UCSF | 2025 State of the University Address | Continuum

Who speaks in this episode?

• Michael Weiner (Referenced contributor (music performer for event))

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Ian Morrison, Michael Weiner
2. 5:00 – 10:00: UCSF Health, Atul Butte, Bill Rutter, Stephen Hauser
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Atul Butte, Brooke Byers, Edward Fein Charitable Trust, Stanford Cancer Institute
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Barbara and Gerson Bakar Research and Academic Building
5. 20:00 – 25:00: UCSF Health, Marc and Lynne Benioff, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Pew Center Research Center
7. 30:00 – 35:00: UCSF Fresno, San Joaquin Valley Prime
8. 45:00 – 50:00: AI-powered tool
9. 50:00 – 55:00: Project One

Notable quotes from "UCSF | 2025 State of the University Address | Continuum"

• I anchor my remarks today on a construct borrowed from the futurist Ian Morrison, who developed a simple yet I think profound idea that he called the second curve.

  about Ian Morrison · at 0:40

• One is Stephen Hauser's recognition with the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

  about Stephen Hauser · at 8:24

• (audience laughing) The passing of Bill Rutter and Atul Butte this year leaves an immeasurable void in our community.

  about Atul Butte · at 9:45

• This yearly award generously supported by Brooke Byers and his family has remained a catalyst for innovation for now over three decades.

  about Brooke Byers · at 13:46

• In Oakland, our $1.6 billion modernization of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital received a boost with a new donation from Marc and Lynne Benioff last month.

  about UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital · at 21:42

• UCSF Health was the only public academic medical center in the country to receive recognition from all three nationally recognized quality benchmarking systems.

  about UCSF Health · at 23:02

• The success of UCSF Fresno's work in the Central Valley has led us to the launch of the San Joaquin Valley Prime plus BS MD program.

  about UCSF Fresno · at 30:39

• To advance the work we do across all of our mission levels using AI, I'm today announcing that an enterprise version of OpenAI's latest ChatGPT will be available for all at UCSF early next year.

  about OpenAI's ChatGPT · at 50:54

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Atul Butte — Person · Referenced honoree (deceased UCSF scientific leader) · 2 mentions · first at 9:49
  Highlighted as a transformational leader in clinical informatics whose advocacy for big data/computation changed UCSF’s approach to informatics.
• Bill Rutter — Person · Referenced honoree (deceased UCSF scientific leader) · 1 mention · first at 9:49
  Cited as a foundational UCSF figure who shaped basic science culture and helped catalyze biotech via recombinant DNA translation.
  Bill Rutter helped to transform our basic science enterprise after arriving at UCSF in 1968.
• Stephen Hauser — Person · Referenced award recipient (UCSF faculty leader) · 1 mention · first at 8:24
  Used as an example of UCSF’s scientific impact: recognized with the 2025 Breakthrough Prize for work implicating B cells in multiple sclerosis.
• Marc and Lynne Benioff — Person · Referenced major donors (health system philanthropy) · 1 mention · first at 21:50
  Mentioned as providing a $100M gift supporting UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital modernization, adding inpatient beds and a behavioral health unit.
  In Oakland, our $1.6 billion modernization of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital received a boost with a new donation from Marc and Lynne Benioff last month.
• Ian Morrison — Person · Referenced expert (futurist; framework source) · 1 mention · first at 0:40
  Credited with the “second curve” framework used to structure the address’s argument about organizational adaptation amid disruption.
• Christine Miaskowski — Person · Referenced award recipient (UCSF nursing leader) · 1 mention · first at 8:49
  Cited to illustrate UCSF excellence and impact in nursing science—named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing for oncology nursing and symptom science.
  And Professor Emeritus Christine Miaskowski was named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing.
• Michael Weiner — Person · Referenced contributor (music performer for event) · 1 mention · first at 0:15
  Recognized as Professor Emeritus who provided the music for the address, serving as ceremonial contributor rather than a topic driver.
  Before we begin, I would like to recognize Professor Emeritus Michael Weiner, who provided today's music.

Companies & orgs

• UCSF Health — Company · Healthcare system · 5 mentions · first at 5:45
  The healthcare arm of UCSF, providing patient care and integrating research and education missions.
• UCSF Fresno — Company · Regional campus · 5 mentions · first at 30:21
  A regional campus addressing physician shortages in the San Joaquin Valley.
• UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital — Company · Healthcare facility · 1 mention · first at 21:46
  A children's hospital undergoing modernization with significant philanthropic support.
• Weill Family Foundation — Company · Philanthropic partner · 1 mention · first at 11:58
  Provided a significant grant to launch the Weill Cancer Hub West, a collaboration between UCSF and Stanford.
  A visionary $100 million matching grant from the Weill Family Foundation illustrates the power of philanthropy in advancing our research mission.
• Stanford Cancer Institute — Company · Collaborative partner · 1 mention · first at 12:17
  Partnered with UCSF in the Weill Cancer Hub West to accelerate cancer research.
  This gift launched the Weill Cancer Hub West, a collaboration between the UCSF, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Stanford Cancer Institute.
• Edward Fein Charitable Trust — Company · Philanthropic partner · 1 mention · first at 13:04
  Provided a $100 million gift to support the Memory and Aging Center.
  This unprecedented and unrestricted gift from the Edward Fein Charitable Trust will support clinical care, education, and research related to memory loss and dementia.
• UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital — Company · Healthcare facility · 1 mention · first at 21:32
  A hospital under construction to expand care capacity.
  And just down the street from here, the work to construct the new UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital at Parnassus Heights is progressing very well.
• Pew Center Research Center — Company · Research organization · 1 mention · first at 27:57
  Cited for a survey on public trust in higher education.
  A recent Pew Center Research Center survey showed that seven out of 10 Americans say the higher education system in the US is going in the wrong direction.

