School of Medicine

The Latest

Transplanting Good Bacteria to Kill Staph

University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers screened 10,000 colonies of bacteria found on the epidermis to determine how many had antimicrobial properties and at what rate these are found on healthy and non-healthy skin. In a paper published in Science Translation Medicine, the team reports isolating and growing good bacteria that produce antimicrobial peptides and successfully transplanting it to treat patients with the most common type of eczema, known as atopic dermatitis.

Shedding Light on Cancer Diversity and Resistance

A paradigm-changing study in the journal Nature by cancer researchers and computer scientists at UC San Diego and other institutions found that short fragments of circular DNA that encode cancer genes are far more common in cancer cells than previously believed.

New Grant Boosts UC San Diego-Led Malaria Research Program

An international research team, led by principal investigator Elizabeth A. Winzeler, PhD, professor in the pediatric division of host-microbe systems and therapeutics at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues have received a three-year, $4.7 million supplemental grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance their development of improved therapies for malaria eradication and elimination.

Antibiotic Effective Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria in Pediatric Skin Infections

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterial scourge that is resistant to most common antibiotics and thus difficult to treat, particularly in children where it commonly causes complicated skin and skin structure infections. In a randomized, controlled clinical trial — the first of its kind — a multi-institution research team reports that daptomycin, part of a new class of antibiotics currently approved only for use in adults, is effective and well-tolerated in children.

Analyzing Copies of Genes Offers New Treatment Possibilities for Ovarian Cancer

A team of 18 University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center researchers has developed a new tool to analyze an often overlooked aspect of cancer genetics — an alteration that results in the loss or gain in a copy of a gene. This change, known as somatic copy-number alterations, may be key to disease progression and might offer new therapeutic approaches for ovarian cancer and other malignancies.

Cancer Survivor and Noted Physician-Scientist Sandra Horning to Receive Roth Award

Sandra Horning, MD, Chief Medical Officer and executive vice president of global development for Roche and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, has been named the 2017 recipient of the Duane Roth Memorial Award, which will be presented February 16 at the annual Industry/Academia Translational Oncology Symposium at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.