCSF Medical Center. Your card will brighten the day of a patient in the hospital. Sponsored by the Performing Arts Fund.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONTuesday, February 17, 5-6:30p.m., Library, Lange Reading Room, ParnassusJoin the Office of Diversity and Outreach and Alumni Relations for a Black History Month Celebration. Registration deadline February 16. Sponsors: Diversity and Out-reach; Alumni Relations. ucsfalumni.org

THE EIGHT SECRETS OF BUILDING A BILLION DOLLAR COMPANYTuesday, February 17, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Genentech Hall Room N-114, Mission BaySilicon Valley entrepreneur Michael Baum discusses building a hyper-growth compa-ny. His Founder.org’s Company Building Program, an intensive, competitive year-long program, invests in entrepreneurs who are solving big problems. There will be an opportunity to make a 60 second pitch to Baum. Tickets: eventbrite.com/e/the-eight-secrets-of-building-a-billion-dol-lar-company-at-ucsf-tickets-15173614690

MUSIC IN THE LIBRARYWednesday, February 18, noon-1 p.m., Library, Lange Reading Room, ParnassusCampus Life Services Arts and Events pres-ents Music in the Library. Bring your books and study or just sit back and relax while listing to acoustic music. Enjoy free chair massage and lunch. First come first served. Sponsored by the Sarah B. Childs fund.

FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE COMMUNITY RECEPTION Wednesday, February 18, 5-6:30 p.m., Millberry Union Conference Center, ParnassusAll UCSF first generation college students, postdocs, residents, fellows, faculty and alumni are invited for the annual commu-nity reception. RSVP: firstgenreception.eventbrite.com

CHANCELLOR’S CONCERT SERIESThursday, February 19, noon-12:45 p.m., Cole Hall, ParnassusLooking for a place to study or relax be-tween classes? CLS Arts & Events has got just what you need. The Chancellor’s Con-cert Series on Thursdays is a great place to set up your laptop and study or just take a break from classes while listening to clas-sical music. Seating begins at noon. Lunch will be served while supplies last.

DOG DAYS OF FEBRUARYThursday, February 19, noon-2 p.m., MU 111W, Parnassus Take time to DeStress with this week’s visitor from Animal Assisted Therapy of SPCA. Enjoy some tea or hot chocolate, and leave your stress at the door.

LGBTQI HEALTH FORUMSaturday, February 22, 8 a.m.-7 p.m., Health Sciences West, ParnassusThe LGBTQ Student Association (LG-BTQSA) is proud to be hosting its 6th Annual LGBTQI Healthcare Forum. The forum educates attendees about health-care disparities faced by members of the LGBTQI community and aims to prepare current and future healthc are providers on how to better serve the needs of LGBTQI people in a clinical setting. Eric Sawyer, co-founder of ACT UP, Housing Works Inc., and Health GAP, Inc., will provide the keynote presentation. This health fo-rum is offered as elective credit for current UCSF students.

Calendar »Events

Page 3: Synapse (2.5.2015)

synapse.ucsf.edu | February 5, 2015 | 3

ST. TERESA OF AVILA CATHOLIC CHURCH YOUR INCLUSIVE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY

FOR MISSION BAY, POTRERO HILL,DOGPATCH AND SOUTH BEACH

SERVED BY THE CARMELITES

1490 19TH STREET (AT CONNECTICUT STREET)

PARISH OFFICE (MAILING ADDRESS):390 Missouri St, San Francisco, CA 94107 Phone: 415.285.5272

SUNDAY MASSES Saturday Vigil 4:15 pm Sunday 8:30 10:00 am

WEEKDAY MASSESTuesday & Friday 8:30 am

Visit Our Website StTeresaSF.org

Ash Wednesday, February 18 Mass with Distribution of Ashes

12:15 pm & 6:15 pm

LENTEN SPEAKER: FR. JACK WELCH, O. CARM.

Carmelite Educator and Author

THE CHALLENGE OF AN INTERIOR LIFE Wednesday, March 11 at 7pm (Mass at 6:15pm)

“DARK PRAYER” Wednesday, March 18 at 7pm (Mass at 6:15pm)

About Synapse is UCSF's student-run biweekly newspaper and public forum for the campus community. It runs biweekly on Thursdays during the academic year and publishes online in between print issues. Articles and columns represent the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the Board of Publications or the University of California. Submissions Announcements and letters should be submitted seven days before publication. All submissions must be e-mailed to [email protected]. All material is subject to editing.

Advertising Paid advertisements do not necessarily reflect the views of Synapse. Synapse and its editorial board reserve the right to decline advertisements promoting false or misleading claims, known health risks, or content deemed by the editors to be antithetical to the interests of UCSF students or the UCSF community. Synapse does not accept advertisements from tobacco or alcohol manufacturers, or sexually oriented personal ads. Synapse reserves the right to run any ad with a disclaimer. Visit synapse.ucsf.edu to view the publication schedule and to submit an ad.

500 Parnassus Ave. Millberry Union 108W

San Francisco, CA 94143tel: (415) 476-2211 | fax: (415) 502-4537 [email protected] | synapse.ucsf.edu

Synapse

The UCSF Student Newspapersynapse.ucsf.edu

Jenny Qi | EDITOR-IN-CHIEFHanna Starobinets | WEB EDITORTaylor LaFlam | SCIENCE EDITOR Yi Lu | ASSOCIATE EDITOR Bryne Ulmschneider | STAFF WRITER Akshay Govind | STAFF WRITERIlka Fensen | STAFF WRITER

Theresa Poulos | STAFF WRITERYarrow Madrona | STAFF WRITER Sean Treacy-Abarca | STAFF WRITER Andrea Villaroman | STAFF WRITER Lauren Shields | STAFF WRITER Mayya Shveygert | STAFF WRITER Ben Sellers | MANAGING EDITOR

Staff

Write for SynapseWe’re looking for students from all different UCSF programs and campuses to contribute. See the contact info above or attend one of our Wednesday meetings to find out more.

Tips

Did you know that you could borrow elec-tronics from the UCSF Library? Loaner laptops, iPads and learning technologies equipment are available for your use.http://bit.ly/144nfYn

Announcements

ALPHA ETA RESEARCH AWARDSUCSF’s Alpha Eta chapter of Sigma Theta Tau would like to announce that we are now accepting applications for our 2015 Alpha Eta Research Awards. Applications will be accepted from any active Alpha Eta member. alphaeta-ucsf.org/research-awards.html. Please submit applications via email to [email protected]

no later than Friday, February 6.

DIRECTING CHANGE 2015 STUDENT FILM CONTESTUC Students throughout California are invited to Direct Change by submitting 60-second films in two categories: “Suicide Prevention” and “Ending the Silence about Mental Illness.” The winning teams will win prizes, get to participate in a meeting with state legislators on these topics, and

attend the award ceremony at the end of the 2014-15 school year. Submissions due by February 16. directingchange.org

UC PRESIDENT’S SUSTAINABILITY STUDENT FELLOWSHIP/INTERNSHIP PROGRAMSubmit a proposal to advance the Univer-sity of California Carbon Neutrality Initia-tive (UCCNI). This six-month fellowship, for up to $7,500, supports a program you design. Learn more! Applications are due February 15 by 7 a.m.

APPLY TO BE THE 2016-17 UC STUDENT REGENT! The student Regent is a voting member of The Regents of the University of Califor-nia, attends all meetings of the Board and its Committees and serves for two years (one year as a designate and one year as a voting member) commencing July 1. All mandatory University fees and tuition are waived for the student Regent during the academic years in which he or she serves as a Regent-designate and as a member of the Board. Submit applications by Febru-ary 22 at 5 p.m.

2015 HUMAN RIGHTS FELLOWSHIPThe Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley amd UCSF Global Health Sciences will sponsor one fellow for the University of California-wide Human Rights Fellow-ship program for trainee fellowships in partnership with organizations working on human rights issues. Stipend is $4,500. Registered trainees/students at UCSF and UCSF graduates within the last academic year are eligible. Application deadline: February 20. For more information, visit globalhealthsciences.ucsf.edu.s116768.gridserver.com/education-training/ human-rights-fellowship.

