The collection of microbes that resides in the human intestine profoundly influences our metabolism, our immune system, and our susceptibility to infections. The hundreds of thousands of genes in the genomes of these microbes are attractive targets for therapeutic intervention because they are …
Anthropocene
Adapted in a wide range of disciplinary contexts to describe an era in which humanity has profoundly transformed earth systems, the Anthropocene has also been used to come to terms with how the resulting changes to earth’s climate, ecologies and biologies are affecting global and local contexts for …
Health & Welfare Policies
Countries around the world create policies to promote healthy, well-educated, and well-nourished populations, but not all policies are created equal and UCSC researchers are interested in what makes them different and what their divergent outcomes are in terms of health and well-being. We know …
Big Data & Genomics
Global DNA sequencing capacity has more than doubled every six months in the last decade. This genetic information is powering revolutions across many fields. Disease outbreaks can be tracked and responded to in near real-time; for example, global monitoring of SARS-COV2 variants is essential to …
Neuroscience
Rising living standards and advances of modern medicine have extended and improved the quality of life, but also forever changed society. The stress of modern life triggers various mental disorders, and our prolonged life expectancy makes aging-related cognitive decline and neurodegeneration more …
Environmental Health
Environmental health refers to the area of public health that aims to identify environmental hazards and examine how they are shaped by physical, chemical, biological, social, and structural factors. These hazards can be evaluated at the global scale (e.g., climate change) as well as from regional …
Infectious Disease
As COVID has underlined anew, infectious disease presents a huge health threat both globally and locally. The World Health Organization estimates that infectious diseases are responsible for about 1 out of every 5 years of healthy life lost due to disease or disability. This burden falls most …
Community Gardens
Community gardens are communal spaces where gardeners cultivate flowers, fruits, medicinal plants, and vegetables. They vary in size, location and types of community tenure. The central motivation of many gardeners is often food production, but community gardens contribute to other diverse goals …
Indigenous and Traditional Healing
UCSC is located on the unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, comprised of the descendants of indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish colonization of the Central Coast, is today working hard to restore …