Fall: The Dynamics of Human Health 
Sherry Wren, Course Co-Director, Professor of Surgery
Stanford Mini Med School begins with a journey inside human biology. Starting with a close look at DNA, stem cells and microbes, this quarter moves out from the building blocks of the human body to take a more global view of human health, pandemics and the delivery of health care.
The Physician in Society 
(71:32 min.)
Speaker: Abraham C. Verghese, Professor of Medicine; Senior Associate Chair, Department of Medicine
Readings:
- Abraham Verghese, 2009. “A Touch of Sense.” Health Affairs 28(4), 1177.
- Abraham Verghese, 2008.“Culture Shock – Patient as Icon, Icon as Patient.” The New England Journal of Medicine 359; 26.
The Three R’s of DNA: Molecules to Medicine (103:26 min.)
Speaker: Gilbert Chu, Professor of Medicine - Oncology and of Biochemistry; Member of Bio-X and Cancer Center
Readings:
- Body. The Complete Human, pp. 13-33, especially pp. 24-25 and 32-33.
Stem Cells, Regeneration, Organ Development: How the Human Body
Is Formed (109:56 min.)
Speaker: Jill Helms, Associate Professor of Surgery - Plastic/Recon Surgery; Member of Bio-X
Readings:
- Body. The Complete Human. pp. 34-43.
Fundamentals of the Human Nervous System: How We Communicate with Each Other and the World We Live In (108:37 min.)
Speaker: Ricardo Dolmetsch, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology; Member of Bio-X
Readings:
- Body. The Complete Human. pp. 227- 237; 240-245.
Can Our Genes Personalize Our Health and Disease? (107:31 min.)
Speaker: Michael Snyder, Professor of Genetics; Chair, Department of Genetics; Member of Bio-X and Cancer Center
Readings:
- Body. The Complete Human. Review of pp. 24-33; also pp. 372-377.
The World Within Us: Microbes that Help and Harm (111:47 min.)
Speaker: Julie Theriot, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and of Microbiology and Immunology
Readings:
- Body. The Complete Human. pp. 318-341.
Natural Disasters and Pandemics: How Do We Protect Our Community in Case of an Emergency? (109:38 min.)
Speaker: Lucy S. Tompkins, Lucy Becker Professor of Medicine - Infectious Diseases and of Microbiology and Immunology
Readings:
- Body. The Complete Human. pp. 318-341.
The World Outside Us: The Changing Environment and How
It Affects Us (108:50 min.)
Speaker: Gary Schoolnik, Professor of Medicine - Infectious Diseases and of Microbiology and Immunology
Readings:
- Body. The Complete Human. pp. 318-341.
Healthcare in the US: How Can We Better Care for the Health of the
American People? (107:19 min.)
Speaker: Alan Garber, Henry J. Kaiser Jr. Professor and Professor of Medicine and, by courtesy, of Economics, and of Health Research and Policy; Senior Fellow, by courtesy, Freeman Spogli Institute and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy; Member of Bio-X and Cancer Center
Readings:
- Peter Singer, 2009. “Why We Must Ration Health Care.” The New York Times, July 19, 2009. Also: Letters to the Editor, The New York Times, August 2, 2009 and August 16, 2009.
Global Health Challenges in the 21st Century (104:45 min.)
Speaker: Michele Barry, Professor of Medicine - General Internal Medicine, Senior Associate Dean for Global Health; Sherry Wren, Course Co-Director, Professor of Surgery - General Surgery
