Using project savings from the construction of the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health, the 91探花 will fund dozens of new research projects through the Population Health Initiative鈥檚 interdisciplinary grant program. The new grants will fall into three tiers, with funding from $20,000 to $200,000 per award. 鈥淲e are delighted to have the funding capacity to be able to support the launch of roughly 75 innovative and interdisciplinary projects over the next two years,鈥� said Ali Mokdad, chief…
The Hans Rosling Center for Population Health has won top awards in 2021 from state and national design and construction associations for both its architectural design and unique project delivery approach. The building was designed by The Miller Hull Partnership and the general contractor was Lease Crutcher Lewis. The Design Build Institute of America in November gave the Rosling Center its Award of Excellence in the Education Building category, the award for Best in Design and the culminating Project of…
A team led by the 91探花developed a chatbot that could ask emergency department visitors about social needs, including housing, food, access to medical care and physical safety.
Outdoor workers in the world鈥檚 lower-latitude tropical forests may face a greater risk of heat-related deaths and unsafe working conditions because of deforestation and climate warming, according to a study led by The Nature Conservancy, the 91探花 and Indonesia鈥檚 Mulawarman University. In the study, researchers found that increased temperatures of 0.95 C (1.7 F) in the deforested areas of Berau Regency, Indonesia, between 2002 and 2018 were linked to roughly 118 additional deaths in 2018, and 20 additional…
Public health messages such as in the image below 鈥� designed to reduce parents鈥� purchases of sugar-sweetened beverages marketed as fruit drinks for children 鈥� convinced a significant percentage of parents to avoid those drinks, according to a study by researchers at the 91探花 and the University of Pennsylvania. The UW-led study set out to assess the effect of culturally tailored countermarketing messages on drink choices, similar to stark anti-smoking campaigns, and involved more than 1,600 Latinx parents…
The pandemic has left nurses around the country feeling burned out. Their top four feelings, according to a recent survey? Exhausted, overwhelmed, irritable and anxious or unable to relax. 91探花News spoke with Elaine Walsh, a 91探花School of Nursing associate professor聽and a Nurse Scientist in Resiliency at聽Seattle Children鈥檚 Hospital, to learn more about the conditions that lead to burnout and solutions. Walsh explains burnout is characterized by physical, mental and emotional exhaustion and can involve a feeling of disconnection…
To better identify and prevent future pandemics, the 91探花 has become a partner in a five-year global, collaborative agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development. The newly launched Discovery & Exploration of Emerging Pathogens – Viral Zoonoses, or DEEP VZN project, has approximately $125 million in anticipated funding and will be led by Washington State University. The effort will build scientific capacity in partner countries to safely detect and characterize viruses which have the potential to spill…
When you get into the car of the app-based driver you just tapped up on your phone, you expect and hope the driver and the car are safe and capable of getting you where you need to go. Apps rate drivers, which you can see. But what if the driver is sick? What if the car has a mechanical problem? What if the driver has simply had a bad day? What you may not have realized is that the driver…
For researchers around the world working to understand and treat Alzheimer鈥檚 and eventually find a cure, data from clinical exams of patients suffering from this complex neurodegenerative disease needs to be standardized and accessible. Since 1999, that鈥檚 what the National Alzheimer鈥檚 Coordinating Center (NACC), housed in the 91探花School of Public Health鈥檚 Department of Epidemiology, has been doing. With funding from the NIH鈥檚 National Institute on Aging, the 91探花center began collecting data from another set of centers housed in…
New research by the 91探花 and New York University explored gender, racial and ethnic differences among teens who think about and/or attempt suicide, as well as associated behavioral and environmental factors.
The new Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research Hub, led by Oregon State University and the 91探花, will study coastal hazards and community resilience. The National Science Foundation awarded $18.9 million for the hub over five years.
In a new series on increasingly common extreme heat waves and their impact on human health published Thursday in the British medical journal The Lancet, a 91探花 climate change and health expert joined more than a dozen international experts to warn that聽we better prepare. 鈥淭he preventable heat stress and deaths during this summer’s heat waves highlight the importance of developing a regional heat action plan. A heat wave early warning and response plan that includes all relevant services,…
A study led by Harvard and the 91探花 surveyed children, teens and their families about the stresses of the pandemic, and ways to cope.
