News Archives: May, 2020

The nation’s battle against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gained new muscle this week with an $8.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to the National Institute for Innovation in Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing (NIIMBL). NIIMBL, a public-private partnership headquartered at the University of Delaware and part of the Manufacturing USA network, will use the money to expand testing and diagnostic capability, address problems in the supply chain and help develop approaches to accelerate manufacturing once a vaccine has been developed and approved for use.

Melanie Moses, a professor of computer science and biology at the University of New Mexico, has been awarded National Science Foundation funding to understand how human lungs respond to viral pathogens like COVID-19. With the help of research assistant Vanessa Surjadidjaja, Moses hopes to answer how within-host infection dynamics affect between-host transmission. More specifically, how the spatial interactions of virus and immune response within hosts affects transmission between hosts, Moses said.

Using the expertise at West Virginia University, we seek to answer questions about coronavirus (COVID-19): What is it? How can I stay safe? We'll also learn more about viruses and how they work, as well as how West Virginia and the University are responding to the global pandemic that caused the world to go into lockdown.

The West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) and WVU Medicine, in conjunction with Oura Health, have addressed a major concern regarding the spread of COVID-19. The RNI has created a digital platform that can detect COVID-19 related symptoms up to three days before they show up. One of the obstacles in fighting COVID-19 is that asymptomatic individuals can spread the virus before they realize they are infected.

Researchers in the University of Kentucky College of Nursing’s BREATHE (Bridging Research Efforts and Advocacy Toward Healthy Environments), in conjunction with the Kentucky Geological Survey, the UK College of Public Health, Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), and other community partners in Kentucky were awarded a $2.6 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to engage and educate citizens of Kentucky on the increased risk of lung cancer due to environmental exposures from radon and tobacco smoke.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has teamed up with Fairbanks Memorial Hospital to produce hand sanitizer. The chemistry laboratory in the College of Natural Science and Mathematics’ Reichardt Building is putting its quarantined facilities to good use. Normally bustling with student activity, the area is instead being used to produce hand sanitizer, which Fairbanks Memorial Hospital is running in short supply of.

Four University of Alaska research teams have received grants totaling more than $64,000 to develop innovative concepts for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Center for Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship (Center ICE) awarded the grants after reviewing 28 submissions from a variety of UA researchers. The winning proposals will be funded with support from the Office of Naval Research.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) are actively engaged in educating, growing and sustaining a qualified workforce for the advancement of Quantum Information Science and Technology. NSF, in close coordination with OSTP, initiated and funded a virtual workshop hosted by the Harvard University, Center for Integrated Quantum Materials (CIQM) in March 2020. Entitled "Key Concepts for Future Quantum Information Science Learners," the workshop was designed to identify essential concepts for future curricular and educator activities that will help K-12 students engage with quantum information science (QIS).

Date: June 17 (Wednesday)
Time: Noon – 1:15 p.m. EDT