What do one in five breast cancers have in common? Large amounts of a protein called HER2 (or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2). “Every healthy cell produces a normal amount of HER2, but HER2 is produced 10 to 20 times more in a cancer cell,” said Yehenew Agazie, an associate professor of biochemistry at the West Virginia University School of Medicine.
West Virginia University (WVU) has been selected as the first site for an innovative clinical trial to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Ali Rezai, M.D., director of the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, will lead the initiative in collaboration with INSIGHTEC, an Israel-based medical technology company who received approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin the clinical trial using focused ultrasound to treat Alzheimer’s.
An award-winning teacher and researcher who has served in several leadership roles at West Virginia University will guide the College of Education and Human Services as interim dean, an appointment that will likely encompass the next academic year.
The WVU Foundation says 23,161 donors, including 12,471 alumni, made 46,056 gifts between July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018 totaling $161,029,056. Only in FY’12 did the Foundation raise more - $173.9 million, a year that included two exceptionally large philanthropic gifts. FY’18 was buoyed by three record months of giving in July ($12.9 million), August ($12 million), and December ($49.5 million).
Director of Athletics and Associate Vice President Shane Lyons has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee in a term that will expire in June 2022. Recently, Lyons was also named chair of that prestigious committee for the length of his term.
The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has announced the initial members of the Mountaineer Legends Society for Olympic Sports. The 49 members will make the initial entrance into the Mountaineer Legends Society and will join the 22 men's and women's basketball members, who were first introduced in September 2017 and are on display at the WVU Coliseum Gold Gate, and the 41 football legends, who were first introduced in July 2016 and are on display at Milan Puskar Stadium.
A $500,000 grant from the BB&T Charitable Fund will be used in the Center for Financial Literacy and Education at West Virginia University’s College of Business and Economics and for the new business school complex to be built on Morgantown’s waterfront.
Ann Pancake will teach courses in Appalachian literature, environmental criticism and other subjects related to her writing and research. She will also contribute to the WVU Humanities Center Community Affiliates program but will devote the bulk of her time to writing about her native state.
Although half a world away from one another, Sister Cities Morgantown and Xuzhou in the Peoples Republic of China shared common ground at a day-long meeting, highlighting initiatives for redeveloping old mined land and industrial sites to promote economic development.
John Antonik talks with Ed Etzel and others about the history of the WVU rifle program and its rise to national prominence.