One reason pancreatic cancer is so lethal is its resistance to traditional chemotherapy. But West Virginia University surgical oncologist Brian Boone is exploring whether FOLFIRINOX—a new combination of cancer drugs—can improve outcomes in patients whose pancreatic cancer is “borderline resectable,” meaning that a tumor may be too close to a blood vessel to be removed safely.
Sundus Lateef, a second year medical student in the WVU School of Medicine and Bridgeport native, was one of only 50 students selected from across the nation to participate in the NIH Medical Research Scholars Program.
Inhaling dangerous particulates is a hazard of coal mining, mold remediation, sandblasting … and dentistry. Fotinos Panagakos, associate dean of research at the West Virginia University School of Dentistry, is collaborating with a team at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to study how microscopic, airborne particulates and gases might be generated during dental procedures. NIOSH—a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—is funding the project.
Power plants utilize more than four times as much water as all U.S. homes. Now researchers at WVU are exploring how to cut down on that volume with the aid of a $400,000 federal grant.
Supported by a grant from the WVU Humanities Center, the research team used historical images from the West Virginia and Regional History Center’s online photographs database, West Virginia History OnView, to document the history of the Scott’s Run community in Monongalia County.
Kaitlyn Greg, Tatianna Evanisko and Hanna Byxbee may shrug it off, but they are pioneers in West Virginia University’s long-standing partnership with the China University of Mining Technology.
A West Virginia University graduate student is investigating how soils store carbon in ecosystems around the world to understand the impact of climate change. Biology Ph.D. student Nanette Raczka’s summer research efforts will begin in a seasonally dry tropical forest in Gaunacaste, Costa Rica.
Kim Innes, of the WVU School of Public Health, and her colleagues recently discovered that greater exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances was associated with lower rates of existing coronary heart disease in adults with diabetes. PFAS, considered a public health threat by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are manufactured chemicals that were popularized by various industries in the 1940s because of their ability to repel oil and water.
College students from across the U.S. will visit West Virginia University this summer for their first research experiences. WVU’s Department of Psychology will host seven undergraduate students for intensive, eight-week research projects. The students will be on campus June 3-July 26 conducting independent studies under the guidance of faculty mentors.
Pregnant African American women are more likely than white women to give birth prematurely, but they’re underrepresented in studies of preterm birth rates. Snehalata Huzurbazar, a biostatistics professor in the West Virginia University School of Public Health, is working to change that.