MIND&BODY
FOOD
Tips on treating plantar fas ciitis » PAGE 8
Parents of UCSF student serve up home-style Punjabi meals » PAGE 9
Ouch! Why Does My Foot Hurt?
IN THIS ISSUE
Great Indian Food
News Briefs » PAGE 3 Journal Club » PAGE 5 Puzzles » PAGE 11
Synapse The UCSF Student Newspaper
Thursday, October 10, 2013
synapse.ucsf.edu
NEWS
Volume 58, Number 5
NEWS
Life of a Grad Student
The "Life of a Grad Student" series offers a glimpse into what it means to be a graduate student at UCSF. Grad students from all walks of life and all stages of their education have agreed to anonymously, candidly speak with us. They’ve shared stories about the difficulties they’ve encountered as well as the great passions driving their work.
Entering Class of 2009: Fifth Year
IPE Kick-Off Event Emphasizes Teamwork
By Angela Castanieto Associate Editor
STUDENT 1 FEMALE MISSION BAY
T
ell me about your experience starting out at UCSF. I never originally intended on going to UCSF. I had actually wanted to go over to the East Coast, but I distinctly remember my interview weekend, and after being here, I just couldn’t imagine going anywhere else. The facilities were amazing; the people were so smart, so friendly, so approachable. Nothing else could compare. You’re going into your fifth year now. How has this attitude changed, or is it the same? Somebody told me when I started that graduate school isn’t a test of intelligence; it’s a test of endurance. I didn’t really understand that in my first year, or even in my third year. But as you hit the fourth year, you realize that everybody comes in with approximately the same level of raw intelligence, but the con-
GRAD STUDENT 1 » PAGE 6
STUDENT 2 FEMALE PARNASSUS
T
ell me about your general experience at UCSF. It’s been really positive. The people here really make the place, not just the PIs, but the other students. I really like the people I’ve been working with, and the experience has generally been really positive. I would say it’s varied throughout the years in terms of the positivity, and there have been a lot of highs and lows, but I would say overall it’s been a positive experience. What were those highs and lows, specifically in lab? It was hard for me in the beginning because — not having a research background with a very independent project — coming here was a big transition, and the project in the lab that I ended up joining wasn’t a readymade project.
GRAD STUDENT 2 » PAGE 6
Silent Disco at Saunders Court
Photo by Paul Day Silent disco is a unique way of experiencing music. On Oct. 4, guests in Saunders Court wore wireless headphones and transformed the space into a high-energy dance performance.
Photo by Susan Merrell/UCSF Students from the various professional schools split up in teams and began working on their group vision for UCSF at the IPE kick-off event held Monday, Oct. 7 in the Millberry Union Gym.
By Steven Chin Managing Editor
U
CSF held its Interprofessional Education kick-off event this week, with Kevin Grumbach, MD and Chair of Family and Community Medicine in the School of Medicine, setting the tone for the day — that high-quality health care requires collaboration. “You took a very individualistic road to get here,” said Grumbach. “But that won’t suffice here. You’re going to find out that you will need to work with a team.” Furthermore, Grumbach reminded the students: “You are not going to be the most important player in the health care system. Who is the most important player? The patient is.” More than 475 first-year professional students attended the Interprofessional Education (IPE) kick-off event, held Monday, October 7, in the Millberry Union Gym, where they were introduced to the concepts and importance of interprofessional education. This year's event included a keynote address from San Francisco Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White, who focused on the importance of teamwork during the Asiana crash at the San Francisco International Airport in July. She advised the first-year students to become “a contributing member of the team,” and urged the students to be willing to take risks. “There is nothing wrong with thinking outside the box, if it is done
in a respectful way,” said Hayes-White. After the presentations, the students gathered in small group breakout sessions, where they met for the first time the IPE group they will collaborate with throughout the year on various projects. “It was such an enlightening experience to meet and work with such a diverse group,” said first-year nursing student Sarah Kahn. “I didn't realize there were so many subspecialties in nursing. Also, one of the group members had been working in the insurance industry and brought a different perspective to the group,” added Leanne Thai, a first-year pharmacy student. The students will participate in the yearlong IPE program — now in its eighth year — with the goal of ensuring that students and trainees in health professions build skills that will ultimately increase patient safety, reduce errors, maximize efficiencies and improve the quality of care. "It was great to meet other students from other schools,” said Jonathan Chiu, a first-year physical therapy student. "I learned that every profession does a lot more than I realized." The IPE Executive Committee includes Tina Brock, School of Pharmacy; Catherine Lucey and Kimberly Topp, School of Medicine; Judy Martin-Holland, School of Nursing; and Dorothy Perry, School of Dentistry. For additional information about IPE, please visit interprofessional.ucsf.edu.
Angela Broad, a first-year medical student, contributed to this report.
2 | October 10, 2013 | synapse.ucsf.edu
EVENTS LAUREL HEIGHTS HEALTH DISPARITIES SYMPOSIUM VII
Friday, Oct. 11, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Laurel Heights Conference Center, Laurel Heights This symposium offers an opportunity to highlight faculty research on health disparities. UCSF has a multitude of researchers with national and international reputations in disparities research, and the symposium provides a forum to showcase the breadth and depth of this work. Space is limited. Please RSVP. Registration: http://bit. ly/15277Mb
MISSION BAY EVENTS J-1 ORIENTATION
Thursday, Oct. 10, noon-2 p.m., Rock Hall, 102, Mission Bay J-1 immigration regulations mandate that all new J-1 visa holders who have started their appointment at UCSF must attend one orientation. At orientation, you will learn about travelling during your program, employment and reimbursement policies, extending your program, and other helpful information about living in San Francisco and doing research at UCSF. Bring your passport and your DS-2019.
DEPRESSION ACROSS THE LIFESPAN Thursday, Oct. 10, 6:30-9:15 p.m., Genentech Hall, Byers Auditorium, Mission Bay The Department of Psychiatry, the UCSF Depression Center and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention are partnering to present “Depression Across the Lifespan,” an evening of programming designed to raise public awareness of depressive disorders. Featuring a keynote speech by actor, comedian, radio talk show host, playwright and author, Brian Copeland.
SYNAPSE NEWSPAPER
Friday, Oct. 11, noon-1 p.m., Graduate Division Conference Room, third floor, Mission Bay Community Center Synapse is looking for Mission Bay and Parnassus writers, bloggers, photographers and designers. Come to the lunch meeting, share your story ideas and enjoy a free lunch. For details, email synapse@ucsf.edu.
MUSLIM FRIDAY PRAYER SERVICES
Friday, Oct.11, 1-2 p.m., Helen Diller, 160, Mission Bay The Muslim Community at UCSF holds regular Friday prayer services (Jum’a) for the UCSF Muslim community every week. Join your fellow brothers and sisters for prayer, lunch and socializing. All are welcome.
MISSION BAY RIPS
Friday, Oct. 11, 4-6 p.m., Genentech Hall Auditorium, Mission Bay Research In Progress Seminar (RIPS) is a seminar series at which one student and one postdoc present their current research. Talks are 15 minutes in length and are preceded by a 20-minute social. Snacks and beverages are provided.
PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT
Saturday, Oct. 12, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Student Resource Center, Mission Bay Looking for a fun way to explore the city and win awesome prizes along the way? Sign up for the Student Life Photo Scavenger Hunt!
In teams of four to six people, you will be given a set of “photo clues.” Take photos following each clue and receive points. All participants will receive a UCSF T-shirt and lunch. The team with the most points wins UCSF sweatshirts for every member. Bonus points will be given to teams with members from multiple professional schools/graduate programs. Postdocs are also welcome.http:// bit.ly/GzzyIf
MISSION BAY FARMERS’ MARKET
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Gene Friend Way Plaza, Mission Bay Shop healthy, shop fresh, shop Californiagrown at the UCSF Farmers’ Market every Wednesday (rain or shine). Sponsor: Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association.
PARNASSUS EVENTS GAY BACK IN THE DAY
Thursday, Oct. 10, 4-6 p.m., Nursing Mezzanine, Parnassus Come join the LGBT Resource Center for light refreshments and a panel discussion, profiling various UCSF members and their experiences of coming out during decades past. The panel discussion will begin at 5 p.m.
