Synapse (3.5.2015) by Synapse

EXIT, IN PURSUIT OF SCIENCE STUDENT LIFE

A not-so-nutty theory The need for speed Might an Israeli treat called Bamba hold the secret to the eradication of peanut allergies during early childhood? » PAGE 9

IN THIS ISSUE

Mentoring programs help postdoc and graduate women with busy lives make time for some expert professional advice. » PAGE 11

Calendar » PAGE 2 Career » PAGE 4 Puzzles » PAGE 8 Comics » BACK PAGE

Synapse Newspaper The UCSF Student

synapse.ucsf.edu | Thursday, March 5, 2015 | Volume 59, Number 10

Proposed rent increase sparks uproar over campus housing Bryne Ulmschneider Staff Writer

An announcement from campus Housing Services that it would increase rental rates by one-third for long-term residents had some ready to protest last week before school administrators ultimately vetoed the recommendation. The increase was one of several proposed solutions to housing shortages being recommended by the Housing Advisory Committee. It would have increased rates by 34 percent for students who already had resided in campus housing for more than two years. With median rental prices of $3,500, San Francisco currently ranks as the country’s most expensive place to live—higher than New York City’s median of $2,800— according to data collected by the rental website Live Lovely. Demand for student housing has increased in proportion with the dramatic rent increases San Francisco has seen since 2011. There is typically a waitlist of more than 700 people, and each year the housing lottery can accommodate only about 30 percent of demand. Although UCSF’s long-term plans are to build more housing by 2019, that won’t help current students. “The committee was asked to propose recommendations that would help create spaces for new students,” said Jennifer Rosko, director of student involvement and programs, and a member of the HAC. “In the absence of additional inventory, the committee brainstormed ways in which to create inventory which gave new UCSF affiliates a place to land and some time to learn more about the city so that when their UCSF housing lease is up, they would have a better understanding of where to look for housing outside the university.”

News Brief » UCSF schools lead in NIH Biomedical Research Funds

Recently released figures from National Institutes of Health showed that UCSF’s schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy last year topped the nation in federal biomedical research fundin for the second consecutive year. The graduate-level university as a whole received the most of any public recipient ($547 million) and second most overall in

Revisions to RCO alcohol policy require staff presence By Bryne Ulmschneider and Taylor LaFlam

UCSF Housing Services A rent hike from Housing Services would have increased rates to higher than some area neighborhoods.

Before housing term limits were shortened to two years in 2013, tenants had the option of staying in housing indefinitely, according to Housing Services. Those who were already established in housing under the old rules were subsequently grandfathered in to allow them to remain in their current situation for five and six years. These tenants now occupy more than a third of the available housing inventory, making fewer units available to other members of the UCSF community. HAC’s recommendation to raise rents on longtime residents by 34 percent would have brought the price of a one-bedroom unit from $2,309 to $3,002. That price funds after Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore ($619 million). In an email to UCSF staff, Chancellor Sam Hawgood wrote, “These highly competitive funds … through contracts and grants combined, reflect the caliber of research on our campus. Through the four schools and the Graduate Division, these funds enable UCSF scientists to advance understanding of the fundamental workings of biology and the underlying causes

is still lower than market rate in nearby neighborhoods like SOMA, where the median price for a 1-BR is $3,650, but higher than further afield neighborhoods like Glen Park where the median price for a 1-BR is $2,700. “I was shocked when I saw the email,” said Kevin Lance, a fifth-year graduate student in the bioengineering program who has lived in housing since 2011. Tenants who would have paid the higher rates quickly organized to protest what they deemed unfair rental increases. This included a flurry of letters to the senior

HOUSING » PAGE 10

UCSF Media Services

of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, and others, and work to develop improved therapies for them.”

The casual consumption of alcoholic beverages at a student event will no longer be quite so casual. The Student Life office, which oversees approval of all registered campus organization (RCO) events, announced last week that campus alcohol policy will require that a UCSF staff or faculty member be present at any on-campus student government or RCO event serving alcohol. The change was made at the advice of Risk Management and Insurance Services. “We’re trying to balance the needs of our student body as well as their safety,” said Jennifer Rosko, the director of student involvement and programs in the Student Life office. “These policies were put in place to protect students.” Rosko addressed the changes at Monday’s meeting of the Graduate and Professional Student Association. The general feeling among the student GPSA representatives was mixed. While students weren’t excited about having to go through additional hoops to serve alcohol, the student government said it was committed to working closely with Student Life to ensure compliance with the new regulations. “Although I completely understand the reasons why these policies were put in place—and there’s no pushback on the part of the medical students—this policy does feel somewhat infantilizing,” said Sidney Le, a second-year medical student and co-president of the Associated Students of the School of Medicine. In addition to ensuring UCSF staff or faculty are present, event organizers must submit an alcohol request via the OrgSync portal on the UCSF website. Prior to submitting the event request, RCOs must secure event liability coverage that includes a provision that covers the use of alcohol.

ALCOHOL » PAGE 10

MORE: For a student perspective on

problems with the new alcohol policy, see the opinion piece on Page 4.

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Calendar » Events MUSLIM FRIDAY PRAYER SERVICES

Friday, March 6 1:30-2 p.m., Helen Diller, 160, Mission Bay 1-1:30 p.m., Medical Sciences,157, Parnassus The Muslim Community at UCSF holds regular Friday prayer services (Jum’a) every week. Come join your fellow brothers and sisters for prayer and socializing.

SYNAPSE MISSION BAY MEETING

Friday, March 6, 3-4 p.m., Mission Hall, The Hub, Mission Bay Synapse is looking for writers, editors, bloggers, photographers and artists on the Mission Bay campus. Come share your story ideas—or tell us what you’re interested in writing about and we’ll help you with the rest.

CODE BLACK SCREENING

Friday, March 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Health Sciences West, 300, Parnassus Amidst real life-and-death situations, Dr. Ryan McGarry follows a dedicated team of charismatic, young doctors-in-training as they wrestle openly with both their ideals and with the realities of saving lives in a complex and overburdened system. Code Black offers a tense, doctor’s-eye view, right into the heart of the healthcare debate – bringing us face to face with America’s only 24/7 safety net.

CAMPUS EVANGELISTIC FELLOWSHIP Friday, March 6, 7-10:30 p.m., Nursing, 517, Parnassus Join the Campus Evangelistic Fellowship for their weekly meeting with Bible study, hymn singing, and fellowship.

EDT: MODERN STRENGTHENING

Sunday, March 8, 6-7 p.m., Millberry Union Gym, Studio 2, Parnassus Join the Experimental Dance Theatre for a modern dance-inspired workout.

ASGD MONTHLY MEETING

Monday, March 9, 6-7 p.m., Genentech Hall, N114, Mission Bay The Associated Students of the Graduate Division (ASGD) invites all graduate students interested in learning about various issues affecting students at UCSF to come to the ASGD monthly meeting. It is a great opportunity to meet other students in other PhD and Masters programs. No RSVP is necessary.

EMERGENCY MEDICINE INTEREST GROUP RESEARCH SEMINAR

Tuesday, March 10, noon-1 p.m., Health Sciences West, 303, Parnassus Dr. Rodriguez will discuss summer research opportunities in emergency medicine. A panel of physicians will be present for Q&A. Food provide while supplies last.

FACULTY RESEARCH LECTURE

Tuesday, March 10, 3:30 p.m. Cole Hall, Parnassus 58th Annual Academic Senate Faculty Research Lecture – Basic Science, Susan J. Fisher, PhD: “Mad About Science: Placentas, Stem Cells, and Mass Spectra”

CARRY THE ONE RADIO WORKSHOP

Tuesday, March 10, 5 -7 p.m., Mission Hall, 1107, Mission Bay Carry the One Radio is a UCSF-based science podcast. The show is run completely by a dedicated group of young scientists who want to share their enthusiasm for research with a wider audience. The group meets weekly to workshop various pieces. All are welcome, no radio experience needed.

SYNAPSE PARNASSUS MEETING

Wednesday, March 11, noon-1 p.m., Millberry Union, 111w , Parnassus Synapse is looking for writers, editors,

bloggers, photographers and artists. Come to the lunchtime meeting and share your story ideas—or tell us what you’re interested in writing about and we’ll help you with the rest.

WINTER HUMP DAY SERIES

Wednesday, March 11, noon-1 p.m., Health Sciences West, 303, Parnassus Take a mid-week break and join Student Health and Counseling for the Winter Hump Day Student Wellness Series! Topics focus on staying well throughout the year.

STUDENT VETERAN COMMUNITY RECEPTION

Wednesday, March 11, 5-7 p.m., City Lights, Millberry Union Conference Center, Parnassus The Student Veterans at UCSF invite all veterans and military services members to an evening reception to mingle and network. Open to UCSF students, staff, faculty, postdocs, and trainees! RSVP.

UCSF RUN CLUB

Wednesday, March 11, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Millberry Union Central Desk, Parnassus Please drop by and join UCSF Fit & Rec for a run! Each Wednesday night the Run Club runs various distances (3-6 miles) at a 9-11 minute per mile.

IMN MIDWEEK MEDITATION HOUR

Wednesday, March 11, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Library, CL215, Parnassus The Integrative Medicine Network invites everyone in the UCSF community to experience a weekly guided meditation. All are welcome, whether you are looking to combat day-to-day stress using meditation or you›d like to uncover subtle layers of your self by diving deep! No experience in meditation is necessary.

