Three Wishes for Dr. Wofsy

So much of life depends on luck, and not all of that luck is good luck, said David Wofsy, MD, during the 2019 UCSF Last Lecture.

Early in his career, Wofsy was working on an important mouse study when he forgot to close a small opening in some of the cages. The next morning, he discovered that the mice had moved from cage to cage, mixing up the variables, and putting months of lab work to waste.

“What we don’t usually talk about are our failures, our disappointments,” said Wofsy, professor of medicine and the associate dean for admissions for the School of Medicine.

“But we get through it because of the support of our family and the support of our institution that lets us keep trying. And because we know that even these disappointments are part of the wave of progress, and that’s what we signed up for.”

Now in its eighth year, the UCSF Last Lecture has become an annual tradition in which a UCSF faculty member is nominated and selected by students to answer the question: “If you have but one lecture to give, what would you say?”

Wofsy delivered his lecture in Cole Hall on April 17, sharing moments of disappointment and happiness from his life and also his hopes for future generations of physicians.

He shared his pride in UCSF’s public mission, exemplified by its action during the early days of the AIDS epidemic.

The disease “could not have more precisely targeted populations of people that were already marginalized from the health care system,” and by-and-large “society as a whole behaved badly,” said Wofsy.

While many others turned a blind eye, health care workers at UCSF took care of the sick.

“For those of us who were here at UCSF at the time, it’s always a reminder of what it means to be the health care provider for the disenfranchised people in your community. It’s not just talk here,” he said.

Wishes for Diversity, Affordability and Peace

But Wofsy spoke passionately about three things he wished could be improved, two particular to UCSF and one for all physicians.

Click here to read the full story on the UCSF News website. 

Clear here to view the entire lecture.