SIMMER COOKING CLASS
Thursday, Oct. 10, 5-7 p.m., RSVP for location details, Parnassus Student Health and Counseling offers a cooking workshop at the Parnassus campus. Join Student Health’s dietitian, Alison Boden, in an interactive cooking class with easy and healthy recipes. Students prepare (and eat) the dishes during class. RSVP required, as limited seats are available. RSVP to nutrition@ucsf.edu.
PET THE PUP AT DOG DAY AFTERNOON
Friday, Oct. 11, noon-2 p.m., Millberry Union, 111W, Parnassus There will be a pup every Friday in October, so don’t miss out. Take time to de-stress with Lady Jenna, a Cockapoo from Animal Assisted Therapy of SPCA. Enjoy some tea or hot chocolate, and leave your stress at the door. Sponsor: Student Life. Part of Mental Health Awareness Week.
TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE SYMPOSIUM
Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., School of Nursing N-225, Parnassus A traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) educational conference organized by the California Certified Acupuncturists Association (CCAA), Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Henan Traditional Chinese Medicine Association and Henan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The lectures will be conducted in Mandarin and can be simultaneously interpreted into English if arrangements are made in advance. A limited number of spaces will be available for free (first come, first served) for UCSF faculty, students or staff (with current UCSF ID). To register, email ccaaus@gmail.com. Co-sponsor: Asian Health Institute.
MUSLIM FRIDAY PRAYER SERVICES
Friday, Oct. 11, 1:30-2 p.m., Medical Sciences, 180, Parnassus The Muslim Community at UCSF holds regular Friday prayer services (Jum’a) for the UCSF Muslim community every week. Join your fellow brothers and sisters for prayer, lunch and socializing. All are welcome.
ENTREPRENEURS CLUB: CAN DIGITAL HEALTH SOLVE MEDICAL COMMUNICATIONS?
Monday, Oct. 14, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Medical Sciences, 214, Parnassus Communications among medical providers and with patients represent an opportunity for startups. Learn from two speakers who are trying to solve this pain point, which causes medical errors and reduced quality of care. Michael Chiu is CEO of Medigram, a startup with a secure group-messaging application designed to improve communication and care coordination in the hospital environment. Raman Khanna, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at UCSF, is trying to transform clinical communication with his platform, which streamlines communications between providers and their teams and could replace paging. https:// octobereclub.eventbrite.com/.
PARNASSUS FARMERS’ MARKET
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., ACC, 400 Parnassus Ave. Shop the Farmers’ Markets on Wednesdays to pick up locally grown produce and more. Sponsor: Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association.
SYNAPSE NEWSPAPER
Wednesday, Oct. 16, noon-1 p.m., MU 123W, Parnassus Synapse is looking for Mission Bay and Parnassus writers, bloggers, photographers and designers. Come to the lunch meeting, share your story ideas and enjoy a free lunch. For more information, email synapse@ucsf. edu.
FLAVORFUL FALL NUTRITION SERIES: NUTRITION FOR WOMEN
Wednesday, Oct. 16, noon-1 p.m., Nursing, 527, Parnassus Student Health and Counseling offers this one-time workshop at the Parnassus campus. Take the first steps toward achieving a healthy weight, presented by Student Health’s Dietitian. Learn more about nutrition, exercise and mindful eating in this one-hour overview discussion. Free lunch for students who RSVP to nutrition@ucsf.edu.
MUSIC IN THE LIBRARY FEATURES CHRISTOPHER GERARD
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 12 noon-1 p.m., Lange Reading Room, fifth floor, UCSF Library, Parnassus Enjoy an intimate, heartfelt performance with a touch of humor and warmth by singer/ songwriter Christopher Gerard. Gerard has 15 years of experience performing in the Christopher Gerard Band, garnering a following of devoted listeners throughout Central New York. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear this relaxing concert. There will be free chair massages and light refreshments (first come, first served). This free concert is sponsored by the Sarah B. Childs Fund.
UNWIND: STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR WOMEN
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2-3 p.m., Medical Science, 171, Parnassus Take a breather! Student Health & Counseling offers this stress management workshop designed for women who are UCSF students. Learn helpful techniques to relax and manage your stress from Felicia de la Garza Mercer, Ph.D. This workshop will focus on “Self-Talk and Rational Thinking.” Free lunch for students who RSVP: felicia. mercer@ucsf.edu.
SUCCESS SERIES
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 5-6 p.m., Nursing, 217, Parnassus Get organized and develop your professional self. The Success Series offers monthly workshops aimed at enhancing your
professional experience and academic well-being at UCSF. Topics include improving focus, managing stress and test anxiety, conflict resolution and respecting differences. Every third Wednesday of the month at Parnassus. Free meal with RSVP: felicia.mercer@ucsf.edu.
OFF-CAMPUS CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: OTHERWORLDLY NIGHTLIFE
Thursday, Oct.10, 6-10 p.m., Cal Academy, Golden Gate Park Plunge into the mysteries of our Universe (and beyond) with a cocktail in hand during a cosmic edition of NightLife. Catch a special screening of sci-fi classic E.T. the Extraterrestrial in African Hall. Make your own alien plush toys with the help of GoGo Craft and have your alien alter ego illustrated by a cartoonist. http://bit.ly/NightLifeTickets, http://bit.ly/CLSDiscounts.
OFF THE GRID: UPPER HAIGHT
Thursday, Oct. 11, 5-9 p.m., Stanyan and Waller Streets, SF Off the Grid is a roaming mobile food extravaganza that travels to different locations daily to serve delicious food, with a free side of amazing music, craft and soul.
FRIDAY NIGHTS AT THE DE YOUNG
Friday, Oct. 11, 5-8.45 p.m., de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park Friday Nights at the de Young offer a variety of interdisciplinary arts programs, including live music, dance performances, film screenings, panel discussions, lectures, artist demonstrations, special performances, hands-on art activities and more. Programs are free and open to the public, but do not include admission to the museum’s galleries.
PIER 39’S 35TH ANNIVERSARY
Saturday, Oct. 12, 6 p.m., Pier 39, SF Pier 39 wants to thank you for making the last 35 years extraordinary. Join them every Saturday night in October for great music, fun and fireworks. Fireworks begin at 8:30 p.m. Special acoustic performances by upand-coming artists will immediately follow the fireworks at the Hard Rock Café. http:// bit.ly/154mnHT
ANNOUNCEMENTS FREE SYNAPSE CLASSIFIEDS
Did you know UCSF students and staff can post online classified ads for FREE on the Synapse website? All you need is an @ucsf. edu email account. Try it out! synapse.ucsf. edu/classifieds.
UPCOMING UCSF SHUTTLE CHANGES
Effective Oct. 14, all passengers will be required to be seated while riding the shuttles. Additionally, 25 to 50 percent more shuttles have been added during peak times on major routes. Please visit the Campus Life Services website for a complete list of changes and revised shuttle schedules, including changes to shuttle stops. campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/ transportation/services/shuttles.
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE VIDEO COMPETITION
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is sponsoring a competition for the most effective and creative video showing how biomedical and biological research is funded in the United States and how the results of federally funded research benefit Americans. Ideas for submission include, but are not limited to: interviews, animation and music/dance
synapse.ucsf.edu | October 10, 2013 | 3 videos. The grand prize winner will receive $5,000. Video submissions will be accepted starting Oct. 1 through Nov. 30. The winner will be announced in February 2014. http:// www.faseb.org/About-FASEB/ScientificContests/Stand-Up-for-Science/AboutSUFS.aspx.
TAHOE CABIN RESERVATIONS
Spend some time with friends/family at CLS Outdoor Program’s winter cabin in Truckee (North Lake Tahoe). The cabin sleeps up to 15 people. Conveniently located near North Tahoe’s best ski areas, this wintery home comes fully equipped. Reservations begin for students on Oct. 16 at both Parnassus and Mission Bay Fitness & Recreation Centers at 8 a.m. First come, first served. In person reservations only. Please call (415) 476-2078 for more details.
