UCSD Research News

UC San Diego Receives Grand Challenges Explorations Grant For Cutting-edge Research in Global Health

2013-05-21T12:46:43+00:00

The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Greg G. Goldgof, a graduate student in UC San Diego’s Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program and the Medical Science Training Program will pursue an innovative global health and development research project, titled “Outsmarting Malaria: Developing next generation anti-malarials that prevent the evolution of drug resistance.”

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Tumor-Activated Protein Promotes Cancer Spread

2013-05-13T13:51:17+00:00

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center report that cancers physically alter cells in the lymphatic system – a network of vessels that transports and stores immune cells throughout the body – to promote the spread of disease, a process called metastasis.

Higher Child Marriage Rates Associated with Higher Maternal and Infant Mortality

2013-05-13T12:16:30+00:00

Countries in which girls are commonly married before the age of 18 have significantly higher rates of maternal and infant mortality, report researchers in the current online issue of the journal Violence Against Women.

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CDC-Recommended Non-Profit Launches “MotherToBaby CA” In Time for Mother’s Day

2013-05-08T11:44:11+00:00

As Mother’s Day approaches, the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine announces MotherToBaby CA, the new name of its free, statewide counseling service that connects experts in the field of birth defects research with moms-to-be and the general public.

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UC San Diego Health System Receives National Achievement Award for Cancer Program

2013-05-01T14:59:56+00:00

UC San Diego Health System is a recipient of the 2012 Outstanding Achievement Award from the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. Seventy-nine cancer care programs—three in California—received this national award based on excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients.

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New Plant Protein Discoveries Could Ease Global Food and Fuel Demands

2013-05-01T10:00:06+00:00

New discoveries of the way plants transport important substances across their biological membranes to resist toxic metals and pests, increase salt and drought tolerance, control water loss and store sugar can have profound implications for increasing the supply of food and energy for our rapidly growing global population. That’s the conclusion of 12 leading plant biologists from around the world whose laboratories recently discovered important properties of plant transport proteins that, collectively, could have a profound impact on global agriculture.

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UC San Diego Surgeon Part of Global Initiative to Improve Trauma Care

2013-04-30T13:25:12+00:00

Dr. Raul Coimbra is the only trauma surgeon in the western United States recently invited to be part of the Global Alliance for the Care of the Injured – a World Health Organization initiative to improve trauma care in low and middle income countries.

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Three UC San Diego Professors Elected to National Academy of Sciences

2013-04-30T12:05:30+00:00

The National Academy of Sciences today elected three professors at the University of California, San Diego to membership in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors bestowed on U.S. scientists and engineers.

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Study Finds Women Who Drink Alcohol Before Pregnancy Less Likely To Take Multivitamins

2013-04-30T09:10:47+00:00

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego Department of Pediatrics and Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, a research affiliate of UC San Diego School of Medicine, have found a link between multivitamin use and alcohol consumption before pregnancy, uncovering a need for education about the importance of vitamin supplementation, particularly among women who drink alcohol during their childbearing years.

Boosting the Powers of Genomic Science

2013-04-25T14:39:27+00:00

In a pair of papers published in PLOS Genetics, two diverse teams of scientists, both headed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, describe novel statistical models that more broadly and deeply identify associations between bits of sequenced DNA called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs and say lead to a more complete and accurate understanding of the genetic underpinnings of many diseases and how best to treat them.

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Longer Days Bring ‘Winter Blues’—For Rats, Not Humans

2013-04-25T10:59:58+00:00

Biologists at UC San Diego have found that rats experience more anxiety and depression when the days grow longer. More importantly, they discovered that the rat’s brain cells adopt a new chemical code when subjected to large changes in the day and night cycle, flipping a switch to allow an entirely different neurotransmitter to stimulate the same part of the brain.

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Discovery of Wound-Healing Genes in Flies Could Mitigate Human Skin Ailments

2013-04-24T14:00:41+00:00

Biologists at UC San Diego have identified eight genes never before suspected to play a role in wound healing that are called into action near the areas where wounds occur.

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Gone, But Not Forgotten

2013-04-22T12:28:04+00:00

An international team of neuroscientists has described for the first time in exhaustive detail the underlying neurobiology of an amnesiac who suffered from profound memory loss after damage to key portions of his brain.

Quest for Edible Malarial Vaccine Leads to Other Potential Medical Uses for Algae

2013-04-19T09:00:26+00:00

Can scientists rid malaria from the Third World by simply feeding algae genetically engineered with a vaccine? That’s the question biologists at UC San Diego sought to answer after they demonstrated last May that algae can be engineered to produce a vaccine that blocks malaria transmission. In a follow up study, they got their answer: Not yet, although the same method may work as a vaccine against a wide variety of viral and bacterial infections.

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A New Protein Target for Controlling Diabetes

2013-04-11T10:16:33+00:00

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a previously unknown biological mechanism involved in the regulation of pancreatic islet beta cells, whose role is to produce and release insulin. The discovery suggests a new therapeutic target for treating dysfunctional beta cells and type 2 diabetes, a disease affecting more than 25 million Americans.