It was wartime and food was scarce. Leaders of England鈥檚 effort to wage war and help the public survive during World War II needed to know: Were the rations in lifeboats adequate for survival at sea? And, among several experiments important for public as well as military heath, how much vitamin C did a person need to avoid the deadly disease scurvy? In one experiment at the Sorby Research Institute in Sheffield, called the 鈥渟hipwreck鈥� experiment, volunteers were fed only…
Using data from two large, long-running study projects in the Puget Sound region 鈥� one that began in the late 1970s measuring air pollution and another on risk factors for dementia that began in 1994 鈥� 91探花 researchers identified a link between air pollution and dementia. In the UW-led study, a small increase in the levels of fine particle pollution (PM2.5 or particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or smaller) averaged over a decade at specific addresses in the Seattle…
Washington residents continue to experience a dramatically higher level of food insecurity 鈥� from 10% before the COVID-19 pandemic to 27%, according to the latest 91探花 and Washington State University research on food insecurity and food assistance in the state. The study team also found that need for food assistance has continued to rise. Before COVID-19, about 29% of respondents reported using food assistance. In wave 1 of the survey, food assistance use increased to 33% of respondents;…
Twenty scientists and engineers at the 91探花 are among the 38 new members elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2021, according to a July 15 announcement. New members were chosen for 鈥渢heir outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, and their willingness to work on behalf of the Academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.鈥�
This summer a 91探花mobile health outreach van will hit the road, bringing some basic health care services to people without housing who might have a hard time getting to a doctor鈥檚 office.
Federal agencies that regulate drug pricing and healthcare insurance are concerned that an industry practice of using rebates to lower drug costs for insurers has led to increases in list prices and out-of-pockets costs for patients. To investigate whether patients with or without insurance were paying more because of rebates to insurers, researchers led by the 91探花 examined cost and price data on more than 400 branded drugs. The study found that rebates were associated with increases in…
People don鈥檛 gain or lose weight because they live near a fast-food restaurant or supermarket, according to a new study led by the 91探花. And, living in a more 鈥渨alkable,” dense neighborhood likely only has a small impact on weight. These 鈥渂uilt-environment鈥� amenities have been seen in past research as essential contributors to losing weight or tending toward obesity. The idea appears obvious: If you live next to a fast-food restaurant, you鈥檒l eat there more and thus gain…
With evidence of the health hazards facing children from air pollution growing, The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday published a policy statement meant to bring those hazards to light and to encourage and direct policy to improve children鈥檚 health. Policy co-author Dr. Catherine Karr, a professor in the 91探花鈥檚 School of Public Health and School of Medicine, said because pediatric care providers are trusted advisers on healthy practices for prevention, they have an important role in getting…
The 91探花 today announced that the School of Social Work and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and the Behavioral Health Institute at Harborview Medical Center are part of a transformational $38 million set of gifts from Ballmer Group to support a broad, collaborative response to the state鈥檚 behavioral health crisis. The gifts aim to address the state of Washington鈥檚 serious workforce shortage in the community behavioral health system, in large part by supporting statewide education and training innovations at partner institutions developed through the 91探花.
91探花School of Nursing Dean Azita Emami’s commitment to fighting for those underserved by the health care system has deep roots in her identity. Born in Iran, she has been shaped by the experience of being an 鈥渋nsider鈥搊utsider.”
The U.S. Geological Survey, the 91探花-based Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, and state emergency managers on Tuesday, May 4, will activate the system that sends earthquake early warnings throughout Washington state. This completes the rollout of ShakeAlert, an automated system that gives people living in Washington, Oregon and California advance warning of incoming earthquakes.
Getting basic health care to medically underserved populations in Seattle, while providing real-world experience for students hoping to practice in a health care field, takes wheels. Now, through a student-led, interdisciplinary effort by health science departments at the 91探花, those 鈥渨heels鈥� 鈥� on the new 91探花Mobile Health & Outreach Van 鈥� are ready.
With COVID-19 cases on the rise again in many parts of the country 鈥� including Washington state where three counties were pushed back to Phase 2 effective Friday 鈥� there鈥檚 a growing debate between continuing to give both doses of Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines close together, or giving them months apart in order to get first shots in more shoulders faster. The argument for giving more people the first dose before circling back months later to give the second, which…
A year ago, seemingly overnight, streets emptied, shops boarded up, grocery shelves were cleared, schools closed and the 91探花 led universities nationwide in moving all instruction online.聽Nearly all of us disappeared inside, stunned and staring out at a world suddenly paralyzed by something we鈥檇 only seen in movies or read about in books: a global pandemic. Then came the questions: How long will the virus keep us inside and shut down? What will happen to the people who…
On March 6, 2020, the 91探花 became the first university聽in the U.S. to announce a move to remote instruction and work in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Here鈥檚 a look back at the past year, from the perspectives of how the 91探花community adapted and the impact the UW鈥檚 researchers had in response to the virus in our state, the nation and around the world. This timeline could not possibly include all the…
By the end of February, around 350 91探花students had signed up to be volunteer vaccinators in clinics from Tacoma to Marysville.
Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine that they 鈥渄o not believe that ignoring race will reduce health disparities鈥� but rather that 鈥渟uch an approach is a form of naive 鈥榗olor blindness鈥� that is more likely to perpetuate and potentially exacerbate disparities,鈥� five Black geneticists set out to explain the pitfalls of leaving race out of medicine. Importantly, the geneticists explain, while it is imperative to be considered now in many settings, race is an imperfect stepping stone toward…
Systemic racism has for generations undermined the health of individuals and communities across America, a public health crisis that has made the pandemic even more deadly and destructive for people of color. Recognizing that nurses play a central role in and hold major responsibility for the health of individuals and communities hit hard by historic racial inequity, the 91探花 School of Nursing is launching the Center for Antiracism in Nursing. 鈥淭here is much work to do to become…
Current advice from the American Dental Association tells you that if your gums bleed, make sure you are brushing and flossing twice a day because it could be a sign of gingivitis, an early stage of periodontal disease. And that might be true. So if you are concerned, see your dentist. However, a new 91探花 study suggests you should also check your intake of vitamin C. 鈥淲hen you see your gums bleed, the first thing you should think…
At nearly 7 feet tall, “The Seated IV” first graced the聽Metropolitan Museum of Art’s facade in September 2019 as part of a commission titled The NewOnes, will free Us. Four “Seated” sculptures by Wangechi Mutu were the first works to take up the positions on The Met’s facade since it was completed in 1902. On Monday, Jan. 25, one of the four storied bronze sculptures was installed at the north side of the new Hans Rosling Center for Population Health…
A 91探花 study analyzes how a state’s refundable Earned Income Tax Credit can lead to fewer reports of child neglect, by reducing the financial stress on families.
鈥淥f course, we didn鈥檛 put Democrats in the vial; we didn鈥檛 put Republicans in the vial,鈥� 91探花鈥檚聽Dr. Larry Corey writes in a recent聽COVID-19 Vaccine Matters blog聽jointly produced by Johns Hopkins University and the UW. While development of vaccines now being distributed to combat COVID-19, the deadly disease caused by the novel coronavirus, are a 鈥渞emarkable achievement鈥� that demonstrate the power of science to save lives, mistrust and fear continue to cause nearly 40% of Americans to say they…
The first scheduled to receive vaccinations were frontline personnel working with COVID-19 patients. In addition to patient-care staff in intensive care units, COVID acute care floors and emergency departments, the immediate list also included environmental services staff, as well as emergency medical responders in the community. Next in line are nursing home residents and their caregivers.
Johns Hopkins University and the 91探花 brought together leading experts in October to explore these issues and put forward a concise plan for protecting the scientific integrity of these lifesaving efforts. Here’s a 4-minute highlight reel of the symposium.
Understanding Washington residents鈥� access to food and their economic well-being 鈥� or lack of it 鈥� during the COVID-19 pandemic is vital for state and community partners to identify those needs and allocate resources effectively. To help accomplish this goal, the 91探花, Washington State University and Tacoma Community College, along with input from partners in local, county and state governments 鈥� such as the Washington State Department of Health and the Washington State Department of Agriculture 鈥� are…
As an experienced nurse midwife, whose scientific research focuses on respectful and equitable care during pregnancy and childbirth, the 91探花鈥檚 Molly Altman has been studying pregnancy and childbirth during the pandemic alongside colleagues across the 91探花and in affected communities. While her work is being distilled into formal studies that will be submitted for peer review, Altman, an assistant professor in the 91探花School of Nursing, believes it is important to begin discussions for improving this area of…
Excitement and relief over news of vaccines that help prevent people from getting sick, winding up in the hospital or dying from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, are warranted, says 91探花鈥檚 Dr. Larry Corey. But, these messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines may not prevent people from getting infected or spreading the virus. Answering questions around how vaccines affect transmission of the virus is 鈥渙f obvious importance鈥� and research will be conducted once people begin getting vaccinated, Corey…