Products & tech

• OpenAI's ChatGPT — Product · AI platform · 2 mentions
  An enterprise version to be deployed at UCSF for various missions.
• Barbara and Gerson Bakar Research and Academic Building — Product · Research facility · 1 mention · first at 18:34
  A new building on the Parnassus Heights campus to support collaborative research and education.
  This facility scheduled to open in 2028 will create a vital collaborative space for innovations in scientific research and education.
• San Joaquin Valley Prime — Product · Educational program · 1 mention · first at 30:45
  A program creating a pipeline for Central Valley students to become physicians in their communities.
  Through this collaboration between UC, Merced, UCSF Fresno, and UCSF, we are creating a direct pipeline for Central Valley students to become physicians in the communities that they were born.
• AI-powered tool — Product · Educational technology · 1 mention · first at 46:38
  An AI tool used in the School of Nursing for simulated telehealth visits.
  The School of Nursing launched an AI-powered tool that enable students to interact with virtual adolescent patients during simulated telehealth visits.
• Project One — Product · Administrative system · 1 mention · first at 52:14
  A multi-year project to integrate and automate core business processes at UCSF.
  Project One is a multi-year project that will integrate and automate our core business processes into a single unified enterprise resource planning solution.

Sponsors

• Brooke Byers — Person · Referenced philanthropist (research seed-funding patron) · 1 mention · first at 13:40
  Named as the donor behind the Byers Award in Basic Science, framed as catalytic philanthropy enabling high-risk, early-stage research at UCSF.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 (audience applauding) - So good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining me for this 2025 State of the University Address. Before we begin, I would like to recognize Professor Emeritus Michael Weiner, who provided today's music. Thank you so much, Michael. (audience applauding and cheering)

0:30 Each year I have the privilege of standing before you to reflect on what we have achieved together and the work we're pursuing to secure our future. I anchor my remarks today on a construct borrowed from the futurist Ian Morrison, who developed a simple yet I think profound idea that he called the second curve. Morrison reminds us that every successful organization rides what he described as a first curve, a period of growth, success, and increasing maturity. However, inevitably that first curve will tend to plateau.

1:10 The world changes around us as particularly technologies evolve, political winds shift, and societal expectations change. Unless these changes are recognized and intentionally responded to, we risk stagnation rather than the desired transition to a second curve of growth and further high performance. Now, as we discussed last year, by almost any measure, our momentum along the first curve is strong. Our research is more impactful than ever, even as we contend with rapidly changing federal policies. Our education programs are producing scientists, clinicians, health leaders who continue to push the boundaries and frontiers of their fields.

2:02 Our health system leveraging our research and education missions is thriving and providing care to more patients than ever. But as Morrison suggests, we must continually scan the horizon for future forces that have the potential to disrupt our momentum for good and for bad. How we respond to these forces will determine our future, a successful continuum to our second curve or risk being left behind. Now, universities and their embedded health systems across the country are facing disruptive forces of change technologically and economically as well as culturally and politically.

2:50 Amongst the many forces impacting us, I believe, are changes in the decades long social contract with the federal government for health insurance, clinical reimbursement, and research funding. There is a growing distrust in institutions, in expertise, and in science itself. And most important of all, there are vast new opportunities arising with technologies like artificial intelligence. These forces are not abstract. They will shape how we teach, how we work, how we are funded, and how we are perceived. Now, to be very clear, the second curve is not about abandoning what has made us so successful.

3:41 These core fundamentals must be maintained on our journey to the second curve. But what the second curve is about is identifying future forces and intentionally adapting them to ensure a continuum of our mission. Today I want to share some of the ways that UCSF is addressing these future forces with actions, not just aspirations. Now our partnership with the federal government in research and patient care goes back many decades. Both a stable national science policy and federal health insurance programs have contributed significantly to UCSF's growth and status since our full independence as a campus in 1964.

4:33 But this year, we have witnessed instability in this longstanding social contract. A great deal of uncertainty still remains, but the administration's proposals to Congress could mean fewer grants for our faculty, more patients without health insurance, and lower reimbursement associated with both our research and our healthcare. The financial headwinds that we face, especially from the federal level, are real and potentially significant. To understand them, we must recognize that the current situation and the outlook are quite nuanced.

5:14 On the one hand, our revenue for the enterprise this year reached $13 billion, a growth of 14% from the previous year. Our net income also exceeded our plan, an indicator that we are on solid financial ground, but these results do not yet reflect the impact of proposed federal changes, and there are already warning signs nestled into these top line numbers. UCSF Health's strong financial year contains several large one-time payments from the federal government that are not guaranteed into the future, and our numbers do not yet reflect the very significant medical cuts that have been voted into law.

