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As West Virginia University prepares to host a national conference this week, several experts can offer insights into various aspects of Appalachian issues, culture and research.

West Virginia University will host researchers and experts from across the country devoted to the study and promotion of Appalachia at the 45th annual “Appalachian Studies Conference: Making, Creating and Encoding: Crafting Possibilities in Appalachia,” Thursday through Sunday (March 17-20) in the WVU Mountainlair.

More than 100 second-year medical students from the West Virginia University School of Medicine will transition from basic science to clinical care learning during the annual John W. Traubert White Coat Ceremony Saturday, March 12, at 1 p.m. in the WVU Canady Creative Arts Center.

West Virginia University has more than two dozen experts who can offer insights into different aspects of the Russia-Ukraine war, including faculty and students who have lived in Ukraine.

An avian influenza strain found in migratory wild bird populations has been confirmed in commercial and backyard poultry flocks in neighboring Kentucky and Virginia, as well as in Maine, New York, Delaware, Indiana and Michigan. While no cases have been confirmed among West Virginia’s commercial poultry industry and backyard birds at this time, West Virginia University poultry expert Joe Moritz reminds all flock owners of the importance of continual biosecurity practices and steps they can take to help protect our state’s poultry population from HPAI and other diseases.

West Virginia University is building a pipeline of nurses to fill the shortage in health care systems across the country. On multiple campuses, the School of Nursing is meeting students where they are, from Morgantown to Keyser, Beckley to Charleston and Keyser, including undergraduate programs, online graduate programs and continuing education.

“Health in the Hills: Understanding the Impact of Health Care Law in Rural Communities” hosted by the West Virginia Law Review will take place on Feb. 24, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Feb. 25, 9 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Nearly 50 WVU undergraduates will present their work to lawmakers in Charleston at Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol Friday (Feb. 18) from 9-11 a.m.

Award-winning books by Black authors on a variety of topics will help shape perceptions of Appalachia, of West Virginia and of West Virginia University, according to Derek Krissoff, director of WVU Press. The University’s publishing company has a collection of books relating to Black history and Black experiences that provide readers with an opportunity to explore Black stories.

As Russia proliferates international tensions with troop movements to its borders, West Virginia University expert Erik Herron, who has studied politics in Ukraine for decades and has served as an international election observer there, said the military threat not only endangers people in Ukraine, but the “system that has supported European security since the end of World War II.” Herron is part of a panel that will discuss recent events in the region tonight at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom.