UC Santa Cruz developed a computational tool known as UShER that enables real-time SARS-CoV-2 tracking and helps researchers identify new lineages of the virus. The easy-to-use tool and online server creates an evolutionary tree that helps scientists understand genomic mutations by creating new branches, showing the relationships between virus samples and the order in which mutations happened along various lineages as the virus evolves. Series: "UC Santa Cruz News" [Public Affairs] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 39241 ..read more

Since the mid 1970s, California policy makers have attempted to address the ever-growing problem of homelessness and incarceration of people with serious mental illness. Despite these efforts, the numbers of people who are homeless and incarcerated with mental illness have reached unprecedented highs. In this program, Dr. Joel Braslow, professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and History at UCLA, lays out why this historically informed perspective is crucial to understanding why we have failed to solve the fundamental problems of caring for our most vulnerable citizens. This program ..read more

The world has lived through 2+ years of the COVID-19 pandemic, heightening the awareness of the links between health and other aspects of life including education and the economy. Future pandemics are a real risk but there are a number of other threats to human health and well-being as well. These include climate change, the rise of obesity, inverted population pyramids, inter-state conflict, rising inequalities, antimicrobial resistance. Counterbalancing these threats are the opportunities that may come through the health sector and broader innovation. Using a comprehensive future health scen ..read more

Disability rights activist Judy Heumann has been fighting for inclusion for over six decades, in ways that transformed legal and societal understandings of equality. Her life-long experience has included co-founding the organization Disabled in Action, working on Capitol Hill to shape landmark disability rights laws, co-organizing the extraordinary protest and advocacy efforts that spurred the implementation of Section 504, and advising presidential administrations and the World Bank on disability issues. In this conversational program, Heumann focuses on those aspects of her journey that are ..read more

Marion Nestle, Ph.D., MPH, reflects on her late-in-life career as a world-renowned food politics expert, public health advocate, and a founder of the field of food studies after facing decades of low expectations. She discusses her new memoir, "Slow Cooked," that tells her personal story, including her rise from bench scientist to the pinnacles of academia, while overcoming the barriers and biases facing women of her generation and finding her life's purpose after age 50. Series: "Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Science] [Business] [Show I ..read more

The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) began in 1991 sponsored by the World Bank and the World Health Organization to fill a critical gap in global health information. It has grown steadily to become an active collaboration of more than 8,000 scientists, researchers and policy-makers from 156 countries working together to quantify health at the national and subnational level. In this program, Christopher J.L. Murray, Professor and Chair of Health Metrics Sciences at the University of Washington and Director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), discusses what we've learn ..read more

COVID-19 changed many aspects of our lives and policymakers at the local and state level are seeking solutions to help restore the health and well-being of Californians. In this program, Dr. Rita Hamad discusses ways to bolster the safety net for people most impacted by the pandemic. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38198 ..read more

COVID-19 changed many aspects of our lives over the last two years. Policymakers at the local, state, and federal level are seeking solutions to myriad problems including addressing rising rates of substance misuse and addiction. In this program, experts discuss the increase in opioid use and overdose deaths as well as the increase in youth using e-cigarettes. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38200 ..read more

COVID-19 changed many aspects of our lives, and policymakers at the local, state, and federal level are seeking solutions to help restore the health and well-being of Californians. In this program, Joanne Spetz examines the impact the pandemic has had on healthcare workers, from burnout to physical and mental health impacts, and what leaders can do to resolve the crisis. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38201 ..read more

In this program, Heather Royer, Ph.D., discusses the challenges and benefits of parental leave, including the impact on families, companies, the labor force and the economy. Series: "Critically Human" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Business] [Show ID: 38278 ..read more