Characterizing an autism patient’s behavior can be challenging, but these West Virginia University researchers aim to make identification easier by conducting the first systematic study toward autism spectrum disorder phenotyping using behavior-tracking technology.
Undergraduate researchers at West Virginia University will spend the next year pursuing projects in enzymes and fungi— research that could ultimately help people with chronic diseases and develop new pharmaceuticals.
West Virginia University is updating its mask guidelines. Beginning Monday, Sept. 13, all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask indoors in all WVU System buildings and facilities through Oct. 6, when public health conditions will be reevaluated.
Because injecting drugs increases someone’s risk of getting hepatitis C or HIV, the surge of the viruses in West Virginia is bound up with the opioid crisis. To address this problem, WVU researcher Judith Feinberg is working to integrate services for opioid use disorder, hepatitis C and HIV in 20 primary care clinics across the state. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has awarded the project more than $6.6 million.
In the months that follow, after the recovery crews have packed up and gone home, hopelessness and isolation set in for many disaster victims. These are the times when mental health support is needed most, according to a West Virginia University researcher.
This fall six new West Virginia University students with intellectual and developmental disabilities are paving the way for future students to be able to go to college, live on campus and gain academic and career preparation.
A new, biennial West Virginia population-based health survey—the Mountain State Assessment of Trends in Community Health—will gather information to help health officials and policy makers better understand the critical health needs of all 55 West Virginia counties, with the goal of directing resource allocations to communities that need them most.
About 90% of Americans who need treatment for a substance use disorder don’t get it. West Virginia University researchers have developed a program that allows people who have already walked the path of substance use disorder through recovery to be their guides to a healthier life.
The vast majority of people who overdose on an opioid will survive the experience. Yet scientists know little about how nonfatal overdoses affect the brain and cognition. WVU School of Medicine researchers Erin Winstanley and James Mahoney systematically reviewed journal articles that examined the topic. Overall, the studies supported a link between overdose, brain abnormalities and cognitive impairment, but more research—with more precision—is needed. Their findings appear in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
WVU researchers are monitoring wastewater for COVID-19 concentrations and thanks to a nearly $3 million grant will develop a testing network throughout the state. The new testing process has possibilities beyond the pandemic to test for influenza, RSV, HIV and other viruses, as well as signs of antibiotic-resistance genes.