UC San Diego School of Medicine

New study by @abesterman.bsky.social shows that approx. 6% of people with schizophrenia have specific, identifiable genetic variants, which could help inform new genetic tests. Results suggest that genetic testing may be useful for early diagnosis in the future.

🗞️ tinyurl.com/39t8jmkp

A UC San Diego study suggests that internet searches for lorazepam spiked during Season 3 of The White Lotus TV series after a characters on the show used the drug. Photo credit: iStock/Dima Berlin

A recent study suggests that the depiction of lorazepam — an anti-anxiety medication — in season 3 of "The White Lotus” sparked 1.6 million extra Google searches for the term. ➡️ https://bit.ly/3JOOszP

Happy #Thanksgiving! This year, we asked #UCSDSurgery what they are thankful for. From family and friends to mentors and co-workers — there is much to be grateful for this holiday season! 🥧 #GivingThanks @ucsdhealth.bsky.social @ucsdmedschool.bsky.social

UC San Diego Researchers Develop New Tool to Predict How Bacteria Influence Health UC San Diego researchers have developed a new computational tool to predict how bacteria influence health by creating fast and powerful models of complex genetic and metabolic interactions. The tool…

New research has found genetic associations between #cannabis use and #psychiatric, cognitive and #physicalhealth. The findings could inform prevention and treatment strategies for cannabis use disorders. @ucsdmedschool.bsky.social

buff.ly/aLom7IR

A new study shows lorazepam searches almost doubled after The White Lotus Season 3 aired, "showing how entertainment media can reflect and drive human behavior,” said lead author Kevin Yang, M.D., PGY-4 in the Department of Psychiatry. 💊 🎬

📺 Read the full story ➡️ go.ucsd.edu/3JFqB5z

Graphic featuring two researchers in a laboratory at UC San Diego, with text celebrating the university's ranking as a Top 20 institution for highly cited researchers according to Clarivate's 2025 list.

UC San Diego is once again among the world’s leading institutions for influential research. Fifty of our faculty and scientists are recognized on the 2025 Highly Cited Researchers list. 🔬🌍 https://bit.ly/3X3TF9K

#UCSD #UCSanDiego #Research

UC San Diego Researchers Expand Virus-Based Treatment Options for Antibiotic-Resistant Infections Antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing challenges to global public health as harmful microbes evolve to evade these medications. Now, researchers at University of California San Diego and…

@UCSDMedSchool.bsky.social researchers are using #phages — viruses that kill bacteria — to fight antibiotic-resistant pathogens, a major threat to #publichealth.

That’s a wrap on today’s Department of Medicine Grand Rounds! 🎬 #MedEd Thank you to Dr. Bernie Sunwoo for the deep dive into Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome. The discussion on why "One Size Does Not Fit All" regarding treatment phenotypes was incredibly valuable.
@ucsdmedschool.bsky.social

Alumni Spotlight: Thinzar Lwin, M.D., M.S.

“The faculty at UC San Diego equipped me with the clinical reasoning and research skills necessary for an independent career as a surgeon-scientist.” — Thinzar Lwin, M.D., M.S., on how #UCSDSurgery prepared her for a career in research @ucsdmedschool.bsky.social

surgery.ucsd.edu/alumni/spotl...

Cancer Uses Cell Death Proteins to Survive Treatment and Regrow Researchers at UC San Diego have found a paradoxical new way in which cancer cells survive and regrow after targeted therapy: by hijacking a protein involved in cell death.

Out now in @NatCellBio.nature.com : Researchers at @UCSDMedSchool.bsky.social and @UCSDCancer reveal that #cancer #cells can hijack a cell death protein to survive treatment and regrow, offering a new target to fight drug resistance. #CancerResearch #DrugResistance

When Life Imitates Art: Google Searches for Anxiety Drug Spike During Run of The White Lotus TV Show A UC San Diego study suggests that the depiction of lorazepam use on Season 3 of The White Lotus TV series sparked 1.6 million extra Google searches for information about the benzodiazepine drug, incl...

A new study shows lorazepam searches almost doubled (1.6 million excess searches) after The White Lotus Season 3 aired, showing how entertainment media can reflect and drive human behavior,” said lead author Kevin Yang, M.D., resident physician in the Department of Psychiatry.

🗞️ go.ucsd.edu/3JFqB5z

The neural organoids in Alysson Muotri’s lab at UC San Diego School of Medicine each contain about 2.5 million neurons of various types. Muotri aims to apply organoids to a real-world problem: predicting the path of possible oil spills in the Amazon jungle. ⬇️

Tomorrow we welcome Dr. Ventesh Ramnath to Grand Rounds. #MedEd #PCCM
@ucsdmedschool.bsky.social

NEWS—Prebys is proud to award over $4 million to more than 20 community health organizations strengthening access to healthcare and improving well-being in San Diego—to extend care through mobile units, longer hours, and new collaboration models.

More at www.prebysfdn.org/4mcommunityh...

GLP-1 Drugs Linked to Dramatically Lower Death Rates in Colon Cancer Patients In an analysis of more than 6,800 colon cancer patients across all University of California Health sites, researchers found that those taking glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications were less than...

