2026: Podcasting Science
At Alumni Weekend 2026, one conversation asks a timely question: how does science move beyond academic journals and conference halls to reach the broader public? Increasingly, the answer is through the microphone.
Podcasting Science invites alumni into a dynamic panel conversation with UCSF faculty, alumni, and students who are using podcasts to bring health, research, and clinical insight to global audiences. This session offers more than a discussion about media. It explores how scientific leadership extends beyond the lab and into living rooms, headphones, and communities around the world.
Science in the Public Square
Podcasting has become one of the most accessible platforms for education and dialogue. For UCSF clinicians, researchers, and educators, it offers an opportunity to translate complex science into meaningful, human-centered conversations.
The Podcasting Science panel will highlight:
How UCSF voices use podcasts to educate, humanize, and inspire conversations around health science and professional development.
Podcast storytelling as a form of education, translating complex work into accessible, narrative-driven dialogue.
The people behind the profession, featuring lived experience in health care and science, and the challenges, growth, and identity that shape academic medicine.
Shared goals of improving health care, advancing education, and strengthening scientific understanding, while building community within and beyond UCSF.
The discussion will be moderated by Amber Fitzsimmons, PhD, MS, DPTSc ’13, professor and chair of the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at UCSF.
Discover the Podcasts Featuring UCSF Voices
The panel features community leaders whose podcasts reach clinicians, trainees, patients, and lifelong learners across disciplines.
GeriPal
Co-hosted by Eric Widera, MD, and Alex Smith, MD ’02, MS ’99, MPH, Professor, Division of Geriatrics
A geriatrics and palliative care podcast that brings together thought leaders to explore the clinical and policy implications of aging and serious illness.
Project ConfiDents
Created by Diana Nguyen, DDS, Chief, Division of Clinical General Dentistry, and Amrita Patel, DDS.
A podcast offering candid dialogue about professional growth, mentorship, decision-making, and career development for dental professionals navigating the realities of practice.
PT Path Podcast
Hosted by Amber Fitzsimmons, PT, MS, DPTSc ’13, Professor and Chair, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science
PT Path Podcast features authentic stories from physical therapists navigating career pathways, clinical challenges, and professional identity, including voices from the UCSF community.
The Spark
Co-host by Rachel Huynh, MD Candidate, UCSF School of Medicine
A medical education podcast that highlights innovation, mentorship, and the evolving landscape of clinician learning at UCSF and beyond.
Science is Fun!
Hosted by Peter Turnbaugh, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, UCSF School of Medicine
This podcast explores the trials and tribulations of scientists, digging into the backstories behind key discoveries and what it takes to advance scientific knowledge.
Together, these platforms represent the breadth of UCSF disciplines – from geriatrics to dentistry, physical therapy to medical education – and illustrate how faculty and alumni are extending the university's intellectual leadership into accessible public forums.
Why This Conversation Matters
Alumni Weekend is rooted in intellectual exchange and lifelong learning. While sessions such as Discovery Talks highlight breakthrough science, Podcasting Science explores how that science travels – how ideas move from discovery to dialogue.
For alumni who value thoughtful, evidence-driven conversation, this session offers a rare opportunity to hear directly from the creators shaping UCSF's voice in the public sphere.
It also reflects a broader truth: a UCSF degree grows in value not only through scientific breakthroughs, but through the ways those breakthroughs are communicated, understood, and applied in the world.
Join the Conversation
Podcasting Science takes place on Saturday, April 25, as part of Alumni Weekend 2026 at UCSF's Mission Bay campus.
Register now for Alumni Weekend to secure your seat for this and other dynamic conversations that celebrate discovery, leadership, and the power of the alumni voice.