Stanford Medicine Health Compass

Sean Spencer, MD, PhD, instructor of medicine, explores how he treats patients with challenging gastrointestinal issues, working with them to heal their guts and improve their microbiomes through a variety of tactics, including through introducing a variety of foods in small doses, adding more fiber and fermented foods to their diet, and giving “gut shots” of brine from fermented foods. Read more in Stanford Medicine magazine: https://stanmed.stanford.edu/gi-conditions-gut-brain-connections/

Laura Dassama, PhD, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology and of chemistry, is developing new a new type of therapy for patients who, like her, live with sickle cell disease, which is caused by a mutation in the gene that codes for hemoglobin, the protein responsible for the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen. Dassama speaks to her experience with the illness and describes how her lab work takes inspiration from a form of hemoglobin active during fetal development, creating a new path of inquiry that she hopes will yield a new treatment for the condition.  Read more in Stanford Medicine magazine: https://stanmed.stanford.edu/innovations-help-chronically-ill-thrive/#sicklecell

Drew Endy, PhD, associate professor of bioengineering, is well-versed in a wide range of ethical quandaries in science today. He’ll discuss what science’s most pressing ethical concerns are, with a focus on misuse of AI and the pros and cons of harnessing synthetic biology to create new solutions for intractable problems in health and medicine.  Read more in Stanford Medicine magazine: https://stanmed.stanford.edu/ethical-genetic-engineering-benefit-society/ 

Euan Ashley, MB ChB, DPhil, chair of the department of medicine and professor of genetics and of biomedical data science, leads the MotrPac project, a research group that analyzes the effects of exercise on humans and animals. Ashley discusses what exercise does to the human body on a molecular level, why that matters, and how to incorporate exercise into daily life, including short bouts of “exercise snacks.” He also shares practical tips on how best to gain the benefits of exercise and how it can stave off disease.

Following part one of the Alzheimer’s episode, Sharon Sha, MD, MS, clinical professor of adult neurology, later speaks to the practical questions patients and families want to know about receiving an Alzheimer’s diagnosis and how she helps her patients navigate their health journeys.