SNMA invites you to

“My Culture…”

An Open Mic Event

Thursday, February 5, 2015 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Toland Hall Auditorium (U132)

PERFORMERS NEEDED!!

This is a FREE event, but any donations received will go to Youth Creating

Change, a non-profit organization in SF. !

All members of the UCSF community are welcome to participate.!

To  sig'  up  and  lear'  more,  go  to  the  Facebook  event  page!  Or  email  us  at  snmaopenmic@g<ail.com  

» RCO of the Week

By Anna Nonaka Staff Writer

As health care providers at a premier research cam-pus, many of us contribute to cutting-edge develop-ments in our respective fields. This requires com-mitment and sacrifice, but the John Greene Society helps dental students suc-ceed in summer fellow-ships and competitions year after year. The JGS helps students and faculty mentors come together to in-crease exposure to new research and plan, discuss, and succeed in research together. “The John Greene Society is an invalu-able part of dental student culture at UCSF, providing a resource for research opportunities and keeping the spirit of scientific inquiry alive,” said Roger Mraz, program administrator in the School of Dentistry’s Office of Graduate and Re-search Affairs. The JGS was founded in 2002, named after a School of Dentistry dean emeritus at UCSF. Greene was—and is—an inspi-rational, beloved leader who actively con-tributed to students’ interest in research. Thanks to the JGS, dental student research participation is also at an all-time high. Participation ranges from volunteering to paid fellowships to international confer-ence attendance. The JGS provides a quarterly newsletter,

Research and Clinical Excellence Day, re-search electives, journal clubs, proposal ad-vice, socials and more for students interested in dental research. It competed nationally to win the Local Student Research Group award for its Fall 2014 newsletter. The JGS is also a local chapter of the National Student Research Group of the American Association of Dental Research. It will be recognized at the 2015 AADR annual meeting and receive $400 to sup-port club activities. “I am proud of my board members for advocating for student involvement in re-search,” said JGS president Minerva Loi. “We appreciate being recognized on a national level for what our RCO has done to enrich the dental education experience at UCSF.” Find out more at jgs.atucsf.com.

Anna Nokana is a member of the School of Dentistry

Class of 2018.

The John Greene Society (School of Dentistry)

The eponymous dean John Greene remains a strong research advocate. UCSF Library Archives

Page 4: Synapse (2.5.2015)

4 | February 5, 2014 | synapse.ucsf.edu

Career and Professional »

Mayya Shveygert Staff Writer

Successful networking leads to job offers. A survey conducted in 2010 by a career management group showed that 41 percent of people got their new job through networking. However, most students and postdocs treat networking as it were a visit to a dentist’s office—a necessary, but tedious and uncomfortable, experience. Often, we keep our interactions within the comfort zone, discussing our career options only with colleagues and peers. However, this circle of acquaintances will not help a typical student to identify and secure jobs outside of academia. And according to a recent biomedical work-force report from the National Institutes of Health, about half of the Ph.D. holders end up in nonacademic positions, such as industry research, science policy or regu-latory affairs. Such jobs may be very at-tractive to students who feel disenchanted with the tenure track adventure; however, transitioning into a new, unfamiliar field can seem challenging and confusing. To tackle this problem, UCSF Gradu-ate Division, together with the Office of Career and Professional Development, is launching the Career Alumni Network. CAN is a database of alumni who have volunteered to serve as informal career

advisors for students and postdocs.

Notably, all of these

mentors,

as UCSF graduates, have been in the same shoes––some recently, others 10 to 20 years ago. Thus, they understand where career searchers are coming from, as well as of-fering insight from experience into one’s strengths and weaknesses. Best of all, they already agreed to speak in person or com-municate via phone or e-mail—so the days of awkward, forced introductions are over. Currently, OCPD is just testing the utility of the database. For instance, as of now, visitors cannot directly access the contact information of the alumni they are interested in. Instead, one must make an appointment with a career counselor who would help choose appropriate people. Some alumni may become very popular with trainees, and the OCPD wants to control the amount of times they will be contacted to avoid the burnout from too many informational interviews. The database already has about 200 alumni, and the OCPD expects it to grow very quickly. Many of the alumni are in industry research, but a lot of people also work in academia, business and consult-ing, science policy, etc. Some alumni are located in the Bay Area, whereas others reside outside of California and even outside of the United States. More information about the database can be found at the OCPD website, under Career Exploration section (career.ucsf.edu/grad-students-postdocs/career-alumni-network).

Mayya Shveygert is a third year postdoctoral fellow.

OCPD’s alumni network will assist with career exploration

By Hanna Starobinets Web Editor

To mark UCSF’s 150th anniversary, the Alumni Board honored 150 of its best and brightest alumni with an Alumni Excel-lence Award. Recipients were cho-sen from 900 anony-mous nominations on the basis of excellence and distinction in the major components of UCSF’s mission: education, patient care, research and service—as well as business and industry. The Award Committee, comprising 14 alumni and representatives from all of UCSF’s schools, brought insight on what it meant to be distinguished in their fields and professions. “It’s very humbling to see the people who are nominated. They’re just a small fraction of the excellence that we see,” said Susan Walczak (Nursing, ’02), the Award Committee chair.

Diversity While various annual alumni awards are given out by specialized alumni organiza-tions from different schools at UCSF, these Alumni Excellence Awards were a one-time effort on the part of the Alumni Board to connect with a diverse group of alumni who had not previously been recognized. “When you have 150 awards, you have the opportunity to really focus on diver-sity,” said Andrew Kaufteil, executive director of alumni relations. “Schools and degrees, specialties, backgrounds, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation … diversity of every kind that we could find.” The committee also paid attention to the “age factor”: It recognized not only seasoned alumni but also young alumni who have already proven to be innovative in their practice and research. It took into account success at the global health level as well as within local communities.

Award distribution across the schools is: approximately 50 in the School of Medicine, 40 in the Graduate Division, 25 in the School of Nursing, 17 in the School of Pharmacy and 17 in the School of Dentistry. Six recipients live outside the United States.

The award All 150 winners will receive a physical prize, and their names will be commemo-rated on a permanent plaque installed at the Faculty–Alumni House along with past winners of other alumni awards. A celebratory event will take place at the annual UCSF Alumni Weekend in May.

Connecting with alumni The Alumni Board said it is open to working with student groups looking for panelists or speakers to invite from the alumni community. “This list would be the first place that students can look,” said Kaufteil. They are already working on bringing some winners back to UCSF for a Black History Month event scheduled for Feb. 17 and are excited to facilitate future events, he said. “Stay tuned. When students see the list, they’ll be thrilled to see the outstand-ing work that our alumni do, and see what their futures hold ahead of them,” said Kaufteil. The complete list will be released in March.

Hanna Starobinets is a fourth-year BMS student.

UCSF marks sesquicentennial by recognizing 150 top alumni

Hanna Starobinets/SynapseThe names of the 150 recipientsof the Alumni Excellence Award will be listed on a commemorative plaque at the UCSF Faculty Alumni House.

New cancer center director says cure is coming

Renowned breast cancer researcher Alan Ashworth arrived at UCSF last month to take over as director of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. He succeeds Frank McCormick, who had been director of the cancer center since its founding in 1997. McCormick now assumes a role as director of the National Cancer In-stitute’s RAS Project, and will also continue as a faculty member in the cancer center. Ashworth, a fellow with the Royal Society, played an influential role in the discovery of the BRCA2 gene in the 1990s. The gene is involved in the DNA repair path-way and has been implicated in several types of cancer, including breast, ovarian and prostate. This, in turn, led to the development of PARP inhibitors, a group of DNA damage-inducing drugs successful in clinical trials of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutated cancers. Ashworth said he aims to create close ties between the HDFCCC and the newly opened Bakar Cancer Hospital at Mission Bay. He told UCSF News recently that over the next 10 to 20 years a combination of conventional, targeted and immune therapeutic approaches would make advanced cancers manageable and early-stage cancers curable. Asked to give advice to young researchers, he respond-ed: “Don’t take advice from old farts like me.”

