A publication for alumni, donors, faculty and friends of UC Davis Health

Volume 15 • No 1 • Fall 2018

Noteworthy

Notable quotes

Ben Waldau

“The whole idea with these organoids is to one day be able to develop a brain structure the patient has lost, made with the patient’s own cells. We see the injuries still there on the CT scans, but (otherwise) there’s nothing we can do.”

Vascular neurosurgeon Ben Waldau, M.D., FAANS, in a Wired article about a UC Davis group that published the first results of vascularized human neural organoids. The “mini brains” or “brain balls” may eventually help overcome neural deficits.
Cynthia Schumann

“It’s possible that having too many neurons early on could contribute to anxiety and challenges with social interactions. However, with time, that constant activity could wear on the system and lead to neuron loss.”

Cynthia Schumann, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the UC Davis MIND Institute, in a U.S. News & World Report article explaining how brain neurons — especially in the amygdala region — affect children with autism differently as they mature.
Rachel Whitmer

“It’s a call to action for the field to take seriously why women specifically are at higher risk of developing dementia, and what it is about the female brain and the hormonal milieu over the life course that sets the brain up for higher or lower risk.”

Epidemiologist and principal investigator Rachel Whitmer, Ph.D., in a Time article showcasing how pregnancy and different exposures to estrogen may affect brain health and increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Ian Koebner

“I think art, in the broadest sense of the word, is an experience, not an object. And I believe that experience, which includes a sense of meaning, inspiration and connection, may be analgesic.”

Ian Koebner, MSc., MAOM, L.Ac., director of integrative pain management at the UC Davis School of Medicine, in a Reuters article explaining how art museum tours may help relieve physical pain and social disconnect in chronic pain sufferers.
Irva Hertz-Picciotto

“The evidence on diabetes is very consistent, and the magnitude of the risk is such that clinicians should be advising women with diabetes of the risk for their future child, and assisting them in achieving strong control of their blood glucose levels.”

Environmental epidemiologist Irva Hertz-Picciotto, M.P.H., Ph.D., in a Healthline article discussing how Type 1 diabetes and blood glucose levels in pregnant women may be linked to a higher risk of autism in children.
UC Davis Health Magazine logo A publication for alumni,
donors, faculty and friends
of UC Davis Health Volume 15 • No 2 • Fall 2018

In this issue