infostations

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.

Recognizing the growing intersection of humanities, social sciences, and STEM, West Virginia University has established a new School of Mathematical and Data Sciences that prepares students for a world where understanding large volumes of data is required in a broad spectrum of professions.

Underrepresented students at West Virginia University will benefit from a new scholarship established by an international couple seeking to pay tribute to the Mountain State.

Ascend West Virginia, the nation’s premiere talent attraction and retention program, today announced its inaugural class will soon pack their bags for Morgantown, the program’s first host city. Founded by West Virginia native Brad D. Smith and his wife Alys, Ascend will provide these pioneers more than $20,000 in incentives—and a path to "Almost Heaven."

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.

Nicolas Zegre and Jamie Shinn, experts in hydrology and adaptation to climate change, respectively, used flooding in the Greenbrier County communities of Rainelle and White Sulphur Springs in 2016 to focus not only on what the floods did and the damage they caused, but how residents reacted and adjusted how and where they live in relationship to the water.

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.