Research led by Ian Rockett, professor emeritus of the West Virginia University School of Public Health, applies a wider lens on how suicides and drug deaths that implicate self-injurious behaviors could be categorized.
West Virginia University’s Schools of Medicine and Dentistry and the WVU Medicine Center for Integrative Pain Management’s efforts to improve military pain medicine care for soldiers in the field were recognized by a national award for excellence in military pain medicine. This is the first time the award was given to an institution rather than an individual.
West Virginia University’s efforts to address chronic disease and substance abuse prevention, growing concerns related to vaping and youth mental health issues will be bolstered by funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, awarded to the West Virginia Prevention Research Center in the School of Public Health.
In a recent study, West Virginia University researcher Amna Umer explored how low birth weight correlates to cardiovascular risk factors in childhood. She and her colleagues assessed data of 20,000 fifth-graders born in West Virginia. They discovered that if children had a low birth weight, they were more likely to exhibit cardiovascular risk factors in fifth grade.
West Virginia University researcher Maxim Sokolov and his colleagues have received $1.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to study the biochemistry that might make it possible.
Limiting sugary drinks and insisting on regular toothbrushing can prevent tooth decay in kids. Maybe providing their mothers with social support can, too. A study by Daniel McNeil, a WVU School of Dentistry researcher, suggests children may be less likely to have a lot of cavities if their mothers have someone to talk to about their problems.
This is National Suicide Prevention Week, and John Campo—the chief behavior wellness officer at West Virginia University—is examining trends in suicide rates to make suicide prevention more effective. His recent findings suggest that rural residents may be especially vulnerable to suicide when they face economic challenges.
West Virginia University’s expertise on combating the opioid epidemic will be utilized in a federally-funded program targeting seven rural West Virginia counties. The project, supported by a $1 million U.S. Department of Health and Human Services award, aims to strengthen opioid abuse prevention, treatment and recovery services in Calhoun, Gilmer, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Jackson and Tyler counties.
Females are less susceptible to infection but are 10 times more likely than males to develop an autoimmune disorder, such as hypothyroidism or rheumatoid arthritis. The female immune system is “a double-edged sword” in that way, said Jennifer Franko, a teaching assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology at the West Virginia University School of Medicine.
About 70 percent of the human genome doesn’t code for anything. When it’s transcribed to RNA—the instructions our cells follow when they make proteins—most of the message doesn’t contain any useful information. As West Virginia University researcher Aaron Robart put it, it’s “junk DNA.”