UC San Diego (Audio)

Bias in health AI can shape who gets care, how fairly risk is measured, and whether automation helps or harms patients. Karandeep Singh, M.D., M.M.S.C. explains that predictive AI can reflect historical, representation, measurement, learning, evaluation, and deployment bias, especially when models are trained on limited populations or use flawed proxies for illness and access to care. Singh also describes generative AI as a system trained first to predict text and then to follow instructions, with bias entering through training data, instruction tuning, prompts, and outside information sources. Alongside these risks, he highlights practical uses such as AI-assisted sepsis quality review and patient outreach workflows, while emphasizing governance, human oversight, disclosure, and careful measurement of whether these tools actually improve care. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 41365]

New York Times bestselling author George Saunders is an American writer who won the Booker Prize for his novel Lincoln in the Bardo. Saunders is known for his sharp wit, moral insight, and inventive storytelling. A longtime contributor to The New Yorker and a creative writing professor at Syracuse University, Saunders is admired for exploring kindness, consumerism, and the human condition with humor and humanity. Saunders joins host Dean Nelson for a lively conversation at Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 41205]

The extraordinary abilities of the cerebral cortex are central to what sets humans apart from other species. A defining feature of the cortex is its organization along a sensorimotor-to-association (S–A) axis, extending from primary sensorimotor areas to transmodal association regions that support abstract cognition. This axis varies across species and has been profoundly remodeled in humans. Nenad Sestan, professor of neuroscience at Yale, discusses his recent work on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern the development and evolution of the cortical S–A axis, with particular emphasis on the prefrontal cortex and its broader distributed transmodal association networks as well as their evolutionary expansion, functional roles, and vulnerability in neurological and psychiatric disorders. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 41361]

Human brain expansion is often discussed in terms of the genetic and molecular innovations that drove uniquely human cognitive abilities. Yet evolution is fundamentally a process of tradeoffs. Disproportionate expansion of forebrain structures increases the demands placed on long-range connectivity, metabolism, and cellular maintenance, imposing costs that scale with brain size. Alex Pollen, associate professor of neurology at UC San Francisco, discusses using stem-cell-derived brain organoids to investigate the development of human-specific connectivity differences in dopaminergic neurons and to test whether these cells deploy compensatory mechanisms to cope with the metabolic and structural demands of large brains. His research findings support a model in which human brain evolution involves not only mechanisms driving greater computational capacity, but also the emergence of cellular adaptations that mitigate the costs of large, highly connected brains. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Tra

AI in healthcare raises urgent questions about bias, privacy, and power. Safiya U. Noble, Ph.D., examines how AI systems can reproduce social and racial inequities when they rely on incomplete data, hidden assumptions, and proxies such as healthcare spending. Noble points to problems in search engines, image generation, facial recognition, and medical algorithms, including cases where systems mislabel darker skin, fail more often on Black women, or favor white patients over sicker Black patients. She also highlights the risks of turning sensitive public and patient data over to large technology companies. Rather than treating AI as a neutral solution, Noble emphasizes the need for human judgment, community participation, stronger data protections, and smaller expert models with local control so healthcare decisions better reflect people’s real lives and social context. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 41364]

Jamaica Kincaid is an Antiguan-American writer known for her vivid, poetic prose and exploration of themes like colonialism, family, identity, and the legacy of the Caribbean. Her deeply personal and reflective style has made her one of the most influential voices in contemporary literature. Born Elaine Potter Richardson on May 25, 1949, in St. John’s, Antigua, she moved to the United States as a teenager and began her career writing for The New Yorker. Her acclaimed works include Annie John, Lucy, A Small Place, and The Autobiography of My Mother. Kincaid joins host Dean Nelson for a lively and funny conversation at Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 41204]

Dr. Bruce Miller, director of the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, examines what neurodegenerative disease reveals about the neural basis of creativity and the social mind. Research in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) shows that visual creativity is not rare: a subset of patients—particularly those with left anterior temporal degeneration—develop new or intensified artistic abilities early in the disease course. These findings suggest that damage to language-dominant left hemisphere regions may release posterior visual networks from inhibition, leading to enhanced visual–spatial expression. Miller situates these observations within human evolution, proposing that art emerges with Homo sapiens, possibly linked to changes in the parietal lobe and the development of the social brain. In contrast, behavioral variant FTD erodes empathy and altruism through right frontal degeneration. Together, these patterns suggest brain asymmetry is central to our creative and social capacities. Series: "CARTA -

