Stanford Medicine Health Compass

Maya Adam, MD, and her guests Victor Carrion, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science, and Laura Roberts, MD, professor and chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, shine a spotlight on the global mental health crisis and share how research at Stanford Medicine is giving new hope to patients seeking clearer diagnoses and better treatments. Carrion explores the impact of trauma on young people, discusses how to help build resilience, and shares practical tools that help youth support their own mental health. Later, Roberts speaks to the state of the world’s mental health, including how the pandemic left lingering impacts on us all, how to restore mental balance, and why digital health could be a boon to broader accessibility to mental health tools. Website: https://med.stanford.edu/health-compass-podcast/mental-health-crisis.html

While the immune system is normally the body’s sworn protector, it can sometimes turn against us. Maya Adam hosts Howard Chang, MD, PhD, professor of dermatology and of genetics, and Diana Dou, PhD, former Stanford Medicine postdoctoral scholar and current assistant professor of immunology at Duke University, to discuss autoimmune diseases and why women are at an increased risk. Chang and Dou share their respective journeys into medicine, what motivates them to research the autoimmunity imbalance between genders, and findings from their latest research that point to why women experience a sex bias. Website: https://med.stanford.edu/health-compass-podcast/autoimmunity_women.html

This episode discusses suicide and may be distressing for some listeners. If help is needed, the U.S. national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988 or by chatting at 988lifeline.org. Maya Adam and Leanne Williams, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science, talk about tackling the stigma surrounding mental health challenges, a burden that still too often prevents those who need help the most from reaching out. In this episode, Williams shares her own searingly personal story about the loss of her partner, an ER physician who died by suicide, and how it motivated her work to prevent more tragedies. She underscores the need to identify the root causes of mental illness in the brain and explores the potential for bio-typing to bring precision and personalization to the field. She also emphasizes the importance of lifestyle changes to improve outcomes, the need to make technological advances more widely available and how, together, we can all help erase the shame around getting treatment. Website: https://med.stanford.edu/health-compass-podcast/mental-health-stigma.html

With life expectancy globally continuing to climb, Maya Adam, MD, and David Rehkopf, ScD, associate professor of epidemiology and population health and of medicine, talk about the lessons we might all draw from “blue zones,” the places where residents' enjoy extraordinarily long lifespans. Rehkopf discusses the importance of social connections, diet and everyday activity as keys to health aging. He emphasizes the role of the environment in shaping health behaviors, shares insights from his research on biological markers of aging, and gives practical advice on how to create healthier lifestyles that support longevity. Website: https://med.stanford.edu/health-compass-podcast/longevity-blue-zones.html