Health Sciences in Action | August 2026 Issue

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A monthly newsletter from UC San Diego Health Sciences | August 2026 Issue

Celebrating Our Community: Discoveries 2026 Magazine

I am excited to share with you the 2026 issue of Discoveries magazine, the flagship publication of UC San Diego Health Sciences.

In this issue, themed “Health, Rewired,” we explore the digital transformation across UC San Diego Health Sciences through stories of breakthrough technologies, ethical frontiers and leading collaborations — and what that means for faculty, learners, clinicians and patients alike.

You’ll find inspiring examples of how interdisciplinary collaboration is advancing research, education and patient care. Highlights include partnerships among researchers, trainees, clinicians and engineers that are driving innovations in wearable technology (“Sense and Treat”), medical simulation and smarter robots (“Simulated Reality, Real Benefits”).

You’ll also read about the new UC San Diego Health behavioral health hub (“Leading a Behavioral Health Transformation”) — a visionary and integrated approach to combine inpatient care, outpatient services, clinical research and workforce training in one location.

Additional stories feature:

The UC San Diego Center for Healthcare Cybersecurity team ramping up our defenses against cyberattacks.
Faculty searching for the next life-saving drug, whether that is in the depths of the ocean or the heart of a rainforest.
The Transportation Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS) Center, where artificial intelligence (AI)-powered research is focused on improving roadway safety.

As one researcher from the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences notes, technology is enabling scientists to “ask the questions that simply couldn’t be asked before.”

Discoveries magazine reflects the innovation, collaboration and excellence that define UC San Diego Health Sciences. We hope this issue inspires pride in our shared accomplishments and excitement for the future.

John M. Carethers, MD
Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences
Distinguished Professor of Medicine
Adjunct Professor of Public Health

DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION

Close-up photo of a microneedle patch in the process of being completed. Photo by Erik Jepsen.

Toward Microneedles That Both Sense And Treat

Imagine a patch on your arm that continuously measures biological signals — and delivers medication. UC San Diego is engineering this “lab just under the skin.” Read Story»

Close up of Anthony Molina (left) and Michael Corley (right). Photo by Kyle Dykes.

UC San Diego To Lead Central Lab For $101M XPRIZE

Stein Institute for Research on Aging will serve as Central Laboratory and Biorepository for the XPRIZE Healthspan Competition. Read Story»

LEARNING AND LEADING

Graduate student Lukas Liang uses a technological interface to control the Surgie robot. Photo by Erik Jepsen.

Simulated Reality, Real Benefits

A unique, highly collaborative ecosystem has made UC San Diego School of Medicine a global leader in applying simulation and robotics technologies to patient care, physician training and medical innovation. Nearly every corner of the medical education and research enterprise is touched by simulation. And that’s by design. Read Story»

HEALING AND SERVING

Four individuals on stage as keynote speakers. Photo by Erik Jepsen.

How One Patient’s Journey Is Shaping Future Care

At the U.S. News Healthcare of Tomorrow conference, UC San Diego panelists explored how artificial intelligence (AI) can accelerate breakthroughs. Read Story»

Exterior of the Triton Health and Wellness Building. Photo by UC San Diego Health.

Triton Health And Wellness Building Opens On Campus

Building expands and centralizes support for students, providing access to physical health, mental health and well-being resources. Read Story»

EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Health Sciences Communications
Media Training

Thursday, October 5, 1 to 2pm

Learn how to conduct media interviews at this Health Sciences Communications training and Q&A session with guest speaker Joe Friedman, MD. The training will be conducted in-person only in Classroom 1186 at the Skaggs Pharmaceutical Sciences Building.

Space is limited; please RSVP to Lizelda Lopez, associate director of media relations at llopez2@health.ucsd.edu.

Secure Your Spot

Health Sciences Portrait Session

UC San Diego Health Sciences faculty and staff are invited to attend portrait photo sessions hosted by Health Sciences Communications.

Sessions are held in the lobby of the Israni Biomedical Research Facility with parking available in the South Parking Structure. Space is limited; please RSVP early via the links below.

RSVP:

More Detailed Information

VOICES AND VISION

Researchers analyzing biological data in a teal-lit lab.

Inside San Diego’s Innovation Engine

Asked what makes San Diego’s innovation ecosystem distinctive, UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla did not begin with biotechnology, artificial intelligence or any of the other fields in which the region excels.

His answer was simpler: collaboration.

In a region dense with research institutions, technology companies, military assets and entrepreneurial talent, Khosla placed the emphasis on the connective tissue — the relationships that allow expertise and ideas to move across disciplines, institutions and industries.

That culture was on display July 21, when leaders from academia, industry, government and national laboratories gathered on UC San Diego’s campus for the Council on Competitiveness’ “Competitiveness Conversations Across America.” Read more»

Seen & Heard

"Perfectionism in teenage girls is very often anxiety wearing a socially acceptable costume. When a girl is praised constantly for her performance, she learns that her value is conditional."

— Willough Jenkins, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine, on the seven signs in teenage girls that deserve closer attention from parents, teachers and guardians