University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson

08/14/2026

Associate Clinical Professor of Dermatology Rita Fisler, MD, sat down with the Morning Voice on KVOI AM for a long discussion about skin health. Tune in at 42:16. https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com/?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F8553906_2026-07-31-161006

08/13/2026

Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine Julia Cremer, MD, talks about how we can preserve our physical well-being at all stages of life.

Cremer said ordinary daily activity generally isn’t enough to preserve muscle. “We really do need to be carving out 30 to 60 minutes multiple times per week to do resistance training,” she said. “Or else many of us are going to end up weak, frail and sick.”

At Tucson Strength, a strength and conditioning gym on East Speedway, not every client’s fitness transformation involves dramatic weight loss or a newly chiseled physique. Owner Danny Sawaya recalls one 87-year-old woman who joined the gym about 1 1/2 years ago after taking a fall. She was using a...

08/13/2026

Meet some of the students behind our CUP Clinics, which serve underinsured and uninsured people in the Tucson area.

“I really enjoy being able to meet with our patients and being able to help,” said second-year medical student Carolyn Dunlap. “I think this isn’t just a good opportunity for me to be a better physician tomorrow, but I really like being able to help these patients at the moment.”

https://www.tucsonspotlight.org/ua-free-clinic-fills-gaps-in-womens-health-care/

08/11/2026

Do melatonin or magnesium actually work for sleep disorders? Michael Grandner, PhD, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program and associate professor of psychiatry, spoke to the Washington Post about what the science says.

While he recommends melatonin for certain problems, he says the odds that any nutritional supplement will help treat chronic insomnia “are very low,” and could potentially interact with other medications.

As for magnesium, “It’s likely not harmful, and it’s likely at least a little bit helpful, but just don’t expect more from it than it can deliver. The effects generally are not as large as people tend to think they are.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2026/08/02/melatonin-vs-magnesium-which-is-better-your-sleep/

08/10/2026

Professor of Medicine Fariba Donovan, MD, PhD, talks about a new treatment for Valley fever, which is caused by spores that live in our soil.

“I see patients who are young, strong, truly get debilitated with this disease. They can’t carry on their classes, their daily life, their work. This is truly a life-changing medication for a lot of these patients who truly have no other option.”

https://www.azfamily.com/2026/07/24/new-pill-shows-promise-severe-valley-fever-cases-arizona-study-finds/

08/07/2026

Regents Professor of Pharmacology and Neurology Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, explains what message the brain is sending us when we experience hot flashes.

“Heat that’s being generated in the brain is a message that the brain is utilizing an auxiliary fuel to generate the energy necessary to sustain brain function. Think of the hot flash as the brain calling out to you.”

https://www.azfamily.com/video/2026/08/07/surprising-link-between-menopause-alzheimers-disease/

07/23/2026

How does the gut “talk” to the brain?

It’s a question driving the research of Assistant Professor of Physiology M. Maya Kaelberer, PhD, whose work recently earned recognition as a 2026 Pew Biomedical Scholar.

Before reaching new heights, Dr. Kaelberer dreamed of being a neurosurgeon when she was a child, but it wasn’t until college that she was bitten by the science bug.

Her education took her from a color vision lab with equipment that attached to eyeballs to a computational neuroscience lab with embedded philosophers who studied free will. Eventually, she found a career in the emerging field of gut-brain interaction, where she helped discover neuropods — specialized sensory cells in the gut that communicate directly with the brain through the vagus nerve.

“The vagus nerve is this really cool nerve that innervates your entire viscera — your heart, your lungs, your liver, your gut, everything. It’s the main throughway that connects the gut to the brain.”

But Dr. Kaelberer’s own journey to becoming a leading sensory neurobiologist wasn’t always straightforward. During graduate school, she experienced a life-changing accident that continues to shape how she mentors her students today.

“I don’t remember the accident. I was on my bike, going straight through an intersection. The minivan didn’t see me. I bounced off the windshield and woke up in the emergency room.”