SEP RECRUITING FOR 20132014 CLASSROOM PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS
The Science and Health Education Partnership (SEP) offers opportunities for UCSF volunteers to work with San Francisco K-12 teachers to co-plan and co-teach a series of four investigative science lessons in the teachers’ classrooms during the spring semester. The commitment is only 20 hours, flexibly scheduled from January to May. Professional students, graduate students,
OPINION
Letter to the Editor PHYSICAL THERAPISTS
D
ear Editor, In reference to “Let's Get Physical ... Therapy, Get Fit with Andrew” (September 26), we would like to second this recognition of a new avenue for physical therapists. As experts in musculoskeletal assessment and treatment, physical therapists have long been a provider of choice for rehabilitation after injury or surgery, and for patients with neurological or genetic impairments to achieve full functional potential. However, prior insurance regulations did not provide coverage for improvements beyond “adequate” for daily life, making it
postdocs, research scientists and faculty are all eligible to apply. Applications will be available online starting Friday, Oct. 4 on SEP’s website: ucsf.edu/sep.
REGISTER TO VOTE ON NOV. 5
Registration cards must be received by Oct. 21 if you are to be eligible to vote in an upcoming election. You may also register to vote online. http://bit.ly/12HkQ5d.
UCSF GLOBAL HEALTH SCIENCES INFORMATION SESSION
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 12 noon-1 p.m. Room C-130, Parnassus UCSF Global Health Sciences will hold an information session about its master’s degree Program. The session will be led by Madhavi Dandu, MD, MPH, and Kim Baltzell, RN, PhD, MS, Program Directors and Medical School alumnae. Light refreshments will be served.
CLASSIFIEDS RETAIL STORES FOR RENT
Sunset SF retail stores for rent: $3,200/ month each, 2132 & 2134 Taraval Street, easy transportation, 1 bedroom, kitchen, full bath in the back of store. (415) 665-4567. difficult for physical therapists to provide preventative and maintenance care for the healthy, functionally mobile population. New regulations in Medicare allowing for reimbursement of maintenance care, a focus on preventative health to reduce later complications, and the classification of obesity as a disease by the American Medical Association, all point to a shift in health care culture. Physical therapists licensed in exercise prescription and modification for all populations are exploring how to best use our talents in this exciting new realm, where fitness is understood as a marker of underlying health and quality of life. This may take the form of individual sessions in a variety of settings, tailored group classes or community-level fitness classes, as Ms. Felsen notes.
Synapse
Elisabeth Friedeman, DPT3 Annemarie Everett, DPT3
500 Parnassus Ave. Millberry Union 108W San Francisco, CA 94143 tel: (415) 476-2211 | fax: (415) 502-4537 synapse@ucsf.edu
The UCSF Student Newspaper synapse.ucsf.edu STAFF
Yi Lu | EDITOR Jenny Qi | EXECUTIVE EDITOR Alexandra Greer | SCIENCE EDITOR Angela Castanieto | ASSOCIATE EDITOR Steven Chin | MANAGING EDITOR Victoria Elliott | COPY EDITOR
About
Synapse is the UCSF student-run weekly newspaper, which runs on Thursdays during the academic year and monthly during the summer. Synapse seeks to serve as a forum for the campus community. Articles and columns represent the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the Board of Publications or the University of California.
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Announcements and letters should be submitted six days before publication. All submissions can be either emailed or mailed. All material is subject to editing. Letters to the Editor must be signed by the author.
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Advertising
Paid advertisements do not necessarily reflect the views of Synapse. Synapse and its editorial board reserve the right to decline advertisements promoting false or misleading claims, known health risks, or content deemed by the editors to be antithetical to the interests of UCSF students or the UCSF community. Synapse does not accept advertisements from tobacco or alcohol manufacturers, or sexually oriented personal ads. Synapse reserves the right to run any ad with a disclaimer.
NEWS
It Takes Two: Academia and the Drug Industry This is the second article in a three-part series about partnerships between the pharmaceutical industry and academia.
By Benjamin L. Cohn Staff Writer
T
he number of new drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration per billion dollars spent by the drug industry on research and development has halved approximately every nine years since 1950. Larger pharmaceuticals now spend at least $5 billion per chemical entity. Such low rates of return on investment have caused companies to seek creative ways to bolster the efficiency of drug candidate development. One strategy that is gaining momentum is partnerships with academic medical centers. The Bay Area chapter of the Oxbridge Biotech Roundtable (OBR-Bay) recently invited local bio-entrepreneurship leaders to UCSF to participate in a discussion of the conditions leading to the increase in academic-industry partnerships, current models for collaboration and projections for the future. The panel consisted of Jeffrey Bluestone, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost of UCSF; Corey Goodman, co-founder and Managing Partner of the investment firm venBio; Douglas Crawford, Associate Director of the QB3 Institute for Quantitative Bioscience; and Daria Mochly-Rosen, Director of the SPARK translational science program at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. Models for Partnership All panelists agreed that there is still no gold standard for industry-academia partnership, and that there are almost as many different models for collaboration as there are collaborations. One common aspect, however, seems to be direct personal interaction between scientists, who may even work side by side in the same laboratory. For example, a recent partnership between UCSF and Pfizer was established to develop small-molecule drug candidates, building upon a previous agreement to explore large-molecule candidates (“biologics”). Here, investigators will pitch project proposals to a steering committee composed of both Pfizer and UCSF scientists, and personnel from both groups will work on these projects together in the laboratory. While some partnerships are focused on development of a single drug candidate, others may take a broader approach to screen compound or molecule libraries for drug targets. For example, the French pharmaceutical Sanofi recently began work with synthetic biologists at the University of California Berkeley to develop a cheaper, more dependable synthetic alternative to the anti-malarial compound artemisinin, which has historically been derived from the sweet wormwood plant. In another recent Sanofi collaboration, the company partnered with the UCSF Diabetes Center to screen UCSF’s siRNA library for molecules that affect insulin production, as well as compounds from Sanofi’s proprietary libraries that may regulate them. Scientists from both Sanofi and UCSF with expertise in target validation and the underlying biology will serve as advisors to these studies.
Benjamin Cohn is a fourth-year BMS student at UCSF/Gladstone Institutes and a correspondent for the Oxbridge-Bay chapter.
NEWS BRIEFS Government Shutdown’s Impact on UCSF Depends on Duration
The federal government closure that started October 1 is expected to have minimal impact on the University of California, San Francisco — providing that it does not last for more than a few weeks. If the closure is protracted, UCSF and the 10-campus University of California system are expected to face a number of challenges. UCSF leaders in research and education say there should be limited impact in the short term, given previous allocations for Medicaid and existing funds for current research and education. However, since most of the 52 percent of employees who have been furloughed at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services fall under the department’s grantmaking and “employee-intensive” agencies, biomedical research and new clinical trials are expected to be delayed if the closure continues.
Laptop Computer Theft at UCSF UC San Francisco is alerting some of its patients to the theft of an employee’s laptop computer that held patient information. The security of protected health information at UCSF is of utmost importance. While there is no evidence at this time that there has been any attempted access or attempted use of the information involved, UCSF is responding with the highest level of caution and concern. Notification letters have been sent to the 3,541 patients whose information was contained on the laptop. The California Department of Public Health and the California Attorney General have been alerted, and federal authorities have been notified. Additionally, a special phone line has been established to address questions from patients who receive the notification letters, and credit monitoring is being offered to some individuals. UCSF learned on September 10 that an unencrypted personal laptop computer was stolen the previous day from the locked vehicle of a UCSF Medical Center employee who works in the Division of Transplantation. Upon discovering the theft, the employee promptly alerted San Francisco police, UCSF police and UCSF officials. The laptop housed files containing personal and health information for some UCSF patients, including their name and medical record number.
Diversity Awards Honors Efforts to Build Inclusive Campus UC San Francisco is kicking off Diversity Month by announcing this year’s honorees for the Chancellor Diversity Awards, which recognizes faculty members, staff and postdocs/ students/trainees who are making the health sciences university a more inclusive place. The awards ceremony, to be held on Wednesday, October 16, will be the first at which the University has honored all those working toward diversity in a single celebration. The honorees include: • Advancement of Women: Elizabeth Ozer, PhD, and Cynthia Lynch Leathers; • Disability Service: Clarissa Kripke, MD; • LGBT Leadership: Stephen M. Rosenthal, MD, Larry Lariosa, MA, MFT, and Maher Abdel-Sattar; and • Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Diversity: Robert M. Rodriguez, MD, Eula Ramroop, MsHA, and Tacara Soones, MD. Beyond just celebrating the many different cultures and perspectives at UCSF, Diversity Month events aim to bring people together under the theme of “Building Community at UCSF.”
