School of Medicine

As the local legend goes, more than a dozen people have been murdered in Booger Hole, a small town in Clay County.

Quality healthcare transcends the medical profession, as evidenced by a new project led by West Virginia University that includes not only health experts but engineers, a physicist, a lawyer and a business data analyst.

Lullabies may do more than help babies get to sleep when they’re cozy in their cribs at home. A new study led by Hannah Bush—a WVU School of Medicine researcher—found that lullabies performed live by a licensed music therapist may alleviate the pain and anxiety of pediatric patients in critical care. Her study is the first to focus on live music intervention for children—rather than adults—on life support.

West Virginia University and the West Virginia Vaccine Administration, Collaboration, and Support Team are recipients of the 2021 George E. Thibault Nexus Award for the “Giving It Our Best Shot!” COVID-19 vaccination effort.

Aging in Appalachia doesn’t need to be what it’s perceived to be: Long commute times for quality healthcare and high rates of diabetes, depression and every other disease under the sun.

Although strokes can occur no matter how old you are, your risk for one increases as you age. About two-thirds of the people hospitalized for one are at least 65 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Yet historically, most stroke studies involving animal models have focused on young test subjects, not older ones.

A weekend of Homecoming activities at West Virginia University culminated Saturday (Oct. 2) with the naming of Raimah Hossain and Kylie A. Parker as the 2021 Homecoming Royalty, marking the start of a new tradition at the University. The 2021 WVU Alumni Association Homecoming and Alumni Service Awards were also presented. The announcements were made during the half-time ceremony at Saturday’s Homecoming football game against Texas Tech.

An innovative healthcare leader serving local communities and beyond, a long-time program manager who has worked tirelessly to enrich student learning opportunities outside the classroom and a licensed psychologist who has dedicated four decades of her career to the advancement of student mental health services are among the five new inductees to be honored for their outstanding contributions to West Virginia University.

Alumni near and far will return to Morgantown this weekend (Oct. 1-2) to reminisce and embrace new traditions while honoring the old in celebration of West Virginia University’s 2021 Homecoming.

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.