Health

Retinal diseases can make even the most mundane tasks—like cooking, driving and walking down the sidewalk—difficult or impossible, and they can’t be cured. WVU School of Medicine researchers Peter Stoilov and Visvanathan Ramamurthy are studying the role that specific proteins play in rapid retinal degeneration. What they learn may lead to new treatments that are more cost-effective and more widely applicable than the treatments available today.

West Virginia University is committed to providing an on-campus learning experience as the spring 2022 semester approaches; however, with the rise in COVID-19 cases across the country and throughout the state because of the omicron variant, the University is implementing several updated campus health and safety protocols ahead of the start of classes that begin on Monday, Jan. 10.

Mountain State students pursuing a medical degree from the West Virginia University School of Medicine will benefit from a $250,000 scholarship gift made by a retired alumnus in memory of his late wife. Dr. Kent Webb, of Wilmington, North Carolina, established the Judy Forester Webb & Kent Webb School of Medicine Scholarship.

Students and faculty across the state have stepped up to answer the needs of the nursing shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to a three-point plan established by the West Virginia University School of Nursing.

Despite the many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, West Virginia University Health Sciences Center labs were largely able to stay open and functional, allowing critical research to continue. Not only were researchers able to continue their work during the pandemic, but there was actually an increase in research productivity.

Viruses may have a bad reputation, but with a little help from scientists, some of them can do great things. Wen Tao Deng—a researcher with the WVU School of Medicine—is studying how engineered adeno-associated virus, or AAV, could be used in gene therapy for incurable eye disorders. Her work is relevant to a range of conditions that affect visual acuity and color vision, including red-green colorblindness, the most common form of color deficiency. The National Eye Institute has awarded her project $1.9 million.

West Virginia University’s spring 2022 semester will begin Monday, Jan. 10 with many of the current COVID-19 campus health and safety protocols remaining in place as health officials monitor the emerging omicron variant.

We are grateful there was not an incident on Monday (Dec. 6) as suggested in the anonymous letter the University had received. At this time, safety experts tell WVU it may resume normal operations on campus.

Trigger Warning: This message contains content about suicide.

While most people go years without needing the smoke detectors in their homes, they would never choose to get rid of a device that saves lives and prevents injury in the event of an emergency. But that’s often what happens to public health systems across the country. Dr. Christopher J. Martin, professor for the West Virginia University School of Public Health, calls it the “paradox of public health.”