The presence of ticks have increased in recent years, as Lyme disease cases have tripled in the U.S. since the late 1990s. A team of WVU researchers, with the aid of a $1.9 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is developing a vaccine that may prevent humans from contracting the tick-borne illness.
According to Charles Anderson—a researcher with the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute—scientists have known for over half a century that charged zinc atoms have something to do with neuronal chatter. But with a new grant from the National Institutes of Health, Anderson will work to pinpoint exactly what zinc does, and how it does it.
In a study led by Xuefang “Sophie” Ren, a research assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience, a team of West Virginia University neuroscientists found that blood substitution therapy rescues the brains of mice from ischemic damage, a potential breakthrough in stroke therapy.
Experts with the West Virginia University Center for Inhalation Toxicology found that – assuming it’s a good fit - a gaiter will, despite recent reports, provide a respiratory containment of exhaled droplets comparable to a common over-the-ear cloth mask.
Three students pursuing doctoral degrees at West Virginia University are receiving funding through the Ruby Scholars Graduate Fellows Program. Jared Beard, Evan Cramer and Kinsey Reed are this year’s Ruby Fellows.
One knowledge gap to understanding the health effects of inhaling outdoor air pollution, according to Salik Hussain, assistant professor at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, is that the scientific community has largely focused on studying only individual toxicants, such as particles or gases.
Not even a year removed from her official diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, Nanette Miller is already on a road to potential recovery due to the expansion of a groundbreaking technique crafted by Dr. Ali Rezai's team at the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.
When the novel coronavirus prompted universities to switch from in-person to online classes last spring, both students and professors had to adopt a new workspace: the home. Tina Antill Keener—a researcher with the WVU School of Nursing—explored how that switch affected nursing students and faculty. She found that having a dedicated workspace in the home was tied to better quality of life and more resilience.
Just as nerve cells don’t work in isolation when we think, speak or move, neuroscientists don’t work alone when they study the nervous system. WVU is launching the Center for Foundational Neuroscience Research and Education, which will help researchers from across the university collaborate on—and get funding for—neuroscience research. Randy Nelson, who chairs the Department of Neuroscience, will direct it.
WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) researchers have developed new tools, including the forecasting of temperature and a “Health Index,” to warn users of the onset of COVID-19 related symptoms and signs of infection in real time.