Survey identifies wide variety of opinion gaps between scientists and public

The Pew Research Center has released a major survey comparing opinions of the American public to those of scientists in the American Association for the Advancement of Science on a range of topics covering science and society. While both scientists and the public support government investment in scientific research and acknowledge that science has improved quality of life, there were several major opinion differences regarding specific topics. The largest difference in opinion was a 51-point gap: While 88 percent of AAAS scientists believed that genetically-modified foods were safe to eat, only 37 percent of the Ameri-can public agreed. Other gaps of 30 points or more included animal research, pesticides, human evolu-tion and human causes of climate change. A major area of agreement was in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. There, 16 percent of scientists and 29 percent of the public considered American K–12 STEM education to be above average compared to other countries. The complete report can be found on the Pew Re-search Center website: pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society.

—Hanna Starobinets

Ashworth

News Briefs »

Courtesy of Pew Research Center

Page 5: Synapse (2.5.2015)

synapse.ucsf.edu | February 5, 2015 | 5

» Life of a Dental StudentIn this column we interview students anonymously from each year of the UCSF Dental School. We want to put a face on the people we pass in the hallways, high-light their experiences, similarities and differences.

STUDENT: 4TH YEAR, MALE Tell us about your UCSF experience so far: One of my favorite things about UCSF is that it’s a pass/fail system, so it’s not like undergrad. I can spend more time learning the material conceptually and have more time to get involved with the things I’m passionate about—community outreach, research and clinical services. My peers are extremely intelligent and I’m proud to have them as my future col-leagues. The location is also amazing … it’s California; you can’t complain.

How did you decide to go to dental school? I actually took a really nontraditional route. I was originally interested in ENT [otolaryngology], and when shadowing ENT faculty in undergrad I came in contact with an OMFS [oral maxillofacial surgery] faculty member who really took me under his wing. I realized the scope of practice is really similar to ENT but also a broader scope of practice, which included the or-thopedics of head and neck, cancer, plastic surgery, dento-alveolar surgery and more. In order to pursue OMFS, you have to go to dental school, and that’s why I applied. Dentistry is also a stimulating challenge because we perform micro-scopic surgery every day. Having expe-rienced both the macroscopic surgery of OMFS and the microscopic surgery of dentistry, I can say with confidence that a simple filling is not really simple. They are actually extremely difficult because of the dexterity required. I think it’s really enjoyable to be able to use your hands and have something materialize right in front of you.

Is it different from what you origi-nally expected? General dentistry is extremely hard on your body. Working five to six days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., your back hurts. It takes a lot of stamina and physical training and strength, just like any other surgical field. In other surgical situations you stand and there is much more move-ment; general dentistry is much harder on your body and poor ergonomics! Becoming a good dentist really means being good with people. It doesn’t matter how good your restorative skills are if patients don’t like you. I’ve come to real-ize that the communication aspect contributes more.

What do you wish you could have changed about dental school? UCSF is a large clinic with all kinds of patients and lots of providers, so you really have to stay within the constraints of what the clinic can handle. I think the pre-doc clinic should expand to train us to deal with simple specialty cases like minor gum surgeries, light ortho-dontics, surgical implan-tology or other things you would have to deal with as a general dentist. In real life, if you can only do simple fill-ings and crowns, you’re not going to survive in private practice, and handling other types of cases would make you more confident.

What advice would you give to your underclassmen? Start working on indirect vision early on. Pay attention to ergonomics so you build good habits. It’s not uncommon for people to be considered disabled even before graduation fourth year. It’s also re-ally important to take time to learn how to do things right in pre-doc simulation lab. Don’t try to do it fast—don’t take short-cuts. Don’t do things you wouldn’t do in a real patient, like stretching the crap out of the mouth so you can see all the way in the back. Adjust to everything—like loupe magnification, mirror placement, drill-ing with water—before you hit the real clinics, because even I’m struggling to see stuff sometimes. Last, do things outside of dental school to stay decompressed. In clinic, you have to work as your own office manager, dental assistant, front desk clinic and dentist, so it’s a lot of stress. You need other hobbies to relax and break up the constant demand.

Do you have advice for other health care professionals that may have to work with dentists? The mouth is a major component to systemic health, so I think it’s important for all health professionals to recognize some basic oral pathology—abnormal pre-sentations in oral mucosa, rampant caries, xerostomia, serve gingivitis, etc. If other physicians are able to recognize obvi-ous signs of deteriorating oral health, a referral could benefit the patient’s overall health and quality of life.

Looking forward, what excites you the most? I’m very appreciative of what UCSF has trained me for, and I am looking forward to continuing my education in OMFS. It’s exciting to be one step closer to becom-ing a full-fledged health provider. (NOTE: After this interview, this student matched very successfully for OMFS on the East Coast.)

Anything else?I used to think that dentistry was pretty easy because whatever my dentist did looked simple and he looked relaxed and chill. Underneath the veil of chillness, though, they’re freaking out. They’re a small-business owner and health profes-sional with a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders. You need business acu-men, dexterity and people skills to suc-ceed in this field. I’d also emphasize that the dexterity and manual skill required is close to the margin of error for microvas-cular surgery, so I think that’s incredibly admirable.

STUDENT: 4TH YEAR, FEMALE Tell us about your UCSF experience so far. I feel that UCSF definitely gives you a very well-round-ed education. I feel prepared to go out [into the world] as a future dentist. I had some great mentors [who] have given me greater perspec-tive and realistic expecta-tions about dentistry. I have gotten involved with various student groups, extracurricu-lar activities and research. I really wanted a fulfilling experience. UCSF gives us independent study time, so I had time to explore different activities alongside my regular curriculum.

How did you decide to go to dental school? Actually, I grew up in a family of dentists. Sounds kind of clichéd, but my dad is a dentist. Some of that inspired me. I liked working with my hands, and I like that physical aspect—that you are using your hands to do something. I liked the idea of medicine with the combination of manual dexterity. My dad never spoke poorly about his profession, but he never pushed me toward it either. He let me explore my own path and see what I really wanted to do.

Is it different from what you origi-nally expected? If so, how? There are more surprises coming into the clinic. First and second year, I had a good idea of what to expect because I talked to many dental students—a lot of reading, a lot of studying, Sim-lab work. But clinic was more of a mystery to me. You don’t really know what to expect until you are actually in clinic. For me, what surprised me was that it takes a lot of initiative, especially with when you need to contact patients. You are basically your own practice manager. You have to schedule the appointments, call these patients, address their needs. It’s physi-cally exhausting! You don’t have a dental assistant, either. You are the one who tells them how much it is, what is the insurance and so forth. You are like a one-man team. It is very scary, but once you go through it, it is OK.

What do you wish someone had told you in the beginning? I got some great advice from upper-classmen. But, I think [dental school] is just one of these things that you just have to experience for yourself, because every-one has different experiences and different patient populations. I don’t think anyone could have prepared me better for this than just dealing with what happens when it comes.

What advice would you give to others? First and second years: Explore your interests. Find out what you like and you don’t like, if there is a specialty you are interested in. When get into clinic your third year, work as hard as you can because every minute counts. As fourth years we don’t get that much time in the clinic because they expect us to work faster and be more efficient. It’s beneficial to have as much clinical experience as you can, so in fourth year you can focus on those last requirements and your applica-tion for residency. It’s easy to get burnt out. Dental stu-dents have a particular personality type— perfectionists. We are really critical of our work. It’s very visual and you get direct feedback on it. So it’s important to stay well, stay healthy so you don’t burn out. Stay positive and focused.

Looking forward, what excites you the most? I am looking forward to just being an independent doctor. It will be a lot of fun. It’s a privilege to be able to make clinical decisions. You don’t have to get any more start checks [from attending dentists]. There is some nervousness associated with that but also excitement.

The Associated Students of the School of Nursing hosted a winter social Jan. 14. Muffins, croissants, coffee, tea and hot cocoa were served to the 81 nursing students in attendance. Students took time mid-day to relax and catch up with peers in the Nursing Mezzanine. Next quarter, nursing students can look forward to the spring social with dinner, drinks and raffle prizes to celebrate the end of the school year!

