UCSF Mini Medical School for the Public

Stress is ubiquitous and on the rise. How we learn to manage it can have profound effects on our health and wellbeing. This course will explain how our bodies experience stress (including its impact on immunity and longevity) and demonstrate effective strategies to help you thrive in a fast-paced world.

Course Chair: Ellen Hughes, MD, PhD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine; Osher Foundation Endowed Chair in Education in Integrative Medicine; Director of Education, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine

October 24
Staying Sane Through Difficult Times
Susan Folkman, PhD, Professor of Medicine; Director, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine

October 31
Biofeedback: Self-Mastery Beyond Pills
Richard Harvey, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Education, Institute of Holistic Health Studies, San Francisco State University

November 7
Stress, Eating and Premature Aging
Elissa Epel, PhD, Assistant Professor in Residence, Department of Psychiatry

November 14
Stress and the Immune System: The Truth About Psycho Neuro Immunology
Margaret E. Kemeny, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry; Director, Graduate Academic Program in Psychology

November 28
Minding the Body: Cognitive- Behavioral Stress Reduction
Jason Satterfield, PhD, Director, Behavioral Medicine; Department of Medicine; Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine

December 5
Imaginative Solutions for Stress Relief
Martin L. Rossman, MD, Clinical Associate, Department of Medicine

Are you wondering if the “healthy chips” as advertised are really healthy? If so you are invited to join a team of clinicians and basic scientists as they explore the concept of healthy eating scientifically and shed light on the molecular basis of energy balance. You will learn why it is so hard to keep the pounds off, and why certain diets work and others don’t. You will also discuss eating disorders and join a pathologist to look “hands-on” at what can happen to organs if there is an imbalance between the body’s nutrition and its energy requirement.

October 25
The Sugar and Cholesterol in Your Blood: Chemistry, Control, and Chaos
Tracy Fulton, PhD, Associate Adjunct Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics; Professional School Course Director

November 1
Eating Disorders: What’s the Skinny?
Sara M. Buckelew, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor; Director, Eating Disorders Program, Division of Adolescent Medicine

November 8
Fad Diets: What Really Works for Weight Loss
Andrea Garber, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor, Division of Adolescent Medicine

November 15
The New Epidemic: The “Inside” Story of Obesity
Henry Sanchez, MD, Professor of Clinical Pathology, UCSF Schools of Medicine and Dentistry; Endowed Chair in Pathology Medical Student Education

November 29
The Science of Long Term Energy Homeostasis: A Delicate Balance Between Diet, Metabolic Hormones, and Genetics
Michael S.German, MD, Professor of Medicine; Justine K.Schreyer Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research Clinical Director, Diabetes Center

December 6
Diabetes: Things are Looking Up if Blood Sugars are Kept Down
Sherri Shafer RD, CDE, Senior Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics

Infection, inflammation and immunity are biologic processes at the core of a large number of the world’s most pressing health problems. This course, representative of the one attended by second year UCSF medical students, will cover key topics in microbiology, immunology, infectious disease, and international health. Taught by an extraordinary team of UCSF faculty, this course will combine basic science, clinical medicine and public health in a most unique and stimulating manner.

October 24
How Bacteria Cause Disease
Warren Levinson, MD, professor of microbiology and immunology.
Learn about the various agents that cause infectious diseases: bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and worms, with a focus on how bacteria are transmitted and cause disease, and how exotoxins and endotoxins cause symptoms of disease.

October 31
Anti-microbial Drugs
Marieke Kruidering-Hall, PhD, assistant adjunct professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology
Learn about drugs used to treat various types of Infections, the rationale behind antimicrobial therapy, the mechanism of action of different classes of drugs as well as problems associated with their use, ranging from side effects to drug resistance.

November 7
HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Implications of Age, Gender, Geography and the Internet
Ruth Greenblatt, MD, professor of clinical medicine and epidemiology
With both an ancient history (STDs) and a modern one (HIV), these infections have found a striking niche on the internet, contributing to the world-wide pandemic.

November 14
Anatomy of an Outbreak: Lessons from the SARS Epidemic and Implications for Avian Flu
George Rutherford, MD, Salvatore Pablo Lucia Professor of Epidemiology, Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics
Examine how world health leaders investigated and controlled the 2003 outbreak of SARS, an infectious disease of unknown etiology. Do quarantine and isolation work? Preparing for future epidemics such as avian flu and other serious pathogens.

November 28
How the Body Fights Infection
Richard Locksley, MD, Sandler Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Miniaturized battles are waged continuously by heroic micro-warriors that protect us from viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. A look at how these unseen victories (and occasional defeats) are played out, and how vaccination stacks the deck on our side.

December 5
Things That Go Bump in the Night
James McKerrow, PhD, Robert E. Smith Chair in Experimental Pathology.
Parasitic diseases from mosquitos to sushi, from single cells to worms. Learn about tropical parasites and the diseases they cause.

Almost every American takes a drug every day – some for lifesaving purposes for cardiovascular disease, cancer, HIV/AIDS, asthma, and lipid-lowering; some for self care such as cavity preventive toothpastes and headache, allergy and cold remedies. UCSF School of Pharmacy faculty experts in the fields of drug discovery, personalized medicine, drug delivery systems and the drug approval process will traverse the landscape of pharmaceutical discovery and innovations from modern day origins to anticipated future applications.

October 25
How Drugs Are Discovered
Brian Shoichet, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry
Learn how the innovators think about developing cures for life-threatening conditions, explore the barriers to innovation, and the future outlook for hi-tech solutions to this highly competitive field.

November 1
Innovations in Drug Delivery: Getting Drugs to Their Targets in the Body
Frank Szoka, PhD, professor of biopharmaceutical sciences
Find out about the scientific basis for the delivery of drugs to selected sites in the body, why this field of knowledge is vital to optimizing clinical outcomes, and what to expect in the future.

November 8
The Tightrope of Drug Approval
R. William Soller, PhD, professor of clinical pharmacy
Explore the delicate balance of scientific, economic and political forces shaping the development of drugs and their approval. Learn how the patient perspective has driven change in the FDA. Find out what’s amiss in the drug approval process that contributed to some of the recent celebrated drug safety problems.

November 15
Pitfalls and Benefits of Drug Advertising and Promotion
R. William Soller, PhD, professor of clinical pharmacy
Learn about the legal and regulatory basis for drug advertising and promotion. Explore the consumer demand for information by this channel of communication and the associated ethical and social values. Debate the benefits and risks of direct to consumer advertising.

November 29
Personalized Medicine: The Possibilities of Drugs Tailored to Your Genetic Makeup
Deanna Kroetz, PhD, professor of biopharmaceutical sciences
Heralded as the future of medicine, personalized medicines seem to be the answer for making therapeutics more likely to be highly effective and safer. Learn about medicine’s progress in attempting to achieve this goal. Find out about the innovative discoveries of macromolecular therapeutics, their promise, their limitations.

December 6
Open Dialogue on Current Controversies and Hot Topics
Lorie Rice, MPH; associate dean, external affairs; R. William Soller, PhD; B. Joseph Guglielmo, PharmD, clinical professor, clinical pharmacy; and other faculty
Faculty experts will explore additional issues not covered in the five lectures. Participants will be asked to submit questions on topics of interest, such as Medicare Part D, drug importation, side effects, drug interactions and other topics.