As a new year begins – and the inevitable wave of health-related resolutions go into effect – one West Virginia University researcher reminds parents in particular of the critical role they play when it comes to shaping their children’s self-image and lifelong relationship with food.
Although it may seem that the COVID-19 vaccine came from out of nowhere, it underwent the same rigorous testing that all vaccines do. Ivan Martinez—a virologist with the WVU School of Medicine and Cancer Institute—discusses how the vaccine was made, why it’s safe, and how it will make our lives better in 2021.
The first shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrived in West Virginia on December 14. As doses are administered, researchers from the West Virginia University Public Interest Communication Research Lab are focused on making sure West Virginians get timely, accurate and scientifically sound information related to the vaccine.
One silver lining to COVID-19 restrictions, based on a recent report, is a 2.4 billion-ton plummet in global carbon emissions. Yet worldwide carbon output remains astronomical – 34 billion tons – and experts project an uptick in 2021.
Not only do West Virginia University’s newest graduates have much to celebrate in a year that defied traditions and norms, as they enter the next phase of their lives, they are drawing strength from being tested and are instilled with the most critical skills for succeeding in the 21st century: adaptability, resilience and purpose.
West Virginia University President Gordon Gee called for transformation during Friday’s (Dec. 18) Board of Governors meeting, warning that across the country there is a loss of public trust and the perceived value of higher education has diminished.
Cancer treatment isn’t just a matter of shrinking or removing a tumor. It also involves preserving or improving the patient’s quality of life. Rehabilitation services—such as behavioral therapies to alleviate pain and exercise to reduce fatigue—are a valuable way to do that. But they often aren’t included in cancer patients’ plans of care.
A growing number of scholarships are available to students in the West Virginia University School of Medicine’s in-demand histotechnology program, which prepares graduates to work in a challenging scientific field that offers ample well-paid job opportunities.
As West Virginia became the epicenter of the nation’s opioid epidemic, donor dollars brought Dr. Judith Feinberg to the West Virginia University School of Medicine to expand research focused on the intersection of addiction and infectious disease. More than five years later, her work is making a difference by expanding testing and increasing access to treatments for diseases spread through injection drug use – HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
Once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, a lot of things will go back to normal. We’ll stop wearing masks. We’ll crowd into restaurants. We’ll walk whatever direction we want to down grocery store aisles. But some changes that the pandemic spurred might be here to stay. Among them: the expansion of telepsychiatry.