ENGLISH CORNER

Wednesday, March 11, 6-8:30 p.m., Nursing, 527, Parnassus English Corner is an informal Conversational English Class given as a free community service and provided on a voluntary basis by both people born and raised in the United States as well as many people who have, at one time in their lives, experienced life as a new immigrant to the U.S.

CHANCELLOR’S CONCERT SERIES

Thursday, March 12, noon-12:45 p.m., Cole Hall, Parnassus Looking for a place to study or relax between classes? CLS Arts & Events has got just what you need. The Chancellor’s Concert Series on Thursdays is a great place to set up your laptop and study or just take a break from classes while listening to classical music. Seating begins at noon. Lunch will be served while supplies last.

ORACLES TOASTMASTERS

Thursday, March 12, noon-1 p.m. Thursday, March 19, noon-1 p.m. Nursing 729, Parnassus Toastmasters empowers people to achieve their full potential. Through the Toastmasters’ meetings, people throughout the world can improve their communication and leadership skills, and find the courage to change. Be the speaker and leader you want to be! Attend one of the Toastmasters’ meetings to learn more. Meetings are open to UCSF students, faculty, staff and volunteers.

MUSIC IN THE LIBRARY

Wednesday, March 18, noon Lange Reading Room, UCSF Library, Parnassus Women’s History Month concert featuring acoustic music by Rykarda Parasol. Light refreshments (while supplies last) and chair massages (first come/first served). Event is free. campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/artsevents

Upcoming

Announcements

Friday, March 20, 4-5 p.m., Genentech Hall Auditorium, Mission Bay RIPS is a seminar series wherein 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.

Tuesday, March 10 and Friday, March 13, 3-4 p.m., RSVP for location, Parnassus Wondering if you should or if you must file a tax return? Did you get a 1098-t tax form in the mail and wonder what it means? The Financial Aid Office of UCSF is offering two basic tax workshops for UCSF students to answer these questions. Come learn what is taxable in scholarships, grants, and/or stipends, as well as other education-related tax benefits. Financial Aid Office personnel are not tax experts and cannot advise you on any other tax topics. carole.simpson@ucsf.edu

MISSION BAY RIPS

CHANCELLOR’S CONCERT SERIES

Thursday, March 26, noon-12:45 p.m., Cole Hall, Parnassus Looking for a place to study or relax between classes? CLS Arts & Events has got just what you need. The Chancellor’s Concert Series on Thursdays is a great place to set up your laptop and study or just take a break from classes while listening to classical music. Seating begins at noon. Lunch will be served while supplies last.

TAX WORKSHOP FOR STUDENTS PAID VIA STIPEND

Thursday, March 26, 3:30-5 p.m., Clinical Sciences, 130, Parnassus John Barrett, tax manager for the UC Office of the President, and a member of his staff will lead a discussion designed to help you understand your tax obligations. Barrett will be presenting tax-related information specifically for students who are paid via stipend. Barrett will also discuss general tax obligations as well as IRS and other resources you may turn to for help and information. Sponsors: Graduate Division and Postdoc Office

STUDENT LOAN MANAGEMENT Thursday April 2, 3-4 p.m., Nursing, 721, Parnassus

Friday, April 3, noon-1 p.m., Nursing, 517, Parnassus

Tuesday, April 7, noon-1 p.m., Nursing, 729, Parnassus Wondering how you will manage student loan repayment? The Financial Aid Office of UCSF is offering workshops open to any student interested in learning more about repayment options, forgiveness programs, and strategies to best manage your loan portfolio. Bring a printout of your student loans.

GPSA MONTHLY MEETING

BASIC TAX WORKSHOP

UCSF GLOBAL HEALTH SCIENCES MASTERS DEGREE

Application deadline extended to March 15. Apply now for this one-year, full-time master¹s degree program that provides students in the health sciences and allied fields with the knowledge and skills for leadership roles in global health. Our faculty are experts in their field who place a strong emphasis on quality teaching, advising, and mentoring as tools for student success. As a result, GHS graduates are competitively prepared for careers in research, policy, organizational leadership, program management and evaluation, and academia. globalhealthsciences.ucsf.edu/ education-training/master-of-science-program

2015-16 GPSA EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: Applications due Friday, March 27. Run for the 2015-16 Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA) Executive Council and gain valuable interprofessional leadership experience! All students are encouraged to run for one of the six elected positions in the GPSA elections. All candidates for an Executive Council position must be full-time (GPSA feepaying) student at UCSF and must submit a candidate application and photo online, including a statement (no more than 500 words) describing your reasons for running, qualifications for office, and goals if elected. Visit the GPSA website for details on how to submit a candidate application. gpsa.ucsf.edu/node/484

UCSA LOBBY CONFERENCE

CHANCELLOR’S LEADERSHIP FORUM ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

UCSF seeks students interested in education policy and student issues for 2015 UCSA Lobby Conference in Sacramento this May. The Student Lobby Conference is an annual event that brings UC students from across California to the State Capitol to discuss the issues affecting students, develop lobbying skills, and directly engage elected officials on student issues. Delegation travel costs will be reimbursed. Contact delegation leaders Kate Mitchell at kate.mitchell@ucsf.edu & Betsy Martin at betsy.martin@ucsf.edu for more details. ucsa.org/conferences/slc/

CASINO NIGHT 2015

Register with the First Generation Support Services Office to give you access to all of the First Generation Support Services and helps the office advocate for you! http://bit.ly/firstgenregister

Monday, April 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Genentech Hall, N-114, Mission Bay Meet your assembly members at the monthly Graduate & Professional Student Association meeting and be a part of the discussion on topics relating to student priorities. The agenda will include student representation on committees, the annual formal, the sweeten beverages tax, upcoming events and officer reports. Dinner provided with RSVP.

Tuesday, April 7, noon -1:30 p.m., Cole Hall, Parnassus Hear from senior leadership on diversity initiatives at UCSF. at the eighth annual forum The event will be livestreamed and ASL interpreters will be provided.

Thursday, April 16, 5-8 p.m., Millberry Union, Parnassus Join the Graduate & Professional Student Association for an evening filled with games, entertainment, food, drinks and a chance to win some prizes! Come ready to play black jack, poker, craps and roulette. Gambling not up your alley? Then experience a live performance from Bay Area’s Premier Top 40 Band, Ascension. Event is FREE and open to all UCSF students. Space is limited. RSVP by April 9. ucsfcasinonight2015.eventbrite.com

ARE YOU A FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT?

CLS GIANTS TICKETS

Campus Life Services Arts and Events offers great seats to San Francisco Giants games. Cheer for the orange and black by purchasing your tickets today! clsonlinestore.ucsf.edu.

CHINESE NEW YEAR FESTIVITIES

Saturday, March 7, 5:15-8 p.m., Chinatown A San Francisco tradition for more than 100 years. bit.ly/ChineseParade

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RCO of the Week »

Students, faculty and staff convene for worker rights at HPSR panel

campaign to demand equal to students and staff. treatment with their UC Highlighting the increasing use of lowcounterparts and to inwage contractors in job classifications on sourced as UC employees. campus and in the hospital in lieu of UC Chen, through an staff, Suarez said, “The Impec workers interpreter, spoke about are leading the way in the fight for dignity the struggle to live in San and respect. They are taking huge risks to Francisco on minimum stand up for themselves and their families. wage and to support his Contracting out, however, is a much bigdaughter, a student at UC ger problem.” Davis. He said that despite Pinderhughes concluded the panel by doing the same work as framing the struggle for justice for Impec the UC custodians, Impec workers as part and parcel in the effort to workers make less than develop UCSF as an anchor institution in half in hourly wages. the larger Bay Area—one that is grounded Su detailed the laborious in reducing health disparities through a work the custodians do to commitment to serving our local comensure that campus facilimunity and fulfilling the values of social ties are clean and implored justice. students and community The panel event was a powerful show members to support the of community solidarity with some of campaign of the workthe most under-recognized members of ers to be insourced as UC UCSF—the workers behind the scenes Courtesy of Health Professionals for Social Responsibility employees. who are integral to making this university Health Professionals for Social Responsibility hosted a panel featuring custodial workers and longtime UC union members They were joined in soliand hospital run. Impec workers made speaking on behalf of contracted workers whose company pays them less than half the wages of their UC counterparts. darity by Suarez, a hospital a strong call to action for students and unit service coordinator at faculty to call upon campus leadership to a health care institution, that should be By Sarah Leadem UCSF Parnassus, and Olivarez, a 25-year engage in dialogue and discussion about intolerable,” said guest speaker Howard Contributing Writer veteran custodian of Campus Life Services these critical issues. Pinderhughes, an associate professor who works in the UC Library—both of On Feb. 25, more than 100 UCSF of social and behavioral sciences in the Sarah Leadem is the Labor Organizer at the American whom are UC employees and union memstudents, faculty and staff attended the School of Nursing. “If we decide to get Federation of State, County and Municipal Employbers. Both spoke passionately and proudly “Impec Workers Panel: Voices from the serious about actually reducing health ees (AFSCME) Local 3299. It is the union that represents Invisible Backbone of Healthcare,” hosted disparities in the bay area, then one of our about the work they do to provide top-notch UCSF custodial workers. patient care and to provide quality services by the Health Professionals for Social first steps would certainly be to take care Responsibility. of the workers in our own community and The panel featured two long-term Impec on our campus.” ST. TERESA OF AVILA CATHOLIC CHURCH Group custodians, Irene Su and Jin Chen, For the last five years, UCSF has been YOUR INCLUSIVE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY along with two UC employees and union contracting out campus custodial positions members, Agnes Suarez and Patricia to Impec Group, a private company that FOR MISSION BAY, POTRERO HILL, Olivarez, who collectively highlighted the pays their employees minimum wage and DOGPATCH AND SOUTH BEACH struggles and underlying injustice of the d=oes not provide the benefits guaranminimum-wage salary with no benefits teed to UCSF custodians such as health SERVED BY THE CARMELITES provided to the contracted Impec custodiinsurance, pension benefits or a protected ans at UCSF. voice in the workplace through the union. 1490 19TH STREET (AT CONNECTICUT STREET) “We have workers at our institution who In September 2014, more than 30 of the are not being paid a living wage, and for Impec Group workers united to publicly

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Synapse is UCSF's student-run biweekly newspaper and public forum for the campus community. It runs biweekly on Thursdays during the academic year and publishes online in between print issues. 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 seven days before publication. All submissions must be e-mailed to synapse@ucsf.edu. All material is subject to editing.

