University of California Audio Podcasts (Audio)

Hematopoietic stem cells make blood across the lifespan, but they do not all behave the same way. Stephanie Xie, Ph.D., Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, examines how these rare cells self-renew, differentiate, and respond to inflammatory stress, asking whether differences in the stem cell pool help explain why aging affects people so differently. Xie identifies two hematopoietic stem cell subsets, including one that retains inflammatory memory after stress recovery, and connects this state to aging, clonal hematopoiesis, sickle cell disease, post-COVID recovery, and mortality risk markers in blood. Her research also raises questions about whether targeting the inflammatory environment, including through GLP-1 receptor agonists or metformin, could help mitigate clonal hematopoiesis. Understanding these patterns could clarify how inflammation shapes blood production, cancer risk, and immune health over time. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41406]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Claudia Center, Legal Director, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund talks about the health policy landscape. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41453]

Rare disease research is creating new paths for diagnosis, treatment, and broader medical discovery. Gene therapy can repair or replace faulty genes, and work on cystinosis has led to a stem cell platform now being applied to Danon disease, Sanfilippo syndrome C, Friedreich’s ataxia, and Alzheimer’s research. Funding programs support gene therapy, clinical trials, and new platform approaches for rare diseases. CAR-T cell research is also advancing treatment possibilities for pediatric brain tumors, including early results in children with DIPG and diffuse midline glioma. A patient advocate shares her daughter’s diagnostic odyssey and treatment for TUBB4A leukodystrophy. Together, these stories show why rare disease research matters beyond rarity. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41402]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Ivan de Kouchkovsky discusses radioligand therapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41561]

Space healthcare depends on connected health data that can follow people wherever care happens. Peter DeVault, Epic, explains how electronic health record tools built for hospitals, labs, and patients can also support healthcare in space. DeVault describes patient-facing tools like MyChart, interoperability across health systems, structured genomics and pharmacogenomics in the patient record, and Cosmos, Epic’s patient data aggregation platform with about 300 million longitudinal records. He also examines AI capabilities that can generate possible future health scenarios and expand to telemetry and molecular data collected before, during, and after a mission. This work helps explain how records, data sharing, and predictive tools could support astronaut health and resilience and why those capabilities may be necessary for the future of space medicine. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41481]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Samuel Washington discusses active surveillance of prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41549]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Peter Carroll discusses biochemical recurrence. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41556]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Carissa Chu discusses surgery for prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41550]