Photo by Diana Teng; Caption by Ashley King

Nursing students take break with quarterly ASSN social

Feb 18, 5-6:30pm

RSVP: firstgenreception.eventbrite.com

Learn more: firstgen.ucsf.edu

UCSF first gen faculty, postdocs, residents, fellows, alumni and students are invited!

2015First Generation College

Community Reception

Building Community

Illustration by Jillian Varonin

Page 6: Synapse (2.5.2015)

6 | February 5, 2014 | synapse.ucsf.edu

Letter »

Let’s Get Physical … Therapy »

Ilka FelsenColumnist

As San Francisco continues to be blessed with occasional sun, biking remains one of the most popular ways to commute. However, pain with biking also continues to plague many of us. If you are experiencing pain, consider the culprit. Injuries from biking typically fall into one of five categories:

Fit problem There is a problem with the way your bike is fit to your body. The fit is especially important, because most of road biking is spent with the cyclist in a static position on the bike. Except for the frame itself, a sur-prising number of bike components can be adjusted. One of the most common prob-lems is riding a seat that is too low or too forward, thereby increasing the amount of knee flexion and force on the patella during the power phase. If you have pain, consider investing in a good bike fit. Don’t settle for a 30-minute quickie from a clerk—seek out an experienced professional in bike fit-ting, who also looks at your flexibility and strength. If you’re going to make changes yourself, only move parts a few millimeters at a time.

Training problem Have you increased your mileage or in-tensity too quickly? Getting excited a little too soon and vamping up your ride prevents the body from adapting to the load.

Off-the-bike problem This is related to problems before bik-ing that have a chance to affect cycling performance. These include: Hip weakness » results in poor coronal plane control. Watch out for your knees coming inwards instead of staying straight ahead. Poor trunk mobility and core strength » results in increased pelvic rotation dur-ing pedaling, increased neck extension,

increased lumbar extension, and fatigue on the arms Reduced hip mobility » results in increased compression of the spine, hip, knee and ankle

Trauma This is pretty obvious, but watch out for other vehicles, pedestrians jumping in front of you and MUNI tracks, which fit road bike tires perfectly. No kidding, one of the nurses at Student Health confided seeing at least three accidents a week à la MUNI tracks. Unresolved injuries can cause a cyclist to be at risk for future pain.

Problem caused by the body’s adap-tation to cycling Cycling involves a crazy high number of revolutions in just one hour. Repeated hip flexion and knee flexion results in tight hip flexors and hamstrings, respec-tively, while bending forward over the bike results in increased thoracic flexion, pectoralis tightness, restricted abdominal mobility, and tight upper traps and neck muscles. Consider stretching each of these areas.

Note: The content of this article was adapted from material presented by UCSF physical therapist Rami Weinberg, DPT, OCS—thank you!

Ilka Felsen is a third-year physical therapy student who enjoys watching people walk, palpating joints and muscles, and all things physical therapy!

Is your bike doing more than simply getting you around? Five causes of bike-related pain

My compliments to Ms. Felson for being such a rebel [“Why Walgreens orthotics are just as good as customized orthotics … and other secrets,” Jan. 8]. Thirty years of practice as an foot and ankle orthopedic surgeon, and you have uncovered the three things that hit a nerve (synapse) in me. Your concept of trying inexpensive OTC orthotics first is perfect: 80 percent of orthotics are not needed and most are not even tolerated and spending $300-plus is a tough way to find out they are not for you. Running shoes, don’t get me started. Here is the right advice: If the shoe fits wear it. Let’s just say marketing is very powerful. Then there is stretching! Misperception abounds on this subject. McHugh has it right, but only for pre-exercise warm-up. Muscles, not tendons, tighten as we age, producing silent, ignored imbalance, which causes damage over time, step after step. Keeping our muscles out to their length with daily stretching temporally away from sports is money, especially for prevention. Thanks again. James Amis, M.D.

Journal Club » By Taylor LaFlamScience Editor

IMMUNOLOGY: A20 restricts ubiquitination of pro-interleukin-1β protein complexes and suppresses NLRP3 inflammasome activity. Duong, B.H., et al. (Ma, A.). Immunity. 2015. 42(1):55-67. The production of certain inflammatory molecules, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), requires the activity of large protein complexes called inflammasomes. Aberrant activation of inflammasomes has been linked to several diseases in which the immune system acts against the body. Here, Duong and colleagues add to the field’s growing understanding of how these inflammasomes are normally controlled. They show that the protein A20, already well known in immunology for its role as a negative regulator of an important signaling pathway, is required for normal regulation of a particular inflammasome. In the absence of A20, macrophages exposed to LPS spontaneously activated the NLRP3 inflammasome. In A20-deficient macrophages there was increased ubiquitination of pro-IL-1β, leading to more of it being processed to its active form. The observed phenotype required RIPK3 but not MyD88.

DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY: A dynamic Shh expression pattern, regulated by SHH and BMP signaling, coordinates fusion of primordia in the amniote face. Hu, D., et al., (Marcucio, R.S.). Development. 2015. 142(3):567-574. Successful development of the skull is important for more than just having a pretty face. Problems with facial development can lead to disorders such as cleft palate that, if not treated, can cause great discomfort and serious health problems. An important event in facial development is the fusion of three portions of the frontonasal process to form the primary palate. It is at this point that the faces of developing birds and mammals are most similar. In this study, the authors show how SHH and BMP signaling coordinate this fusion. They found that SHH and BMP signaling act in series to coordinate an expanding wave of Shh expression. This dynamic Shh expression allows for appropriately controlled growth of the facial components that contribute to the primary palate.

CELL BIOLOGY: The Nck-interacting kinase NIK increases Arp2/3 complex activity by phosphorylating the Arp2 subunit. LeClaire, L.L., et al. (Barber, D.L.). J Cell Biol. 2015. 208(2):161-170. Cell migration—as in that famous biology class video clip in which the macrophage chases down the bacterium—requires successful formation of branched actin filaments. The Arp2/3 complex is known to be essential for that process. It is also well known that members of the WASP and WAVE protein families play an important role in regulating Arp2/3. Now, these authors report that an unrelated protein can also drive Arp2/3 activity. They observed that the kinase NIK directly phosphorylates the Arp2 subunit, increasing complex activity. Normally, epidermal growth factor can cause membrane protrusions and increased Arp2/3 activity. The researchers found that this effect depended on NIK, thus identifying a new link between the growth factor and cellular cytoskeleton dynamics.

NEUROSCIENCE: SIRT1 deficiency in microglia contributes to cognitive decline in aging and neurodegeneration via epigenetic regulation of IL-1β. Cho, S.H., et al. (Gan, L.). J Neurosci. 2015. 35(2):807-818. That’s right, more IL-1β, this time regarding its role in neurodegeneration. There is a strong link between aging and many neurodegenerative diseases. There is also increased inflammation in the brain as it ages, driven by increased innate immune system activity. In this article, Cho and colleagues present evidence linking these two phenomena. They begin by observing that there is less SIRT1 in microglia of old mice—immune cells resident in the brain. SIRT1 is a deacetylase that has previously been implicated as having anti-aging activity. They found that decreased SIRT1 led to changes in the methylation at the IL-1β promoter and to increased IL-1β transcription. Finally, they noted that IL-1β can in turn lead to heightened aging-associated or tau-mediated memory defects in mice.

Taylor LaFlam is a fourth-year BMS / sixth-year MSTP student.

