Rupa Tuan, PhD, a faculty member in the Department of Cellular and Mo­lec­u­lar Phar­ma­co­lo­gy who also teaches phar­ma­co­lo­gy in UCSF’s School of Med­i­cine and School of Dentistry, delivered the 22nd annual Sumner and Hermine Marshall Endowed Last Lecture.

The lecture features a UCSF faculty member nominated and selected by students to answer one question: If you had but one lecture to give, what would you say? The series is intended to bring out stories intertwining various dimensions of the chosen faculty member’s trajectory––en­com­pass­ing the professional, personal, spiritual, and cultural experiences that have brought them to where they are today.

Tuan, whose passion for teaching has taken her into classrooms at UCLA, Georgetown University, George Mason University, Foothill Community College, and Notre Dame de Namur University, told the story of how an unexpected grade in college propelled her career as a health care educator and researcher. The experience helped her realize that her purpose evolved over time with help from her family and important lessons learned along the way.

More 

• How Rupa Tuan Turned a Lifetime of Family Lessons into a Teaching Career
• Last Lecture