News

UArizona Health Sciences Study Shows SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Provide Lasting Immunity Researchers developed one of the most accurate COVID-19 antibody tests available and now have shown antibodies persist for months after infection, providing long-term immunity.

NIH New Innovator Award to Fund Research on Opioid Addiction and Relapse in Postpartum Women The $2.3 million National Institutes of Health grant will enable Dr. Alicia Allen to explore how women’s hormones influence postpartum opioid relapse and if they may be used as a preventative strategy.

UArizona Prepares to Offer More In-Person Classes On Oct. 12, the university hopes to resume in-person instruction for classes of 30 or fewer students that were designated in-person or flex in-person courses at the time of registration.

Many Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Patients Can Skip Radiation, UArizona Health Sciences Collaborative Study Finds University of Arizona Cancer Center researcher Dr. Daniel Persky led a study that found many patients with the most common type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), can safely skip radiation and receive fewer chemotherapy treatments.

[Andrew R. Williams, MD, and J.R. Exequiel T. “Keng” Pineda, MD, PhD]
UA Sarver Heart Center, Banner – University Medicine Tucson Welcome New Cardiologists

The new faculty cardiologists, Drs. Keng Pineda and Andrew Williams, bring expertise in interventional cardiology, cardiac imaging, cardio-oncology and sports cardiology to the University of Arizona Health Sciences and Banner – University Medicine Tucson.
Immune System Changes May Cause High Blood Pressure in Postmenopausal Women A new study finds menopause-induced changes to protective immune cells may add to a spike in high blood pressure in postmenopausal women – findings with implications for sex differences in COVID-19 responses.

UArizona Sees Improvement in COVID-19 Numbers, Compliance The number of positive test results on campus decreased following a 14-day shelter-in-place recommendation.

Researchers Uncover Potential Target to Diagnose, Monitor Cervical Cancer Treatment Dr. Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz’s research team found proteins called immune checkpoint inhibitors in the cervicovaginal environment that may help predict if a woman suffers from abnormal cell growth or cancer.

Graphic showing 2019-20 Research Awards for the University of Health Sciences colleges with pie chart of how much each received.
Health Sciences Exceeds $200M in Research Funding for First Time, Boosted by COVID-19 Collaborations

University of Arizona Health Sciences passes $200 million milestone in research funding in fiscal year 2020, addressing some of the world’s most challenging health conditions, including COVID-19.
[Last winter’s PCP Scholarship winners from the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson celebrate with college and health sciences leaders. (Photo: Noelle Haro Gomez/University of Arizona Health Sciences)]
Future Primary Care Physicians Grateful for Full-Tuition Scholarship, Excited to Serve their Communities

Sixteen first-year students are among 32 new PCP Scholarship recipients this academic year at the UArizona Colleges of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix – both schools still have scholarships available.
University to Continue Holding Only ‘Essential Courses’ in Person Through Oct. 2 While the campus has seen a spike in cases over the last few weeks, Friday’s positivity rate was down from last week, and no new students were admitted to isolation housing over the weekend.

Dr. Monica Kraft to Lead All of Us Research Program at UArizona and Banner Health Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the All of Us Research Program is a historic effort to collect and study data from at least 1 million people in the United States.

Arizona COVID-19 Genomics Union Tracks Virus Strains in State Molecular clock analysis showed no widespread community distribution of the highly contagious coronavirus disease in Arizona until mid-February.

Researchers Prepare First Potential Drug Therapy for Vascular Dementia for Clinical Trials Dr. Meredith Hay won a $5.7 million grant for clinical trials on a novel peptide therapy that, if successful, would be the first drug to treat vascular dementia – the second most common form of dementia.

UArizona, County Issue Shelter-in-Place Recommendation for Students UArizona President Dr. Robert C. Robbins said the university expected to see an increase in COVID-19 cases, but it has become too much, necessitating a shelter-in-place recommendation similar to what the state faced in the spring.

UArizona Cancer Center Honored with 2020 Innovator Award Efforts to keep patients safe in the time of COVID-19 led to significant savings and innovation in chemotherapy delivery and earned University of Arizona Health Sciences center national recognition.

How Coronavirus Took Hold in North America and Europe Early interventions were effective at stamping out coronavirus infections, but subsequent, poorly monitored travel allowed the virus to ignite major outbreaks in Europe and North America, according to a new study.

Internationally Recognized Radiologist Named UArizona Chair of Medical Imaging Joining the University of Arizona Health Sciences in October, Dr. Geoffrey Rubin holds six U.S. patents for medical image analysis and is past chairman of radiology at Duke University School of Medicine.

COVID-19 Highlighted Longstanding Problems in Nursing Homes, UArizona Expert Says Tara Sklar, a health law and policy expert on caring for older adults, talks about recommendations she made to federal, state and local governments to address COVID-19’s spread through American nursing homes.

University, County Work Together at ‘Critical Time’ for COVID-19 Mitigation Dr. Theresa Dr. Cullen, director of the Pima County Health Department, said the county, university and other partners are working together on a “layered approach” to COVID-19 mitigation.

UArizona to Ramp Up COVID-19 Testing The university will conduct 5,000 COVID-19 tests per week as part of continued efforts to slow the spread of the virus.

‘Discovering New Medicines’ Summit Unites Experts from UArizona Health Sciences, Pharma to Advance Research and Commercialization Arizona Center for Drug Discovery and University of Arizona Cancer Center host Sept. 15 virtual summit to discuss new innovations in drug discovery to benefit citizens throughout the state and more.

FDA Authorizes Use of UArizona COVID-19 Antibody Test; Testing Expanded to All Arizonans Age 18 and Older The antibody test determines who has been exposed to and developed an immune response against COVID-19.

Arthritis Center ‘Bear Down for Health: Sport and Science in Era of COVID-19’ Livestream, Sept. 16 UArizona Athletics Dave Heeke and Drs. Daniel Derksen and Dr. Janko Nikolich-Žugich will headline this unique livestream presentation of the Arthritis Center’s annual educational fundraiser.

UArizona Researcher to Study Cellular Stress Responses Common in Cancer, Aging Bolstered by a $1.6 million grant, Dr. Timothy Bolger, at the University of Arizona Cancer Center, is studying how cells respond to stress and the role this process has in cancer growth and aging.

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