Write for Synapse

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LENTEN SPEAKER FR. JACK WELCH, O. CARM.

Carmelite Educator and Author

THE CHALLENGE OF AN INTERIOR LIFE Wednesday, March 11 at 7pm (Mass at 6:15pm)

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WEEKDAY MASSES

Tuesday & Friday 8:30 am

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Career and Professional »

Opinion »

Good habits are New alcohol rule key to successful for clubs insulting career hunting to adult students By Thi Nguyen OCPD Career Advisor

As a Ph.D. career advisor, I am often asked, “What can I do right now, today, to transition into a non-academic career or find a job?” My answer is to start small—write down a list of careers you’re interested in and a list of people you know are in those careers, then start making connections. According to Charles Duhigg’s book “The Power of Habit,” we achieve our larger goals through developing key habits or routine behaviors.

The act of noting that this goal is important to you, and that you will accomplish it by the end of the week, works like a contract. It serves as a firm reminder that you made a commitment. When you are consistently writing down your well-thought out plan each week, you’ve implemented habit No. 2.

Reflect & Revise As you develop and write down your career plan, one common misstep is over-ambition;

For example, you may have the goal of running a marathon. To do this, you develop smaller goals—create a weekly training session and schedule specific times to train. Small successes increase your abilities and confidence, and set you up to believe bigger achievements are possible. So, what behaviors can graduate students or postdocs implement to succeed now? • Plan—Think about what you want to achieve. • Write it down—This functions as a contract to yourself • Reflect—Re-assess and revise your plan as needed. Plan Several Ph.D.-focused research studies have shown that structured planning of your career goals increases productivity and happiness. Planning takes prudence: determining which activities are necessary to achieve your goal versus which are expendable. For example, to explore a career in science writing, you could break up the activity into tasks such as “read articles,” “check out a book about science writing” and “find alumni from the Graduate Division Career Alumni Network to ask about science writing.” This type of step-wise planning is more manageable than, “figure out what science writers do.” Planning your career exploration or job search in small, defined tasks is a behavior you can implement today to achieve success. When you automatically start thinking about your projects and goals in achievable parts, then you’ve implemented habit No. 1.

Write it down

It helps to have a separate “career notebook,” planner or online calendar, where you can write down your specific, timebound goals and progress toward achieving them. Physically writing that you will contact your colleague to discuss their new career on Friday by 5 p.m. helps you visualize your goal and plan your week so you make time for the call.

we promise ourselves we’ll do too much, then get discouraged when we don’t meet those goals. For example, six informational interviews in a month is a lofty goal, and even if your work schedule only allows you to conduct one, you’ve still made significant progress. Reflect on what factors contributed or prevented you from completing your goals. Continually revise your plan based on what is feasible. This will set you up for a pattern of small achievements, and build your confidence that your larger goals are attainable. Also, share your plan and reflections with a trusted colleague or mentor. Their perspective will keep you accountable and help you determine if your goals are reasonable. When you’re regularly taking the time to reflect on how to accomplish your plan, you’ve implemented habit No. 3.

NIH supports you The national attitude toward career

development during graduate school and postdoctoral training is changing. At this point in our history, the federal government is encouraging graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to engage in career development and professional training. So go ahead, dedicate time to prepare for your academic or non-academic science career. Tools and resource you can use Take advantage of several online resources to help you plan your research and career goals. One specific tool we recommend is myIDP by ScienceCareers.org. This user-friendly online tool helps you with process of implementing your habits. The tool has separate sections to make career and research plans, and write down your specific goals. myIDP can even send reminders via e-mail so you can start to explore career options and develop professional skills today. Want more help? Make an appointment with an advisor at the Office of Career and Professional Development, 476-4986. We invite you to continue the conversation with us about moving your plan forward. Thi Nguyen is program director for graduate and postdoctoral career development in the Office of Career and Professional Development.

By Nicolas Strauli Contributing Writer

The UCSF administration has decided to institute a new alcohol policy for student clubs, where alcohol can be consumed during club meetings only if a faculty or staff member is present. As an organizer of a registered UCSF club, I find this policy extremely inconvenient. As a student, I find this policy offensive. Almost by definition, student clubs are geared toward student issues. As a result, it will likely be extremely difficult to persuade faculty or staff to take time out of their busy schedules to attend every meeting. One may reply, “Well you don’t have to drink alcohol to have a meeting.” This is certainly true, and student club meetings will continue without alcohol. However, to this I would reply that students work extremely hard, and it is totally reasonable that we would like to enjoy an adult beverage during socially oriented club meetings. One has only to look at faculty social functions to see the truth in this statement; how often have I despondently stared at the contents of a vending machine while the attendees of a faculty-run meeting are consuming fine wine and hors d’oeuvres down the hall? In addition, it is difficult for me to imagine how a faculty/staff person will add responsibility to a student-run event. Is the expectation that the chaperone will impose limits on alcohol consumption? Perhaps they will call the students’ parents if they misbehave? Why must we be treated as children? We allow medical and nursing students to begin performing medical procedures on patients, graduate students to operate millions of dollars worth of equipment, and yet we are not expected to consume alcohol responsibly? Furthermore, why must a faculty/staff member be treated as a chaperone? I would imagine that the last thing a faculty member would want to do with their time is to take on chaperone-like responsibilities for a group of adult students during after-hour events. Why should one group of adults be put in a place of responsibility over the actions of another group of adults? This is not in

their job description, and it is preposterous to expect that they would be any good at it. We are a school of graduate and professional students, which means that it is extremely rare for a student to be under drinking age. For myself, I could easily find a faculty/staff person who is younger than me, yet the presumption of this policy is that this individual would be more responsible than myself solely by way of their professional title. In my personal experience, I have never witnessed or heard of alcohol being abused during a student club meeting. In fact, most attendees don’t consume alcohol at all because they know that they have to go back to lab or return to their studies afterward. I attended a GSPA meeting on March 2 to listen to a representative from the office of Student Life explain the new policy and its rationale. The policy was described as being implemented “for student safety.” I find it insulting that the UCSF administration feels that its adult student population is incapable of consuming alcohol moderately and safely, just as is done at every other social function that is held on campus. The reality is that students have it tough. We work hard, survive off loans or a small stipend, and live in the most expensive city in the country. Now, despite being full adults in the eyes of the law and being trained in highly skilled practices at an elite university, we can no longer be trusted to drink alcohol responsibly during our clubs’ social functions. If this is how UCSF looks after my safety, then I would prefer them not to look after it at all. Nicolas Strauli is a fourth-year biomedical sciences Ph.D. student.

Editor’s Note: For additional coverage of the alcohol policy changes, see the front page article. Synapse welcomes all students to share their views by submitting opinion pieces.

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Science »

Renaissance woman

Kelly Weinersmith on juggling science, outreach and family By Hanna Starobinets Staff Writer Kelly Weinersmith recently completed her Ph.D. at UC Davis and is now a Huxley Fellow at Rice University in Houston, Texas. She studies the interactions between parasites, host behavior and ecosystem dynamics, using the California killifish and their brain-infecting trematode parasites as a model system. As an active science communicator, Weinersmith hosted BAH Fest last fall in conjunction with the Bay Area Science Festival and spoke at a UCSF “Women in Life Sciences” seminar. She is married to the comic artist Zach Weinersmith, creator of “Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.” (This interview has been edited and condensed) Synapse: How did you decide to go into science? Weinersmith: I thought I wanted to be a surgeon because I loved the show “ER.” I wish I had a better reason, but that’s what it was. I went to school as pre-med and then decided that I didn’t really want to work with people that much, so I thought maybe I’d be a veterinarian … and then I took an ecology class. I absolutely fell in love with it. I thought ecology was just a bunch of hippies playing in the woods, but the class I was taking was really mathematically rigorous. I realized you could make a living studying nature, and that was really amazing to me. I decided I really had to go to graduate school and become scientist. In grad school, did you go straight into parasite ecology? I figured out pretty early in my master’s degree that was I was interested in behavioral ecology, and it wasn’t until my Ph.D. that I became interested in how parasites change behavior. I remember the moment when I became interested in that topic—my advisor sent me an e-mail telling me that I should read these papers by Jaroslav Flegr who talked about parasites changing human behavior—it was love at first sight. From that moment, I’ve been studying how parasites manipulate host behavior, and it’s been awesome! My research is all in the lab, so I’m fascinated by field work—what is it like? It’s simultaneously awesome and then horrible and unpredictable. For example, to study my fish I work in a salt marsh reserve in Santa Barbara. When I go out to collect fish, it’s beautiful—ocean on one side, beautiful hills on the other side, the most amazing view you’ve ever seen. But the land itself is a salt marsh, so as you walk from one place to another you’re sinking in the mud— you spend the whole time just trying to yank your feet out. It’s good exercise, but it’s not how I envisioned field work. I feel lucky to be working in this amazing beautiful environment, but there are things you have to deal with. Before working on parasites, I did a survey of a smallmouth bass population—we kept track of every male that was breeding. We were working on this lake in northern Wisconsin that was specifically a research site.

