News

Swish, Gargle, Repeat: UArizona Researcher Explores Mouth Rinse Test as Alternative to COVID-19 Nasal Swab A new diagnostic test for coronavirus relies on gargling with saltwater instead of using a nasal swab. Initial results have been encouraging, UArizona virology expert Dr. Michael Worobey says.

UArizona Plans for Holidays, Spring Semester Amid National COVID-19 Spike The university is currently allowing courses of up to 50 students to meet on campus. After Thanksgiving, all courses will transition to being fully online.

‘Wellness Wednesdays: Celebrating Health & Holiday’ Series to Provide Encouragement, Sense of Community Give yourself the gift of good health! The University of Arizona Health Sciences is offering an uplifting program to improve health and reduce stress.

Personalized Cancer Vaccine Clinical Trial to Expand Following Promising Early Results A study investigating a personalized cancer vaccine has reported a 50% response rate for patients with head and neck cancer in its preliminary data.

UArizona/Banner Offer Urology Services at Cortaro Road Primary Care Clinic University of Arizona Department of Urology faculty member Dr. Sunchin Kim and general urology nurse practitioner Cara Whittingham will provide patient care at the Cortaro Road Banner clinic in Tucson.

$7.3M Grant Advances Researcher’s Pursuit of Treatments for Arsenic-Induced Lung Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes Dr. Donna D. Zhang’s research focuses on developing pharmaceuticals to prevent or treat exposure to arsenic, which has affected more than 160 million people worldwide.

Photo of Pavani Chalasani, MD
Dr. Pavani Chalasani Recognized by National Cancer Institute with Leadership Award

Pavani Chalasani, MD, MPH, associate professor of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, will serve as chair of the University of Arizona Cancer Center’s Scientific Review Committee as a part of a recent National Cancer Institute Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award. Dr. Chalasani was among eight mid-career clinical investigators to receive the award.
Lung Ultrasound Training to Help Rural Emergency Medicine Providers Diagnose COVID-19 Patients The tele-ultrasound training program for lung point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) will enable rural emergency departments to more effectively identify and treat suspected COVID-19 patients.

People and Programs on the Move at the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson Two faculty members inducted to National Academy of Inventors, ‘Gut Group’ team wins $250,000 for gastrointestinal cancer research, Dr. Chalasani wins NCI team leadership award, and new physicians join as pediatrics, infectious disease specialists.

People and Programs on the Move in Public Health at the UArizona Health Sciences Recent notices for the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health include a new national cancer prevention lifestyle guideline led by Dr. Cynthia Thomson, a study on yoga’s benefits for the elderly, childhood obesity prevention and Dr. Heather Carter’s new post.

[Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, chief of the UArizona Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, leads the Arizona effort to reduce disparities in underrepresented communities in COVID-19 research and clinical trials. (Photo: University of Arizona Health Sciences, Kris Hanning)]
UArizona to Lead Statewide Outreach to Reduce Disparities in COVID-19 Research, Clinical Studies

The Arizona portion of an 11-state effort, funded by a $12 million federal award, to address the uneven impact of the pandemic on racial and ethnic minority communities will be led by the UArizona Health Sciences.
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.

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