Artificial intelligence is changing how businesses use data, make decisions, and organize work. UC San Diego Rady School of Management's Thomas Beyer looks at that evolution from the early push to collect as much data as possible, through predictive analytics and generative AI, to emerging systems that can act more proactively across business environments. Beyer examines the promises and limits of AI, including questions of bias, hallucinations, return on investment, and human oversight. With examples from enterprise systems and healthcare, the discussion offers a practical look at how AI is moving from a productivity tool toward a more capable business partner. [Business] [Show ID: 41444]

Alzheimer’s disease unfolds over many years through a complex interplay of amyloid, tau, genetics, lipid biology, and the brain’s immune response. John Hardy, Ph.D., explains how rare inherited forms of Alzheimer’s disease helped shape current thinking about how the disease begins, then connects those discoveries to broader questions about late onset disease and why it develops differently across people. Hardy shows that amyloid and tau are linked but not identical, and argues that problems with protein buildup and clearance both matter in understanding the disease. He also emphasizes that Alzheimer’s is not a single event but a long process, which makes prediction, diagnosis, and treatment especially difficult. While current amyloid-targeting therapies can help and show measurable benefit, Hardy says they do not stop the disease, underscoring the need for earlier diagnosis, better treatments, and wider access to care Series: "Shiley Endowed Lecture" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41250]

Climate action needs more than great science, it needs people who understand how communities, institutions, and policy actually change. The Climate Action Lab in UC San Diego’s School of Social Sciences spotlights alumni building climate careers across sustainability, climate, and public policy. Panelists trace the paths that led them into the field, share how social science training helped them navigate real-world climate work, and offer practical lessons they’ve learned along the way. Expect candid career advice, an honest look at challenges in climate-related roles, and a clear case for why the social sciences are essential to addressing climate change. Series: "Career Channel" [Education] [Show ID: 41405]

Azim Surani, Director of Research at the Gurdon Institute and Professor Emeritus at University of Cambridge, received the Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, specifically in the field of Life Sciences and Medicine, for his work in demonstrating how male and female mammalian genomes receive distinct imprints during germ cell development. Genomic imprinting introduced a novel concept to Mendelian genetics and is a now fundamental principle in the life sciences. Surani's research has contributed to developmental biology and epigenetics, along with a wide range of life science fields including physiology, regenerative medicine, reproductive medicine, and plant science. Series: "Kyoto Prize Symposium" [Science] [Show ID: 41117]

From stone tools and shelters to symbolic art and abstract thought, human history is shaped by a brain built to form and share ideas. Joseph Paradiso, Professor in Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab, explores what comes next after the early visions of ubiquitous computing have largely arrived in today’s Internet of Things world, where low-power sensors and interfaces are embedded in smart devices across our environments and connect seamlessly to widespread networking infrastructure. He asks how this information connects to people, and how perception, cognition, and identity might expand beyond our corporeal confines. Drawing on recent projects from his Responsive Environments research group, he examines sensing at multiple scales in the physical world, including wearables, smart buildings, connected landscapes, and space missions, and the different ways sensed or inferred information can connect to people. Examples include smart buildings as “prosthetic” extensions of their inhabitants, manifesting

Cognitive resilience depends on how the brain responds to environment, aging, and inflammation. J. Tiago Gonçalves, Ph.D., studies the hippocampus to examine how spatial memory is shaped by factors such as cognitive enrichment, exercise, social interaction, disease, and age. Gonçalves explains how adult neurogenesis and microglia help support the brain’s ability to encode information, and how disruptions in these systems can affect memory. He also shows that aging and systemic inflammation can weaken spatial encoding while still revealing signs of adaptation and recovery over time. By connecting brain plasticity, immune activity, and memory formation, Gonçalves presents a broader view of how cognition changes across the lifespan and how these mechanisms may inform future strategies for addressing cognitive decline Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 40848]

Trustworthy machine learning requires models that still work when real-world data changes, and Adam Klivans, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Foundations of Machine Learning (IFML), emphasizes learning under “distribution shift” as a major barrier to relying on models to predict disease across different patient populations. IFML focuses on foundational algorithms and mathematical techniques that push generative AI forward, including better methods for training and inference in deep learning and advances in diffusion approaches. Klivans highlights robustness and safety as core priorities, asking how to trust a model trained in one setting when it is applied in another. IFML connects these foundations to use-inspired domains such as imaging, protein engineering and biologics, and AI for mathematical discovery. Series: "Data Science Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 40972]

