Health

The prevalence of gender diversity is largely unknown, especially in rural areas. To fill that knowledge gap, researchers at WVU with colleagues at other institutions surveyed junior high and high school students in rural Appalachia about their gender identity. More than 7% of young people surveyed shared a gender identity that did not fully align with the sex they were assigned at birth, findings that appear in JAMA Pediatrics.

Driven by a shared passion for scientific discovery, four promising researchers pursuing doctoral degrees at West Virginia University are receiving funding from the Ruby Scholars Graduate Fellows Program to support their studies. This year’s Ruby Fellows are Cameron Wilson, Ashley Martsen, Courtney Glenn and Quinn Hopen.

West Virginia University is sharing updated COVID-19 health and safety guidance as campuses across the WVU System prepare for the start of the 2022-23 academic year and the first day of fall semester classes Aug. 17.

An employee’s diagnosis of depression or bipolar disorder can spark a fear of discrimination in the workplace, prompting the employee to construct an inauthentic professional identity, according to new research from Kayla Follmer, associate professor in the John Chambers College of Business and Economics.

Most children who get COVID-19 recover quickly and completely, but some develop symptoms that linger for weeks or months. These symptoms constitute “long COVID,” a condition that can cause a range of issues, including altered smell and taste, fatigue and concentration problems. WVU researchers Kathryn Moffett and Lesley Cottrell are investigating how this poorly understood condition affects kids and their families.

A summer program at West Virginia University is providing research opportunities in neuroscience for undergraduate students from underrepresented and global communities, including Ukraine. By training undergraduate students who are interested in continuing their education and conducting state-of-the-art research, the program aims to meet the growing need for neuroscience graduate-level students with research experience.

David and Dr. Jo Ann Goldbaugh Shaw, WVU alums and Wheeling natives, have built a legacy of innovation, education and transformation at WVU through charitable giving. Their latest contribution benefits WVU Athletics, the WVU School of Medicine, the David and Jo Ann Shaw Center for Simulation Training and Education for Patient Safety (STEPS) and WVU Medicine Children’s.

By interviewing researchers and physicians, Zachary Ramsey — a doctoral candidate in the School of Public Health — identified four pressing health issues that sexual and gender minorities face: discrimination, heteronormativity, health care system barriers and the interconnectedness of physical, mental and social health.

With a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the University is launching an immersive, interdisciplinary program that centers on WVU’s Inhalation Facility. The 40 doctoral students who participate will use the Facility, one of only a few like it in the country, to analyze the toxicity of air samples they’ve collected in the field and investigate how air pollution affects entire systems of the body, rather than just single cells.

With stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, youth spent more time at home with family and were more isolated from in-person interaction with peers. Largely due to this social isolation from peers, substance use among youth declined, according to researchers at the WVU School of Public Health.