4 | October 10, 2013 | synapse.ucsf.edu
NEWS
Two Flu Vaccines Available This Year By Sam Lee Staff Writer
I
nfluenza affects 95 million Americans each year, resulting in 30 million doctors’ visits and 200,000 hospitalizations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you haven’t already gotten your flu shot by now, you should hurry and become compliant with the University’s flu vaccine policy — or face having to wear the mask of shame as you work with patients. What you probably did not know about the flu vaccines this year is that two different ones have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and World Health Organization (WHO). In prior years, epidemiologists have anticipated the three most likely strains of flu viruses that can impact populations and passed on that information to vaccine manufacturers. However, this year, the FDA and the WHO recommend guarding against four strains, in the form of a “quadrivalent vaccine” that protects against two Type A and two Type B viruses. This year’s trivalent vaccine offers protection against the Type A California H1N1-like virus, the Type A Victoria H3N2-like virus and the Type B Massachusetts 2/2012 virus. The quadrivalent vaccine guards against those three, plus the Type B Brisbane 60/2008-like virus, according to the FDA. At UCSF, the vaccines being administered will only be the trivalent kind, given the higher cost of the quadrivalent vaccine, according to UCSF Occupational Health.
Photo by Sam Lee/MEPN1 Flu vaccines ready to be administered at a UCSF drop-in flu shot clinic.
Either vaccine will meet the University’s requirement for vaccination, but if you are working in other clinical sites, you may want to be aware of the availability of the different varieties of flu vaccines that you could be administering to patients. Another thing you might notice this year is the availability of several new flu vaccine options, including a micro-needle vaccine for people over age 65 and an egg-free version for people with allergies. The egg-free vaccine, Flublok, was approved in January by the FDA, for use by adults under the age of 50 who are allergic to egg albumen. It does not use an inactive version of the flu virus in its ingredients, nor is it chicken egg-based. From 1976 to 2007, the number of flu-associated deaths in the United States in any one flu season fluctuated to as high as 49,000 in 2003-04.
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Sam Lee is a first-year student in the Master’s Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN).
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OPINION
A Medical Student Joins the “The Hunger Challenge”
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By Dawn Maxey Staff Writer
T
o raise awareness about a U.S. House of Representatives bill proposing to cut funding for food stamps, the San Francisco and Marin Food Banks sponsored “The Hunger Challenge” (sffoodbank.org/hunger-challenge-2013) in September. The challenge: Participants were asked to live for five days on a standard allotment from the food bank and the dollar equivalent of food stamps — $4.50 per day. As a medical student, I often work with patients at San Francisco General Hospital who struggle to make ends meet. I decided to participate in the challenge to experience at first hand what it’s like to eat as one of my low-income patients. However, as someone both used to budgeting and in a relative position of privilege, I gave myself an extra rule: Turn down free food in any form. Those living on food stamps don’t have the same opportunities I do. So the week began. I made dinner at home nightly and rationed half my portion for lunch the next day. I took salt and pepper packets from the local fast food restaurant for added spice. In the middle of the week, I broke down and splurged on a package of butter, because my attempt at frying an egg in oil from my can of chili had failed miserably. Throughout the week, I found many aspects of my experience were shared by other participants. Yes, eating out or buying coffee became unimaginable. Yes, I was dramatically limited by my food choices. I accepted these changes and even expected them. But what I was far more interested in were the consequences of my self-imposed extra rule; the number of times in which food was offered to me as a person in a position of privilege. In five days, I counted 27 unique instances in which someone offered me food or invited me to share a meal. I turned down snacks offered by friends and dinners made by roommates. I said no to physicians’ offers of hot chocolate, cake and bags of garden produce. During one particularly memorable lunch, I had to steel myself to eat my bland meal of onions, potatoes and fruit while a classmate dug into a free hospital spread of crispy taco bowls piled high with beans, rice, barbecued chicken, guacamole, salsa, sour cream and cheese. As a medical student, someone afforded dozens of opportunities because of my level of education and people I know, food is continually in surplus. Limiting the dollars I can spend on food makes my life harder, but not unmanageable. Reducing the same amount for the disadvantaged, however, has a disproportionate impact, because their social resources are so much more limited. The House bill passed 217-210 on September 19, slashing billions of dollars from the food stamp program. This means that about four million people will lose food stamp benefits, and many others will have theirs reduced. Health and poverty are intimately intertwined, and if we continue to take away this safety net, the only thing we’ll save is our frustration about why the poor remain poor.
Dawn Maxey is a third-year medical student.
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synapse.ucsf.edu | October 10, 2013 | 5
Introducing the CLARIOstar
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UCSF JOURNAL CLUB Recent research presented by UCSF students By Jenny Qi Executive Editor
Any Wavelength. Any Bandwidth. Any Assay.
Wound Healing/Ions Presentation: “Adding In-salt to Injury: Tissue Damage Detection by Osmotic Surveillance” Presenter: Carlos Rojo (second-year BMS student) Paper: Enyedi B., et al. “Tissue damage detection by osmotic surveillance.” Nat Cell Biol. 2013 Sep;15(9):1123-30.
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enerally, even we non-physicians know how to dress a small wound. Wash the area with soap and water, apply an antibiotic treatment cream and add a bandage if the area is likely to be exposed to dirt. Sometimes you get a cut or sore that just won’t heal, and then you realize that we don’t actually understand everything about the process of wounds healing. On a cellular level, it’s understood that wounds are breaches in the defensive epithelial cell layer. Some of these cells die and send out death signals to immune cells, which leads to an inflammatory response. Eventually, if all goes well, the barrier is as good as new again. But the timing doesn’t quite make sense. The immune cells can get to the wound pretty quickly, so is there another method of wound detection? The authors thought about it and noted that there is normally a chemical gradient across barriers that can be disrupted by a wound. They then asked if cells can detect these ionic changes after an injury. The authors nicked the tails of zebrafish, which are great models for this process, in part because of their near-transparent flesh. Then they put the fish either in hypotonic or isotonic solutions. There was a greater wound-healing response in the hypotonic solution. In other words, when the ion concentrations were different inside and outside the wound, there was more efficient immune activation. This suggests that the differences in ion concentrations allowed for wound detection. More work is needed to understand this mechanism, but this understanding can potentially help us improve how we treat wounds.
Jenny Qi is a third-year BMS student who blogs at bmscartoons.tumblr.com.
6 | October 10, 2013 | synapse.ucsf.edu
NEWS
ASUC and GSA Collaboration Goes Beyond Welcoming New Students
Grad Student 1
Grad Student 2
fidence and the general understanding take time. I think it’s a comforting concept — that everybody can do it. You just have to put in the time and the effort, and you’ll get there.
It was one I had to come up with myself, and that was extremely difficult. But, I think it incurred a lot of personal growth, so I’m actually really happy that it worked out that way. I didn’t have to just pick up someone else’s project, and I really appreciate that. Also I became much more aggressive with my own project. My PI was so busy with other commitments that (those of us in lab) started talking amongst ourselves, and that actually helped a lot. The grad student who’s more senior than me is probably going to graduate soon and — probably because we kind of all just took things into our own hands — it’s actually been positive.
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How has your lab experience been — is it different from what you expected? Not really. I worked in a lab as an undergraduate, and my PI was pretty hands-off, so they let me do a lot of my own research, and I got to train graduates as an undergraduate. It was a pretty small lab. So the lab experience I’m getting now as a graduate student, obviously it’s more intense, but it isn’t a far stretch from what I anticipated things to be like — you come into work, you put in your hours, you do your experiments, you do your timelines. My PI is really wonderful. I can’t complain. She’s hands-off, but if you need her, she’s there for you. Photo by Nicole LaMantia/DS2
Student leaders dish up clam chowder to welcome new students at the ASUC & GSA Welcome Picnic.
By Jenny Qi Executive Editor
I
t was a beautiful day, even at Parnassus. When I arrived on campus, I was greeted by the sight of bright-eyed first-year students lounging on the sunny steps with Boudin bread bowls and Ghirardelli chocolates. “Definitely a fun way to relax before that first exam!” said Ruth Yan, a first-year dental student on her way to a review session. More than 100 students from the Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Medicine and the Graduate Division gathered in Saunders Court on Saturday afternoon for the “Taste of San Francisco” event, co-hosted by the Associated Students of UCSF (ASUC) and the Graduate Students Association (GSA). “As ASUC and GSA are working together to merge the two student governments by the
end of the academic year, the event demonstrates just the beginning of a fruitful collaboration,” said Austin Walker, ASUC President and second-year medical student. “The two student governments will cohost several events throughout the year in an effort to build networks across all programs as we work towards greater collaboration,” said GSA President and Nursing MEPN student Joseph Foy. Walker and Foy were referring to a plan to combine ASUC, representing the professional students, and GSA, representing the graduate students, to form a United Student Government (USG) to represent all UCSF students. If Saturday’s event was any indication of the success of such an endeavor, a united front may be just what UCSF students need.