People aren’t allowed to bring motor boats out there, so it’s very quiet and undisturbed. But the males start breeding really early in the season—sometimes it was still snowing when we were out snorkeling to get the data. We had to collect data for six to eight hours every day, and you had to keep swimming because otherwise you get too cold. Do you need to continue traveling to California or are there local fish you can study in Texas? I hope to continue to travel to California. You get a lot of information just by sitting on banks and watching the fish—you get new ideas about what questions you should be asking. But one reason I was so excited about this job was that Galveston Bay is about 30 minutes away, and there are two other killifish species out here that are infected by a very closely-related brain-infecting trematode parasite. It’s a chance to see how general brain-infecting parasites are in fish, how general their effects are and how important they are for ecosystem dynamics. It’s possible that in a lot of estuaries across North America, killifish—a really abundant food resource for lots of organisms—are controlled by a parasite, which is changing how they’re connected to different species in the ecosystem.

I have to ask, being a biomedical scientist: is there anything about the parasites you study—which control fish brains— that can be applied to human disease? Photo courtesy of Kelly Weinersmith I also do lab work—I collaborate with Dr. While her ecology field work may take her to beautiful places, Kelly Weinersmith Øyvind Øverli at the Norwegian University also spends many days trekking through muddy salt marshes to study fish. of Life Sciences. I visit to do precision work You also have a big presence in the science commulike cutting the brains. He’s taught me how to look at nication world. How did you get into that? particular regions of the brain and see what’s going on. I started with blogging. I kind of enjoyed doing it, but it I’m really excited because Dr. Øverli just got funding felt like work. Then I started to do a podcast with “Science to figure out how the parasite is manipulating the brain … Sort Of,” and now I’m a somewhat regular co-host. [Huschemistry of the fish. We know that serotonergic and doband] Zach and I started our own podcast—”The Weekly paminergic activity changes in the fish when it’s infected, Weinersmith.” I learned that I really love podcasting. and a lot of brain regions and neurotransmitters are con Outreach is kind of my hobby. Some people’s hobbies are served from fish to people. Figuring out how the parasite mountain biking; for me, if I’m not doing science, I like to changes brain chemistry might give insight into how you sit around with friends talking about it. Podcasting works can treat diseases that are caused by imbalances of neureally well for that—we just record the conversations we rotransmitters. We might be able to learn some lessons wanted to have anyway—and get to call it outreach. from this parasite that are useful for treating humans. You had a baby during graduate school—what was Shelley Adamo called parasites “evolutionary neuroscientists”—the idea is that they have millions of years of that like? I was really nervous about it because I had heard a lot natural selection with their host. Parasites can do things of horror stories about unsupportive advisors. I have been to their host—changing their behavior or physiology— really amazed and really happy about how everyone has that are things that we can’t do in the lab yet. They might been. My advisor was really supportive, and I worked in have a lot to teach us about how the brain works or how other labs and those mentors were also really supportive interactions between the brain and immune system influand excited. ence behavior. It was better than I thought it was going to be in terms What’s it like transiof getting work done. I waited to have her until my writing tioning from Ph.D. to year so I didn’t have to be running experiments but could being a Fellow? stay home and write. I’m also really lucky because my It’s almost like being husband works from home. Between the two of us, we’ve thrown into the deep end been able to split the childcare pretty close to 50–50. Biolof the pool, but the nice ogy makes it really hard to hit exactly 50–50. He really thing is that I sort of get a steps up and makes sure that he’s doing 50 percent, both trial run for a tenure-track because he really wants to and because we’re both confaculty position. Hopefully cerned with making sure both of our careers stay on track. when I do get a position, Do you have any advice for young women in science? I’ll know exactly what How hard it is to have a kid in science really depends I’m getting into. It’s been on your circumstances. Being at a university that’s really useful to figure out how supportive is helpful. My husband and I thought “the moto manage your schedule ment will be right eventually,” but it was never really the when you need to get right moment—that’s just life—so we just decided to go your research and writing for it. I spoke to someone whose professor told her: “If done, and you want to start you’re at the end of your life looking back, are you going mentoring students but to be sadder that you didn’t get tenure or that you didn’t also have to teach classes. have a kid?”—and now she has both. There’s more to do but that’s basically the life of a Hanna Starobinets is a fourth-year BMS student. professor.

6 | March 5, 2015 | synapse.ucsf.edu

Health »

It’s not about the food: Shaking off stigmas and misperceptions about eating disorders

PDpics.com

By Charllotte Anderson Staff Writer “I have something going on with me I want to tell you about.” Allison Guerin, assistant director of graduate education at UCSF, meets with her aunt regularly to catch up on life. These conversations usually come easily, but not this one. It will be the first time in 5 years she tells anyone about her struggle with an eating disorder. “Eating disorders feed in isolation,” Guerin said in an interview with Synapse. “You’re not going to get past it without telling people.” Yet, the 2011 international epidemiological study conducted by Wade et al. found that 20 million adult American women and 10 million men suffer from a clinical eating disorder (ED), with many more cases left unreported. A brief survey of social media will yield a volley of words and images that espouse a dubious standard of health and beauty.

The norm of individuals feeling dissatisfied with their appearance masks the prevalence of more insidious disordered thoughts towards diet and exercise. Eating disorders—including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating—can cause osteoporosis, hormonal imbalances, ulcers, muscle wasting, heightened risk of heart failure and even death. While people with EDs are widely perceived as skinny, white women, they actually have quite a diverse profile; the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) reports that EDs affect people of every age, gender, body type, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. ED behavior starts early. A 2006 study conducted by Elizabeth Collins found that 81 percent of 10-year-olds reported feeling afraid of being fat; the majority of children surveyed later developed an eating disorder. UCSF’s Benioff Children’s Hospital seeks to curb the rising rate of eating disorders. Sara Buckelew, the clinical chair

of UCSF’s Adolescent Eating Disorder Clinic, said early intervention is key in mitigating the damaging effects of eating disorders, but the stigma surrounding the condition makes treatment difficult. “Often families have guilt and blame themselves. . . If someone has cancer then people may bring the family food and support them. With ED, this doesn’t happen the same way because parents don’t want to share about their child’s ED.” Despite the impact of these conditions, very little funding goes into research. In 2011, $25 million was granted for ED studies that will impact the lives of 30 million Americans. For comparison, Alzheimer’s disease affects 5.1 million Americans, and in 2011 the National Institute of Health granted $420 million to researchers. UCSF’s community has contributed several improvements to medical interventions for this population. Andrea Garber, associate professor for pediatrics, has investigated the benefits of more aggressive medical intervention for individuals with anorexia, showing that higher calorie re-feeding protocols are more effective in improving quality of life and other health measures. Daniel Le Grange, director at UCSF’s Adolescent Eating Disorders Clinic, in line with these findings, found that quality of life is best improved by addressing harmful behaviors and regaining healthy weight. Guerin noted that her eating disorder was never about food, but rather a way to control and cope with challenging feelings and life circumstances. After reaching a tipping point, she enrolled in a 12-week intensive outpatient treatment program for her eating disorder. Group treatment proved to be a powerful experience, as she reflected: “Hearing people share the same thoughts and fears that were in my own

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE EVERY DAY

• Give compliments that focus on attributes other than appearance: “Looking strong today!” • Promote and practice healthy eating habits and express acceptance of all body shapes and sizes. • Clinicians: explain manual procedures before performing them and utilize respectful draping and handling. • Make no assumptions: person’s size and weight are affected by many factors.

head was surprising and made me feel I was not the only one.” Guerin emphasized, however, that recovery from an eating disorder isn’t a “once and done” deal, and that she continues to use the new skills and coping strategies gained through treatment to manage difficult emotions. Fortunately, San Francisco boasts a wealth of resources for people with EDs: UCSF offers students 10 free counseling appointments as well as weekly talks about healthy body image, stress management techniques, and balanced nutrition. Locally, the Woodleaf Eating Disorder Center provides intensive outpatient care, which can also provide referrals to inpatient treatment as needed. For more information about eating disorders, check out nedawareness.org. Starting a conversation about EDs with someone can be difficult. Most importantly, express care for the individual’s overall well-being rather than their appearance. Buckelew recalled a primary physician of 30 years asking her for advice on how to help a colleague he was concerned about: “If you’re concerned, it’s OK to express this and provide resources. At least you’ve done your due diligence.” Charllotte Anderson is a second-year physical therapy student.

