Lung cancer research at UCSF is poised to leap forward, thanks to a big bank. No, not some teetering financial institution down the street. What UCSF has is an invaluable tissue bank.

Mitchell Feldman, professor of medicine, has been appointed as co-editor of the official peer-reviewed scientific publication of the Society of General Internal Medicine.

A UCSF postdoctoral scholar is singled out for his work exploring how natural killer cells adapt to ward off infection and cancer more effectively.

In recent years, there has been an increasing number of drugs pulled from the market, and many observers have been blaming the drug approval process of an understaffed, underfunded, industry-dependent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But even old drugs, predating today’s FDA environment, also are subject to recall.

Brain development disorders are the primary interest of UCSF neonatologist David Rowitch, MD, but his research also has led to new insight into gliomas, the deadliest brain cancers. Rowitch and colleagues have identified specific molecules that help control where and when brain cells arise, and what kinds of brain cells they become.

Through both long-term and one-time-only projects, UCSF is increasing its efforts to engage China in scientific and academic collaboration — part of the University’s ongoing pursuit to improve global health.

Nearly150 people attended the 2009 UCSF Martin Luther King Jr. Awards ceremony on Friday honoring Katherine Flores, JoAnne Keatley and Bunly Pel.

New UCSF Faculty, February 2009