Widely regarded as one of the most respected figures in American broadcast journalism, Judy Woodruff is known for her decades-long career covering politics and current events. She is also the author of the book, This Is Judy Woodruff at the White House. Renowned for her calm, balanced reporting and commitment to journalistic integrity, Woodruff has covered every U.S. presidential election since 1976. A former anchor and managing editor of the PBS NewsHour, she now travels the country reporting for America at a Crossroads. Woodruff joins host Dean Nelson for a engaging conversation at Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 41203]

Alpha Clinics in California accelerate the development of regenerative medicine therapies that use cells and genes to treat serious diseases. Patient advocate Tara Radcliffe Ghiglieri shares lived experience with gene therapy, while Sheldon Morris, M.D., M.P.H., Mehrdad Abedi, M.D., Daniela A. Bota, M.D., Ph.D., Catriona Jamieson, M.D., Ph.D., Michael Lewis, M.D., Mark Walters, M.D., and Leo D. Wang, M.D., Ph.D., describe how Alpha Clinic teams design and deliver clinical trials for a wide range of conditions, including cancer, blood disorders, neurologic disease, osteoarthritis, metabolic disorders, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. They highlight how coordinated networks, community partnerships, and genomic tools help expand access, lower financial barriers, and bring promising cell and gene therapies to more patients while carefully tracking safety, effectiveness, and long-term outcomes. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41168]

A fundamental question in biology is: how did humans acquire their unique characteristics? What allows us to stand upright, while our primate ancestors walked on all fours? What brain alterations drove our increased intelligence and allowed us to perceive our own mortality? One of the mechanisms that has been hypothesized to be involved is changes in gene expression elicited by nucleotide alterations in non-coding regions of the human genome. Miles Wilkinson, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at UC, San Diego, discusses a class of DNA sequences hypothesized to have this role. These human accelerated regions (HARs) are segments of DNA that exhibit 3 characteristics that—together—make them prime candidates for specifying human-specific traits by altering patterns of gene expression. First, HARs have rapidly changed in sequence specifically in the human lineage. Second, HARs are highly conserved in sequence, indicating they that must have been selected for the abi

Off-the-shelf immune cell therapies using engineered T cells represent an important direction in cancer treatment. Lili Yang, Ph.D., at UCLA develops an off-the-shelf platform based on invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells generated from hematopoietic stem cells, often sourced from cord blood. Yang programs these stem cells with iNKT cell receptors, chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), and genes such as IL-15 to create pure, expandable iNKT products that recognize lipid antigens presented by non polymorphic CD1d molecules. These cells combine multiple killing mechanisms, infiltrate tissues, target tumor cells and immunosuppressive myeloid cells, and show reduced risk of graft versus host disease and cytokine release syndrome in preclinical models. Yang’s group tests this strategy in models of blood cancers and solid tumors, aiming to generate many therapeutic doses from a single donor. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40846]

Guy Kawasaki, chief evangelist of Canva and a former Apple evangelist who helped market the Macintosh in 1984, shares his 10 tips for writing your own story forward. A New York Times bestselling author, Kawasaki uses reinvention and resilience as a framework for decision-making in personal and professional life. His books include "Wiser Guy: Life-Changing Revelations and Revisions from Tech’s Chief Evangelist," reflecting lessons from his career and his Remarkable People podcast. Presented in conjunction with UC Your Future, a signature UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies Lifelong Learning Program designed to ignite possibility, strengthen resilience, and empower individuals to shape the next chapter of their lives with intention and creativity. Series: "Career Channel" [Business] [Show ID: 41266]

Humans excel at transmitting ideas, skills, and knowledge across generations, and at building on those competencies in a cumulative manner. James Rilling, Professor of Psychology at Emory University, explores how the transmission of our cumulative culture is assumed to depend on both language and mental perspective-taking, or theory of mind. If humans have specialized abilities in these domains, we must have neurobiological specializations to support them. Our research has used comparative primate neuroimaging to attempt to identify such specializations. The arcuate fasciculus is a white matter fiber tract that links Wernicke’s and Broca’s language areas. It is known to be involved in multiple, high level linguistic functions such as lexical semantics, complex syntax, and speech fluency. Using diffusion weighted imaging and tractography, we have demonstrated human specializations in the size and trajectory of the arcuate fasciculus that may partially explain human linguistic abilities. Theory of Mind depends