Kathryn Phillips leads a national study of benefit/risk in emergent whole genome sequencing. Improving technologies are rapidly cutting the cost of whole genome sequencing, which reveals the complete library of a patient’s genetic information. Indeed, the era of the $1,000 genome appears imminent.

Jeff Belkora, Assoc. Professor, UCSF talks about The Patient Support Corps - an initiative that he helped create at UCSF - at the Institute of Medicine in Washington DC. This initiative assists patients in making informed medical decisions as they interact with their doctors about their health care.

A study by researchers at UCSF, in IHPS and in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, shows benefits of testing for drug antibody and concentration in patients with Crohn's disease. Testing, rather than simply changing medications, lessens the use of expensive alternative drugs.

Elizabeth A. Boyd and Daniel Dohan, discuss EngageUC, a project which brings together researchers, policymakers, and community members of the Bay Area and California to engage in a long-term discussion of the critical issue of collecting blood and tissue samples for research purposes.