6:04 Our research growth was weaker than planned and slower than in the last decade. This strains our abilities to support the infrastructure our researchers are dependent on. Many of the research awards that was canceled earlier this year have been reinstated, and we have recently observed an increase, in fact, in the number of federal awards we are receiving. These are both positive signs, but the average award size didn't increase to keep pace with the cost of inflation last year. Again, our fiscal year 25 research results do not yet reflect the proposed significant decrease in infrastructure support for our research.

6:51 The real and projected changes in the federal government's funding have presented us with difficult choices. In March, we implemented a hiring freeze. Also, some leaders have had to make reductions in staff positions across campus and UCSF Health. While difficult, these changes are necessary to ensure the long-term viability of our integrated research, education, and healthcare missions. To advance to the second curve, we will need to be judicious in determining where to invest our resources, diversify our funding streams, and use new tools to work smarter and control expenses.

7:36 Now, this may all seem daunting, but when I consider this moment, one thing is clear to me. If we are intentional and look to our values and core strengths, we will prevail through political and economic cycles. Our response to the current uncertainty is built on an ongoing commitment to our values. Through changes in policy and priorities, providing opportunities for all and focusing on excellence and innovation in our work is the best and only strategy for us to pursue. Two awards from last year exemplify how transformative impact results from this decades long approach.

8:24 One is Stephen Hauser's recognition with the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. His groundbreaking work identifying B cells as the primary driver of multiple sclerosis overturned decades of scientific consensus and it's fundamentally transformed treatments for these patients worldwide. And Professor Emeritus Christine Miaskowski was named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing. Christine helped shape the field of oncology nursing and advanced the scientific understanding of pain and other debilitating symptoms in cancer patients.

9:08 These recognitions and so, so many others are a reminder that we have the obligation to continue to invest to make sure that UCSF remains a leading biomedical research institution. So as we look to the work that drives us forward, I want to pause now to just honor two extraordinary individuals whose contributions helped shape the UCSF into the scientific powerhouse we are today. I'm gonna sit down for just a second 'cause I think next year I'll have a knee replacement by this talk. (audience laughing) The passing of Bill Rutter and Atul Butte this year leaves an immeasurable void in our community.

9:57 Bill Rutter helped to transform our basic science enterprise after arriving at UCSF in 1968. He created the model of individual excellence linked to unchecked collaboration that became and remains the foundation of UCSF's research excellence from our very earliest days. And his passion for patient benefit helped launch the biotechnology industry through his pioneering work in the translation of recombinant DNA technologies. Atul Butte was also a transformational figure whose infectious optimism about big data and computation fundamentally changed how we embrace clinical informatics.

10:45 Such an important part of our mission today. Both Bill and Atul embodied the best of UCSF, brilliant minds paired with generous hearts. They were visionary leaders who built bridges between disciplines and brilliant mentors who invested deeply in the next generation. Their contributions to our scientific enterprise will continue to benefit patients and advance human health for generations to come. Just as Bill and Atul embraced innovation over the status quo, we too must look towards what comes next. Clearly, the scale of scientific opportunities ahead of us are huge and progress will be catalyzed by bringing multi-institutional resources to bear.

11:43 As good as we are, we can't do it alone. A recent example demonstrates how we are using this concept of transformational partnerships to tackle the biggest problems. A visionary $100 million matching grant from the Weill Family Foundation illustrates the power of philanthropy in advancing our research mission. This gift launched the Weill Cancer Hub West, a collaboration between the UCSF, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Stanford Cancer Institute. The partnership will unite some of the nation's most talented scientists.

12:25 By breaking down institutional silos and fostering cross-disciplinary partnerships, this initiative will accelerate discoveries and speed the development of therapies for cancer patients around the globe. Philanthropy does and will play a big role in our future, and we are so blessed to have such amazing partners who share our vision. One such trust as a partner has just announced a $100 million gift for our Memory and Aging Center. This unprecedented and unrestricted gift from the Edward Fein Charitable Trust will support clinical care, education, and research related to memory loss and dementia.

13:15 As I've said before, philanthropy has always been the seed funding for our most high risk, high reward science. But now more than ever, it is needed to allow our researchers to do the early work that is needed for evermore competitive follow on federal funding. A prime example of this construct of using philanthropy to seed early work is the Byer's Award in Basic Science. This yearly award generously supported by Brooke Byers and his family has remained a catalyst for innovation for now over three decades. The award supports exceptional mid-career researchers as they pursue high risk projects that are not yet ready to attract federal funding.

14:08 This fills a critical gap in our research pipeline. By investing in scientists at this pivotal moment in their careers, the Byer's Award has enabled countless discoveries that might never have seen the light of day. So let's watch a video that captures the remarkable impact of 30 years of this transformative support from the Byer's family. (bright music) How do cells work? Why do we develop the way we develop? What does replication mean? Basic science gets at fundamental questions of life. If you look back at our Byer's awardees, they've gone on to outstanding careers that have changed our understanding of human biology.

15:03 - Our lab works on how cells divide. Cell division is essential for so many aspects of life. So from development and growth, a baby starts with just one cell initially and divides into two, four, eight, and so on. And problems in cell division can impact us in all kinds of ways. Many cancers ultimately come from errors in chromosome segregation. One molecule that our lab spent a lot of time learning about is called NuMA, and our lab found that this molecule can turn one molecular motor on, called dining, to tell it when to walk and what to carry and where to go.

