UCSF Health

Great news for heart health! ❤️🩹 UCSF researchers have developed a new AI tool that can analyze multiple echocardiogram views at once, giving doctors a more complete picture and improving the detection of several cardiac conditions. Dr. Geoffrey Tison describes the new tool as "a significant step toward maximizing AI performance in medical imaging." ➡️ https://ucsfh.org/4u4JdwZ

New drugs can slow Alzheimer’s progression, but high prices put them out of reach for most patients worldwide, a new University of California, San Francisco/Trinity College Dublin study finds. Dramatic price cuts like those once introduced for HIV drugs may be the only way to make these breakthrough treatments broadly accessible, Dr. James Kahn says: “I hope the same happens with Alzheimer's medicines." ➡️ https://ucsfh.org/4umKdx4

~1 in 10 prescriptions given to patients outside the hospital don’t work as well as they should because of genetic differences. That's why we launched California's first academic medical center program to integrate pharmacogenetic testing (how people respond to drugs based on their genetics) into patient care. The program helps providers choose safer and more effective medications tailored to each patient. https://ucsfh.org/4d7mpHw

Please congratulate Michael — he’s finally seizure-free after awake brain surgery last year to remove a large tumor. Michael began experiencing night terrors and problems sleeping as a child, but his doctors were stumped, and he received multiple misdiagnoses throughout his life. He felt shame and fear and experienced suicidal thoughts at times. In 2020, Michael was driving with his mother in Los Angeles when he had a seizure. Fortunately, he was able to pull over safely, and his mom immediately drove them to the hospital. Further testing revealed several tumors in Michael’s brain, one of which was plum-sized and pressing on his right eye. The tumor was causing nightly epileptic seizures, preventing him from experiencing REM sleep. Last year Michael traveled to UCSF from Southern California to see Dr. Edward Chang, after experiencing an increase in seizures. Nine months ago, Dr. Chang removed the tumor near Michael’s eye in a 7-hour surgery, which he performed while Michael was awake to preserve speech abilities. Michael has been seizure-free ever since — his last seizure was just before our team wheeled him into the operating room on surgery day! Today, Michael has regained most of his language skills and is back to playing golf, a sport he has loved since age 12!

👏 We’re renaming our UCSF Health Administration Fellowship, a two-year training program for aspiring healthcare administrators, to honor our former president and CEO Mark Laret. Mark led UCSF Health for 21 years until his retirement in 2021 and launched the fellowship during his tenure. 
 “From the very beginning, we believed that investing in the next generation of healthcare leaders wasn’t just good for our organization — it was essential to the future of healthcare itself,” he says. “I look forward to staying deeply involved and continuing to learn from the remarkable people this fellowship attracts.” More about the fellowship ➡️ https://ucsfh.org/3Rc9eMS

Congratulations to our heart team on another successful procedure for the EMPOWER Trial at UCSF! The multi-center clinical trial is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of a new device designed to help treat functional mitral regurgitation (heart valve disease) in patients with heart failure. Pooja Prasad David Wang Kaye Reambonanza

👏 CONGRATS to all the incredible nurses who received honors at our Nurse Excellence Awards!! They walked the red carpet in recognition of their hard work, compassion and dedication to our patients every day. 🙌

Epilepsy “brain blips” aren’t random but instead follow a pattern that scientists can spot a second before they strike. This early warning signal may lead to devices that stop disruptions before they happen, potentially protecting memory, language and focus. “That would be a major step forward, changing treatment from reactively responding to abnormal brain bursts to proactively preventing them in the first place,” Dr. Jon Kleen says. ➡️ https://ucsfh.org/4dweP9q

Our highly skilled team of kidney transplant specialists has extensive experience in treating medically complex patients, while consistently achieving exceptional survival rates. We performed 378 kidney transplants in 2025, with U.S. News & World Report rating us a high-performing hospital for acute kidney failure and INTERLINK COE Networks & Programs awarding us an "elite" designation for kidney transplant. More on our program ➡️ https://ucsfh.org/4tXpAHE UCSF Department of Surgery

Happy #NursesWeek to all the nurses who care for our patients with exceptional skill and compassion every day of the year!