Jenny Qi is a third-year BMS student.
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Do you think this experience has positively affected your future? I think so. I think it’s going to be very helpful in the future. This lab is not a handIt’s also a matter of figuring out what style holding type of lab. I think that if someone of lab you like during rotations. needed a lot of hand-holding, I would not adYes, (rotations) are like a dating experi- vise them to join this lab, but for me, it was a ence. You have to see if you like this level of good choice. hands on or that level of hands on. But honI think that’s a big part of choosing the estly, I feel like a good portion of that is luck. right lab — it has to be a good fit for you. The interaction with the PI as a rotation stu- Someone can tell you that the PI’s awful or dent is completely different from the interac- the PI’s great, but you don’t really know until tion with the PI as a graduate student. you’re in that situation, and that’s exactly what I found. You have to find the time to balance Were And somethere all of these aspects of your life that t imes t hings any obchange, and you are important — your social life, your have to adapt stacles you had scientific development, keeping up to that situato overcome? I think the with new and relevant literature, your tion, otherwise most important you’re not gothing to under- personal time — because if you’re ing to make it. stand is that life missing any one of those aspects of occurs regard- your life, everything is going to start Are there any less of you being obstacles that a graduate stu- to go downhill.” you have had dent or not, and to overcome? the science still needs to happen. Grant funding — either as a PI or a stuYou have to find the time to balance all of dent — is difficult to get. I applied for the these aspects of your life that are important — National Science Foundation twice and didn’t your social life, your scientific development, get it. I applied for a ton of large grants and keeping up with new and relevant literature, didn’t get any. I only got small grants. your personal time — because if you’re missing any one of those aspects of your life, ev- What would you tell other students to do erything is going to start to go downhill. about this? I think it’s really important to keep some Don’t get discouraged — apply to everysort of work/life balance. We’re at a point in thing you want to. In your first or second our lives where we’re totally financially inde- year, they’re all open for you. Once you pass pendent, and there are a lot of challenges that quals, you can only apply for mostly small come with that — big grown-up problems grants, but you just really shouldn’t lose hope. that we’re having to deal with for the first time I got a (relatively) big grant in my second while getting our PhD. or third year, and the last conference I went to I think it’s really important to make sure was completely funded. You just have to keep you can stay on top of it and be open and trying — and it benefits not only your lab, but honest with your faculty mentor. also you, if you’re going into academia. There was one point in my graduate caThat’s basically what your life is going to reer where there was a lot of social and per- be, so you’d better get used to it, and get used sonal stuff going on, and I told her, “Look, I’m to rejection. Most people don’t have a 100% dealing with X, Y and Z right now, and I’m success rate. doing the best I can in lab, but as soon as it’s done I’ll be good to go,” and she was totally What advice do you have for other stusupportive of that, so I think that’s important. dents? If you make it to quals, then that’s when Any other advice you want to give? the real test [begins]. Some people think Everybody wants to graduate. Nobody that once you’re done with quals, your plan is comes in thinking they want to do eight years there, and you’re ready, but I think the third, — even six years — of graduate school. But the fourth and the fifth years are the hardest what I’ve started to notice as I get closer and — those interim years. closer to graduating and I’ve had these disThat’s when you start having to think cussions with my PI on how to graduate in about going to conferences, having to presa timely manner, it’s not so much how much ent, and it’s a lot more stressful than before. you’ve learned, but it’s how well you’ve man- The expectations are a lot higher — especially aged your time and overcome challenges. after you’re done with the fourth year. People It’s helpful to learn a lot about your field, expect a lot more out of you. But if you can but what’s really important is the ability to get past that, then you’re going to make it out overcome challenges, which is what makes in the end. a graduate program so great — you can take one skill set and apply it to everything. And the only way you get better at that is if you Angela Castanieto is a fifth-year Tetrad student. fail a lot.
“
synapse.ucsf.edu | October 10, 2013 | 7
NEWS
Student-Run Podcast Takes Science to the Airwaves By Benjamin L. Cohn Staff Writer
C
onnecting with the public has always been a challenge for scientists, especially when they are trying to motivate the next generation. Osama (Sama) Ahmed, a fifth-year UCSF neuroscience student, thinks he may have found the answer in Internet radio. Since 2009, Ahmed has been quietly recording and producing Carry the One Radio (CTOR), a monthly podcast in which he and other graduate students interview investigators about their research and their motivations for pursuing careers in science. New shows are now featured on the Synapse website. Recently, Ahmed has expanded his team to take the show to the next level, and last week, launched a Patreon (patreon.com/carrytheone) fund-raising drive. I sat down with him to learn more about how Carry the One Radio operates and where the show is headed.
Synapse: Can you tell me about your original motivation for starting Carry the One Radio? Sama Ahmed: Initially, I wanted a way to expose students from under-represented backgrounds to how scientists think about their own work. But as the show progressed, I broadened my scope. The problem is, the public rarely has access to new scientific discoveries, since most top-tier journals place their publications behind pay walls. Occasionally, a hot story is picked up by scientific news outlets and makes it into the mainstream press, but these articles don’t give you a good understanding of what it means to be a scientist or to do science. Our show tries to bring out the personal side of research by letting scientists speak directly to the public. Synapse: Where did the name come from? Sama Ahmed: The original inspiration for the name comes from a George Watsky poem about climate change called “Carry
NEWS
Swimming the Bay to Raise Funds to Fight Children’s Cancer
the One” (youtube.com/watch?v=lElMMsrIz8). I liked the mathematical reference, and the idea of passing the tradition of science to the next generation by carrying young students to a new level of understanding. To that end, one of our top priorities is to reach under-served high school students directly. Synapse: How are you connecting with high school students? Sama Ahmed: Some of our team members are interested in direct science-outreach and are using our interviews as inspiration for lesson plans that teachers can use in the classroom. These will be made freely available online. Our first lesson was field-tested recently in a Los Angeles classroom. It is based on our interview with Dr. Cori Bargmann (Rockefeller University), who studies neuromodulators and how they control an animal’s behavior. In the lesson, students take on the role of a brain cell that is transmitting a message to a neighboring brain cell. Other students act as neuromodulators that positively or negatively affect the message’s transmission. The students learn some biology and, more importantly, they design experiments that test how brain cells might communicate. Our hope is to make Carry the One Radio a beacon for science education, one that serves as both a teaching tool and a bridge between scientists and the public. Synapse: What is your workflow like? How do interviewees get chosen and how does the team work together to produce a show? Sama Ahmed: I’m a neuroscience student, so initially, many of our guests were neuro-
Osama Ahmed, a fifth-year neuroscience graduate student, founded Carry the One Radio in 2009.
biologists whose work I was personally interested in. As our team grew, however, we expanded into other disciplines. We currently have three regular hosts responsible for scheduling and conducting the interviews. The hosts are supported by a team of volunteers who help edit audio, manage the website and keep track of listener statistics, as well as create additional content, such as lesson plans and online material. Synapse: What happens next? How much do you hope to grow CTOR? Sama Ahmed: We want to do more than just one-on-one interviews, and we have recently started producing more topic-driven pieces in the style of This American Life or Radiolab. Our workflow for these spin-off episodes is very different. We start with an idea that we want to
PODCAST » PAGE 9
Photo by Linda Cam
Dr. Robert Goldsby, director of UCSF’s Childhood Cancer Program, greets some the Olympians who paid a visit to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital on Friday, Oct. 4.