15:45 - In my lab, we're really interested in how the brain is developed. How is it maintained throughout our life. Dopamine is actually a very ancient small molecule neurotransmitter. So we study dopamine in its role in regulating behavior. We also interested in the cells that produce dopamine because these cells unfortunately degenerate in Parkinson's disease. So we identified a very druggable target that we believe will slow down Parkinson's disease progression. We're really at the verge of making a really important contributions, I believe, to the cure of Parkinson's disease.

16:29 - I think the best thing in science is when you realize you understand how something works for the first time. A lab in the '50s and '60s had shown that capsaicin, which is the main pungent ingredient in chili peppers, activates a subset of nerve fibers that are involved in pain sensation. And people had used this for many years without really knowing what the molecular basis of it was. And so as a molecular biologist, like, you wanna understand pain, this is the question to answer. It's like the holy grail of pain research.

16:57 Identifying this receptor and cloning it was a big step. I think then pursuing the biology is really what makes the story much more significant and fuller. All these other people who came to the lab after to pursue this area was what sort of led to recognition by things like the Nobel and other prizes. - The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided to award the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian. (audience applauding) - [David] I was among the first Byer's Award recipients, and that fund allowed us to do an in-vitro study using mice.

17:42 That was a pretty key moment in this research and I think an important point in the field in general. - Brook is a relatively rare philanthropist and donor who understands the fundamental benefit of curiosity-driven science. The Byer's Award, it just expands the horizons and what's possible to explore. (bright music ends) So to prepare for the second curve, we must continue to focus our philanthropy on innovation and ensure that we upgrade our infrastructure for research to support the kind of cutting edge science that you just saw.

18:26 These investments include the physical spaces for our work. This year on our Parnassus Heights campus, construction of the Barbara and Gerson Bakar Research and Academic Building reached a major milestone with the structural steel reaching its maximum height. This facility scheduled to open in 2028 will create a vital collaborative space for innovations in scientific research and education. It will house the school of nursing alongside research programs in cancer, microbiology, diabetes, immunology, and cell biology.

19:08 Across the city, construction began in August on a new clinical and life sciences building at the Dogpatch Power Station. The 300,000 square foot facility will expand our research and clinical capabilities. The building will house a center for proton beam therapy, a highly precise treatment for cancer that is available in very few centers around the world. The building will also house one of the largest academic life science incubators in the country. A critical addition to our ecosystem as we look to diversify our funding streams.

19:51 The incubator will benefit from proximity to our Mission Bay Research campus, just four blocks away, enabling startup companies to collaborate directly with our scientists and access our research infrastructure. Our efforts to expand care to those who need it face the future challenge of decreased reimbursement at both the state and federal level. One example of expanding care is the work in the school of dentistry to prepare for the launch of a new clinical division next year, featuring two comprehensive dental clinics.

20:30 These clinics in San Mateo and Berkeley will provide patients with most oral health treatments in a single location, rather than requiring multiple referrals across multiple geographies. By expanding our geographic footprint and extending service hours, we're bringing care directly to communities where patients live and work. Another area where UCSF has expanded to meet the needs of our patients is in our new retail pharmacies, which opened this year. The locations at our Mission Bay and Parnassus campuses build on a school of pharmacies pioneering legacy in clinical pharmacy that dates to 1966.

21:16 These new pharmacies are fully integrated with our electronic health records system, allowing pharmacists to access patient lab results and diagnoses to optimize medical management. And just down the street from here, the work to construct the new UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital at Parnassus Heights is progressing very well. In Oakland, our $1.6 billion modernization of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital received a boost with a new donation from Marc and Lynne Benioff last month. Their $100 million gift will advance the work to add 104 inpatient beds and provide a much needed behavioral health unit.

22:07 These hospitals under construction are a major part of UCSF's Health's work to build for the future. And to serve our community, we are also investing in the newly named UCSF Health Stanyan and Hyde hospitals. We have transitioned these hospitals again to our enterprise wide electronic health record, expanded specialty and inpatient coverage, and have upgraded facilities and technology. These improvements are already helping us to decompress the Helen Diller Hospital to these community hospitals, opening capacity for complex care that our communities deserve.

22:53 The excellence across UCSF Health is reflected in the accolades received this year for quality and safety. UCSF Health was the only public academic medical center in the country to receive recognition from all three nationally recognized quality benchmarking systems. Now to put a human face on these recognitions, let's take a moment to watch a video about one of our pediatric transplant patients. (gentle music) - A mother's intuition is unmatched. Sahej Kaur Judge was born February 23rd, 2022. Something kind of felt off within the second week of her life.

23:38 It felt like her color was not the same shade as our family. I saw three or four physicians to try to get a diagnosis, but they dismissed me as just kind of being paranoid. We were told that, you know, her color is because we are of Indian descent and that it's just the shade of our skin tone. - My wife is a nurse, she identified this illness in our daughter before anybody else did, including the doctors. - I asked for blood tests and her liver numbers were just completely out of range. Her body was failing and one of the thoughts that just replays in your mind over and over again is, "My daughter's gonna die.