Let’s Get Physical … Therapy »

Therapy in acute care By Ilka Felsen Columnist

Many of my columns have focused on orthopedic issues in physical therapy: the lowdown on running shoes, scary postural deviations and how to strengthen your neck. This time, I’d like to highlight the cool things that happen in the hospital. Ever noticed folks in green scrubs walking with patients on UCSF wards? Those are physical therapists, and their role is a bit more comprehensive than mobilizing patients. Here is what you should know about physical therapists who work in acute care: The Gestalt Physical therapists evaluate and treat movement dysfunction at its core. I think of therapists in acute care as performing three functions: 1) Evaluate the patient’s current movement: what can they do in bed, out of bed, and around the community. 2) Recommend the next destination following discharge. 3) Treat the patient’s limitations to get them to their next destination Evaluation includes a range of motion, strength, vitals, neurological screen, functional testing in bed and out of bed, and

gait analysis. We give patients homework (yes, to exercise!), educate them about post-operative precautions, and look for abnormalities to report to the rest of the team—more on that later. The Details Physical therapy treatment alone can seem simple. I coach patients how to stand up efficiently and where to place their hands when they use an assistive device, and I use my own hands to facilitate their gait. The more complex aspect is communicating with the team about patients’ needs—where I think they should go next, when they should be turned for pressure management, how often they should ambulate—and advocating for a referral to another specialty. To this day, my claim to fame is catching a brachial plexus injury. All the clinicians I’ve worked with have their own stories about spotting ulcers, compartment syndrome, an MI or stroke in action, aortic aneurysm, fracture—the list goes on. It’s impossible for a single practitioner to monitor a patient every moment, and therapists add to the team’s knowledge of a patient. What You Should Know If you are a medical student, very soon

Shane T. McCoy (Navy Photographer’s Mate 1st Class)/Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Among their many roles, physical therapists can play an integral role working with doctors and nurses when it comes to things like training patients how to properly use crutches and other assistive devices.

you will be referring your inpatients to physical therapy. Know that we evaluate their movement, screen for medical complications (you can count on us to test reflexes, cranial nerves and sensation, check wounds and incision sites, and give our patient a really good look over), fit them for assistive devices and do everything in our power to get them mobilized when indicated. Prevent ICU acquired weakness and order a PT consult for patients in the ICU. Research shows early mobilization decreases length of stay. Lastly, look for our notes and answer our calls. We enthu-

siastically offer more information about your patient. If you are a pharmacy student, we will come to you with questions and also some answers you may not have thought to request. We spend up to an hour with a patient and have an intimate sense of side effects that occur with ambulation, which you’ll want to know. I will want to know a drug’s peak effect, to time my intervention optimally. If you are a nursing student, we will be chatting each time I see a patient you’re

PHYSICAL » PAGE 10

synapse.ucsf.edu

| March 5, 2015 | 7

Science »

Sharing articles via academic networks

Beware of copyright issues when posting published research By Anneliese Taylor Contributing Columnist

Collaborative academic platforms like Mendeley, ResearchGate and Academia. edu have become very popular among scientists. ResearchGate alone has more than 4,000 members affiliated with UCSF. These platforms are useful not only for managing references and annotating PDF files, but also for connecting with other researchers. Increasingly, researchers are using these platforms to share and find articles from scholarly publications. It’s common to see the full text of articles from journals or conference proceedings shared on a user’s profile for anyone to read or download. Often you see the PDF version that’s been downloaded from the publisher’s platform with their branding and all.

Is Article Sharing Allowed?

Given how expensive scientific and medical journal subscriptions can be, you might wonder, is it allowed to share your PDFs freely on these platforms? The short answer is: probably not. Sharing a different version of your article, however, might be allowed. The vast majority of publishers restrict what you can do with the articles you publish with them. Posting the final published article on a publicly accessible site is allowed by a select few, and other restrictions may apply. A major exception is open-access articles, which typically allow redistribution of the publisher’s final version. Anytime you publish an article with a publisher, you sign an agreement such as a copyright transfer agreement that gives the publisher certain copyrights. This agreement is your best source for finding out what rights the publisher allows you for use and reuse of your work, so be sure to read through this information before you sign it, and keep it on file for reference.

The SHERPA/RoMEO database is also great resource for looking up publisher copyright policies regarding archiving (posting a version of your paper). S/R guidance has been integrated into some networks, such as ResearchGate, at the point of uploading a full-text article. The copyright transfer agreement you signed, however, may differ from what S/R displays, so I still recommend referring to your specific agreement. Before you post your article anywhere, you should look for a few things: • Does the publication agreement state that scholarly sharing is allowed? • Which version of the paper does it allow? Versions include: - preprint (before peer review) - postprint (author’s final manuscript after peer review but before publisher typesetting, copyediting, and branding) - publisher’s final version (the file you see on the publisher platform) • Where can the file be shared—author’s personal website, departmental website or institutional repository? Non-commercial site only? • Is there a waiting period (embargo) before the file can be shared? While it might seem a stretch of imagination to consider a researcher’s profile on a scholarly network to be an author’s personal website, many people think that definition is vague enough to include services like Mendeley, ResearchGate, Papers and Academia. edu, despite the fact they are for-profit companies. For the time being, I believe it’s safe to share the version of your paper that the publisher allows you to share on a scholarly network, provided that sharing on a personal website is allowed and that commercial sites are not disallowed. This environment may change though, since publishers are monitoring sharing activity and are known for changing author rights with the changing tides.

Of course, many articles are shared between individuals via direct e-mail. A limited amount of sharing between colleagues at different institutions for research and educational use is typically allowed in institutional subscription license agreements. Opening up this kind of sharing to unknown individuals with methods like #icanhazpdf on Twitter, however, opens up sharers to a potential violation of the agreement.

A Reliable Sharing Alternative

UC’s institutional open access repository, eScholarship, is a safe and reliable resource for any UC author to put previously published articles in keeping with their publication agreements. Since the institutional repository is noncommercial, publishers are more flexible with authors sharing their final manuscripts there. This is also the go-to repository for the UC Open Access Policy (http://tiny.ucsf.edu/oapolicy).

Publishers are paying attention

Research sharing platforms place the responsibility of verifying what rights are associated with each paper on the person uploading that paper. This policy might seem self-serving, given how much the services encourage, and even solicit, members to upload their full-text publications. Publishers are paying attention to the growing amount of published content on scientific networking sites. In 2013 and 2014, Elsevier, ASCE and other

Life of a Dental Student » Student 1: Male, D3 Talk about your UCSF experience so far. The first two years have been really good. I felt like we got a really good didactic education. From my background - my dad is a physician - I realized how dental school is very condensed. The last two years are almost like a residency, and the first two years are your didactics. So it’s pretty crammed tight. UCSF experience has been really good. I really liked meeting people from the other schools. I wish we could have more of that. How did you decide on dental school? I picked dentistry because it gives you a chance to have a more balance in your life, especially growing up with my dad and sister being physicians. I thought dentistry was a very clear-cut pathway, whereas in medicine, you would spend four years learning something, and your residency kind of expands on what you will be doing. With dentistry, you seem to have a more clearly fixed aspect of what you will be working with, and I really wanted to get started working with my hands as quickly as possible. Not to mention, with dentistry, you also get a lot of cool instruments.

Is it different from what you originally expected? If so, how? My perspective of dentistry has been that there is a lot more freedom in how people approach problems. As a dental student, it gets easily confusing when you are presented with many different opinions. And when you look into literature, you try to find a definitive treatment, it’s still very difficult to find that. Clinic is very constrained by the amount we have to know. It’s also rough because you are looking at production and requirements. For someone who just came out of college, it’s a very traumatic thing. It’s scary. You don’t know if it’s school or work. You can get confused sometimes. Dental school is difficult because you are dealing with many factors. For example, you are dealing with your own patient pool, you are maintaining them, and you are calling them. I was overwhelmed at the beginning for sure. What do you wish someone had told you in the beginning? One thing about clinic that I wish someone would have told me is how to manage patients as well as the demands of clinic. Clinic is a very different animal, especially for someone who just got out of college

publishers issued takedown notices of articles posted to sites like Academia. edu, campus websites and even to UC’s open access repository, eScholarship. The notices were for instances where authors posted publisher PDFs, in violation of their publication agreements. The services are required to take down the papers and notify the authors why. Publisher trade associations with heavyhitter members—like Nature, AAAS, Elsevier and Wiley—recently put out their proposed “Voluntary principles for article sharing on scholarly collaboration networks.” Their principles cast a much smaller net on sharing among researchers than scholar networks currently provide. The group is seeking comments and feedback from individuals through April 10 at stm-assoc.org. The collaborative nature of research means that academic social networks will only become more popular. As open access publishing options become more widespread, content becomes by nature free to share and reuse. In the current hybrid environment, there are options for sharing your articles but sorting through them can be perplexing. If you have a question about sharing any of your documents, let us know at the Library. Anneliese Taylor is assistant director, scholarly communications and collections, at the UCSF Library.

and going into dental school. It is a pretty awful transition, because you get a weird school-to-work transition. It’s just one of these things that you have to work with it. If you could go back to do dental school again, would you have done anything differently? I think I am a little bit of a special case because after taking the test for oral surgery, it changed my perspective for lots of things. Taking the test made me realize how much more we need to know to take care of our patients. That two years does not feel like enough time to get through everything to understand what your patient is going through. I appreciate a lot more after taking the medical test. Advice for other students? One thing that will definitely help is your upperclassmen. Assist them often to get as much exposure as you can. Work really hard because you really learn everything that you need in school. Even though they say dentistry is a lifelong learning profession, 90% of your education is done in school. Ask a lot of questions and be productive with your time.

