Health

Treating a stubborn blood disease that strikes children may come down to tweaking energy production in stem cells, suggests research out of West Virginia University.

West Virginia University President Gordon Gee’s knack for risk-taking is generally well-known, as is his encouragement to students to live lives based on their passions, not their fears. In his weekend (May 10-12) commencement addresses to WVU graduates across campus, Gee urged future risk balanced on what they’ve learned.

Infectious diseases expert Sally Hodder, director of the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute and associate vice president for clinical and translational science at West Virginia University, was part of a national team that published “AIDS in America – Back in the Headlines at Long Last,” a perspective that provides detailed information about the ongoing HIV epidemic.

Sacrificed by No Child Left Behind in favor of academic achievement, physical education requirements for public schools returned with the subsequent Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015, but that doesn’t mean that school systems have consistent—or adequate—standards for their students. That lack sends a critical message to the public and to stakeholders, according to West Virginia University researchers.

Carry your keys; stick to well-lit streets; don’t go out alone after dark. People receive advice like this every day from friends and family members concerned for their safety. But WVU researcher Danielle Davidov is investigating bystander-intervention programs that engage the whole community, not just potential victims, in preventing sexual violence.

Acute hepatitis C infections rose 98 percent between 2010 and 2015 nationwide, largely because more people were injecting drugs. Using a new needle for every injection can slow the spread of hepatitis C, but getting those new needles isn’t always as simple as buying glucose-meter lancets at the pharmacy. And safely disposing of old needles presents a whole other set of problems.

The West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute announced last week that it will open its new Innovation Center and convening its inaugural Summit from Wednesday to Thursday, May 15-16, in Morgantown.

Students in 11th and 12th grades looking for a unique, immersive, science-based camp experience should consider Brain Camp, a new week-long educational program taking place on West Virginia University’s Morgantown Campus in July.

West Virginia University School of Medicine alumni and LaunchLab Network clients will use $25,000 in startup funding from the AlphaLab Gear accelerator program for early-stage startups to help drive down maintenance costs and increase productivity in laboratories.

Maryanne Reed, who transformed West Virginia University’s journalism school into an exemplar of modern media training as the Reed College of Media, was named provost and vice president for academic affairs of the University on Wednesday (April 17).