By Taylor LaFlamScience Editor

From 25 Years Ago: Vol. 34, No. 18, Feb. 8, 1990:

Today, those needing a bone-marrow transplant are likely to be able to find a reasonably well-matched, nonrelated donor. This is thanks largely to having a very large pool of potential donors to draw on; there are currently more than 10 million people registered with the National Marrow Donor Program in the United States. A generation ago, it was a far different story, especially for people of color. The lead story in the Synapse from 25 years ago explored this issue in “Asian bone marrow recipients face great odds.” The article, by Eric M. Yabu and Karen L. Lee began, “Less than six months ago there were fewer than 150 Asians listed on the National Marrow Registry.” At the time the article was written, however, “that number has increased about 20-fold, totaling over 3,000.” At that time, there were approximately

80,000 people registered in total. That rapid increase in registration was due largely to efforts spearheaded by the families of Judith Jan–Berkholtz and Amanda Chiang, both of whom were from Sacramento and needed a marrow transplant. To support these registration drives required both a significant time and financial investment by the families. Yabu and Lee reported, “Heddy Chiang, mother of Amanda, estimates that the drives cost their family nearly $200,000, of which three-fourths went to the blood testing process which cost $75 per person.” The article discussed possible reasons for a lower rate of registration by people of color, as well as the role of UCSF in the history of bone-marrow transplantation. It is still true that the majority of registered marrow donors are white. Since a person is more likely to be an HLA match with someone of the same ethnicity, this translates to differing probabilities of successfully finding a match depending on ethnicity. The National Marrow Donor Program estimates that while there is a 97 percent

likelihood of finding a match if one is white, the likelihood is only 90 percent if American Indian, 84 percent if Asian or Pacific Islander, 83 percent if Hispanic and 76 percent if African–American. Less of a problem than 25 years ago, certainly, but still a problem.

Taylor LaFlam is a fourth-year BMS / sixth-year MSTP student.

Also from 25 years ago:

This may be gone, but fortunately we still have ready access to travel solutions: the Internet.

I would have thought that one seems-too-good-to-be-true money-earning opportunity would be all the Synapse would attract. I was wrong.

This Date in UCSF History »

Page 7: Synapse (2.5.2015)

synapse.ucsf.edu | February 5, 2015 | 7

» [Exit, Pursued by Science] The Science of Food: The safe GMO and the un-boiled egg

By Hanna Starobinets Web Editor

GMO containment Humans have been developing genet-ically-modified organisms for millennia through the process of artificial selec-tion—human-directed selective breed-ing—of plants and animals for specific traits. For example, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and kale are all descended from the wild mustard plant, and there are now hundreds if not thousands of dog breeds. Laboratory-based genetic modification was first developed the 1970s, and ap-plications toward improving the quality of human life were soon to follow. Calgene Inc.—a biotech company based in Davis, California—brought the first FDA-approved GMO crop to the commercial market in 1994. Many years and commercialized GMOs later, a divided public continues to debate the safety and ethics of this technology fiercely, mostly on the grounds of myths and misunderstandings. One worry that is grounded in fact, however, is that GMO plants will cross-pollinate with neighbor-ing wild plants, passing the edited gene throughout an ecological system. To the disappointment of some in the science community, the science educator Bill Nye

said in November 2014 that “although you can know what happens to any individual species that you modify, you cannot be certain what will happen to the ecosystem.” While all other anti-GMO arguments are easily debunked, this one has been difficult to address. Now, two groups of scientists have made significant progress toward over-coming this obstacle. Two publications in Nature, published online on Jan. 21, both described synthetic safety switches to ensure GMO control and containment. The groups, led by Farren Isaacs from Yale University and George Church from Harvard University, semi-independently engineered E. coli bacteria such that their altered biology makes it very nearly im-possible for them or their DNA to escape into the wild. Let me back up. I say semi-indepen-dently, because both publications were based on a previous joint 2013 publication between these two groups that developed the world’s first “genomically recoded or-ganism.” This remarkable strain of E. coli

bacteria carries an altered genetic code – which is otherwise conserved among all living organisms. Cells make proteins based on RNA instructions. Each three-nucleotide com-bination calls for a particular amino acid. Three of these sequences, however, have no matching tRNA molecule to bring the correct amino acid and therefore act as a stop command. To make the genomically recoded organism, the scientists meticu-lously removed every instance of one of these stop sequences, TAG, from E. coli strain’s entire genome, replacing it with a different stop sequence. They then rein-troduced the TAG sequence into strategic sites in the bacterial genome along with a matching engineered tRNA. You can already see where they were headed with this painstaking engineering project: toward organisms with a com-pletely alien form of basic molecular biol-ogy that makes them a) incompatible with all normal life on earth, and b) irreversibly dependent on synthetic biological building blocks not found anywhere in nature.This proof of concept is where the 2013 paper stopped, but the logical next step was clearly to give the synthetic tRNA a synthetic amino acid match. And that is exactly what each group has now done. The two groups used different ap-proaches to decide where to insert the TAG codons and also different screens for potential synthetic amino acids. The Isaacs’ group screened through 22 differ-ent reintroductions and various synthetic amino acids and identified combinations that did not disrupt normal protein func-tion. Church’s group screened 6 different reintroductions, at times mutating flank-ing amino acids in order to facilitate the process. Interestingly, both groups found success with different synthetic amino acids similar to phenylalanine. This strategy of containment is impres-sive in both its elegance and thorough-ness. Church’s group wrote that “Effective biocontainment strategies must protect against three possible escape mechanisms: mutagenic drift, environmental supple-mentation and horizontal gene transfer.” While a GMO crop incorporating this synthetic safety switch—which fulfills all three criteria—is years away, the path there has just become much clearer. Your move, Bill Nye.

Sources: Nature, Nature News, Harvard News, N.Y. Times, Popular Science, Dis-cover Magazine

Un-boiling an egg Science news was abuzz last week when UC Irvine released a press release that some of its scientists had figured out how to un-boil an egg—in science terms, to re-fold aggregates of denatured proteins. The work was a collaboration between Gregory Weiss’ group at UC Irvine and Colin Raston’s group at Flinder University in Australia and was published in Chem-BioChem on Jan. 23. The scientists used boiled egg whites—which are 12 percent protein—to demonstrate the power of their technique. They began by boiling egg whites at 90 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes (ensuring that they were so hard-boiled that a “Top Chef” judge would spit them out with indignation with the words “These are hammered!”). They dissolved the hardboiled egg whites in urea—a major component of urine, most news sources were quick to note—to re-solubilize the protein ag-gregates. They then spun them at room temperature at high speeds in a vortex fluid device—a narrow, glass cylinder that spins rapidly on its axis at a 45-de-gree angle. The shear stress exerted on the liquid in this device appeared to be enough to coax apart protein aggregates and allow them to re-fold into their natural conformations. This was demonstrated by the rescue of normal lysozyme enzymatic activity and normal caveolin-1 interac-tion with a protein-binding partner. The protocol had to be tweaked to optimize refolding of a protein kinase A, a bulkier protein, and the authors noted that indi-vidual optimization would likely be neces-sary for others as well. This process could have major impli-cations for industries that manufacture proteins in bulk—notably, the pharma-ceutical and food industries—because these struggle with protein misfolding in yeast and E. coli protein overexpression platforms. Existing strategies to recover misfolded proteins take multiple days. “The new process takes minutes,” Weiss noted. “It speeds things up by a factor of thousands.”

Sources: ChemBioChem, UCI News, Popular Science, IFLScienceHanna Starobinets is a fourth-year BMS student.