24:20 My daughter's gonna die." (gentle music continues) She was diagnosed on May 27th with biliary atresia. She was dying at the time that she was diagnosed. We got transferred from our hospital to UCSF Benioff. - A lot of positivity happened when we got transferred to UC, San Francisco. I felt very comfortable there the second that I walked in. - After having lost almost all of the trust we had in the healthcare system, it is a huge testament to be able to say I trusted these people. - For biliary atresia, there's a procedure that essentially tried to restore the drainage system.

25:03 Unfortunately, it was too late of a diagnosis and there was too much damage to her liver. We knew early on that transplant was the only way for Sahej to live. - The family needed to come to UCSF because community hospitals don't have transplant programs. All right. UCSF is widely acknowledged in the field as one of the top transplant centers overall in the world. - We talked to family at length about living donor options. - [Aman] Thankfully, I was a perfect match. - [San-Mo] I performed the donor surgery on Aman and brought the liver over to the Children's Hospital and then helped implant the liver into Sahej.

25:46 (bright music) (Aman crying) (Aman speaking in foreign language) - All the nurses were cheering for me when I came in. I know every time I talk when I wanna cry, and they were the ones taking care of my baby when I was gone. I finally felt like she wasn't gonna die anymore and she was playing and she was kicking and she already looks bigger somehow. I finally felt like I could, like, live my life with her again and I felt like we weren't really living before that. - I was sitting by the nursing station and I can see her monitor going off and I was like, "What is going on?"

26:20 It turned out they were dancing together. Her heart rate was showing that it was 200 because she was dancing. She was so happy. - If it wasn't for UCSF, I don't believe that we've had the success that we did with her transplant. They saved my daughter's life and the nurses were so great. I never knew somebody that could love your child that didn't know them. She's two and a half years old. She is walking, talking, running, doing all the things that you're supposed to do. - [Navroop] She is so full of life. (Sahej giggling) - Every single time we get to experience and enjoy that gift of her thriving, we're so lucky because of the gift that she was given.

26:56 (Sahej giggling) (Sahej babbling) - [Aman] We're liver sisters. That's what we call each other. (family cheering) (bright music ends) (audience applauding) - Thank you to the Judge family for allowing us to share their remarkable story. All of these highlights reflect the very best of our 150 plus year public mission to advance health worldwide. Throughout our history, we have formed lasting partnerships with other institutions in San Francisco, including the San Francisco Department of Public Health and Veterans Affairs, to deliver something greater than what we can have achieved alone.

27:49 An additional future force that we face is the increasing mistrust of higher education institutions. A recent Pew Center Research Center survey showed that seven out of 10 Americans say the higher education system in the US is going in the wrong direction. And this isn't a partisan problem. The views of higher ed from Americans of both parties have grown more negative since 2020. As we confront growing skepticism towards higher education, we must clearly demonstrate how our graduates go on to improve the health of our society after receiving their professional and graduate degrees.

28:35 We must continue our work to ensure that trust in science and scholarship is earned anew every day. For example, this year, the School of Nursing welcomed its first cohort in the doctor of nursing practice pathway. This accelerated course allows nurses to advance in their careers by earning their professional doctorate degree in three years as opposed to the traditional four. Nurses who hold a DMP degree can go on to become experts and leaders in advanced practice specialties as well as health policy. This addresses the critical need in our society for more nurse leaders to improve patient outcomes and transform healthcare systems.

29:26 The School of Dentistry is developing the Aspire program. It is a program designed to train dental students to provide oral care to Californian populations who currently lack access to this care. 10 students will integrate leadership and research training as they progress through their academic and clinical curriculums. The School of Pharmacy is also addressing an unmet societal need to build a pharmacist workforce to serve medically underserved regions in California. The school has established the Pharm Tech to Pharm D pathway program.

30:08 This hybrid program enables California pharmacy technicians to prepare for competitive admission into doctoral programs. And of course, one may need not look any further than UCSF Fresno for another example of impact. Founded in 1975 to address the physician shortage in the San Joaquin Valley, UCSF Fresno celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The success of UCSF Fresno's work in the Central Valley has led us to the launch of the San Joaquin Valley Prime plus BS MD program. Through this collaboration between UC, Merced, UCSF Fresno, and UCSF, we are creating a direct pipeline for Central Valley students to become physicians in the communities that they were born.

31:07 So let's watch a brief video about UCSF Fresno's impact over the last five decades. (gentle music) - [Speaker #1] The Central Valley is very huge. It's the heart of California. - [Speaker #2] The community that we serve here is very diverse. We get a lot of migrant populations and there's many different languages. - We have a lot of essential workers here, especially the farm worker community, working day in and day out from, you know, dawn to dusk to feed our country, really. - With a bread basket, not just of the state, but of much of the world, yet most of our patients live below poverty, don't have access to physicians.

31:53 - The mission at UCSF Fresno is essentially to be able to train world class health providers that want to remain here so that they can serve this population that, as it stands currently, does not have great health outcomes. - We were started 50 years ago because of the physician shortage, right? There was a call to grow doctors in the valley for the valley. We trained the doctors in all the specialties from medical school up and beyond into becoming your subspecialist acute care surgeon. We've been very successful in that as the largest program here in the San Joaquin region 'cause the two biggest predictors for where you're gonna practice is where you train and where you're from.