Brain Imaging Studies Reveal Neurobiology of Eating Disorders

2013-04-10T14:08:18+00:00

Walter Kaye, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Program at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues are beginning to be use advanced brain imaging technologies to study and improve eating disorder treatments.

Survey Results Reveal Distracted Driving Habits of San Diegans

2013-04-10T10:57:02+00:00

According to experts in the Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS) program at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, there were approximately 3,300 deaths and 400,000 injuries nationwide in 2011 due to collisions involving distracted driving. With April being national distracted driving awareness month, a team of researchers released survey results that reveal the habits of San Diego County drivers who use their cell phone while behind the wheel.

Clinical Trial Evaluates Engineered Smallpox Vaccine as Potential Liver Cancer Killer

2013-04-09T13:03:57+00:00

As part of a multicenter clinical trial, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine are evaluating Pexa-Vec (JX-594) to slow the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or liver cancer. Pexa-Vec is a genetically engineered virus that is used in the smallpox vaccine.

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Is Guided Self-Help Effective in Treating Childhood Obesity?

2013-04-01T08:22:49+00:00

Initial studies at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine indicate that a self-help treatment program for overweight children and their parents, guided by clinical experts, may be an effective solution. The study, led by Kerri Boutelle, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine – the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of such a program – will be published in the journal Pediatrics on April 1.

Women’s Wellness Day, Free to the Public on Saturday, April 13

2013-03-28T11:26:03+00:00

On Saturday, April 13 from 8 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., UC San Diego Health System is hosting an interactive conference in La Jolla, focused on women’s health. The event is free and open to the public. Fifteen leading experts will host insightful talks on subjects, including stress reduction, gene therapy for heart repair, cancer prevention, successfully reducing menopause symptoms, and achieving longevity through diet and fitness.

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Pinning Down the Pain

2013-03-27T11:46:09+00:00

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, says a key protein in Schwann cells performs a critical, perhaps overarching, role in regulating the recovery of peripheral nerves after injury. The discovery has implications for improving the treatment of neuropathic pain, a complex and largely mysterious form of chronic pain that afflicts over 100 million Americans.

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UC San Diego Cancer Scientists Named to First Class of AACR Fellows

2013-03-27T08:59:36+00:00

Five University of California, San Diego scientists and professors are among the first class of the Fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research Academy, created to recognize researchers whose scientific contributions have propelled significant innovation and progress against cancer. The entire class consists of 106 individuals, to celebrate the 106 year anniversary of AACR, the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research.

Monoclonal Antibody Targets, Kills Leukemia Cells

2013-03-25T12:26:59+00:00

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center have identified a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets and directly kills chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells.

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UC San Diego Pharmacy School Benefactor “Sam” Skaggs Dies at 89

2013-03-25T11:06:49+00:00

L.S. “Sam” Skaggs, whose enduring support of pharmacy education and research helped fuel the growth and development of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Diego, died Thursday at the age of 89 of causes related to age.

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Kidney Sparing Surgery Underutilized for Patients Who Need It Most

2013-03-25T10:37:14+00:00

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have released study results that show national treatment trends in the surgical management of patients with kidney disease. The study found that partial and complete kidney removal (total nephrectomy) and energy-based techniques to destroy tumors are all on the rise. Surprisingly, the patients most in need of kidney-sparing surgery are still more likely to undergo total nephrectomy.

New Imaging Agent Enables Better Cancer Detection, More Accurate Staging

2013-03-20T12:24:35+00:00

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have shown that a new imaging dye, designed and developed at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, is an effective agent in detecting and mapping cancers that have reached the lymph nodes. The radioactive dye called Technetium Tc-99m tilmanocept, successfully identified cancerous lymph nodes and did a better job of marking cancers than the current standard dye.

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UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center New Member of National Comprehensive Cancer Network

2013-03-20T10:22:07+00:00

On March 19, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® announced the election of University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center as the first and only San Diego-based NCCN Member Institution dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of care provided to patients with cancer.

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Scripps Lecture to Explore Crossroads of Science and Religion

2013-03-20T09:06:30+00:00

Join Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego for a lively presentation at the hotly debated crossroads of science and religion. Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education and an internationally known expert on the evolution-creation controversy, will present “In the Beginning: Science, Religion, and Origins” during the annual Richard H. and Glenda G. Rosenblatt Lectureship in Evolutionary Biology.

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Three UC San Diego Researchers Receive New CIRM Grants

2013-03-19T16:23:06+00:00

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine are principal investigators in two of nine new grants approved today by the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

New Program Teaches Empowering “Anti-Cancer” Approaches for Doctors, Patients, and Loved Ones

2013-03-19T10:49:00+00:00

From Saturday, April 6 to Sunday April 7, the Center for Integrative Medicine at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine is hosting a landmark conference on integrative oncology. Participants will learn what can be done to foster an “anti-cancer” diet and lifestyle to help rectify health imbalances and reduce the drivers of cancer.

National Recognition for Three UC San Diego School of Medicine Chairs

2013-03-18T14:25:14+00:00

Three UC San Diego School of Medicine chairs receive recognition from the American College of Psychiatrists, The American College of Radiation Oncology, and The American Glaucoma Soceity.