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“Your life is your canvas. Many things in life we cannot control, including other people's opinions and actions. What we can control, to a great extent, is who we are. Living life proudly and openly empowers you and empowers others.” . UCSF’s Vice Chancellor, Strategic Communications & University Relations Barbara French didn't step fully out of the closet until the early 1990s, twenty years after entering the professional workforce. The support of her friends, the visibility of the LGBTQ community in San Francisco, and a supportive work environment all were factors in her decision to live her life more openly. . As French prepares for retirement after 14 years at UCSF, she hopes that everyone can educate themselves about all sexual orientations and gender identities. “We can foster friendship. We can be an ally.” . ✨Follow @UCSF✨ as we celebrate LGBT Pride Month by highlighting members of the UCSF community who represent the LGBTQIA spectrum. . #UCSF #UCSFPRIDE #PrideMonth #LGBT#LGBTQ #LBGTQIA #STEM #OutInSTEM#Pride2019 📸:Elisabeth FallWE ARE FAMILY: “I happened to meet my husband — a graduate student in microbiology — in the registration line at UCSF,” says Jennie Chin Hansen, a graduate of the UCSF School of Nursing’s class of 1971. “Thirty years after my husband and I met, my son entered medical school at UCSF.” . Jennie, the one-time president of the @AARP, played an instrumental role in the design and adoption of an innovative program (adopted into federal law!) that gives older adults the chance to remain at home, within their community, even as their physical health changes. Her son, Erik, is now an orthopedic surgeon at UCSF. . 🎓This June, we're celebrating #UCSFAlumniMonth by shining a spotlight on our remarkable alumni.🎓. . 📸: @babuljak. . #UCSFproud #UCSFalumni #familyUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: These star-like cells are called astrocytes, a type of glial cell that vastly outnumbers neurons in the central nervous system. . Glial cells surround neurons on all sides and support their function. Because of this, scientists once thought of glia as “brain stucco” — merely there to hold everything in place. Now, they recognize the cells as integral to healthy brain function. This sprawling bed of cells, captured by graduate student Phi Nguyen in Anna Molofsky’s lab, can be seen ensheathing a group of young neurons and helping to direct their development. . In the Molofsky lab, researchers investigate the role of astrocytes in neural circuit development and brain plasticity. Astrocytes help regulate the formation of synapses, or junctions where neurons communicate with each other. The cells react strongly to stressors and swift changes in the brain environment; by studying healthy neuron-glia interactions, the Molofsky lab hopes to learn what changes take place in neuropsychiatric diseases, including autism, epilepsy, and schizophrenia. . This striking image makes astrocytes the stars of the show, and placed in this year’s Sci-Resolution competition, a contest that challenges UCSF researchers to capture the beauty of science in a single snapshot. . #UCSF #SciArt #ScienceIsBeautiful #microscopy #science #STEM #cilia #cellbiology #TIL #SciResolution“As a Director of an LGBTQ resource Center, I constantly think about the future generations of LGBTQ leaders and how it is my duty to advocate for a more inclusive environment and climate.” . UCSF’s Klint Jaramillo’s experience as a queer immigrant man from Ecuador led him to pursue a career in social justice and higher education. He chose that path after seeing the lack of representation of queer people of color. . “We have to lean into the discomfort of learning and unlearning. It is at the intersection of education and vulnerability that we can change the world. After educating ourselves, then we must be willing to show up for the LGBTQ community and become active agents of change.” . ✨Follow @UCSF✨ as we celebrate LGBT Pride Month by highlighting members of the UCSF community who represent the LGBTQIA spectrum. . #UCSF #UCSFPRIDE #PrideMonth #LGBT#LGBTQ #LBGTQIA #STEM #OutInSTEM #Pride2019🦙🦙BEST DAY EVER🦙🦙: UCSF-ers got a special treat when friendly therapy-trained llamas came to campus to help students destress during exams. . #UCSF #MedEd #HigherEd #MentalHealth #StressRelief #Health #Llamas #LlamasOfInstagram"I had never met a black dentist in my life,” says @UCSFDentistry resident alum Dr. Ernest