Health Sciences In The Media

Sandra Kurtin, PhD, ANP-C, AOCN, of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, discusses the challenges for advanced practitioners treating patients with hematologic malignancies who are at high risk for COVID-19 infection.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci and several epidemiologists and health and science writers for The New York Times discuss their predictions about the months ahead. "I won't take traveling to my extended family for granted," said Alicia Allen, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor of clinical translational sciences at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.

An encouraging new study at the University of Arizona could lead to new immunotherapy treatments for Type-1 diabetes and could be extended to other autoimmune diseases. The study involves genetically engineered T-cells that can seek out and destroy pathogens in the pancreas. The research was led by Michael Kuhns, an associate professor of immunobiology in the UArizona College of Medicine - Tucson.

Health care experts criticized U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs for claiming that masks are not effective in slowing the spread of the coronavirus. "Masks absolutely work. Masks save lives and have benefits not only for the people around you but also for the wearer of the mask," said Dr. Shad Marvasti, director of public health, prevention and health promotion with the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

The University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine has established a new scholarship funded by a generous gift from Paul Stamets, an internationally known mycologist and advocate of the medical benefits of mushrooms.

The more social determinants of health a person has, the higher their risk of dying from coronary heart disease over the next decade, observational data on more than 22,000 people confirm. "This is yet another study to show that social determinants of health matter maybe even more so than traditional risk factors when we’re talking about risk of fatal cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Khadijah Breathett, an assistant professor of cardiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.

University of Arizona immunobiologist Deepta Bhattacharya in the College of Medicine – Tucson, says the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, and he will take it when it becomes available.

Loneliness, particularly among folks under shelter-in-place orders, is a growing issue for Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, new research finds. "Our society is becoming lonelier the longer the pandemic continues, which will likely lead to increased mental health issues in the near future," said the letter's author, William Killgore, a professor of psychiatry in the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson and director of the Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab.

Kelly A. Reynolds, PhD, MSPH, a professor and environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, writes about the effectiveness of sanitary survey scores to predict water quality at the point of use.

Valleywise Health said Tuesday that all of its ICU beds are being used and the ICU is at 100% capacity. "It's hard to know how bad it's going to get," said Joe Gerald, an associate professor in the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. "But we do know we're currently seeing record levels of hospitalization and ICU admissions."