UTMB’s Pei-Yong Shi is the inaugural John Sealy Distinguished Chair in Innovations in Molecular Biology. The chair was established by a $1 million gift from The Sealy & Smith Foundation.
UTMB’s Camila Fontes was featured on the front page of the Houston Chronicle on Sunday as part of a story on the effort to develop and test a covid-19 vaccine in the Houston area. UTMB’s Scott Weaver, Pei-Yong Shi, Xuping Xie were also included in the story. “I’m a realist,” Fontes told the Chronicle. “I have an opportunity to help everybody else. I want to see my mom and my dad. They’re in El Paso, and if I want to see them, we need a solution.” This news also reported in San Antonio Express-News, Laredo Morning Times, MSN.com, MSN Canada,
The University of Texas Medical Branch’s newest facility, the Health Education Center, has won a Best Project Award of Merit from a national construction news publication. The award for the state-of-the-art building on the Galveston Campus will be featured in the Sept. 28 issue of Engineering News-Record. The award will be presented at a virtual ceremony on Oct. 23.
Dr. Jeff Temple offers insight and advice on what to do if you or someone you know is plagued by bullying either in person or virtually.
UTMB’s Thomas Geisbert is included in this story about second infections and long-term immunity to covid-19. So far, reinfection is not a cause for worry, Geisbert tells Nature.
UTMB’s Richard Rupp tells The Daily News that covid-19 vaccine trial volunteers in Galveston County are among tens of thousands of people participating in trials across the country. UTMB is conducting trials for two vaccines, one being developed by Moderna and another by Pfizer, Rupp said.
The Daily News reported on a UTMB study that found that people who have substance abuse disorders might be at higher risk for dangerous effects of covid-19.
“I don’t think it is avoidable. But it is preventable,” UTMB’s Nikos Vasilakis told Buzzfeed of future pandemics. Experts foresee an accelerating rate of pandemics in the years ahead driven largely by deforestation, urban crowding, and wet markets for wild game, Buzzfeed reports.
A new study by researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston suggests that people with substance use disorders may be particularly vulnerable to the adverse respiratory effects of COVID-19, especially those using drugs that impair the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The findings are currently available in Psychiatric Services.
With more than more than 100 COVID-19 vaccines, therapies, and drugs in development, there is a national shortage of monkey’s typically used for biomedical research. But UTMB’s Vineet Menachery tells The Atlantic that hamsters may actually be a better test subject. This news also reported in DNYUZ and MSN.com
“People just aren’t aware that when someone has congestive heart failure and they have high blood pressure, the effects of depression on these illnesses itself can be devastating,” UTMB’s Tammie Michael told The Daily News. Michael spoke the local newspaper about the toll social isolation can have on seniors.
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is in the unique position to have been awarded funding to launch 2 of the 10 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-supported Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID). The Coordinating Research on Emerging Arboviral Threats Encompassing the Neotropics (CREATE-NEO) center (1 U01 AI151807-01) led by Dr. Nikos Vasilakis and the West African Center of Emerging Infectious Diseases (WAC-EID; 1 U01 AI151801-01) led by Dr. Scott Weaver will coordinate efforts with the other NIAID funded centers around the globe where emerging and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks are likely to occur. Multidisciplinary teams of investigators will conduct pathogen/host/vector surveillance, study pathogen transmission, pathogenesis and immunologic responses in the host, and will develop reagents and diagnostic assays for improved detection for important emerging pathogens and their vectors.
UTMB’s Megan Berman and Richard Rupp explain the clinical trials process in the quest to find a COVID-19 vaccine. They note that without volunteers willing to participate we would never have a licensed vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.
In his weekly column, Victor Sierpina explores the connection between a person’s religion and health. Sierpina writes that in his practice he has learned that a patient’s personal spiritual beliefs are a major part of how they face life and death.
UTMB’s Dr. Shawn Nishi is one of the local physicians interviewed by the local newspaper to find out what physicians have learned about treating COVID-19 patients, and how things have changed since the beginning of the pandemic.
Several vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have entered the final clinical trials required for licensure. The primary goal of the trials is to test the vaccine candidates’ effectiveness and gather further information on safety.
A compound made from the flowering oleander plant has been in the news as a possible treatment for coronavirus. UTMB’s Scott Weaver has tested the product and says while it may inactivate coronavirus cells grown in lab dishes, much more research is needed to determine if it could help humans dealing with the illness. Yahoo! also covered the possible use of the compound.
A new study by researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston uncovered new information on why the Ebola virus can live within bats without causing them harm, while the same virus wreaks deadly havoc to people. This study is now available in Cell Reports.
National Public Radio’s interview Vineet Menachery to get his take on what the future may hold moving forward with COVID -19 continues to be broadcast on stations across the nation.