In the News - News
Ailey II, the second company of the renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, wrapped up its season-long UAB residency Friday night by nearly filling the Alys Stephens Center’s Jemison Concert Hall and performing like dancers on the cusp of great careers.
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) recently published the 2013 Guideline on the Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk. Paul Muntner, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues studied participants for whom atherosclerotic CVD risk may trigger a discussion of statin initiation.
The CAREER Award is the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious award, and four University of Alabama at Birmingham professors are among the winners.
Being married appears to be a heart-healthy lifestyle, according to researchers. The study reinforces the idea that heart health can be affected by social as well as physiological factors, said Vera Bittner, chairwoman of the American College of Cardiology’s prevention of cardiovascular disease committee and a professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.
Paul Muntner, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues examined the Pooled Cohort risk equations in adults (age 45 to 79 years) enrolled in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study between January 2003 and October 2007, and followed up through December 2010.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine announced on March 19 that it will establish the Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development center on campus. “UAB and (Southern Research Institute) have spent a lot of time, money and energy developing the (Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance) over the last five years,” Whitley said, according to UAB News. “Having done that, being awarded this grant shows how that investment can pay off.”
Cynthia Ryan, an associate professor of English at UAB, has been named the winner of the 2014 Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award for her work in breast cancer awareness, outreach and advocacy.
Michael Saag and his team at UAB are widely credited with helping to transform HIV/AIDs from an almost sure death sentence in the early 1980s to a manageable chronic disease.
In a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, lead author Dr. Richard Whitley of the University of Alabama at Birmingham pointed out that, at the time of the study, immunization of older children had not yet become a priority of the U.S. Public Health Service. The researchers said, “As a consequence, the importance of antiviral agents, particularly neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors, cannot be overemphasized."
While reasons behind the marriage findings are unclear, it supports previous studies that show couples tend to be healthier and live longer than singles. The study reinforces the idea that heart health can be affected by social as well as physiological factors, said Vera Bittner, a professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, and chairwoman of ACC’s Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Committee.
UAB Student Life will present a new event, the "World's Fair at UAB," on the Campus Green on Saturday, April 5, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The "World's Fair" will feature novelties and other carnival-themed attractions, including face painting, caricatures, a mechanical bull, a photo booth, a pedestal joust, a Moon Bounce and a Ferris wheel.
"Folks didn't know a whole lot about this [the Affordable Care Act] back in October and November when it started," said Michael Morrisey, director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Lister Hill Center for Health Policy.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham has been awarded $35 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to establish a research center focused on developing new drug therapies for global infectious disease threats such as influenza, West Nile and Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, coronavirus.
After months of work and lobbying, Carly’s Law unanimously passed through Alabama Legislature in late March. The bill allots $1 million for research at University of Alabama at Birmingham to investigate how CBD works. While seizure control is the focus, studies have indicated that the oil has the potential to treat a wide variety of ailments.
The UAB School of Medicine will lead in the establishment of the Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development Center, or AD3C, funded by an up to $35 million, five-year grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.
"UAB will undertake research into the mechanisms underlying cannabidiol to learn more about its function and effect on seizures," said David Standaert, chairman of the university's Department of Neurology.
Two days after Tuscaloosa filmmaker Andrew Grace learned his documentary "Eating Alabama'' is a finalist for a James Beard Foundation Award, UAB will present a free screening of the film at 7 tonight.
“This is the first demonstration that any dietary maneuver during pregnancy can impact lifelong immune function of the offspring,” wrote David Chaplin, who studies the development of lymphoid organs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham but was not involved in the work
"Flooding can occur quickly, and we need to prepare for it, just as we need to prepare for other weather events such as hurricanes and tornadoes," said Sarah Nafziger, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and assistant state emergency medical services medical director for the Alabama Department of Public Health.
"As a parent, you can filter and shield. You really need to monitor what your kids are reading, watching or listening to since it can have a profound impact on their emotions. If you're watching the news and your child, who's under 10, is in the room, be prepared to turn it off. And children under 12 shouldn't be watching the news alone," says Josh Klaplow, a clinical psychologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville, authorizes the University of Alabama at Birmingham to study the effects of the drug on chronically ill patients for up to five years. The university would control and dispense the drug to participants in the study.