• Research
• September 3, 2009

New research strategy for understanding drug resistance in leukemia

UCSF researchers have developed a new approach to identify specific genes that influence how cancer cells respond to drugs and how they become resistant. This strategy, which involves producing diverse genetic mutations that result in leukemia and associating specific mutations with treatment outcomes, will enable researchers to better understand how drug resistance occurs in leukemia and other cancers, and has important long-term implications for the development of more effective therapies.

• Research
• August 24, 2009

Some skin cancer may be mediated by primary cilia activity

Tiny, solitary spikes that stick out of nearly every cell in the body play a central role in a type of skin cancer, new research has found. The discovery in mice shows that the microscopic structures known as primary cilia can either suppress or promote this skin cancer, depending on the mutation triggering the disease.

• Media Coverage
• August 14, 2009
• New York Times features UCSF sleep-gene finding

New York Times features UCSF sleep-gene finding

• Research
• August 13, 2009

First human gene implicated in regulating length of human sleep

Scientists have discovered the first gene involved in regulating the optimal length of human sleep, offering a window into a key aspect of slumber, an enigmatic phenomenon that is critical to human physical and mental health

• Research
• August 11, 2009

New Center to Focus on Effects of Stress, Socioeconomic Status on Obesity

UCSF has received a five-year grant to establish a multi-campus center where researchers will study how stress and socioeconomic status influence weight.

• Research
• July 13, 2009

PTSD Linked with Almost Double Dementia Risk, Study Finds

Older veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder were almost twice as likely to develop dementia as veterans without PTSD in a study of more than 180,000 veterans led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

• Research
• July 5, 2009

Brain Cancer Linked to Inherited Genetic Risk

UCSF researchers have discovered inherited DNA that increases risk for the most deadly brain cancers.

• Research
• June 25, 2009

Sugar Is a Poison, Says UCSF Obesity Expert

Sugar is a poison, says Robert Lustig, MD, UCSF obesity expert and pediatric endocrinologist.

• Research
• June 15, 2009

Memories may be formed throughout the day, not just while sleeping

Scientists have long thought that processes occurring during sleep were responsible for cementing the salient experiences of the day into long-term memories. Now, however, a study of scampering rats suggests that the mechanisms at work during sleep are also active while the animals are awake -- and that they encode events more accurately.

• Research
• May 18, 2009

Gene Found in Sudden Sleep Disorder Implicates the Immune System

Narcolepsy, a sleep disorder that can cause sufferers to suddenly lose muscle tone and start dreaming, is an autoimmune disease, a team led by UCSF and Stanford scientists finds.

• Research
• April 29, 2009

Glutamate identified as predictor of disease progression in multiple sclerosis

UCSF researchers have identified a correlation between higher levels of glutamate, which occurs naturally in the brain as a byproduct of metabolism, and greater disease burden in multiple sclerosis patients. The study is the first to measure glutamate toxicity in the brain over time and suggests an improved method for tracking the disease and predicting its course.

• Research
• April 8, 2009

Scientists identify key gene that protects against leukemia

Researchers have identified a gene that controls the rapid production and differentiation of the stem cells that produce all blood cell types -- a discovery that could eventually open the door to more streamlined treatments for leukemia and other blood cancers, in which blood cells proliferate out of control.

• Research
• April 6, 2009

Colon cancer screening targets wrong elders, study finds

Healthy patients age 70 and older who could benefit from colon cancer screening are not being adequately screened, while ill patients are being screened unnecessarily, according to a study of more than 27,000 veteran patients led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

• Research
• March 17, 2009

Nationwide Alzheimer's Study Completes Genomic Analysis Phase

Researchers with the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, a five-year, nationwide, longitudinal study of possible markers of Alzheimer’s disease, announced that a genomic analysis of the 800 participants in the study is more than 95 percent complete, and that the data will be shared with scientists around the world for further analysis.

• Research
• February 4, 2009

Lung Cancer Now Is the Focus of Powerful Genetics Research

Lung cancer research at UCSF is poised to leap forward, thanks to a big bank. No, not some teetering financial institution down the street. What UCSF has is an invaluable tissue bank.