UCSF Mini Medical School offers public course on "Frontiers of Medicine" in June

By Carol Fox

UCSF’s popular Mini Medical School continues June 1 through June 29 with new lectures focusing on the theme “Brainstorms to Breakthroughs: Frontiers of Medicine.”

Mini Medical School offers the public a once-a-year opportunity to walk in the shoes of a first- or second-year medical student and learn from leading UCSF scientists and teachers as they describe breaking events in health sciences research and how those discoveries may be translated into therapies.

Each lecture is followed by a lively question-and-answer period. One exception to the true medical-student experience: no homework and no exams.

The series is scheduled for Wednesday evenings, June 1 through June 29, from 7 to 9 p.m. in Cole Hall on the UCSF campus at 513 Parnassus Ave. Students will hear the latest about leading health issues of the day, such as multiple sclerosis, heart health, stem cells, cancer, the body’s hormones and the physiological effects of stress, among other topics.

Participants also will have the option of signing up for electives that feature behind-the-scenes visits to UCSF clinical services and campus research and learning labs, including those for stem cell research, cardiac catheterization, immunogenetics (transplant), and anatomy.

Tuition for the course is $50. The fee includes the four June classes plus an optional elective (topics to be determined). Parking in the UCSF campus garage is $3 per evening.

UCSF first offered this public education course in fall 1999. The series has sold out in previous years, so early registration is encouraged.

For registration information, call the UCSF Public Affairs office at (415) 476-2557 or email [email protected]. Register online at Life Long Learning .

A complete schedule for UCSF Mini Medical School classes follows:

* JUNE 1: “STRESS EFFECTS ON MOOD, METABOLISM AND BODY FAT,” by Elissa Epel, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

* JUNE 15: “HORMONES AS REGULATORS, AND A NEW APPROACH TO OBESITY” by John Baxter, MD, Professor of Medicine; and Director, Metabolic Research Unit

* JUNE 22: “NEW HORIZONS ON THE WAR ON CANCER: THEORY TO THERAPY,” by Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, David A. Wood Endowed Chair of Tumor Biology and Cancer Research, Microbiology and Immunology; and Director, UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center and Cancer Research Institute

* JUNE 29: “STEM CELLS: EXPLORING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND NEW STRATEGIES IN MEDICINE,” by Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, Director, UCSF Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program; and Professor, Department of Neurology