This incident left her with a brain injury that took about a year to recover from.

“It taught me a lot about self-care and how to be kinder to yourself. We are very unkind to ourselves.”

Drawing on the lessons she learned then about self-care, Dr. Kaelberer promotes that value to her mentees.

“To create a culture that I want within the lab, there are five principles. One of the principles is empathy — empathy for others, empathy for the equipment, but also empathy for yourself. The majority of people are incredibly hard on themselves.”

🔗 Read more: https://bit.ly/4ftA8bo

07/22/2026

The Sarver Heart Center associate director will help guide one of the American Heart Association’s largest scientific councils from 2026 to 2028.

07/22/2026

Alanie Flores was only 13 years old when a middle school physiology class changed the course of her life.

As she learned about diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol in the classroom, the lessons became deeply personal. Many of the conditions her teacher described were the same ones affecting her own family in Buckeye, Arizona. She began to understand the health issues her parents and relatives were experiencing — and she found herself bringing those lessons home.

“I would go home and tell my dad, ‘In class I learned ...,’” Flores recalled. “Then my family started asking me questions. I wasn’t qualified to answer them, but it was the first time I felt like I could help.”

That experience planted the seed for a career in medicine, but it wasn’t until years later, after losing her grandmother during the COVID-19 pandemic, that her purpose became clear.

“My family could tell me she had a stroke, but nobody could explain how we got there,” Flores said. “I threw myself into learning because I wanted to understand. Looking back, that was how I coped.”

That search for answers led her to the University of Arizona, one of the few universities in the country offering physiology as a standalone undergraduate major. For Flores, the subject transformed learning from an obligation into a passion.

“I realized I could spend four years learning physiology,” she said. “I thought, ‘Sign me up.’”

Now, Flores will begin medical school as both a Primary Care Accelerated Medical Pathway (PCAMP) student and recipient of the Primary Care Physician Scholarship, allowing her to continue serving the state where she was raised.

“I feel honored to help address Arizona’s physician shortage,” she said. “My family is here, my community is here, and this is where I want to make a difference.”

🔗 Read her full story: https://bit.ly/3TdrnuN

07/16/2026

For third-year medical student Alexandra Stump, medicine has always been about people.

Long before she began presenting research at national conferences, Stump discovered a love for science as at just nine years old when exploring the “Life” human body, research and medicine exhibit at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio, with her grandmother, Bonnie, and younger brother, Will.

“They had this awesome human body exhibit, with a piano that could make breathing, coughing and heartbeat sounds. I thought it was the coolest thing, and ever since then I was interested in human biology.”

Years later, her work as a medical assistant at an internal medicine clinic at Sansum Clinic confirmed her calling.

“Building relationships with my patients was the highlight of my university experience” she said. “I was able to combine my curiosity for medicine with a career where I could truly get to spend time with people and help them in any way I could. Medicine was the perfect field for me.”

Originally from Palo Alto, California, Stump chose the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson because of its commitment to community engagement. After volunteering at a clinic serving women experiencing homelessness during college, she knew she wanted to attend a medical school that prioritized caring for the communities it serves.

That same passion for helping others also sparked her interest in research. After experiencing the loss of a close friend during high school, she joined a neuroscience research lab studying mood and anxiety disorders, and discovered how research can improve patients' mental health

Today, her scholarly work has earned national recognition. Through the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) summer internship, Stump connected with University of Oklahoma radiation oncologist Shearwood McClelland III, MD, who became her research mentor. Together, they studied how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced completion rates for radiation therapy among patients with early-stage breast cancer, resulting in a published study and presentations at national meetings.

“There's such a large community of people in medicine who want to help others,” she said. “I hope one day I can pay it forward as a mentor, just as my mentors have done for me.”

Her advice for aspiring physician-scientists is simple: Choose research that aligns with your values and find mentors who are equally committed to their mission.

“Be kinder than necessary,” Stump said. “Go that extra mile for others when you can. Life and health are fleeting, so be patient, be present and take good care of yourself and those around you.”