Unfold

Bonus: Is Springing Forward Bad for Your Health?

There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who love daylight saving time, and those who don’t. UC Davis Health sleep medicine expert Heinrich Gompf is not a big fan of the clock change — or at least not the way we currently do it in the United States. In this episode of Unfold, he tells us why it’s so darn difficult for our bodies to adjust to the time change (the suprachiasmatic nucleus!) and offers tips to help you prepare and adapt when we do spring forward.

In this episode:

Heinrich Gompf, sleep researcher, Department of Neurological Surgery, UC Davis Health

Valentine’s Special: The Science of Relationships

No better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day on Unfold than to “partner” with another UC Davis podcast, The Backdrop, hosted by Soterios Johnson. In this episode, you’ll learn a little about the science of relationships from a conversation Soterios had last year with UC Davis Psychology Professor Paul Eastwick. Eastwick investigates how people initiate romantic relationships and the psychological mechanisms that help romantic partners remain committed and attached. Discover what the science says about whether you’ll find the perfect mate if you “swipe right.”

 

In this episode:

Paul Eastwick, UC Davis Professor of Psychology

Hear the entire interview with Eastwick on The Backdrop.

Linking Wartime Trauma to Dementia in Vietnamese American Communities

Since the fall of Saigon in 1975, more than 1.2 million Southeast Asian refugees have resettled in the U.S. Many of them have experienced significant trauma. Now, many Vietnamese refugees in the U.S. are at ages where they’re beginning to develop dementia. But like other underrepresented groups in the U.S, they also face barriers to seeking treatment for trauma and dementia.  In this episode of Unfold, we talk to a UC Davis researcher embarking on the first long-term study examining early life contributors to dementia in Vietnamese communities.

 

In this episode:

Oanh Meyer, social psychologist at Alzheimer's Disease Center at UC Davis Health

Duy Nguyen, former child refugee from Vietnam, recent graduate of UC Davis School of Medicine and psychiatry resident at UCSF Fresno

The Human Machine: Reimagining Prosthetics

Nearly half of all arm amputees choose not to use their prosthesis, despite improvements in technology. Prosthetics can be too difficult to operate, unintuitive, and don’t allow amputees to sense pressure or temperature. At UC Davis, engineers, neuroscientists and surgeons are collaborating to solve this problem. In this episode of Unfold, we look at how the combination of surgery and machine learning is making life easier for amputees. 

Jonathon Schofield, assistant professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, College of Engineering 

Wilsaan Joiner, neuroscientist and associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences

Andrew Li, assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery, UC Davis Health 

Clifford Pereira, associate professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery, UC Davis Health 

Laduan Smedley, certified prosthetist-orthotist and biomedical engineer, UC Davis Health

Fehran Maher, certified prosthetist-orthotist, UC Davis Health

David Brockman, retired firefighter, hand amputee with prosthesis

Connecting Health Care to People and Their Pets

About 1,000 people live in Knights Landing, California, a rural agricultural area in Yolo County. Because of its small size, the community lacks most services, including doctors and veterinarians - except on one Sunday every month. In this episode of Unfold, learn about the Knights Landing One Health Center, where veterinarians, physicians and their students team up to help some of the most vulnerable and underserved animals and people in the county.

 In this episode:

Kristin Jankowski, faculty director, Knights Landing One Health Clinic and access-to-care chief at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

Susan Adams, associate professor, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis Health

Erik Olstad, assistant professor, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

Tiaira Washington, nursing student, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis Health

Sydney Rasmussen, nursing student, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis Health

Izzie Hack, veterinary student, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

Carlos Ayala, Knights Landing One Health Clinic client

Santos Lopez, Knights Landing One Health Clinic client

Stephanie Hernandez, Knights Landing One Health Clinic client

Halloween Encore: Murder, Suicide and the Macabre

In this special Halloween encore episode from last season's Unfold, we discuss a macabre trend from the 1700s in Germany. To avoid eternal damnation for the sin of committing suicide, a number of people began committing child murder so they could be forgiven by a priest before being executed. In this Unfold episode, we look at how imagined child murders can create a culture of actual killings. Warning: this subject matter might not be suitable for all audiences.

In this episode: 

Kathy Stuart, associate professor, UC Davis Department of History

How Dogs Could Help Doctors Find the Next Cancer Treatment

Dogs 10 years and older have a 50% chance of dying from cancer. They also develop the same types of cancers that humans do because their immune system is closely related to ours. Now human oncologists are studying cancer in canines in the hopes of benefiting both animals and humans. In this episode of Unfold, you’ll learn how UC Davis veterinarians and physicians are collaborating to help human cancer patients and their furry best friends. 

In this episode:

Robert Canter, surgical oncologist with UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center 

Michael Kent, radiation oncologist and director of the UC Davis Center for Companion Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine 

Danae Unti, owner of Boone, dog who completed a cancer clinical trial

Hope For a Spina Bifida Cure, Part 2

Spina bifida is the most common cause of lifelong childhood paralysis in the United States; approximately four children are born with this spinal defect every day. Standard care usually involves surgery, but it still leaves more than half of children unable to walk. But a combination of surgery and stem cell treatment may offer hope to children. In this episode of Unfold, we examine the world’s first human clinical trial using stem cells before birth to treat the most serious form of the disease. 

In this episode:

Diana Farmer, pediatric surgeon and chair of surgery at UC Davis Health

Maya Evans, medical director of the Shriners Spina Bifida program and associate professor in the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at UC Davis

Michelle Johnson, mother of baby enrolled in spina bifida clinical trial 

Jeff Maginnis, father of baby enrolled in spina bifida clinical trial

Hope For a Spina Bifida Cure, Part 1

Spina bifida is the most common cause of lifelong childhood paralysis in the United States; approximately four children are born with this spinal defect every day. Standard care usually involves surgery, but it still leaves more than half of children unable to walk. Dogs are also sometimes born with spina bifida and most are euthanized at birth. But a combination of surgery and stem cell treatment may offer hope to both children and dogs. In the first of two episodes of Unfold, we examine the first clinical trial to treat bulldogs with spina bifida. 

In this episode:

Beverly Sturges, professor emeritus, neurosurgeon at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine 

Aijun Wang, biomedical engineer with UC Davis School of Medicine

Diana Farmer, pediatric surgeon and chair of surgery at UC Davis Health

Katie Teykaerts, owner of Myrtle, a dog with spina bifida enrolled in a clinical trial

Unfold Season 4: Advancing Health Worldwide

Season 4 of Unfold explores the most cutting-edge technologies and treatments that advance the health of both people and animals. Hosts Amy Quinton and Marianne Russ Sharp unfold the story of a courageous couple going through the first human clinical trial that uses surgery and stem cells to treat their developing baby’s spina bifida. You’ll hear how veterinarians and physicians are working together to fight cancer. You’ll learn why amputees often abandon their high-tech prosthetic devices and how surgeons and engineers are working together to solve that problem. You’ll hear lots of remarkable and hopeful stories about health in Season 4 of Unfold.