Geneticists are tacking the challenge of keeping genetically modified organisms from escaping into the wild.Hanna Starobinets/Synapse

Nye

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Page 8: Synapse (2.5.2015)

8 | February 5, 2014 | synapse.ucsf.edu

Puzzles »

February 2015 - Issue 1

ACROSS1 Recital piece5 Pinochle play9 Hunter's quarry

13 Hotel on the Vegas Strip

14 Wheel shaft15 Bronson film,

"Honor _____ Thieves"

17 Chain segment18 Attempt19 Spotted steed20 Whole bunch21 Flower part22 Dick Tracy's hat23 Body of voters26 Skin art, slangily27 Coach again28 Buttercup's kin31 Cut short32 Military stockpile33 Try for a part35 Chart topper36 Quaker pronoun 57 At any point 7 Andean beast 34 Course taker37 Orlando paper 58 Wight, for one 8 Cotillion VIP 35 Fab Four flick39 Debate side 59 Make a judgment 9 Rubberneck 37 Cup holder40 Kind of gland 60 High home (var.) 10 Surrounded by 38 Indian flat bread41 Strong praise 61 Antelope's 11 Orator's no-no 39 Comprehensive45 Roswell sighting playmate 12 Front door, e.g. 41 Lean toward46 Trump series, 16 Vandyke's kin 42 Neglect

with "The" DOWN 21 Stunt double, 43 December 48 Radio show 1 Certain brook e.g. dangler

format trout 22 ____ for oneself 44 Restraining rope51 Monthly payment 2 Baltimore 24 Whip up 47 Clearly show52 Take a load off slugger 25 Bakery buy 49 Cleanse53 Showy display 3 Old World finch 29 Contest hopeful 50 Twosome54 Crash site? 4 Furniture wood 30 Elephant driver 54 Dead or Red55 Great amount 5 Bone near the 32 Painter's medium 55 Day or night 56 "Somewhere in ear 33 Visibly starter

Time" actor 6 Hospital worker embarrassed

by Margie E. Burke

Copyright 2015 by The Puzzle Syndicate

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The Crossword

February 2015 - Issue 1

Edited by Margie E. Burke

HOW TO SOLVE:

(Answer appears elsewhere

in this issue)

Solution to Sudoku

Difficulty : Easy

Copyright 2015 by The Puzzle Syndicate

SOLUTIONS » PAGE 10

By Yarrow MadronaStaff Writer

Michael Hemati and Sachin Rangarajan, cofounders of SmartDerm, operate their medical device startup company from the Mission Bay QB3 garage. There, they are developing technology to predict and prevent pressure ulcers—commonly called bedsores—in hospital patients. They are developing thin sensors that measure a patient’s pressure profile and position while bed bound. The data is sent to risk assessment software installed on a mobile device, where algorithms calculate when and how these patients should be moved in order to reduce the risk of developing pressure ulcers. Eventually, they aim to develop a hardware interface with automated patient repositioning. Their work was inspired by the frequent occurrence of bedsores in immobile patients and incentivized by a recent Medicare and Medicaid policy that denied reimbursment for preventable injuries termed “never events.” In 2013, Hemati and Rangarajan joined the joint UC Berkeley–UCSF Masters of Translational Medicine program. They met in the first couple of weeks of the program through a project development team. They graduated last spring and have been working with UCSF since then to improve previously developed sensor prototypes. Hemati and Rangarajan said they have been greatly assisted in their transition from academia to startup by Dr. Hanmin Lee, their mentor and SmartDerm cofounder. Lee helped develop clinical and legal connections through the Department of Surgery and the UCSF Innovation, Technology and Alliances Office. They also credit the Clinical and Translational Science Institute with giving them the direction to turn an idea into a viable company. The CTSI also granted them a Spring 2014 Catalyst Award. Synapse sat down with Hemati and Rangarajan to talk to them about this new technology and their journey in cofounding SmartDerm Inc.

Synapse: What is the motivation for this new technology? Hemati: There is now a higher cost associated with increased nurse labor under the current system. Nurses check and reposition patients approximately every two hours, which is an inefficient use of their time. Our system aims to automate this time-intensive process and improve patient outcomes.

How did you improve upon the existing technology when you first started?Hemati: We came in and re-analyzed the technology for pressure sensors and risk assessment software. Our team designed sensors, wrote code and developed algorithms. We re-analyzed the materials, got clinical feedback, and created a whole new line of prototypes in the past six months.

What makes your technology unique? Hemati: A lot of the current technologies have one aspect where they either do just pressure sensing or risk assessment. Our approach is to combine these multiple avenues to create a complete stand-alone system to prevent pressure ulcers. Rangarajan: When it comes to solving this problem, it really requires a multidisciplinary approach. Right now there is a variety of pressure sensing mats except they use existing pressure sensor technology developed for industrial applications. They have very accurate pressure sensors but are extremely expensive. Hospitals are not adopting them.

Will you implement clinical feedback into your product design? Hemati: Our approach is to talk with nurses to see what their user requirements are for using a device such as ours. We take these requirements and we incorporate them into our product development. Rangarajan: [One is able to] go in directly to the hospitals, and work with surgeons, nurses and patients to get data and feedback on our device. This cycle and turnaround is something that really draws us.

You credit CTSI for giving you direction; how did they guide you?

Synapse Speaks to Startups »

SmartDerm wants to stop bedsores before they start

Rangarajan: Working with CTSI really helped us revamp our idea to realize what our value proposition was and how we needed to pitch this to make it a profitable idea. [They helped us] develop into an actual business—not just a cool research project.

What do you think are some of the differences between a medical technology company and a therapeutic biotechnology company? Rangarajan: My initial focus was to create new medical therapies. [As an undergraduate] we were working on various stem cell projects. But I realized the timeline for that was too long for me to see a direct impact. That’s why I wanted to transition into something that has a shorter timeline. We just started our work a year ago and will soon begin implementing SmartDerm into clinics. I think the time to patient impact in this field is much faster and much more exciting.

So in some respects this is similar to the technology industry timeline?

Hemati: That’s what draws me as well. You can work from an idea on paper to having a physical device you can hand off to somebody and see that it has a direct beneficial impact on people’s lives.

What is the biggest difference between academic research and research at SmartDerm? Rangarajan: With any kind of new technology you don’t know what direction you’re going, especially when it comes to making a new medical device and trying to integrate business, clinical and research aspects. [In academia] the approach has also always been more methodical and slow. For us, our rate of rapid prototyping, testing and development is on a completely different scale. But I guess that’s what also makes it fun. It’s always a new challenge each day. Trying to get things done by a certain timeline. Bringing all the different parts together is a really rewarding experience.Yarrow Madrona is a postdoctoral scholar at UCSF.

Kyle Kurpinski

SmartDerm’s Sachin Rangarajan (left) and Michael Hemati got help from their mentor, Hanmin Lee.

Page 9: Synapse (2.5.2015)

synapse.ucsf.edu | February 5, 2015 | 9

Saturday and SundayCome and see the future of biomedical research at the Free Exhibition

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(Including recent Nobel Prize Winners)·  40 technical and networking events·  65 courses, and more

Page 10: Synapse (2.5.2015)

10 | February 5, 2014 | synapse.ucsf.edu

Continued » Puzzle Solutions »

February 2015 - Issue 1

Edited by Margie E. Burke

HOW TO SOLVE:

(Answer appears elsewhere

in this issue)

Solution to Sudoku

Difficulty : Easy

Copyright 2015 by The Puzzle Syndicate

February 2015 - Issue 1

Solution to Crossword:

S O L O M E L D G A M EA R I A A X L E A M O N GL I N K S T A B P I N T OT O N S T E M F E D O R AE L E C T O R A T E T A TR E T R A I N A N E M O N E

E N D O R D N A N C ER E A D H I T T H E E

S E N T I N E L P R OA D R E N A L P L A U D I TU F O A P P R E N T I C EC A L L I N R E N T S I TE C L A T S O F A M U C HR E E V E E V E R I S L E

D E E M A E R Y D E E R

Crossword Sudoku

Prior to 2013, professional students could stay in housing for five years, and gradu-ate students could stay for six years. The committee also recommended that the timing of leases be adjusted such that they end during the summer, regardless of when they start during the year. “We were trying to improve the situation for the large cohort of students arriving in the summer period,” said Cyster. Currently, people are limited to two years in student housing, and those limits will remain the same. To encourage older students who have already taken advan-tage of several years of below-market rents, those who have been in housing for three years or more may be subject to additional rent increases, beyond the standard rental increase. In addition to the recommendations made by the housing advisory committee, the Office of Financial Aid is compiling

the results of a cost-of-living survey. This survey is similar to one conducted by the Graduate Student’s Association in 2012. The 2012 survey showed that while most students were able to eventually find a place to live in the city, many students struggled if they had to move, on average paying at least $100 more per month after a move. One anonymous student said in a com-ment on the GSA survey, “Living in San Francisco is so expensive, I decided to move to Oakland. Now, my commute is long, but at least my rent is reasonable.” Current students also remain pessimistic about the housing situation. “The campus housing advisory committee is playing a shell game, quickly moving around terms and eligibilities with the promise that un-der one of these schemes UCSF will find a magic pea that can solve its housing ills,” said Richard Parenteau, an MSTP student, in an e-mail. “Yet the truth is this: there is no pea, and no amount of shuffling the units we have in campus housing will solve our current housing crisis.” When and how the senior leadership will take tangible steps in response to the housing advisory committee’s recommen-dations—and the degree to which they improve the lives of UCSF students—re-main to be seen. Bryne Ulmschneider is a fourth-year Tetrad student. Taylor LaFlam is a fourth-year BMS / sixth-year MSTP student.

