Solving part of a medical mystery, researchers at UCSF have established a link between molecules found in an inflamed pancreas and the early formation of pancreatic cancer – a discovery that may help scientists identify new ways to detect, monitor and treat this deadly disease.

A new strategy for diagnosing kidney disease proved significantly more accurate than the current standard approach, indicating that there are potentially millions of Americans with undiagnosed – and misdiagnosed – kidney disease, according to a large, multi-center study led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

The Chancellor and two leading faculty members at UCSF wrote a commentary about enhancing academic and industry ties to improve health published online in Nature Medicine.

Michael Weiner, who is a professor at UCSF and an investigator of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), accepted the 2011 Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Award from the Alzheimer’s Association on behalf of the ADNI.