By Steven Chin Managing Editor
M
ore than 250 swimmers, including several former Olympians, multiple cancer survivors and UCSF faculty members, braved the chilly waters and powerful currents of San Francisco Bay this weekend to raise funds for children’s cancer programs. The eighth annual “Swim Across America San Francisco to Fight Cancer” was held on Saturday, October 5, and included 1.5-mile and 0.5-mile swims from the Golden Gate Bridge to Crissy Field. The event is the main funding source for UCSF’s Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program, which helps pediatric cancer survivors maintain physical and emotional health for the rest of their lives — through clinical care, education and research. The event also provides funds for Oakland Children’s Hospital. “When I was born, a cancer was almost a uniformly fatal diagnosis,” said Dr. Robert Goldsby, director of UCSF’s Childhood Cancer Program. “Now, we cure about 75 percent of children with cancer, a remarkable accomplishment. However, that is not enough.” On the Friday before the swim, eight Olympians met with young patients at UCSF
Benioff Children’s Hospital, where the patients shared their Olympic-themed art projects, and participated in a game of Olympic trivia. The Olympians who participated included Heather Petri (2012), Ericka Lorenz (2004), Craig Beardsley (1980), Mike Bruner (1976, 1980), Sean Nolan (2000), Susan Heon Preston (1984), Allison Wagner (1996), Mike Kiedel (2000) and Dana Kirk (2004). The Swim Across America San Francisco Bay swim started in 2006, and is part of the Swim Across America (SAA) national organization (swimacrossamerica.org), which has been raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events since 1987. The San Francisco event has grown substantially over the last eight years, raising close to $500,000 this year, compared to $60,000 in its first year, according to Goldsby, who has participated as a swimmer six times. “Today, I swam for the 27 children treated at UCSF who died this year because of cancer,” said Goldsby. “The intensity of the pain suffered by families is indescribable. I have witnessed this pain far too often and wish this never happened to anybody. We need to do better, and together we can make a difference.”
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*Certain requirements and eligibility criteria apply. ©2013. Paid for by the United States Army. All rights reserved. Information subject to change.
8 | October 10, 2013 | synapse.ucsf.edu
MIND&BODY
Let’s Get Physical...Therapy Ouch! Why Does My Foot Hurt? If you have any questions about muscles and bones, musculoskeletal issues you’ve had or would like to know more about, or anything under the sun related to physical therapy, send them to Ilka.Felsen@ucsf.edu.
By Ilka Felsen Staff Writer
A
re your first steps in the morning painful? Does your heel hurt? If so, you may have plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the plantar fascia on the underside of the foot. You are not alone! Plantar fasciitis is the most common foot pathology treated by health care providers, and 10 percent of Americans get plantar fasciitis over a lifetime. There is no known cause of plantar fasciitis, but long days on your feet, high BMI (body mass index), decreased ankle dorsiflexion (raising the foot upwards), flat feet and rapid increases in activity contribute to this condition. Plantar fasciitis occurs in both athletes and non-athletes, and is characterized by microscopic tears in the plantar fascia from too much strain over time. The plantar fascia is an important supporter of the bones and arch of the foot during weight bearing, and is basically a thick band of connective tissue that runs from the calcaneus (heel bone) to the metatarsals (long bones in the foot) and toes. When you flex your toes upward, it tenses into a palpable band under your arch. How do I know if I have plantar fasciitis? Most commonly, this painful condition presents with the following symptoms: heel pain or pain in the mid-portion of your arch; gradual onset of heel pain; heel pain with the first steps after waking or inactivity; or heel pain that worsens throughout the day.
bottle, and roll your arch on the bottle for 20 minutes. Repeat up to five times a day. You can also roll your arch on a tennis ball to decrease adhesions in the plantar fascia. Stretching: Fibers of the plantar fascia are continuous with the gastrocnemius (calf muscle), and stretching your calves or plantar fascia may reduce pain. •• Calf stretch: To stretch your upper calves, place just the soles of your feet on a stair and let your heels drop towards the floor. To stretch your lower calves, bend your knees slightly in this position. Hold both positions for 30 seconds each, and repeat three times. •• Plantar fascia stretch: Flex your foot upwards, grab your big toe and pull it towards you. You should feel a stretch along the underside of your foot. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat three times as well. Stretch before you get out of bed in the morning or take your first steps.
Is there a treatment for plantar fasciitis? Yes! Eighty percent of individuals treated for plantar fasciitis are symptom-free within 12 months. Treatment, however, is not always an easy, quick fix. Treatment options range from steroid injections, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), iontophoresis (a modality in which dexamethasone is electrically driven into the skin), ankle joint mobilizations, taping, stretching and orthotics. So what can I do? Ice: Icing can help slow the inflammatory process, and provide pain relief. Freeze a water
Foot mechanics: Look at your feet in the mirror when you stand, and have a friend watch you walk. If your feet are rolling inward at all during standing and walking, your arches need some extra support. Consider placing an arch support or cushion in your shoes, and note that running shoes should be replaced every six months to a year. Exercise: Warm up before exercise, and gradually increase your exercise intensity. Runners are at risk when increasing their mileage too quickly, which doesn’t allow the plantar fascia to build fibers accordingly. You can supplement your workouts with the following exercises: Toe curls: Place your foot on a towel and curl your toes. This will strengthen the intrinsic muscles of your foot to support your arch.
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Heel raises: Stand next to a counter and raise your heels off the floor. Do this 20 times on both feet, and 20 times on each foot. Footwear: Avoid those sandals! Wear shoes with an arch support, so that your plantar fascia does not have to bear as much stress from holding up your body. Sleeping: Make sure that your feet are not pointed downwards when you sleep. Maintain your foot in a neutral position (foot oriented 90 degrees to your lower leg), with your toes pointed slightly upwards. To allow for this, keep your sheets and blankets loose at the end of your bed. For more information: See the following clinical practice guidelines: “Heel Pain—Plantar Fasciitis,” published by the Journal of Orthopedic Sports Physical Therapy. (J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2008:38(4):A1-A18. doi:10.2519/jospt.2008.0302)
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Ilka Felsen is a second-year physical therapy student and enjoys watching people walk, palpating joints and muscles and talking about physical therapy.
FOOD
synapse.ucsf.edu | October 10, 2013 | 9
Great Indian Food is Great, and Cheap By Dawn Maxey Staff Writer
E
very so often on Haight Street, passers-by will suddenly exclaim, “Hey, great Indian food!” They’re not clairvoyant taste-tasters, capable of sensing the quality of food by mere proximity, but rather pointing out the new establishment at Shrader and Haight Streets, the self-proclaimed Great Indian Food. Kallie and Bobby Dhillon, parents of a first-year student at UCSF, opened the restaurant earlier this summer. Their mission is to provide home-cooked Punjabi style meals at reasonable prices. In addition to rotating daily specials, Great Indian Food offers a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items such as Aloo Gobi, Punjabi Chole, Chicken Masala and Chili Chicken. Fourth-year medical student Emily Watkins and I decided to see what they had to offer. The restaurant Great Indian Food isn’t a formal sit-down type place with waiters. Instead, customers are able to order right away and see their 1793 Haight St. food being assembled in front of them. (between Cole St. & Shrader St.) There are four types of combination meals that San Francisco come with varying amounts of food. The lowest-priced (415) 750-1313 options include the Kola, a rice bowl, and the Roti Roli, Hours Monday-Sunday 11 a.m.your choice of filling rolled inside of a roti — a tradi11 p.m. tional Indian flatbread — and served with raitha, pickled onions and chutney. At $3.99, these options seem like a good deal for a quick pick-me-up or light meal. At the other end, the Combo Thali ($9.99) offers your choice of two items, rice, raitha, salad, chutney and roti. This seemed like more food than we could handle, however, so Emily and I both opted for the Mini Thali ($7.99), which is like the Combo Thali minus the raitha, salad and chutney. Attempting to cover as much territory as possible, we tried the Chili Chicken, Palkh Pork, Aloo Gobi and a paneer dish, in addition to sampling a couple of mango lassis. We liked the paneer dish, which featured a pleasant buttery tomato sauce and a generous portion of paneer cheese.
Photo by Dawn Maxey/MS3
The Mini Thali offers a choice of two vegetarian or meat items, rice and a freshly baked roti.