Housing » FROM FRONT PAGE

Committee says new students have priority

far, working in areas ranging from statisti-cal genetics to high-throughput imaging and machine learning. The institute has also started to examine how it can improve curriculum for UCSF students. “[We have been] surveying the landscape of teaching in the professional schools and the graduate schools for quantitative disciplines: where are things now, where should they be, where are the gaps,” said Pollard. “I hope [Dr. Butte] and the people he recruits will really ex-pand the breadth and depth of the courses we can offer.” Students also have hopes for new changes on campus. “I think what this institute will do is bring in some opportu-nities for more formal training on how to actually deal with big data, how to parse these huge data sets, [and] how to prop-erly analyze them,” said Raul Torres, a fourth-year graduate student and computa-tional biologist. Beyond students, the institute and Butte have a vision of impacting all aspects of UCSF—from the bench, to the clinic, all the way to the patient. Its inception should help break down remaining silos separating basic science and clinical practice, hope-fully leading to new breakthroughs for pa-tients. As Pollard said, “From the point of view of the patients, I think Atul honestly really hopes to have an impact in that area. I think he would be disappointed if … in the five-year time frame things he and the

people working in this institute were doing hadn’t changed practice in the hospitals.” The institute’s founding is part of the effort by UCSF to take advantage of larger and larger data sets being generated by cheaper technology. As Torres said, “When I first became a graduate student a little over three-and-a-half years ago, we were talking about thousands of genomes. And now we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of genomes.” With this big data comes the possibility of learning infor-mation only available from large sample sizes, such as identifying rare genomic variants that contribute to diseases. The institute already has begun to work toward these goals by teaming up with existing UCSF efforts to input patient-care data into a data warehouse. The warehouse will hold all of the electronic medical records and also provide informa-tion for people studying quality of care. Of course, data aggregation is only a start toward improved practices. The more difficult process will be sorting through the data to find meaningful trends that can improve patient outcomes and inform basic research. With the arrival of Dr. Butte in April, the institute will be a step closer to coalescing its goals and making UCSF a pioneer in computational health practices. Pollard best summed up the anticipation of Butte’s arrival: “We’re really excited that Atul’s coming. Everybody from … the most basic scientist to the most applied-person working totally in the hospital could get behind him, and that’s really unique.”Lauren Shields is a fourth-year BMS student.

Look out for an interview with Atul Butte in the Feb. 19 issue of the Synapse.

» FROM PAGE 8

UCSF Students: Need help at home?Join the free program that has been used by UCSF students over 100 times since September.

UCSF students have free access to Bright Horizons Care Advantage (Sittercity) • find self-selected, pre-screened sitters and caregivers for all ages • eldercare resources and planning • pet care - dog walkers, pet sitters

UCSF students interested in providing sitter or services such as tutoring, can also register as providers at no cost.

Register online in one minute and use this service today:www.careadvantage.com/ucsfstudent

Butte » FROM FRONT PAGE

Institute aids in ‘Big Data’ work

“We’re in the process of planning recruitment, and it’s reminding me a lot of last year—this was me interviewing at schools, deciding where I’d end up, getting really nervous about that. And I can look back now, a year later, and know that I definitely made the right decision. I love UCSF, especially the friends I’ve made here, like Jorge.”

“UCSF was my No. 1 top choice for graduate school, and just coming here and seeing the breadth and excellence of the students and faculty has been a blessing. It’s been hard—grad school is tough—but I just love it here. Definitely people like Francesca have made the transition a lot easier.”

—Francesca Aloisio and Jorge Ortiz–Carpena First-year BMS Ph.D. students

As told to Hanna Starobinets

Humans of UCSF » Humans of UCSF is a student-run photography and multimedia project aimed at putting a name to the faces we see on campus. We want to learn about the diverse experiences of the UCSF community and get a glimpse of our shared humanity.You can view the project on our Facebook page (facebook.com/UCSFsynapse) or on our website (synapse.ucsf.edu/humans-of-ucsf).

Hanna Starobinets/Synapse

Page 11: Synapse (2.5.2015)

synapse.ucsf.edu | February 5, 2015 | 11

» Student Life

Conference highlights health technologyBy Andrea Villaroman Staff Writer

On Jan. 15, UCSF kicked off the semes-ter with its second annual Informatics and Digital Health conference at Mission Bay Conference Center. The event coincided with JP Morgan’s 33rd annual healthcare conference in San Francisco, by some accounts the indus-try’s largest and most informative health care investment symposium. According to Rock Health, the past decade has seen a surge in venture capital investment with a record-breaking funding year in 2014 at more than $4 billion. The multitude of startups spawning in the Bay Area, includ-ing well-known fitness wearable startups like FitBit and JawBone, testifies to this. “There is so much data out there and all that information is starving for attention,” said Atul Butte, new executive director for UCSF’s Institute of Computational Health Sciences during the UCSF conference. With so much spawning out of the big data age, what does a successful digital health technology look like? Many discus-sions involve trends such as virtual reality, robotics, mobile health applications, brain-computer interface, telemedicine and wearable health monitors like watches and earpieces. Yet, making the new technology com-mercially viable remains a challenge for the industry as a whole. As Butte said in comparing the ups and downs of cutting-edge advances, “a rollercoaster is thrilling for some and scary for others.”

Technology Cool technology is a huge promise for many startups, but it often requires months or years of developer work before it can be applied for consumers.

For example, hospitals have the capac-ity to monitor a plethora of physiologi-cal metrics: heart rate, respiratory rate, glucose levels and skin electrical conduc-tivity. The UCSF-Samsung Digital Health Innovation Lab emphasizes the develop-ment of novel sensors into their wearable SIMband module. These sensors would accurately help humans listen to their body and interpret what is happening in real time. The “electrocardiogram” sensor can output blood pressure and heart rate esti-mates. Traditionally, however, electrocar-diograms use multiple skin electrodes and robust algorithmic models that can only be interpreted with a trained eye. Instead, “wearable” monitoring technology relies on biomedical models and data collection; hence, readings are somewhat compro-mised. Despite this, many are optimistic that with further development, sensor technology could create new avenues for intuitive human use.

Patient data-sharing With the lifespan of wearable tech averaging about three months, Samsung collaborators posed the question, “How do you get the user engaged?” Many patient-reported outcome websites, for example, rely on social media and data sharing between patients. However, patients must be willing to reveal private data and feel that they receive something in return. Glooko.com, a disease management site that links blood glucose meters, is one example of a user-friendly mobile applica-tion offering data analytics. Patients get a better idea of the best way to manage their disease in return for sharing their glucose monitor and lifestyle data. Perception of technology must also be

positive or readily changed. While tech-nology advances, digital health challenges privacy concerns and the human dynamic of care practices. In the past, talking to a “computer” on the telephone about a medical condition was an undesirable. However, automated and electronic doc-tors and nurses are gaining more traction as their programs become more knowl-edgeable and more patient-centric.

Infrastructure needs Perhaps the most difficult challenge for emerging digital health technologies is the need for infrastructure in federal regula-tions, clinical research and the financial model of health care. Current health industry paradigms often impede development. A technology needs to demonstrate that adoption results in a

higher return on investment over exist-ing technologies. The benefit would need to be radical enough to push doctors to overhaul their existing care practices if necessary. In addition, insurance companies’ tendency to resist redefinition to their longstanding reimbursement models may hamper even the most tech-friendly prac-tices. Sherpaa’s telemedicine model, for instance, encourages social engagement of patients, doctors and nurses with mobile technology. This blurs the lines between payer and payee; do you charge insurance companies for the time a doctor spends on the phone with a patient? Do you charge money for time with a robot?

