Friday, October 6, 2006
The public is invited to join the conversation with the world’s leading experts in medicine and the health sciences at UCSF’s Mini Medical School for the community, which begins October 24. The fall program includes two courses:
“Infection, Inflammation and Immunity: Implications for Your Health” and “Understanding the Drugs you Take: Pharmacy 101.”
For more information or to register, call the UCSF Public Affairs Office at (415) 476-2557 or visit the website.
Course Descriptions
“Infection, Inflammation and Immunity” will be held Tuesday evenings, October 24-December 5, from 7:00 to 8:45 pm. These biologic processes are at the core of a large number of the world’s most pressing health problems. The course will cover key topics in microbiology, immunology, infectious disease and international health, combining approaches in basic science, clinical medicine and public health.
“Understanding the Drugs You Take” will be held Wednesday evenings, October 25-December 6, from 7:00 to 8:45 pm. Almost every American takes a drug every day - whether for lifesaving purposes such as heart disease or self care such as cavity preventive toothpastes. The course will traverse the landscape of pharmaceutical discovery and innovations from modern day origins to anticipated future applications.
The courses offer a consolidated version of the core curriculum for second-year medical students and third-year pharmacy students and are taught by the same distinguished faculty who teach UCSF students.
Class Locations
Classes will be held on the UCSF campus, 513 Parnassus Ave. Each class includes a one-hour lecture followed by a question-and-answer session. Tuition for each course is $75. Parking in the UCSF campus garage is $3 per evening.
See campus maps.
Course Schedule
“Infection, Inflammation and Immunity: Implications for Your Health”
* October 24: “How Bacteria Cause Disease” by Warren Levinson, MD, professor
of microbiology and immunology
Learn about the various agents that cause infectious diseases: bacteria, viruses,
fungi, protozoa and worms, with a focus on how bacteria are transmitted and
cause disease, and how exotoxins and endotoxins cause symptoms of disease.
* October 31: “How Anti-microbial Drugs Work” by Marieke Kruidering-Hall, PhD,
assistant adjunct professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology
Learn about drugs used to treat various types of Infections, the rationale
behind antimicrobial therapy, the mechanism of action of different classes of
drugs as well as problems associated with their use, ranging from side effects
to drug resistance.
* November 7: “HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Implications of Age, Gender,
Geography and the Internet” by Ruth Greenblatt, MD, professor of clinical
medicine and epidemiology
With both an ancient history (STDs) and a modern one (HIV), these infections
have found a striking niche on the internet, contributing to the world-wide
pandemic.
* November 14: “Anatomy of an Outbreak: Lessons from the SARS Epdidemic and
Implications for Avian Flu” by George Rutherford, MD, Salvatore Pablo Lucia
Professor of Epidemiology, Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics
Examine how world health leaders investigated and controlled the 2003 outbreak
of SARS, an infectious disease of unknown etiology. Do quarantine and isolation
work? Preparing for future epidemics such as avian flu and other serious pathogens.
* November 28: “How the Body Fights Infection” by Richard Locksley, MD , Sandler
Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical
Institute
Miniaturized battles are waged continuously by heroic micro-warriors that protect
us from viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. A look at how these unseen victories
(and occasional defeats) are played out, and how vaccination stacks the deck
on our side.
* December 5: “Things That Go Bump in the Night” by James McKerrow, PhD , Robert
E. Smith Chair in Experimental Pathology
Parasitic diseases from mosquitos to sushi, from single cells to worms. Learn
about tropical parasites and the diseases they cause.
“Understanding the Drugs You Take: Pharmacy 101”
* October 25: “How Drugs Are Discovered” by Brian Shoichet, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry
Learn how the innovators think about developing cures for life-threatening
conditions, explore the barriers to innovation, and the future outlook for hi-tech
solutions to this highly competitive field.
*November 1: “Innovations in Drug Delivery: Getting Drugs to Their Targets
in the Body” by Frank Szoka, PhD , professor of biopharmaceutical sciences
Find out about the scientific basis for the delivery of drugs to selected sites
in the body, why this field of knowledge is vital to optimizing clinical outcomes,
and what to expect in the future.
* November 8: “The Tightrope of Drug Approval” by R. William Soller,
PhD, professor of clinical pharmacy
Explore the delicate balance of scientific, economic and political forces shaping
the development of drugs and their approval. Learn how the patient perspective
has driven change in the FDA. Find out what’s amiss in the drug approval process
that contributed to some of the recent celebrated drug safety problems.
* November 15: “Pitfalls and Benefits of Drug Advertising and Promotion”
by R. William Soller, PhD, professor of clinical pharmacy
Learn about the legal and regulatory basis for drug advertising and promotion.
Explore the consumer demand for information by this channel of communication
and the associated ethical and social values. Debate the benefits and risks
of direct to consumer advertising.
* November 29: “Personalized Medicine: The Possibilities of Drugs Tailored
to Your Genetic Makeup” by Deanna Kroetz, PhD, professor of biopharmaceutical
sciences
Heralded as the future of medicine, personalized medicines seem to be the answer
for making therapeutics more likely to be highly effective and safer. Learn
about medicine’s progress in attempting to achieve this goal. Find out about
the innovative discoveries of macromolecular therapeutics, their promise, their
limitations.
* December 6: “Open Dialogue on Current Controversies and Hot Topics”
by Lorie Rice, MPH, associate dean, external affairs; R. William Soller, PhD,
professor of clinical pharmacy; Joseph Guglielmo, PharmD, clinical professor
of clinical pharmacy.
About Mini Medical School
Mini Medical School is presented by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UCSF (OLLI). Supported in part by a grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation, this UCSF community education program is sponsored by the UCSF Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy, the UCSF Medical Center and the UCSF Public Affairs Department.
UCSF is a leading university that consistently defines health care worldwide by conducting advanced biomedical research, educating graduate students in the health professions and life sciences, and providing complex patient care.
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