To remain effective, the pertussis vaccine must be modified to keep pace with evolving bacteria. As the vaccines' efficacy is declining, Heath Damron, an assistant professor in the WVU School of Medicine, is pursuing innovations to strengthen the vaccine and still keep it safe.
Research
West Virginia University researchers may have uncovered the cause of muscle fatigue in breast cancer patients. A recent study led by Emidio Pistilli, Ph.D., associate professor in the WVU School of Medicine Division of Exercise Physiology and the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, suggests that molecular alterations in the cell tissue of breast cancer patients may be the cause of fatigue in patients.
Every day, people are asked to find something – a familiar face in a crowd, a child in the park, a particular house on a street. While researchers have long-since known that the ability to effectively search and detect goal-relevant targets is controlled by top-down signals from the brain’s frontal area, a researcher from West Virginia University has found evidence that the human medial temporal lobe – or MTL – also plays an essential role in this process.
Weichao Tu, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award to support her research in developing the first comprehensive model to simulate the mysterious dropout of the radiation belt electrons.
Dr. Robin Pollini, Associate Director of the WVU Injury Control Research Center and Associate Professor with the WVU School of Medicine, Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry, joins the the ICRC podcast (entitled OOMPH!) to discuss drug abuse, stigma, and harm reduction programs.
For adults with diabetes, managing the disease is a day-in, day-out effort to control the factors that affect blood sugar levels. A team of scientists, including two West Virginia University professors, is researching how one aspect of a patient’s daily routine could help keep blood sugar levels within a specific range.