Looking forward, what excites you the most about the future? I would say learning enough so I can take care of my patients where I see fit. That’s one good thing about dentistry, that being able to use your professional judgment. Right now I get too much, “he said,” “she-said.” But eventually you can look at the literature and that will become more concrete as the years go on.

DENTAL » PAGE 10

8 | March 5, 2015 | synapse.ucsf.edu

Journal Club » By Taylor LaFlam Science Editor NEUROSCIENCE: RIM-binding protein links synaptic homeostasis to the stabilization and replenishment of high release probability vesicles. Müller, M., Genç, Ö., and Davis, G.W. Neuron. 2015. Epub ahead of print Control of muscles requires many levels of careful regulation, including at the synapse between the muscle-innervating nerve and the muscle fiber. The nerve ending responds to changes in sensitivity of the muscle by tuning its own release of neurotransmitters. Previous research has found the mechanism for this self-tuning involves both adjustments in calcium influx and the size of the readily releasable pool of vesicles. Whether, and how, these two processes were co-regulated was unclear, but in this paper the authors find a unifying element. Performing research in flies, they found that a disabling mutation of RIMbinding protein (RBP) leads to a tenfold decrease in calcium sensitivity at baseline. Moreover, homeostatic adjustments in both calcium sensitivity and the size of the rapidly releasable vesicle pool are dependent on this protein. NEUROSCIENCE: Sensory detection of food rapidly modulates arcuate feeding circuits. Chen, Y. et al. (Knight, Z.A.). Cell. 2015. Epub ahead of print. When it comes to how much to eat, for most of evolution the only risk was to fall short. Today, however, humans increasingly suffer from the opposite problem. The regulation of hunger involves the opposing activity of two groups of neurons: the AgRP neurons promote appetite, whereas the POMC neurons inhibit it. In this paper, Chen and colleagues provide new insights into how the circuit rapidly responds to outside stimuli. Observing the activity of these two groups of neuron in awake mice, they found that the activity of these neurons changes after the animal has encountered food but before any has been eaten. The anticipated tastiness of the food influenced the strength of the effect. The authors suggest that these neurons control not only food consumption but also foraging.

Puzzles »

BIOCHEMISTRY: A nucleotidedriven switch regulates flanking DNA length sensing by a dimeric chromatin remodeler. Leonard, J.D. and Narlikar, G.J. Mol Cell. 2015. Epub ahead of print. The ways in which shaping chromatin shapes cell fate are being documented in ever greater detail, with the massive data released by the Human Epigenome Roadmap Consortium a couple of weeks ago marking only the latest large-scale assay. The ways in which proteins sense and modify these epigenetic marks remain far from fully understood, however. The ACF protein complex supports the formation of silent chromatin through how it spaces nucleosomes, but how it did this remained hazy. In this article, the authors find that the ACF component SNF2h, which senses the length of DNA flanking a nucleosome, undergoes a nucleotide-dependent change. One conformation supports binding to flanking DNA while the other supports binding of the nucleosome core. The authors suggest that these activities might therefore be regulated independently. Taylor LaFlam is a fourth-year BMS / sixth-year MSTP student.

This Date in UCSF History » By Taylor LaFlam Science Editor

From 30 Years Ago: Vol. 29, No. 21, March 7, 1985

“Dentistry school discrimination case dismissed,” proclaimed the front page of Synapse 30 years ago. The accompanying article, by Charles

Write for Synapse

We welcome all UCSF students who are interested to get involved: Share your unique content ideas or let us know and we will help you get started. Email synapse@ucsf.edu or come to one of our regular meetings at Parnassus and Mission Bay (see Page 2 calendar for details).

The Crossword

PHYSIOLOGY: Gαi/o coupled receptor signaling restricts pancreatic β-cell expansion: Berger, M. et al. (German, M.S.). PNAS. 2015. Epub ahead of print. Nearly one in 10 Americans has diabetes, the large majority having type 2 diabetes, and the prevalence has been increasing. Type 2 diabetes is associated with decreased amount of β cells, which produce insulin. Members of the Gαi/o family of G protein-coupled receptors have already been implicated in insulin release by β cells, but their role in β cell mass was unclear. Here, the authors show that in mice Gi GPCRs act to rein in β cell proliferation, especially around birth. They found that increased Gi-GPCR activity leads to decreased proliferation leading to less β cell mass, whereas inhibiting these GPCRs led to increased β cell mass and glucose homeostasis. Selective deletion of GPCRs revealed that ADRA2A is a critical controller of β cell proliferation.

Piller, discussed the U.S Department of Education Office for Civil Rights report clearing the UCSF School of Dentistry—and how not everyone was satisfied with the decision. In May 1984, a complaint was filed alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in the assignment of patients, the amount of clinical instruction and the manner of instruction; it was alleged that some minority students were “singled out for unfairly severe reprimands or grading.” After investigation, however, the department found “insufficient evidence” for some allegations and “no evidence” for others. And yet, “The department did note, however, a number of problem areas which may result in indirect discrimination.” Danny Payan, a fourth-year dental student and executive vice president of the UCSF Associated Students, was quoted disputing the report’s

ACROSS 1 Old-style road covering 8 Rile up 15 Reach, as a goal 16 1 is one 17 Flipped (through) 18 Snack bar? 19 Pants feature 20 Platinumlike metal 22 Rehab candidate 23 Secure 24 Chromosome component 25 Messy one 28 Hypnotic state 31 Klutz's cry 32 Buck's partner 33 Pincered bug 37 Climbing plant 39 Throne, so to speak 40 Shepherd sitter? 41 Action movie prop 42 Geometric measure 43 Workout target 45 Within reach 46 Social outing 49 Unabridged 52 "Days of ___ Lives" 53 Pull a ______ (cheat) 55 Used to be 58 News article 60 Word before "shop" or "gun" 62 Fill beyond full

by Margie E. Burke 2

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12 Came up 13 Prey grabber 14 Make merry 21 Very serious 23 Failure to appear DOWN 24 Apropos 1 School subj. 25 Puppet material target wisdom 2 Tylenol 26-Folk March 2015 Issue 1 3 Pal 27 Ready for 4 Ultimate goal business 5 Ledger entry 29 Night sight 6 Sidestep 30 Smartphone 7 Go-between feature, briefly 8 Chest pain 32 Big name in PC's 9 Wise advisor 34 Became frayed 10 Mosque leader 35 Notion 11 Decimal base 36 Toothed wheel 38 Fairytale legume

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39 Purchasing person 41 Lady's man 44 Evening prayer 46 Divine for water 47 Hearing-related 48 Overused 50 Pointless 51 Verso's opposite 53 Accomplishment 54 Sedan or coupe 55 Flag waver? 56 Pot starter 57 Soothsayer 59 Facial twitch 61 That girl

Edited by Margie E. Burke

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conclusions: “There is discrimination, but a lot of students don’t want to say anything out of fear of reprisals, and because they feel it’s not going to change anything anyway.” An investigation by Synapse, published in February 1985, revealed that “the department’s investigator on Solution to Sudoku the case blamed the UCSF Affirmative Action Office—which acted as campus to     long  delays  liaison the agency—for in the investigation.   Affirmative   Action  Coordinator Lewis Nelson denied the         charge.”  also  contrasted   theschool’s   Piller student diversity office with the         allegations: “Ironically, the school  ofthebestaffirmative   action   has one admissions records in the country.         With 21 percent minority enrollment  Asians),  UCSF  isranked   (excluding behind only  thetwopredominantly     black dental schools.” Taylor LaFlam is a sixth-year MSTP / fourth-year BMS student.

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HOW TO SOLVE:         (Answer appears elsewhere in this issue)

SOLUTIONS » PAGE 10

Also from 30 years ago:

        

synapse.ucsf.edu

| March 5, 2015 | 9

[Exit, Pursued by Science] »

Avoiding nutritional causes of disease By Hanna Starobinets Staff Writer

Nipping Peanut Allergies in the Bud Rates of childhood peanut allergies in the Western world have doubled in the last decade. The current rate is estimated at 1.4 to 3 percent. Many public schools now forbid peanut butter, fearing that one child could trigger another’s severe allergy. Peanut allergies are also emerging in Africa and Asia. However, Israeli children, who lead a Western lifestyle, have startlingly low rates of peanut allergies—10 times lower than that of Jewish children with similar ancestry living in the United Kingdom. While prevailing philosophies in the U.S. and United Kingdom have been to avoid peanut products in early life, Israeli children commonly consume a peanut puff snack called Bamba beginning as early as 6 months of age. Could exposure, rather than avoidance, be the correct route

toward reducing peanut allergy? These discrepancies led Gideon Lack at King’s College in London to put together a clinical trial that began in 2006 called the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) Trial. They enrolled a cohort of about 600 4- to 11-month-old infants at high risk for developing peanut allergy: those who had an egg allergy, severe eczema or both. In a skin allergy test for peanut sensitivity, about 500 tested negative and 100 tested as mildly positive. Within these two groups, the infants were randomized between diets including and avoiding peanut products until age 5. (Infants who exhibited an allergic reaction to both skin and dietary peanut protein were moved to the avoidance group.) The children on the peanutcontaining diet were given at least six grams of peanut protein per week, spread among at least three meals, via the Israeli snack Bamba (with smooth peanut butter instead for picky eaters who disliked it). Enrollment took place between 2006 and 2009 in the U.S. and U.K., with additional

allergy tests performed at 12, 30 and 60 months of age. The trial’s results were published this February in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas. The verdict: Consuming peanut protein from infancy reduced peanut allergy rates by 86 percent! Only 1.9 percent of peanut-consuming 5-year olds developed allergy, compared with 13.7 percent in the peanut-avoiding group. There was also a significant reduction in peanut allergy in the children who had a positive skin test at the beginning of the study: 10.6 percent at 60 months compared with 35.3 percent. The study is continuing to monitor the children to assess long-term allergy.

