Stanford Medicine, October 24 2022.
William LeRoy Heinrichs, MD, PhD, a professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at the Stanford School of Medicine, died Sept. 21. He was 90.
Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology from 1976 until 1984, Heinrichs pursued minimally invasive surgical techniques, took an early interest in fertility and hormone treatments as well as surgical treatment of endometriosis, and was a champion of virtual medical training technologies. Read More >
Stanford Medicine, June 22, 2022.
Two Stanford Medicine professors are working with the Morehouse School of Medicine to test ways to enroll more diverse patients in clinical trials for heart disease treatments. The research is part of a $20 million project launched by the American Heart Association to improve diversity in clinical trials.
“Many common chronic diseases disproportionately affect communities of color,” said Hannah Valantine, MD, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford Medicine. For example, Black Americans are 30% more likely to die of heart disease than white Americans, according to 2018 data from the U.S. Health and Human Services. “To translate research discoveries into medicines that can make an impact on those communities, we must have diversity in the clinical trials testing them,” she noted. Read More >
Stanford Medicine, May 20 2022.
Hugh McDevitt, MD, a professor emeritus of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford School of Medicine who unraveled the genetic controls of the immune system, died April 28 in Stanford, California, from pneumonia and sepsis. He was 91.
McDevitt was a dynamic leader and a pillar of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, according to his colleagues, who added that he was generous with his time and intellect. He was a smart and effective negotiator who fought for his department, said GreteSønderstrup, his wife of 38 years and a senior research scientist in the department. Read More >
Stanford Medicine SCOPE, May 16 2022.
Studying the human genome — the code that determines how the body is put together and operates — has helped scientists decipher the root of many diseases. Even so, there are still holes (some might say gaping ones) in our knowledge of genetic disease.
That’s particularly true when it comes to the causes and risk factors that lead to genetically complex diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes. Researchers call these complex polygenic diseases because they arise from hundreds of small changes to the genome combined with a person’s environment and lifestyle. Read More >
UCSC Inquiry magazine, October 14 2021
Flowers as symbols are loaded with meaning. So, what does a flower mean when seen through the lens of Robert Mapplethorpe, the controversial photographer best known for his depictions of radical sexuality? Read More >
UCSC Inquiry magazine, October 14 2021
Assistant Professor Marcella Gomez is teaching artificial intelligence learning models to heal. With electrical and computer engineering professors Marco Rolandi and Mircea Teodorescu, Gomez co-leads a collaborative project that includes clinical researchers at UC Davis and Tufts University. Funded by a $16 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the project aims to develop a “smart bandage” that can speed the healing of difficult wounds, like those suffered by soldiers with battlefield injuries from explosions. “Our task is to identify where in the healing process we can intervene to accelerate wound closure,” Gomez said. Read More >
UCSC Inquiry magazine, October 14 2021
A ubiquitous blue-green bacteria found in ponds and lakes worldwide may provide the key to unlocking how life on Earth keeps track of day and night. These cyanobacteria—single-celled, microscopic organisms that create energy from sunlight—provide a simple system that Professor Carrie Partch and her collaborators have harnessed to better probe the intricate workings of biological clocks, the molecular machines that keep time in all living organisms. Read More>
UCSC Inquiry magazine, October 14 2021
The Nobel Prize weighs about six ounces, but it feels much heavier if you’re female. Only 23 women—about 3 percent of the total—have won a Nobel Prize in the sciences. One of these select few is distinguished professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology Carol Greider, UC Santa Cruz’s first Nobel laureate.
Feeling the weight, Greider has wielded her influence as a laureate to advocate for increased diversity in the research community, working to help ensure women and other scientists from historically disadvantaged groups are free from discrimination and harassment. To this end, throughout her long career, she has spoken out, signed letters, authored op-eds, and joined working groups, in addition to serving as a committed mentor to many students. Read More >