The Palkh Pork, however, was by far our favorite. The pork was fall-apart tender and the spinach sauce was flavorful. We had never had an Indian dish that featured pork and spinach before, and Kallie assured us that it was a unique find. In fact, her husband, Bobby, created the dish for their children when they were small, and because it was such a hit, figured he should offer it in his restaurant. We were also big fans of the Mango Lassi, which is created with yogurt made fresh in-house every day, resulting in a thick, tangy, and refreshing drink. The portion is also very generous — you get a whopping 16-ounce drink for $2.99, and both Emily and I felt stuffed at the end of our meal. In addition to the combos featured on the menu, we discovered that there are a few items you can get that aren’t listed. A salty lassi can be custom-made, and you can also substitute the rice on the thali plate for salad if carbo-loading isn’t your goal for the night. You can also get 8-ounce, 16-ounce or 24-ounce containers of the a la carte item of your choice. At a mere $6.99 for the 24-ounce size, this seems like the best deal of all. Combined with a stack of made-to-order rotis, dinner ordered in can be had at a bargain price. As well as offering food, beer, wine and great customer service, Great Indian Food boasts an enormous screen that broadcasts major sporting events, including the NFL, MLB and NBA. It also offers free Wi-Fi for those looking to work in a change-of-pace environment. If you needed another incentive to try the place out, Great Indian Food offers a discount to UCSF students — check it out and support a great local business.
Dawn Maxey is a third-year medical student.
Podcast
» FROM PAGE 7
tackle (e.g. a recent discovery, a current event or a story about scientists) and we gather hours of audio material, sounds and field interviews before putting it all together into a complete story. We’re very excited to be growing in this direction and to be learning about producing radio stories in the process. We’re all volunteers, but expanding our project will take additional funds to buy better recording equipment, web hosting and more. To support the work, we’re running a Patreon campaign, which is a crowd-funding mechanism similar to Kickstarter, but better suited for projects like our monthly podcast. Our patrons can pledge to donate a small amount each time we release an episode. Besides earning different material rewards, patrons can pitch ideas for new spinoff epi-
Share your adventures in the Synapse TRAVEL issue
Be a part of Synapse's annual TRAVEL issue. We welcome the UCSF community to share stories, photographs and anecdotes about places recently visited, both far and near. Send your submissions to Synapse@ucsf.edu. Deadline is Oct. 20. Photo by Guillaume Desachy
sodes, participate in the production process and see how things work behind the scenes. Synapse: After producing more than 40 interviews, which one’s your favorite? Sama Ahmed: One of my favorites would have to be Ed Chapman, who is a seriously cool guy. We started off talking about his work on how brain cells communicate, which quickly led to a conversation on using Botox in medicine. I ended up having dinner with him and learning that we share similar tastes in documentaries. For me, the interactions I have with our guests before and after the interview are actually the most rewarding parts. Want to support Carry the One Radio? Donate to the show’s Patreon fundraiser (patreon.com/carrytheone).
Benjamin L. Cohn is a fourth-year BMS student.
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10 | October 10, 2013 | synapse.ucsf.edu
ARTS&CULTURE
Guitarist Xuefei Yang Kicks Off New Season at SFJAZZ Center By Sam Lee Staff Writer
X
uefei Yang, the first guitarist in China to enter a music school and launch an international professional career, is a rarity among the mostly male-dominated greats such as Andres Segovia, Paco de Lucía and Julian Bream. The classical guitarist kicked off the 34th season of San Francisco Performances with her fifth appearance at the newly built SFJAZZ Center. This was also the first of 25 performances that UCSF students can experience with the SF Performances Culture Card this year. The SFJAZZ Center is the first stand-alone venue in the country built specifically for jazz, and there really isn’t a bad seat in the house, except for maybe the single row of seats in the corner behind the stage. Even performing solo, Yang easily captivated the audience with her control and finesse of the classical guitar.
Yang performed works by Benjamin Britten, Franz Schubert, John Dowland, J.S Bach, William Walton and Roland Dyens. Yang admitted that Britten’s “Nocturnal after John Dowland,” Opus 70, is a difficult piece to play and an even more difficult piece of music for an audience to listen to, because of its dreamlike theme and often dissonant chording. Dyens’ “Libra Sonatina” stood out the most, because it was written in response to his traumatic experience with heart bypass surgery. If Yang’s guitar was plugged into a 12lead EKG, one can almost visualize the Afib pattern from the first movement, “India.” The second movement, Largo, delves into the post-surgery stupor of an anesthetized Dyens and has a soothing and calm theme. Fuoco, the final movement of the work and the conclusion of the official repertoire, represented the air of excitement and positive outlook on life that comes after a successful surgery and recovery.
ARTS&CULTURE
Faculty and Staff Art Show Turns 25
Photo by Neil Muir Xuefei Yang performed at the SFJAZZ Center on Saturday, Oct. 5.
Yang did the obligatory triple bow and departure from the stage and didn’t quite get a standing ovation. She then realized that none of the evening’s repertoire had included any Spanish songs, so she graced the audience with one that finally earned her a standing ovation. This was my first time using the SF Performances Culture Card and my first time at a classical guitar performance. The $25 cost of the card was literally half the price of this single performance alone, and can be purchased all season long. There are still 24 other performances that Culture Card holders can experience at various other venues throughout the next year. If you want to impress a date with your passion (or just fake your passion) for performing arts but don’t want to break the bank, this is definitely a student-friendly and cost-effective way to do that! For more information about the Culture Card or a full calendar of upcoming events visit www.sfperformances.org/culturecard.
Sam Lee is a first-year student in the Master’s Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN).
Poetry at Parnassus L5/S1 If you’d been told a song could squeeze itself free of my burst symmetry and unroll a lefthanded fire describing a perfect S from hip to heel, the shape of water and of all that’s soft scratched internal and relentless by a voice like a nail testing its point against a reflex, I’d have given up long before I’d recovered from those bone-splitting Hymns. I’d have torn my own window in the heavens and screamed the secrets. — LJ Moore/UCSF staff
Building Community at UCSF Photo by Mason Tran/DS4 The opening night reception of the Visual Arts Club's 25th Anniversary Faculty and Staff Art Show.
By T. Booth Haley Staff Writer
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n a foggy Monday last week, the City Lights Room was transformed once again into a magical space for art at the UCSF 25th Anniversary Faculty and Staff Art show and sale. The misty void outside the window provided the perfect backdrop for the paintings, photographs and mobiles, and Brazilian jazz. This annual gala is the signature event of the Visual Arts Club at UCSF, according to president Sharon Freeman. “It’s really amazing to see the talent of our co-workers; it’s amazing to see what they’re doing in their non-work hours. There are so many talented people here.” The art show featured works by 65 UCSF faculty, staff, residents and fellows. Some pieces were not for sale, and of those that were, the prices ranged from $30 to $4,000. This year was the 25th annual event, so a certain pride and excitement marked the gathering. A collection of flyers from many of the past events was also on display. “Our mission is aligned with the campus’ mission to create a culture of inclusion and pride. It’s especially important to create a community around visual art and give people an opportunity to express their non-work identity,” Freeman said. The event was sponsored by Campus Life Services Arts and Events, headed by the affable
Pilar Deer, the program coordinator, who gave a brief welcoming speech and also had some photography of her own on display. The food and wine certainly raised the party to a more elegant level, and the soundscape was greatly enhanced by the tantalizing acoustic melodies of Grupo Falso Baiano, a Brazilian jazz quartet that plays every year for the show. Historically, this was the Visual Arts Club’s only happening each year, but in the last few years, it has been organizing other events to fill out the calendar, including a subsidized trip to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. “Twenty-five people came out on a Saturday,” said Freeman. “We had a docent tour, it was a lot of fun.” The next event will be the Pop-up Art Sale in December, location and time to be announced, which will feature usable art like jewelry and other smaller objects. “I would love to see more art events on campus,” said Baharak Amanzadeh, a professor at the dental school, who had a painting on display, a pastel/acrylic piece depicting birds in a green forest. “My ideal is to have the walls of the school become a space for art exhibition featuring the art of rotating artists. It would improve the patient experience as well.” For more information, visit facebook. com/pages/Visual-Arts-Club-at-UCSF.