Andrea Villaroman is a research coordinator in the School of Medicine.

Tim Reha, left, CEO of New Media Synergy, assists Warren Kibbe, director of the Center for Biomedi-cal Informatics and Information Technology at the National Cancer Institute, with 3–D glasses. These were one of many heath-related innovations discussed at the digital health conference on Jan. 15.

Susan Merrell/UCSF News

Discussion centers on data questions, showcases cool gadgets

UC health workers employ rare strike tactic in disputeSean Treacy–Abarca Staff Writer

BERKELEY—Physicians from UCSF Student Health and 10 other University of California student health centers went on strike Tuesday, Jan. 27 with the support of the Union of American Physicians. The union noted that the strike marked the first time in nearly 25 years that li-censed medical doctors had gone on strike in the United States. Supporters chanted, “Prioritize students’ health first!” as they congregated at the UC Berkeley’s Tang health services center to protest as talks for their first contract have stalled. Other rallies occurred at UC Davis, UCLA and UC San Diego. “We wanted basic information about budget constraints and we got nothing,” said striking UC Santa Cruz physician Lin-da Kirby at the UC Berkeley picket lines. Physicians at 10 University of Cali-fornia campuses unionized in November 2013 and have been in talks with campus administrators over their first union con-tract. Talks stalled after UC administration have shown reluctance on detailing discre-tionary budgets of university chancellors as well as the breakdown of how student fees are appropriated. Although striking physicians noted that contract negotiations provided the impetus for the current work stoppage, the union originally formed in order to advocate for improved student

health care services. “All of the physicians that work with us and this union are all incredibly dedicated to the best quality of student health center services,” said Lynne Alper, a UC Berkeley physician and bargaining team member. Currently, the union has more than 150 physicians at all 10 UC campuses that have supported the measure to go on strike. These health care professionals pro-vide services for students such as flu shots, psychiatric counseling and urgent care ser-vices. This differs from the larger cohort of physicians at the various UC medical center campuses, which are represented by a distinct and separate union and were not involved in the negotiations. Those larger health care centers such as UCSF’s Medi-cal Center operated normally. Left behind at the vacated student health centers were administrators, many of them medical doctors as well, who said they would take charge of any student requir-ing emergency or urgent care treatments. However,, some non-urgent appoint-ments had to be moved to other days as a result of the physician walk out. Striking physicians were due to return to their posts the following day, though union officials noted that further work stoppages may be necessary and possible in the near future. Seant Treacy–Abarca is a research specialist at the Hooper Foundation.

Regents’ visit to Mission Bay sees surprisingly little unrest

A lone police car amd news van sit outside the UC Regents meeting in the Rutter Center at Mission Bay. Lauren Shields/ Synapse

Although campuswide e-mail messages warned in advance of possible large-scale protests during the UC Regents’ recent visit, concerns proved unfounded. Despite contentious debates over tuition increases and other matters, few—if any—protestors made an appearance at the Mission Bay Conference Center on Jan. 21 and 22. The Regents discussed an array of issues, including the appointment of Rachael Nava as UC executive vice president and chief operating officer. Nava formerly served as COO for the nonprofit

Central California Alliance for Health. The board also approved an amendment increasing the threshold of President Janet Napolitano’s spending on capital improve-ment projects without board approval from $60 million to $70 million. A complete agenda and live streaming of the open sessions is available online at regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/ meetings/agendas/jan15.html. The Regents are scheduled to return to Mission Bay for their next three bimonth-ly meetings in March, May and July, as well as in November.

Page 12: Synapse (2.5.2015)

12 | February 5, 2014 | synapse.ucsf.edu

» Comics Piled Higher and Deeper By Jorge Cham

» Caption ContestResults from Jan. 22 caption contest Winner: “Generic: 10 cents vs. Brand Name: $2.50.” –Kathy Bailey

If you have a funny or clever caption to describe the scene below, submit it online to Facebook (www.facebook.com/UCSFSynapse) or Twitter (@UCSF_Synapse) using the hashtag #SynapseCaption. The winning captions will be printed in the next issue, and the best overall UCSF student caption winner will receive a $5 BearHug redeemable at many campus vendors (to be picked up in-person at the Synapse office in Millberry Student Union, Parnassus). Also, if you have a funny original photo of life around UCSF that you’d like to share, or any other content or ideas to contribute, feel free to email us at [email protected].

Dear Mama M,

I don’t know why, but I keep dating people who “aren’t good for me.” That’s what my friends and family tell me. I don’t even know really what they mean, but I am starting to wonder about it as I get older. In general, I just know we are attracted to be together a lot, and we enjoy each other’s company most of the time. What should I be asking myself, to know if I am choosing the right person to date, and even maybe to commit to, someday?

Sincerely, How Do I Know

Dear “How,”

I was married once, to a crazy-assed,

homeless Englishman. The reasons I got married are long and complicated and have to do with living in NYC in the ’80s, Green Cards and what not. But, one thing I will say, I had an amazing run of crazy, wild, fun and adventure. Was he good for me? Was he the “right” person? Did I need to live in a tent and

wander around the country laughing my ass off and living on coffee and cigarettes? I think for me, yes, I did! Do I want to live like that right now? Probably not, but what a way to learn to grow into what I do want. If your mind persists in asking questions about the right person, try these:

•Am I connected with myself? Am I connected with my joy?

•Does this person know how to connect to their own self and their own joy?

•Do we like each other? Do our bodies like each other? Our spirits?

•But most importantly, am I having fun?

Often, as I read these heartfelt questions,

I hear another question behind the words written in front of me. Mostly, underneath a question is a fear or a worry. With you, sugar, I am wondering what you really fear? Do you fear the opinions of others? Do you fear making a mistake of love? Are you afraid of wasting time with attraction if it does not lead to commitment? I think love is a cliff you just have to fall over. … You either get bruises and broken bones or you don’t. There is no way of knowing until you jump. That said, you can know more about the terrain before you jump, if you so choose. I also wonder what your friends mean, when they say you are dating someone who is not “good for you.” Do they mean, “You don’t look happy sweetheart, maybe you should dump your lover.” Or are they saying, “We are worried that you are getting lost. We can’t find you anymore. We think this relationship is changing you in ways we don’t understand.” Or, are they saying, “You know, you didn’t used to smoke crack and your new partner seems like a bad influence on you.” So, I guess if you want to use your friends and family as guides, you need to get clarification on the ways in which a certain person is not good for you. Let me admit to you that I am no expert on love or doing what is good for me. I have dated some of the craziest people on the planet and I can only tell you that they have all been important. To be perfectly honest, sugar, I am not sure that we are even having relationships with other people. I am of the belief that most of our relationships are projections and that if we want to connect with another person in any meaningful way, we need to claim ourselves. It is not a

romantic or popular view, and you need to discover what you believe. But, I think it makes sense to examine the ways in which we engage with the world to see what we are here to learn. Sometimes we project all of our amazing qualities on to another person and then “fall in love” with these qualities, thinking they belong to someone else. Conversely, we also can project all our shadowy qualities onto someone else and become “attracted to people who are no good for us.” I am of the belief that there is no right or wrong person. Primary process: We make a choice. Secondary process: We react to that choice. Life arises and then we assign meaning to what we experience. We can either have solid, loving relationships with ourselves and see that in other people; or we can look to others to fill in our spaces. The latter is the more popular path. You ask: What should I be asking myself, to know if I am choosing the right person to date and even, maybe, to commit to, someday? Well, sugar, these are just my own thoughts, my personal way of answering your question, using the reasoning that comes from my heart. … What you need to do is to listen carefully for the reasoning that comes from your own uniquely wise heart. And remember, it may not always seem logical, but your heart will be your most trusted guide in this journey. “The heart has its reasons whereof Reason knows nothing.” —Blaise Pascal

Good luck in your adventures, my dear one.

Mama M

xkcd By Randall Monroe

» Dear Mama MMore than animal attraction?

Illustration by Joe M