32:36 (soft piano music) - I'm the daughter of two Mexican immigrants. I initially grew up here in Fresno. One of the best aspects I think of the UCSF Fresno's SJV-PRIME program is returning to your community and being trained by physicians that are also familiar with your community. - The San Joaquin Valley in California is home to one of the largest Hmong community in the entire country, and Fresno is at the heart of this community. My journey into medicine began when we arrived here as the last part of the Hmong refugees from Thailand.

33:19 My dad, unfortunately, when we arrived, fell really ill. I received the significant responsibility of becoming my dad's caretaker. It really allowed me to become more exposed to and witness all of the disparities that were affecting not only me, my family, but my community. SJV-PRIME was the perfect program for me. (soft piano music) - Moving forward, it's important to continue to build the physician workforces here and really to see the value in each person, each medical student, each resident, and each patient. - I'm very, very grateful for SJV-PRIME and I want to continue its legacy of serving those who need it most.

34:17 - We're now bringing research trials, cutting edge technologies, all the things that are happening at UCSF are now coming down to the region. - [Jose] These programs will augment not just the numbers, but of course, in the quality of the type of healthcare that the communities absolutely deserve. - I plan on expanding those programs and building it out so that we can actually address healthcare disparities throughout the entire region with a much larger class and a much larger graduate medical education program. That's what I hope for the future of UCSF Fresno.

34:52 (audience applauding) - Now all these examples represent our ongoing efforts to adapt our educational opportunities to changing community needs, rebuild trust and rebuild confidence. We do this while maintaining our core strength in training outstanding healthcare and research professionals. Now, I'd like to welcome to the stage two people in our community who are working on innovation across the education mission. I'm pleased to introduce Nicquet Blake, our vice provost and dean of the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs.

35:37 Nicquet joined UCSF in 2021. Nicquet oversees more than 30 doctoral and master's programs and our postdoctoral scholars while implementing innovative approaches to recruitment, mentorship, and career development that helps prepare our next generation of scientists and scholars for successful careers. Also, joining me in this discussion is John Davis Rodriguez, who was named as UCSF's inaugural vice chancellor of education and student affairs in May. John oversees the student experience for all our students and spearshead educational initiatives and resources across UCSF.

36:22 So welcome, John and Nicquet. (audience applauding) I mentioned earlier this disturbing Pew Center survey that indicated a very significant drop in trust in higher education. John, do you wanna just share your thoughts as to what we can and should be doing to build back that trust? - Absolutely. First, thank you for inviting us to speak about the education mission. I think it's important first to recognize that there are multiple constituencies when we're thinking about trust and education. That includes, obviously, the general public.

37:11 It also includes in the health professions, practitioners in the field, and then our learners as well and potential learners are all asking about how much they trust our educational efforts. That said, the literature is pretty clear about the three standard approaches that we use to rebuild trust. That includes focusing on outcomes, transparency, and communication. I think we've been talking here about a lot of those outcomes and many of those are absolutely focused on the impact that we make for providing care that our communities need.

37:46 In addition, in the PEW study you mentioned the top concerns from the the general public were really around finance and financial impacts on our learners. And I really should point out that all of our schools are doing a great job with that. The report just came out last month about the efforts the schools are making to address average debt on graduation and all the schools are decreasing that. I'll mention just briefly, the school of medicine in particular, is at the average graduating debt is at the lowest level since 2011.

38:23 So really I think focusing on the outcomes we've been talking about here and on the ones that make an import to society is the way to help keep the trust that we have and build back trust that's eroded. - And Nicquet, I know you've been thinking about this subject deeply as well, and it goes even beyond higher education and into science itself. Your thoughts on trust and how we restore it. - I think one of the things that we have to understand is that trust is really rebuilt one teaspoon at a time. So it's a marathon, not a sprint.

39:00 I agree with John that outcomes are critical and we have to be able to share with our respective audiences what our outcomes look like. And I'll just give you a couple of examples. Here at UCSF, we have a graduation rate or a completion rate of 90%. That's a great rate. If you look nationally, that number is 50% if you look at all PhDs. And if you look at PhDs in the life sciences, that's 70%. So we have a story to tell. As we've been seeing here, our story cannot just be about the numbers. It has to be about the people.

39:39 We have an opportunity and we do it here. We're an anchor institution. We go into the community and we talk about science. That's a teaspoon. Last night at the Genentech Hall, there was a session with Joe DeRisi on scoop science or science scoop. Science scoop, right? A few weeks ago, we had students from Sophie Dumont's lab and other labs at the Bay Area Science Sphere. That's a teaspoon at a time. - Great. I mentioned artificial intelligence and I'll come back to that later in the talk, but Nicquet, how do you think we are set to leverage this incredible technology in our education and curriculum?

40:27 - So in research, we are using AI quite a bit at UCSF and across the country in terms of handling large data sets, in terms of handling, in terms of using large language models. On the curricular side, we are at the PhD level. One does that, at least the way it's practiced now, one does that more in the topic subject by subject. What we have in our master's programs is the opportunity to really pivot really quickly and adopt a lot of the things that, a lot of the technology that is being used now. So our artificial intelligence and drug discovery, computational drug discovery master's program, excellent program.