tor for metabolic disease were recently curated and compiled by the UCSF-led “Sugar Science” organization that aims to make this information available to the public. While the recommended amounts of added sugar are 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 for men, the average American adult consumes 19.5 teaspoons per day. A major source of this added sugar (47 percent) is sugar-sweetened beverages. The report states that “[t]o decrease dietary intake from added sugars, the U.S. population should reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and of desserts and sweet snacks.” Other studies have found that dietary cholesterol intake does not correlate strongly with blood cholesterol levels, leading to the reversal of 50 years of warnings about avoiding high-cholesterol foods. Those warning originated in 1961 guidelines from the American Heart Association. The report’s new stance: “Cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.” The full report can be found at: health. gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientific-report

Sources: NEJM, NIH New FDA Nutrition Guidelines The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee announced new guidelines on nutrition this week that put a spotlight on the health concerns associated with added sugar, while loosening restrictions on dietary cholesterol. These new guidelines are a response to several decades of research on the rising rates of metabolic syndrome—a metabolic misbalance that often leads to heart disease and diabetes—which is diagnosed by high blood pressure, a large waistline, and high blood levels of triglycerides, cholesterol and sugar. A large number of health studies that identified added sugar as a causal fac-

Sources: Health.gov, SugarScience.org, Boston Globe Hanna Starobinets is a fourth-year BMS student.

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UCSF Department of Surgery Education Office Telephone: (415) 476‐1239 Email: EducationOffice@ucsfmedctr.org For more information, visit: http://www.surgery.ucsf.edu.

10 | March 5, 2015 | synapse.ucsf.edu

Continued » HOUSING FROM FRONT PAGE

Office is seeking more tenant input

leadership and calls to organize further action, mostly coordinated via Facebook. In a public Facebook posting, Nicole Michael, a fourth-year student in the Tetrad program, echoed the sentiments of many of those affected: “This proposed increase is not only against the spirit of equitable treatment which we should be able to expect from our institution, but is also blatantly punitive.” However, not all students felt that these increases were unfair. “It’s understandable that they want to encourage people to leave,” said Corey Tan, a first-year BMS student who lives off-campus and couldn’t get into housing. “There’s not enough campus housing in general.” The final decision from the chancellors came while protestors were in the midst of drafting a petition. In an email to all of housing services, vice chancellors Dan Lowenstein, John Plotts and Liz Watkins said, “We realize that the recommendation has understandably caused great concern for many of you who would have been impacted, and we deeply apologize for the distress this has caused.” Rosko said the response showed that the

ALCOHOL

FROM FRONT PAGE The specific requirement that a staff person or faculty member be present at events serving alcohol is not present in UC Berkeley or UCLA campus alcohol policies. However, in general their regulations have

Policy differs from other UC campuses

DENTAL FROM PAGE 7

Examining a day in the life of a thirdyear dental student

Student 2: Female, D3

Talk about your UCSF experience so far: I didn’t know what to expect, because when I was choosing between my undergrad and UCSF, I knew if I went to my undergrad I’d be with all my friends and it’d be really familiar because I’d been there a lot, so UCSF was a totally new experience. So far, I’m definitely happy with my choice. I like that there are different health professional students and faculty you can interact with because at my undergrad’s dental school campus it’s just the dental school. How did you decide on dental school? I was originally between medicine and dentistry. I knew I wanted to be in a health profession because I wanted to interact with a lot of people and not be stuck behind a desk all day, staring at a computer. It’s clichéd to say you’re changing lives, but it’s true. Many patients just get a filling and go home, but there are those one or two that really make a good day or good week. I also like that dentistry is a new challenge every day. My dentist about to retire, and he says even now he has days where he has to try something

administration is willing to listen. “We’re open to suggestions on how to increase student involvement in policy decisions. I’d like to see the administration and student body [work] together to make the best possible decisions for all students.” This may not be the last word on housing policy at UCSF. The chancellors are still deliberating on the six other recommendations made by the HAC, including ones to procure additional funding to subsidize housing. Some who live in campus housing said they would like to have seen more transparency in these decisions. “There wasn’t any tenant participation in any of these decisions,” said Jorge Ortiz–Carpena, a firstyear BMS student who lives in housing. However, Leslie Santos, director of Housing Services, said there were efforts to bring students into the process. “We reached out to the GPSA, and three students volunteered to participate in the HAC. Unfortunately, none of them were current tenants.” Santos added that Housing Services intends to recruit tenant participation differently in the future. In adopting future measures, Lance said he hoped the school would “enact policies that don’t sacrifice one group of students at the expense of another.” Bryne Ulmschneider is a fourth-year Tetrad student and a member of the Housing Advisory Committee.. Taylor Laflam, a fourth-year BMS/sixth-year MSTP student, contributed to this story.

many similarities to those of UCSF, such as requiring that an organization submit an event request beforehand. These changes follow alcohol policy updates announced in Fall 2012. Those updates included banning hard alcohol and kegs at campus events and stating that references to alcoholic beverages were not permitted in event advertising. The updated policy can be read online at studentlife.ucsf.edu/policies/alcohol. Bryne Ulmschneider is a fourth-year Tetrad student; Taylor LaFlam is a fourth-year BMS / sixth-year MSTP student.

totally new. I wanted a profession where I knew I wouldn’t get bored. Is it different from what you originally expected? Not necessarily. I knew it’d be hard and there would be a lot of late nights in Simulation Lab. The hardest part D1 year is juggling science classes and working on your hand skills—which is unique compared with other schools that are pretty much didactic. Even when you go to clinic in other schools, you don’t need the same intensive preparation and you just go straight to seeing patients. It’s especially hard when someone next to you finishes early and you’re still there late into the night. What advice do you wish someone had given you? D1 year, don’t be worried about how everyone else is doing—especially in Simulation Lab. It’s easy to get stressedout when you see someone doing better than you, but you never know. When you get to clinic, they may not be as good at managing patients as someone else. In the end, you will all be able to get what you need from dental school. I think the pass/ fail system helps get rid of some of the stress and allows students to focus on the learning rather than the grades. What advice would you give to your underclassmen? Don’t worry about what other people want to do in the future, like specializing or getting a job. You start to think, “Ooh, maybe I should do that,” but you really have to think about what you want to do

Puzzle Solutions » » FROMSolution PAGE 8to Crossword: M A T H

A C H E

S O C K

L O R E

D O W S E

A U R A L

C A D A M H I E V E U M B E D I R I M A T T A O B T P S D O E E P E R N N E L C A L V T E E R F A S I T E U P T I A T E E C T O R

A N G D I I N R A E C G U E S N T T O M E R

G U R U N E O N I N A N E

I T A T E M E R A L A N O L A M S O T G E N E C E A R W I G M M O D E A R E A N E A R R E E W A S C H I N E T E N T E O R D E R

        

Solution to Sudoku

        

        

        

        

        

        

        

        

Crossword Sudoku

PHYSICAL FROM PAGE 6

Whatever the job, PT professionals help in hospital looking after. I’ll ask you if anything is up, and after my treatment, I’ll fill you in on how it goes. You and I will become very close, and we’ll both smile when our patient gets up for the first time and when a patient walks himself out of the hospital. Assistive Devices 101 Everyone—and I mean everyone— should be able to perform a decent assistive device fit. So here are the basics: 1) Cane: Position the cane on the strong, unaffected side. The handle should reach the greater trochanter, and the elbow should be flexed 20 to 30 degrees. Advance the weaker leg and the cane at the same time. 2) Crutches: Position the tips on the floor at a 45-degree angle (not straight in front or directly to the side). Elbow should also and where you want to end up. There was a Ph.D. who had a ton of degrees and people kept saying, “You should go into private practice. You could make a lot of money and pay back your loans,” but she just kept telling them, no, because she wanted to work in a lab. Have you ever had an, “oh, crap” kind of moment? Oh, definitely. It usually happens when you plan to do something and for some reason the treatment plan completely changes. For example, once, I was going to do a build-up (if you don’t have enough tooth structure to place a crown) and a crown, but as I was doing it, we realized there was too much tooth-structure loss. Everything went wrong that day too—our laser wasn’t working, tooth cusps were missing—in the end, the patient didn’t want to extract the tooth, so we ended up filling it with composite and just seeing how long it lasts. Clinic constantly demands for you to do things you’ve never done before, so sometimes you just need the faculty or a D4 to step in to help you. These days really depend on how the patient reacts too. If the patient is OK with the treatment, it makes life a lot easier. Looking forward, what excites you the most? I’m looking forward to a time where I feel really confident. There are a few things you get a lot of practice with, but there are other procedures where you’ve done only a few. I’ve heard you don’t get there until 10 years after you graduate. Then again, getting there is interesting too.

flex 20 to 30 degrees. The handgrip should reach the top of the ulnar styloid with arms at the side, and two or three fingers should fit between the axilla and crutch pad. Weight should be borne on the hands and not through the armpit—or else I will catch a brachial plexus injury in you! Keep Updated Physical therapy is a diverse field, and you can personally learn more this weekend. Every year, third-year PT students engage in a research project. Each of us conducts a meta-analysis on a topic of our choice and presents our findings on March 7. Yours truly has examined the effect of supplemental training on dance aesthetics. Other topics range from exercise’s effect on bone-mineral density in breast cancer survivors, to meditation for low back brain, and pelvic floor muscle training for pelvic organ prolapse—so interesting! The presentations begin at 10 a.m. in HSW 300-303 and run until 3:50 p.m. Click 2015 Spring Symposium, Evidence to Clinical Practice at: ptrehab.ucsf.edu/ education/continuing-education for more information. Ilka Felsen is a third year physical therapy student and enjoys palpating joints and muscles, watching people walk, and talking about all things physical therapy.