Goodson. “But I decided to give it a shot. I worked hard and did the best I could.” . Goodson's grandfather could not read or write, and his grandmother had only a sixth-grade education, but they had high hopes for him. “My grandmother [who raised me] always said she wanted me to go to college,” Goodson says. “But if she was around today, I think she’d probably say I overdid it.” . Today, Goodson is committed to raising the profile of the African American dentistry pioneers who came before him. He’s working with libraries around the country to highlight their achievements, while leading his own research on the role African American dentists have played in civil rights and orthodontics. . 🎓 This June, we're celebrating #UCSFAlumniMonth by shining a spotlight on our remarkable alumni. 🎓 . 📸@babuljak #Dentistry #UCSFProud #Dentist #IAmYourDoctor #BlackDentist #OrthodontistThis tree-like structure with glowing green leaves is an embryonic mouse lung just 15 days into development. (Follow UCSF to peek through our microscopes all month long!) . The eye-catching colors capture the way that branching bronchi (red) give way to individual alveoli (green), the tiny balloons that allow a rapid exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and blood vessels. . The breathtaking image was captured by Chang Xie, a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of professor Jeremy Reiter. Xie and his labmates study how cell development is influenced by cilia - microscopic hairlike structures found on most vertebrate cell types. Cilia are most famous for helping cells and teeny organisms propel themselves through fluid, but a less recognized form of cilia actually don’t move at all. These “immotile” cilia seem to help coordinate cell signaling during development, acting sort of like “cellular antennae.” . The Reiter Lab is investigating cilia in mouse cells to learn how these structures mediate which cells proliferate and in what patterns. By studying cilia function in healthy cells, they hope to uncover the role of cilia in diseases like cancer, where cell development and proliferation goes haywire. . This image won second place in UCSF’s scientific image competition, Sci-Resolution! . #UCSF #SciArt #ScienceIsBeautiful #microscopy #science #STEM #cilia #cellbiology #TIL #SciResolution“One day, you will get to live the way you have always dreamed of living.” . UCSF’s Assistant Director for Patient Food Services Anne Alexander kept her sexuality hidden when she started her career as a dietitian, often using non-descript terms about her girlfriend or avoid any mentions of dating at all. . "I found out that the more I was able to be honest, the more confident I became to do it again. I realized that I felt better not carrying a secret around. Even though it sounds counter-intuitive, the more I revealed about myself, the less self-conscious I became.” . As Alexander celebrates her 13th year at UCSF, she can tell her younger self that she is now confidently living the dream. . ✨Follow @UCSF✨ as we celebrate LGBT Pride Month by highlighting members of the UCSF community who represent the LGBTQIA spectrum. . #UCSF #UCSFPRIDE #PrideMonth #LGBT #LGBTQ #LBGTQIA #Pride2019 📸: Susan MerrellIf you squint, this microscopic photo resembles a pair of ladybugs sharing a leaf. But this snapshot shows two developing kidneys in a 16-day-old transgenic mouse embryo. (Follow UCSF to peek through our microscopes all month long!) . The white shapes scattered across each organ mark a branching structure known as the “ureteric bud,” whose formation is key to proper kidney development. . Research specialist Wei Yu captured this image while in the lab of UCSF professor Keith Mostov to investigate the signaling patterns that govern how this structure is formed. The Mostov lab wants to understand how the shape, structure and size of organs are determined during development, as well as how scientists can use that knowledge to foster the regeneration of damaged organs. . Yu now works in the lab of professor Wendell Lim, studying how different cell types regulate their activity and growth. In the future, they hope to engineer new cells to carry out therapeutic functions, such as sensing and destroying cancer. . This image won the People’s Choice award in UCSF’s science image competition, Sci-Resolution! . #UCSF #SciArt #ScienceIsBeautiful#microscopy #science #STEM #neuron#neurons #cellbiology #TIL#SciResolution

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