Health and Medicine (Video)

Hematopoietic stem cells make blood across the lifespan, but they do not all behave the same way. Stephanie Xie, Ph.D., Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, examines how these rare cells self-renew, differentiate, and respond to inflammatory stress, asking whether differences in the stem cell pool help explain why aging affects people so differently. Xie identifies two hematopoietic stem cell subsets, including one that retains inflammatory memory after stress recovery, and connects this state to aging, clonal hematopoiesis, sickle cell disease, post-COVID recovery, and mortality risk markers in blood. Her research also raises questions about whether targeting the inflammatory environment, including through GLP-1 receptor agonists or metformin, could help mitigate clonal hematopoiesis. Understanding these patterns could clarify how inflammation shapes blood production, cancer risk, and immune health over time. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41406]

Adolescent health affects the well-being of teen girls in important ways. Dr. Jenifer Matthews and Dr. David Becker explain how hormonal change and emerging technology shape physical and mental health. Matthews examines acne, PMS, and menstrual cycle irregularities, and offers integrative approaches to supporting teen hormonal balance, including key nutritional strategies and simple, safe herbal medicine options. Becker considers social media, AI companions, and integrative mental health care, helping clarify how teens can be supported through rapid change. This work helps explain common adolescent challenges and points toward practical, whole-person strategies. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41545]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Claudia Center, Legal Director, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund talks about the health policy landscape. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41453]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Tamar Heller, Director, Institute on Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois Chicago, discusses aging and aging caregivers. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41459]

Rare disease research is creating new paths for diagnosis, treatment, and broader medical discovery. Gene therapy can repair or replace faulty genes, and work on cystinosis has led to a stem cell platform now being applied to Danon disease, Sanfilippo syndrome C, Friedreich's ataxia, and Alzheimer's research. Funding programs support gene therapy, clinical trials, and new platform approaches for rare diseases. CAR-T cell research is also advancing treatment possibilities for pediatric brain tumors, including early results in children with DIPG and diffuse midline glioma. A patient advocate shares her daughter's diagnostic odyssey and treatment for TUBB4A leukodystrophy. Together, these stories show why rare disease research matters beyond rarity. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41402]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Steven Seyedin discusses radiation therapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41558]

Pre-cancer and cancer can begin when stressed blood-forming stem cells lose their normal controls. Catriona Jamieson, M.D., Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how inflammation-linked editing enzymes, repetitive elements in the genome, and stem cell stress shape the progression from myeloproliferative neoplasms to acute myeloid leukemia. Jamison examines how spaceflight accelerates stem cell aging, how some astronauts mobilize a resilient regenerative stem cell population, and how tumor organoids in space help reveal drug responses by activating the enzyme ADAR1. This work helps explain how cancer starts, why it can return, and how space-based research may speed the development of therapies that stop malignant stem cells before disease advances. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41473]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Spencer Behr discusses PSMA PET and functional imaging. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41557]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Jonathan Chou discusses targeted therapies. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41563]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. David Oh discusses immunotherapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41562]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Stacey Kenfield, ScD, discusses diet and exercise. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41555]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Will Chen discusses PET-directed radiation for Oligometastatic Disease. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41559]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Arpita Desai discusses metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41560]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Robin Wilson-Beattie, Disability and Sexual and Reproductive Health Educator, discusses sexual health. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41469]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Ivan de Kouchkovsky discusses radioligand therapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41561]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Julian Hong discusses radiation therapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41551]

Space healthcare depends on connected health data that can follow people wherever care happens. Peter DeVault, Epic, explains how electronic health record tools built for hospitals, labs, and patients can also support healthcare in space. DeVault describes patient-facing tools like MyChart, interoperability across health systems, structured genomics and pharmacogenomics in the patient record, and Cosmos, Epic's patient data aggregation platform with about 300 million longitudinal records. He also examines AI capabilities that can generate possible future health scenarios and expand to telemetry and molecular data collected before, during, and after a mission. This work helps explain how records, data sharing, and predictive tools could support astronaut health and resilience and why those capabilities may be necessary for the future of space medicine. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41481]

Understanding the causes of autism matters for families, public health, and public trust in science. Jonathan Sebat, Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains what research actually shows about the causes of autism and how scientists separate strong evidence from misleading correlations. Sebat examines genetics, de novo mutations, twin studies, developmental regression, and the interplay of genes and environment, helping clarify why autism cannot be reduced to a single trigger. He also addresses why rising diagnoses do not necessarily reflect a simple rise in symptoms and why better research design is essential when studying environmental influences. This work helps explain what science does and does not support and points toward a more rigorous understanding of autism. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41177]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Samuel Washington discusses active surveillance of prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41549]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, the UCSF Patient Services Committee and California Prostate Cancer Coalition present a panel discussion on resources. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41554]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Peter Carroll discusses biochemical recurrence. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41556]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Hari Srinivasan, Rishi Jena, and Héctor Manuel Ramírez discuss mental health and self advocacy. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41456]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Carissa Chu discusses surgery for prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41550]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Terence Friedlander discusses optimizing bone health. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41540]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. I-Chow (Joe) Hsu discusses brachytherapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41552]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Matthew Cooperberg discusses focal therapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41553]