News Brief »

Feeney takes the lead as UC system’s top philanthropist with $100M gift to hospital With his most recent donation of $100 million to the Mission Bay hospitals in February, philanthropist Charles F. Feeney became the single largest overall contributor Feeney to the University of California System. Feeney, a cofounder of the Duty Free Shoppers group has given UC a total of $394 million through The Atlantic Philanthropies . Much of it has gone to supporting Mission Bay projects, including Mission Hall, Smith Cardiovascular Research Building, Helen Diller Family Cancer Research Building and the UCSF Medical Center. Last June, Feeney was celebrated with a Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award, where Warren Buffett said Feeney was his hero and Bill Gates’ as well, according to reports. “He should be everybody’s hero,” Buffett said. Feeney’s latest gift will support the $1.5 billion hospitals project and the Sandler Neurosciences Center at Mission Bay, along with scholarship support and faculty recruitment through research funding seed-money for start-up projects.

synapse.ucsf.edu

| March 5, 2015 | 11

Student Life » Peer-mentoring helps postdocs and graduate students build meaningful group connections Mayya Shveygert Staff Writer

Human beings are social animals. We thrive when we belong to a community of like-minded individuals who support and endorse us. Many postdocs would agree with such sentiment; however, the nature of research leaves little time for connecting with fellow scientists. Two postdocs, Corinne Nielsen and Katie Thompson–Peer, decided to address the problem of postdoctoral isolation through creating a women’s peer-mentoring group. Amanda Mason, UCSF graduate student, followed their lead and organized a similar group for graduate students. Synapse spoke recently with Mason and Thompson–Peer about the peer-mentoring groups that they help to run. Synapse: Usually, mentoring happens through forming a relationship between a more experienced senior adviser (faculty) and a junior mentee (student). Peer-mentoring groups consist of members who are on a similar level of professional development. What is the advantage of peer mentoring compared with a more traditional “vertical” mentoring? Amanda Mason: Vertical mentoring sounds great in theory, but on practice it is very hard to implement. Many senior women would love to mentor, but struggle to find time in their busy schedules. Also,

in order for a mentor–mentee relationship to last, two women should have similar professional interests and complementary personalities, which makes matching harder. Peer-mentoring groups are devoid of matching problems, since they usually consist of eight to 12 women from a similar professional background. Katie Thompson–Peer: Also, typical peer mentoring groups run with the same women for months and years, allowing women to get to know each other and build trust and rapport. It is a round-table format rather than unidirectional advising, and everyone gets a chance to both give and receive feedback. Besides, many senior women do not experience the same day-to-day problems as their junior colleagues. A woman is more likely to get helpful advice from a person who recently went through a similar situation, whether it is resolving a conflict at the workplace or applying for funding. How are the meetings structured, and what types of topics can be discussed? KTP: We aim at being a professional problem-solving group, so the topics we choose are in the field of professional development. In the past year, we discussed such topics as supervising graduate students, managing collaborations, networking in science, authorship, etc. Usually, a group makes a list of interesting topics, and a moderator, which rotates

Jeannine Cuevas, Communications Director at UCSF Graduate Division Postdocs and mentors discuss issues women face in biomedical careers during a speed networking event.

every meeting, is leading the discussion. AM: Our group also aims at helping graduate students deal with everyday issues. So far, we have talked about some of the bioethics case studies, as well as time-management skills.

What other woman-targeted groups, events or resources exist on campus? AM: You might want to attend one of the UCSF Women-in-Life-Sciences (WILS) monthly events. In fact, March is Women’s History Month, and two great events will take place in the beginning of March. On March 7, WILS, together with Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, is organizing a workshop called “SkillBuilding Workshop: How to Transition Into Non-Bench Positions in the Biotech/ Pharma Industry.” On March 9, WILS partnered with the local chapter of Women in Bio to host a special half-day event held at UCSF–Mission Bay. The event will kick off with a panel discussion on new tools in biotech research, followed by networking and another panel focused on pharmaceuticals

and diagnostics. (To register, visit WILS website ucsf.orgsync.com/org/wils/Events). KTP: I can highly recommend speedmentoring events that are organized specifically for postdocs and happen every January. A recent one focused on women postdocs and brought together 30 expert women and about 50 trainees. Speed mentoring is another form of networking, which allows postdocs to interact with four to six mentors a night and receive advice on their career development through one-on-one conversations. Mentors also enjoy these events, since it allows them to give back to the community without investing a significant amount of time. Peer-mentoring groups are supported through Postdoc Office and the UCSF Committee on the Status of Women and meet every month on both Mission Bay and Parnassus campuses. To learn more about peer-mentoring groups, please, contact either Amanda.mason@ucsf.edu or Katherine.Thompson-Peer@ucsf.edu. Mayya Shveygert is a third-year postdoctoral fellow.

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12 | March 5, 2015 | synapse.ucsf.edu

Humans of UCSF »

Ask Mama M »

Humans of UCSF is a student-run photography and multimedia project aimed at putting a name to the faces we see on campus. We want to learn about the diverse experiences of the UCSF community and get a glimpse of our shared humanity. You can view the project on our Facebook page (facebook.com/UCSFsynapse) or on our website (synapse.ucsf.edu/humans-of-ucsf).

Illustration by Joe Bien

First-generation medical student struggles in effort to understand program’s hidden curriculum Dear Mama M,

As I have navigated through medical school, I have witnessed that some know the “unspoken secrets” of excelling in medical school more than others. As a first-generation college—and now medical—student, I sometimes find that I do not know the hidden curriculum behind professional schools. What is your advice on how to excel during professional school as someone who might not come from the pomp and glamour of an educated family and the breeding for academia that it seems to provide? —StrivingforExcellence Dearest Striving, Congratulations on being the change agent in the groove of your family! So many people take it for granted that they will be educated because other generations have laid that foundation. So, you, Sugar, are the light figure … the pioneer. And while your colleagues may have some “unspoken secrets” handed down from the familial Ivory Tower, you own the spoken reality of forging new ground. My best advice to you is to acknowledge yourself and your own inherent value. Practice trusting that you have all the wisdom, magic and secrets you need to move through the exciting and deeply challenging journey that you have embarked on. We both know that it will not be easy … you have no family reference points to fall back on with regards to Medical School. But, I do not think you are alone in feeling alienated. I found this definition in a medscape article for the hidden curriculum that you might find interesting: “The hidden curriculum: Even if medical students haven’t heard the term, no doubt they’re keenly aware of what it is—the pressure to conform, the focus on pleasing superiors—in short, the unofficial rules for survival and advancement. It’s a powerful undercurrent that can turn even the most self-assured and altruistic student into an obedient drone.” If you focus on trying to learn the content of the hidden curriculum you will lose sight of being the doctor you want to be. It is emotionally draining to be preoccupied with what you believe you don’t know. Don’t be a drone. Be you. You have wonderfully different access points to the portals of knowledge and wisdom. Your portal is informed by your own unique experiences.

I grew up in a super chaotic, spinning wild world of contradictions and craziness. I am not the first to go to college, but I am one of the few. I have learned that though I have no access to any particular hidden curriculum, I do have access to some crazy-assed stories that have made me far more compassionate, intuitive and trusting of my own inner curriculum. I hope you settle into your own bones and let go of chasing the ghost of the hidden curriculum. The truth is, it doesn’t matter. The only curriculum that matters is the one that teaches you to be you. Strive On. Love, Mama M.

Comics »

Hanna Starobinets/Synapse

“You’re supposed to start collecting teeth almost a year in advance, because it depends on how many offices you can go to and the types of offices they are—and they all give you different types of teeth. By the time school started, I was really proud of my jar of teeth. I went around scaring all my friends with it and creeping them out. What we use them for is practice preps—even though we have Typodont teeth, they’re not the same hardness and texture as a natural tooth so it’s a different experience drilling on them. We’re supposed to have all these teeth that we can pick from to do exercises. I’m exhausted, and there’s so much to do, but every day when I wake up I’m still excited.” —Anna Nonaka First-Year UCSF School of Dentistry Student

Piled Higher and Deeper

As told to Hanna Starobinets

By Jorge Cham

xkcd By Randall Monroe