41:15 They just had a whole hackathon hosted here at UCSF where our students actually got to engage with startups and learned the entire process of the pitching to startup companies. These are opportunities that you can't necessarily do in a PhD program, but wow, in a master's program, you can pivot very quickly and allow our students to engage with AI tools in that way. - That's great. John, I know people of our generation are trying to catch up to this wave, but I suspect our students are way ahead of us. How do we sort of manage that tension of a groundbreaking technology innovation that we know we need to embrace, but we have a generation gap in understanding?

42:06 - So anytime I'm thinking about the incorporation of technology into a curriculum or into an educational program, I break it into usually four parts. The first part is how is that technology actually leveraged in the practice? Or for instance, in our health professions? How is that manifesting in the clinical environment? That helps dictate what are the things we need to help equip our students with as they are preparing for graduation and for working. The second piece is how does that technology impact our educational process, in particular learning?

42:44 If I am a student in a program, how is this technology helping me learn better? I will say I think our students are much better versed at how to help themselves learn. They are getting experience with a lot of this technology in undergrad and other programs on the way in. The third domain is how does this technology help us as educators in our roles as teaching? How does the, (John clearing throat) apologies, how does that technology help us with whether it's curriculum development, whether it's instructional methods, whether it's assessment, how does it help us do our job on the educational side better?

43:26 And then the fourth piece where I see a lot of institutions struggling is what is the infrastructure? What are the policies, the procedures, what is the governance needed to support those AI innovations or the technology innovations in a way that is appropriate and that is sustainable? And so I think that is the next area where we as UCSF are gonna have to focus to be able to support all of the amazing things that you've just heard Nicquet describing and that so many others that are happening in our schools. - Great.

44:00 So a last question to you both. I've said before in different forums that I believe we're in a golden era of biomedical science. The opportunities are vast and incredibly exciting. What is perhaps the most exciting thing on your mind, Nicquet, as we think about education linking to these scientific opportunities? - The thing that really gets me charged up is understanding what you've sort of highlighted throughout your talk here today, Sam. It's we can't do this alone and we have a UC system that allows us to leverage the expertise of all our campuses for the good of our learners.

44:46 And we're in the process of building that now. And the second thing, you know, as a grad dean, I would love to see technology decrease time to degree. (everyone chuckling) - John? - I will echo all of those. I will say the thing that excites me is probably the combination of AI with other aspects of the learning sciences to really individualize learning. I think the individualization of learning, which again, it always has been in its ideal state, but leveraging some of the data that we have really to help serve our learners will actually do some of those things like minimize time to degree, allow students to progress at their appropriate rate, get us back to things like competency-based education that is time variable.

45:38 - Great. Well, please join me in thanking Nicquet and John for sharing their thoughts. (audience applauding) Thank you. So I said at the outset that artificial intelligence and the technology, it enables our once in a generation future force. In fact, I dedicated almost my entire 2023 address to the introduction of generative AI. And just two years on, I remain amazed by the explosive evolution of these tools. Together I believe we have the responsibility of preparing the entire UCSF community, faculty, staff, learners, and students with the tools, skills, and adaptability that we need for second curve success.

46:34 We have taken some steps in the last year. The School of Nursing launched an AI-powered tool that enable students to interact with virtual adolescent patients during simulated telehealth visits. Now, traditional actor-based training is limited by availability and representation in this particular age group. This AI tool enhances accessibility and flexibility while incorporating crucial factors like socioeconomic status and food insecurity into these simulations. As it expands to include more diagnoses, different age groups, and even family dynamics, we're better preparing our students for the full spectrum of patients they will encounter in their careers.

47:25 Across all of our schools, we are equipping our educators, staff, and learners with the expertise to integrate AI into every facet of teaching, learning, and scholarship. Beyond integrating AI into our educational methods, we are preparing our students to be leaders in applying AI to their work. An exciting example of this is the School of Pharmacies Master of Science program in Artificial Intelligence and Computational Drug Discovery and Development. This is the first program of its kind in the United States. AI represents just one of the many transformative technologies that are shaping our future.

48:11 Another example is robotic surgery. It was nearly 20 years ago when our first robotics procedure was performed here at UCSF. By the end of this year, we will have performed more than 20,000 robotic procedures. The School of Medicine, recognizing our responsibility to prepare learners in this evolving field, has developed the nation's first certification program for medical students as bedside assistants for robotic surgery. This initiative transforms students from observers into participants in the operating room.

48:54 They're certified to assist with the sophisticated robotic systems. As robotic surgery expands its indications, our students are graduating with hands-on experience in technologies that will define their careers. We must also work to keep pace as AI-enabled tools we employ to do our research evolve. Just this year, we upgraded our cryo-electron microscopy facility in Genentech Hall reflecting the central importance of this technology to our basic science community. The upgrade includes a new cryo and electron microscope equipped with AI-enabled analytics and a cold fusion emission electron source that provides a more coherent beam for far greater image clarity.

49:51 These new machines allow our scientists to study protein structures at atomic resolution, driving discoveries that advance our understanding of fundamental biologic processes. We are also advancing our computational infrastructure through the introduction of UCSF's next generation high performance computing environment. This new system supports large scale data processing, AI-driven research, and computation intensive scientific workloads with a mix of CPU and GPU resources. With this new facility, our faculty can now tackle the most complex scientific challenges, including training foundational models with unprecedented computation.