New @ucsdhealthsci.bsky.social research shows GLP‑1 receptor agonists – the drug class behind Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro – may cut five‑year mortality in colon cancer by more than half (15.5% vs 37.1%) 🔬

Read more ⬇️

AI Model Powers Skin Cancer Detection Across Diverse Populations UC San Diego researchers developed a machine learning model that accurately predicts skin cancer risk across ancestries, improving equity in early detection and outcomes using genetics, lifestyle,…

Out now in @Nature.com: @UCSDCancer / @UCSDMedSchool.bsky.social researchers created an AI model that predicts #skincancer risk more accurately for people of all backgrounds by using genetics, lifestyle, and social factors to help close #healthequity gaps

Close-up of a mosquito feeding on human skin with text overlay reading 'The Hidden Science of How Mosquitoes Find Us'.

UC San Diego researchers have mapped the neurons that help mosquitoes find us. 🦟 Their 3D visualizations reveal new details of the insects’ carbon dioxide-sensing structures. Read More 🔗 https://bit.ly/47EnFOi

Alumni Spotlight: Sarah Stringfield, M.D.

“As residents, we worked hard and received a great education, but the relationships I formed with my co-residents will be what I remember and value the most.” — Sarah Stringfield, M.D., on the memories she made at #UCSDSurgery @ucsdmedschool.bsky.social

🔗 surgery.ucsd.edu/alumni/spotl...

How it started ➡️ How it’s going 🩺

As the first CA Medicine Scholars Program scholar to matriculate into medical school, a @ucsandiego.bsky.social MS1's path from community college to med school shows how @uofcalifornia.bsky.social pathways turn ambition into medical careers.

🗞️ go.ucsd.edu/48YLzqd

Ming Tai-Seale, PhD, MPH, Blending AI, Empathy and Innovation to Transform Healthcare Ming Tai-Seale, a JCHI faculty affiliate, stands at the cutting edge of medicine, informatics and health systems science.

Can AI bring joy back to medicine? Ming Tai-Seale
@ucsdmedschool.bsky.social thinks so by using data & design to make care clearer for patients and lighter for clinicians.

Read more ⬇️
healthinnovation.ucsd.edu/news/innovat...

New neuroscience study from @joeyannette.bsky.social finds APOE4’s usual effect on Alzheimer’s blood markers does not appear in Mexican American participants—underscoring the need for equitable, population-informed science. 🧬🧠

🗞️ Read ➡️ tinyurl.com/2uxnze2b

Automated pipeline for operant behavior phenotyping for high-throughput data management, processing, and visualization - NPP—Digital Psychiatry and Neuroscience To uncover why some individuals are more vulnerable to addiction, the PARC rat GWAS and Biobank projects are testing thousands of rats, generating hundreds of thousands of behavioral data files. We cr...

We also have a real TREAT today! Check out a 🆕 study from a team at @ucsdmedschool.bsky.social that helps address a 🔑 issue when working with rodent operant behavioral datasets - how can we most effectively organize, store, and visualize these data? 🤔

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

trejo lab dressed as mad scientists,

Rich Daneman & Joann Trejo

Trejolab getting into the spirit Happy Halloween 2025!!! Eat, drink and be scary!! @ucsdhealthsci.bsky.social @ucsdmedschool.bsky.social @ucsdfacaffairs.bsky.social

We congratulate our UC San Diego School of Medicine participants at the Torrey Pines Training Consortium's inaugural Postdoc Pitch competition, including first and second-place winners from the Department of Neurosciences! 🗯️

🎤 Read ➡️ tinyurl.com/dkzhetj5

Advancing preclinical models of psychiatric disorders with human brain organoid cultures - Molecular Psychiatry Molecular Psychiatry - Advancing preclinical models of psychiatric disorders with human brain organoid cultures

For more reading, check out these great reviews ⬇️

"Advancing preclinical models of psychiatric disorders with human brain organoid cultures" by Thomas Anthony Dixon and Alysson Muotri of @ucsdmedschool.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

LJI Professor Alessandro Sette receives William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement Prestigious prize recognizes Sette's accomplishments as a researcher and scientific communicator

We congratulate School of Medicine and @lji.org faculty Alessandro Sette for winning the 2025 William Procter Prize from @sigmaxi.bsky.social!

His 40-year work on T-cell epitopes has transformed immunity research and vaccine design.

Read more 📰 tinyurl.com/bdds4pz3

📢 New Study: UC San Diego researchers @ucsdmedschool.bsky.social and @cmcr-ucsd.bsky.social surveyed over 5,000 Californians about cannabis use and driving. Many felt safe driving within hours of use—despite impairment risks. 
🔗 https://f.mtr.cool/vmuwlxfzxl
#CannabisResearch

School of Medicine 2025 recipients of the prestigious Revelle Medal include:

⭐️ Edward Dennis, Distinguished Prof. Emeritus of Pharmacology

⭐️ Maria Savoia, M.D., Dean Emerita for Medical Education

⭐️ Tony Yaksh, Distinguished Prof. Emeritus of Anesthesiology & Pharmacology

🏆 go.ucsd.edu/4nlUe9x

Matthew Kolar, M.D., Ph.D., an associate physician diplomate of @ucsdhealthsci.bsky.social Department of Dermatology, has been honored with The National Institutes of Health's Director’s Early Independence Award. 🏆

Read ➡️ go.ucsd.edu/49pCGWK

We can't wait for a fantastic PCCSM&P Grand Rounds with the exceptional Dr. Victor Nizet, M.D.! #PCCM #MEDED @nizet.bsky.social @ucsdmedschool.bsky.social