Autism research affects how autistic people and families receive support, care, and opportunities to participate in daily life. A panel with autistic, family, clinical, and research perspectives discusses the world of autism research and how it can better serve the people it is meant to support. The program examines quality of life priorities, co-occurring conditions, accessible study design, community trust, fair compensation, and the need to include people often left out of research. Panelists also consider how researchers can communicate more clearly, involve autistic people and families earlier, and move beyond theory toward work with real-world value. Their perspectives help clarify why autism research must be shaped by the needs, experiences, and priorities of autistic people and families. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41176]

Brain aging and disease research can gain new insights from space. Aline M.A. Martins, Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how neuroscience studies in space use brain organoids, proteomics, and single-cell analysis to understand cognition decline, space-induced neurosenescence, and disease-related changes. Martins examines molecular markers of senescence, mitochondrial impairment, and neuroinflammation in organoid models, including Rett syndrome, while also comparing how space affects organoids of different ages. She shows that space can accelerate aging-related changes and affect cell types differently, helping clarify how space biology may speed drug discovery and reveal biomarkers for disease. This work helps explain how space research can inform treatments on Earth and points toward faster preclinical testing and broader understanding of brain disease. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41478]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Benjamin Breyer discusses sexual wellness. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41537]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Cornelia Ding what to look for on the prostate cancer biopsy report. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41533]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, UCSF's Dr. Joan Jeung discusses trauma informed care. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41457]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Javid Moslehi discusses managing the cardiovascular effects of ADT. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41539]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Lindsay Hampson discusses managing lower urinary tract symptoms. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41536]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Michael Rabow discusses how to manage ADT-related adverse effects. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41538]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Matthew R. Cooperberg discusses when and how to biospsy for prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41532]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Matthew R. Cooperberg discusses the latest on prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41531]

Stem cell health in space matters for astronaut health and cancer research. Jessica Pham, UC San Diego, explains how spaceflight shapes normal hematopoietic stem cells and cancer stem cells through nano bioreactor studies, astronaut blood analysis, and tumor organoid work in low-Earth orbit. Pham examines increased cycling and reduced dormancy in space, reduced self-renewal after return, and ongoing research on cancer stem cells and their microenvironment, helping clarify how stem cells respond to spaceflight. This work helps explain how space conditions may change stem cell fitness over time and points toward a better understanding of astronaut health, long-duration missions, and cancer stem cell behavior. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41477]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Dr. Dean Blumberg, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children's Hospital, discusses vaccine skepticism and public policy. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41461]

Privacy-preserving computation can help hospitals and researchers use sensitive health data without exposing it. Farinaz Koushanfar, Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how secure computation and distributed learning make it possible to collaborate on medical data while protecting patient privacy. Koushanfar examines secure multi-party computation, zero-knowledge proofs, and federated and split learning, helping clarify how health systems can work together despite data silos, incompatibility, security threats, and re-identification risk. This work helps explain how medical AI can learn from private data more safely and points toward more secure, robust, and trustworthy healthcare systems. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 41367]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Maria Town, President and CEO, American Association of People with Disabilities, discusses Medicaid. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41454]

Sexual health is an important part of healthy aging and offers a useful way to understand how well-being can change without disappearing in later life. Annie L. Nguyen, Ph.D., M.P.H., UC San Diego, explains how sexual interest, sexual activity, and sexual satisfaction follow different patterns as people age. Nguyen examines research on health status, relationship context, and gender differences, then shares findings from a UC San Diego SAGE study of adults age 60 and older. Her results show that sexual interest declines across later decades and differs by sex, while sexual satisfaction remains more stable across age groups. This work helps explain why sexual health in later life should not be reduced to a single measure and points toward more open, nonjudgmental conversations about well-being, intimacy, and aging. Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41107]

Youth mental health is increasingly shaped by how teens use AI for emotional support outside clinical care. Cinnamon Bloss, Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how growing use of conversational AI reflects major gaps in care and changing preferences for support. Bloss examines the appeal of AI's accessibility and nonjudgmental responses, concerns about replacing human connection, and the need to monitor harms, helping clarify how AI fits into a fast-changing mental health landscape. She also points to the importance of listening to young people, improving AI credibility and transparency, expanding safety and privacy discussions in schools, and preparing clinicians and online safety workers for this new reality. This work helps explain why teens are turning to AI and points toward a more thoughtful balance between safety and access to mental health support. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41366]