50:43 I would like to thank Mandy Terrill, the Associate Chief Information Officer for Research, and her team for leading the work to upgrade the core HPC. To advance the work we do across all of our mission levels using AI, I'm today announcing that an enterprise version of OpenAI's latest ChatGPT will be available for all at UCSF early next year. This new service, (audience applauding) this new service will expand our AI capabilities beyond what we currently have in Versa chat by offering a broader suite of AI tools for use across our clinical, research, and education missions, including our administration.

51:34 Importantly, it will allow the UCSF community to utilize the industry's most advanced AI platform while maintaining the privacy and security of our data. Our deployment will have enterprise-level safeguards in place to support HIPAA compliance. I would like to thank chief data officer Ke Li and his team for the work they are doing to bring this service to UCSF and for advancing our AI capabilities over the last three years through the Versa platform. Other undertakings to streamline our administrative systems like Project One are underway.

52:17 Project One is a multi-year project that will integrate and automate our core business processes into a single unified enterprise resource planning solution. Now, technology implementations like this, although challenging, are necessary to maintain our long-term strength. Indeed, I believe the success of these technology initiatives will be the most important determinant of our jump to the second curve. Now, while acknowledging all the challenges I have outlined today, we must continue to support the people who advance our work.

53:01 And as we build this future together, we should reconfirm our commitment to fairness and opportunity for all. From frontline clinical workers to administrators, research staff to facilities teams, each of you make a difference. I would like to take a moment to welcome two new members of my leadership who will join the cabinet this year. Darnele Wright, sitting in front of me here, joined UCSF as our chief campus council and vice chancellor of legal affairs. She brings more than a dozen years of exceptional UC leadership and has key strategic vision that has shaped system-wide initiatives from innovation and entrepreneurship to the use of artificial intelligence in the legal domain.

53:53 Darnele also brings key insights as UCSF navigates the very complex legal landscape in front of us, ensuring that our ambitious plans are built on the strongest possible foundation. Also joining UCSF in December, and I'm delighted that she arrived in San Francisco last night and is with us today, is Laura Dannels, our new chief human resource officer. Laura has nearly two decades of HR experience across energy, professional services, and healthcare industries. She has launched nationally recognized career pathway programs and led transformative efforts to modernize HR practices with data-driven approaches that support every employee.

54:43 And her experience shows she's passionate about leadership development and career mobility that ensures opportunities for growth at every level. So welcome, Darnele and Laura. (audience applauding) Several examples from this difficult year show our continued support for creating an environment in which everyone can thrive. This past year, our Office of Education and Student Affairs reached 80% of our student body through our basic needs services. We served over 2,400 students who accessed essential resources averaging 18 different services throughout the year.

55:35 As reflected in your responses to the UCSF Community Climate Survey earlier in the year, our community, you shared with us the challenge of balancing caregiving responsibilities alongside your professional commitments. In response, we launched the Elder Care Resources and Referral program in September, reflecting our commitment to supporting you not only as faculty, staff, and learners, but in your life outside work. Additionally, many officers across UCSF have supported our people amongst the changing federal landscape.

56:15 Our international students and scholars office has been guiding our international community as federal immigration policies continue to shift. And the Institute for Global Health Sciences, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary next week, I encourage you who can to join that celebration, continues to support and advance our researchers' international work amid the unpredictable changes in funding priorities. For our researchers affected by federal funding, our Office of Research has been providing continual communication and support.

56:55 And under the leadership of the School of Medicine Dean's Office ARCHES program, in partnership with the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, we have been providing grant writing support and other resources for research faculty who have lost grants or at risk of losing federal funding. These are just a few examples of how we work to support our people. The work reflects our pride values and our principle of community that are foundational to our current and future success. So in closing, I return to the theme of this year's address: continuum.

57:38 A word that reflects our resiliency in times of challenge, our adherence to our mission and our values, and our progress. Continuum also allows for change over time. Sometimes that change is incremental, but sometimes a transformational change and a jump to the second curve is called for. Our continuum is made possible by your unwavering commitment to our collective mission. I am inspired by all of you every day, and thank you for joining me for this address this afternoon. Thank you. (audience applauding) (bright piano music)

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "UCSF | 2025 State of the University Address | Continuum"?

Michael Weiner (Referenced contributor (music performer for event)).

What is discussed in "UCSF | 2025 State of the University Address | Continuum"?

In order: 0:00 Ian Morrison, Michael Weiner; 5:00 UCSF Health, Atul Butte, Bill Rutter, Stephen Hauser; 10:00 Atul Butte, Brooke Byers, Edward Fein Charitable Trust, Stanford Cancer Institute; 15:00 Barbara and Gerson Bakar Research and Academic Building; 20:00 UCSF Health, Marc and Lynne Benioff, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital; 25:00 Pew Center Research Center; 30:00 UCSF Fresno, San Joaquin Valley Prime; 45:00 AI-powered tool; 50:00 Project One.

What is mentioned in this UC San Francisco (UCSF) episode?

21 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including UCSF Health, Atul Butte, Bill Rutter, UCSF Fresno, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Stephen Hauser. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "UCSF | 2025 State of the University Address | Continuum"?

The episode runs 59 min; the transcript is about 7,424 words in 77 timestamped sections.

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