T. Booth Haley is a fourth-year dental student.
National Diversity Day Celebration
2013 Chancellor Diversity Awards
“City Lights, City Nights”, UCSF LGBTQ Student Mixer
5th Annual Partnerships Celebration
“Cracking the Codes: The Systems of Racial Inequity” with Dr. Shakti Butler
“Life Theatre” Sexual Harassment Prevention Training
October 4, 2013 11:30am-1:30pm Saunders Court, Parnassus Campus
October 4, 2013 5:30pm-7:30pm Mission Bay Community Center
October 8, 2013 5:30-8pm Cole Hall Auditorium, Parnassus Campus
FG2C Welcome (Back) Dinner
October 9, 2013 5pm-6:30pm Millberry Union Conference Center, City Lights Room
October 16, 2013 Noon-2pm Millberry Union Gymnasium
October 17, 2013 5pm-7pm Cardiovascular Research Institute, Mission Bay
October 21, 2013 10am-Noon Toland Hall
Multicultural Resource Center One Year Anniversary Celebration October 24, 2013 Noon-4pm Millberry Union 123W
“No Dumb Questions” “Gay Back in the Day” NCOD/LGBT History Month Celebration
October 30, 2013 Noon-1pm SFGH Carr Auditorium
October 10, 2013 4pm-6pm Parnassus Campus, N-225
Health Disparities Research Symposium VII
October 11, 2013 8am-1pm Laurel Heights Conference Center
For more information: diversity.ucsf.edu facebook.com/UcsfDiversity
UCSF Diversity and Outreach I 3333 California Street, S-16, San Francisco, CA 94118 I 415-476-7700
synapse.ucsf.edu | October 10, 2013 | 11
PUZZLES
Piled Higher and Deeper by Jorge Cham
The Weekly Crossword
ACROSS 1 Mixed-nuts nut 7 Help in a heist 11 Before, in verse 14 Where charity begins 15 Wild swine 16 One with a habit 17 Disco light 18 Like some chocolates 20 Hotel offering 21 How butterflies move, often 22 Anastrophe 24 Marvin and Majors 27 Clairvoyant 28 Beau for Barbie 29 Brother's place 31 Bone-dry 32 Carb-binding protein 33 Teaching staff 37 Milli Vanilli ruse 38 Well-recognized 39 Copious amount 40 Sword holder 41 Daily grind 42 Shell game, for one 46 Marjoram or mint 47 Brazilian music 49 One way to watch or hold 52 Amazon, e.g. 53 Type of rug 55 Show remorse 56 Pigeon sound 57 Preserve, as ham 58 Einstein's "E"
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by Margie E. Burke 5
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Grad School Illustrated
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36 Not up to it 37 Wretched 39 Streetcar of yore 42 SWAT team member 43 Clandestine 44 Repay, in a way 45 Joan of Arc, notably 47 Billy goat feature 48 Sports venue 50 Storybook start 51 Macho guy 53 Mo. for opals 54 Caviar source 55 Yank's foe
Edited by Margie E. Burke
title: "Dare to ask" - originally published 9/20/2013
by Jillian Varonin
Copyright 2013 by The Puzzle Syndicate
59 Royal flush card 11 Petition 60 Swirling current 12 Parisian street 61 Cashless deal 13 Cut short 19 Excavation finds DOWN 21 Raging hot 1 Black currant 23 Artist's liqueur rendering 2 Make aware 25 Julia's 3 Impose penance Brockovich 4 Noisy owl 26 Harmony, briefly Week of 10/7/13 - 10/13/13 leftover 5 Fire 29 Spark 6 Like Willie Winkie producers 7 Mother-of-pearl 30 Workout units source 31 Buttonhole, e.g. 8 Deck hand's 33 "Barney Miller" boss spin-off 9 Big Apple river 34 Need liniment 10 Fox follower 35 Force
Difficulty : Easy
www.phdcomics.com
HOW TO SOLVE:
(Answer appears elsewhere in this issue)
Jillian Varonin is a fourth-year BMS student.
HUMOR
Dental School Student Caught Mooching Food from BMS Lunch Meeting By Staff Humorist
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irst-year dental student Rachel McConnel was allegedly found selfishly mooching pizza from the Biomedical Sciences Journal Club last Thursday. When asked why she did it, McConnel offered no less than seven poorly crafted arguments to defend her actions, ranging from, “I thought this was a lunch UCSF was providing to everyone,” to “I don’t see a sign here saying ‘Dental students can’t take pizza,’ so I figured, why not?” McConnel was not alone in her alleged gluttonous thievery. Larry Tyre, a local notorious for attending every seminar advertised as providing free food, initially denied taking pizza, even as he crammed a slice into the pocket of his jeans.
When a program administrator asked him to put the pizza back or at least attend the seminar, Larry threatened to sue for harassment. The BMS program and others like it have tried several strategies in the past to prevent such shameless parasites from walking away with food meant for audience members. To date, the most effective solution has been to dissuade unwanted mouths by providing faux pizza made from Kraft Singles and cardboard. However, this plan was ultimately thwarted when ravenous moochers found that crushed red pepper complemented the bitter taste of cardboard quite well. Program administrators are now in talks with the UCSF legal department over the possibility of installing identity devices that can track the whereabouts of local moochers 24/7.
Copyright 2013 by The Puzzle Syndicate
SPORTS
Fantasy Football Injury Report: Danny Amendola’s Return Solution to Sudoku
and Ilka Felsen By Dennis Zheng Writers Staff astSunday’s Week 5 matchup with the Bengals brought plenty of bad news for the New England Patriots, who suffered their first loss of the season. But quarter (along with fantasy Tom Brady back football players every had atleast one reason torejoice: Wide receiver Danny where) Amendola to the field. has returned
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After missing three games due to injury, Amendola had a team-high four catches for 55 yards in the Patriots’ 13-6 defeat at Cincinnati. The 5-foot, 11-inch dynamo led New England with nine targets, while seeing only 38 of 63 snaps. The oft-injured Amendola had been sidelined for the past three weeks with a torn groin muscle: the adductor longus, which attaches from the back of the femur to the pubic ramus and pubic symphysis. While not as well known as the hamstrings or anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), it is crucial in pulling the leg inwards into adduction and stabilizing the pelvis. The former Ram, who was signed to a hefty contract this off-season, left both his real-life and fantasy owners in a bind after suffering the injury in Week 1, but has since made a relatively swift recovery. Amendola’s rupture of the adductor longus tendon fell on the ugly end of the muscle tear spectrum, which typically requires six weeks of taking it easy and watching reruns of Friends. Rehabilitation begins with three to five days of com-
Photo credit: patriots.com Danny Amendola suffered a ruptured adductor longus tendon, causing him to miss three games.
plete rest, while icing and wrapping the limb to keep inflammation at bay. Players may then begin moving their leg into flexion, extension, adduction and moderate abduction (no crazy splits just yet!). More challenging exercises, such as squats and lateral lunges, are slowly added as long as there is no pain. In order to return the muscle to its prior level of function, a rehabbing athlete must strengthen the adductor to lessen the likelihood of a repeat tear and normalize the strength of other muscles for body balance.
Occasionally, players opt for surgery, in which the adductor longus is anchored back onto the pubic bone. Post-operative recovery takes longer, and interestingly, the results are not necessarily better. In a 2009 study, Schlegel et al. found that NFL players who received non-operative treatment for an adductor tendon rupture required six weeks to return to preinjury status, compared to 12 weeks for players who received operations. Furthermore, non-operative treatment provided an equal likelihood of return to play and avoided surgical complications. Though the Schlegel study did not explore long-term outcomes for non-operative athletes, Amendola could end up just fine. Electromyography (EMG) studies have shown that adductor longus activity is minimal during sprinting and other highlevel motions. It is, however, important for hip stabilization. So when he’s making a cut over the middle, Amendola’s hips could still be doing the samba in a different direction, which would put him at risk for other biomechanical problems. As for this season, fantasy owners should start Amendola with confidence. His first game back was marred by a lackluster Brady performance in the rain, but the quarterback will be sure to look his No. 1 receiver’s way early and often this week at home against the Saints.
Ilka Felsen is a second-year physical therapy student. Dennis Zheng is a first-year medical student.
12 | October 10, 2013 | synapse.ucsf.edu
Solutions
Solution to Sudoku
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Parnassus: Millberry Union I Level, Parnassus, 415.661.0199 Open Daily 7:00 am-10:00 pm Mission Bay: 550-B Gene Friend Way, Mission Bay, 415.865.0423 Mon-Fri 7:00 am-9:30 pm / Sat-Sun 8:00 am-9:00 pm
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You’re Funding Fun! A portion of every dollar you spend at campus retail vendors helps support Arts & Events at UCSF
You’re Funding Fun! A portion of every dollar you spend at campus retail vendors helps support Arts & Events at UCSF