School of Medicine
August 12, 2019
First cells on ancient Earth may have emerged because building blocks of proteins stabilized membranes
Scientists have discovered that the building blocks of proteins can stabilize cell membranes. This finding may explain how the first cells emerged from the primordial soup billions of years ago: The protein building blocks could have stabilized cell membranes against salt and ions that were present in ancient oceans. In addition, membranes may have been a site for these precursor molecules to co-localize, a potential mechanism to explain what brought together the ingredients for life.
July 29, 2019
Medicaid expansion may prevent child neglect, UW study shows
More than 4 million reports of child maltreatment involving about 7.5 million children were made in 2017 to Child Protective Services. While much work has been done to reduce these high rates of child abuse and neglect in the United States, few programs have been consistently effective.
July 16, 2019
8 UW professors elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences in 2019
Eight scientists and engineers from the University of Washington have been elected this year to the Washington State Academy of Sciences.
June 19, 2019
‘Alexa, monitor my heart’: Researchers develop first contactless cardiac arrest AI system for smart speakers
UW researchers have developed a new tool to monitor people for cardiac arrest while they’re asleep — all without touching them. The tool is essentially an app for a smart speaker or a smartphone that allows it to detect the signature sounds of cardiac arrest and call for help.
June 13, 2019
People using third-party apps to analyze personal genetic data
The burgeoning field of personal genetics appeals to people who want to learn more about themselves, their family and their propensity for diseases. More and more consumers are using services like 23andMe to learn about their genetic blueprint.
June 5, 2019
Urgent action on climate change will prevent heat-related deaths in major U.S. cities
The planet will warm by about 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century if the U.S. and other nations meet only their current commitments under the Paris climate agreement to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases. According to a paper by U.S. and U.K. scientists published in Science Advances today, accelerating ambition to reduce global warming emissions to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius could prevent thousands of extreme heat-related deaths in cities across the U.S.
May 29, 2019
UW, collaborating institutions awarded $9.5 million for detecting autism earlier in childhood
A multicenter research team that includes the University of Washington Autism Center has received a five-year, $9.5 million grant to further evaluate whether brain imaging can help detect very high risk of autism spectrum disorder in early infancy.
May 20, 2019
Scientists use molecular tethers and chemical ‘light sabers’ to construct platforms for tissue engineering
In a paper published May 20 in the journal Nature Materials, a team of researchers from the University of Washington unveiled a new strategy to keep proteins intact and functional in synthetic biomaterials for tissue engineering. Their approach modifies proteins at a specific point so that they can be chemically tethered to the scaffold using light. Since the tether can also be cut by laser light, this method can create evolving patterns of signal proteins throughout a biomaterial scaffold to grow tissues made up of different types of cells.
May 15, 2019
First smartphone app that can hear ear infections in children
Researchers at the UW have created a new smartphone app that can detect fluid behind the eardrum by simply using a piece of paper and the phone’s microphone and speaker.
April 15, 2019
Synthetic peptide can inhibit toxicity, aggregation of protein in Alzheimer’s disease, researchers show
A team led by researchers at the University of Washington has developed synthetic peptides that target and inhibit the small, toxic protein aggregates that are thought to trigger Alzheimer’s disease.
March 13, 2019
New method to assess platelet health could help ER doctors
UW researchers have created a novel system that can measure platelet function within two minutes and can help doctors determine which trauma patients might need a blood transfusion upon being admitted to a hospital.
March 12, 2019
Eight postdoctoral researchers at the University of Washington receive awards from the Washington Research Foundation
Eight researchers at the University of Washington have been named 2019 Washington Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellows.
March 11, 2019
University of Washington graduate and professional disciplines rank highly in US News’ Best Graduate School lists
The University of Washington’s graduate and professional degree programs were widely recognized as among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 Best Graduate School rankings released March 12.
February 27, 2019
Three UW scientists awarded Sloan Fellowships for early-career research
Three faculty members at the University of Washington have been awarded early-career fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The new Sloan Fellows, announced Feb. 19, include Kelley Harris, an assistant professor of genome sciences at the UW School of Medicine; and Alvin Cheung and Shayan Oveis Gharan, both assistant professors in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.
January 9, 2019
First smartphone app to detect opioid overdose and its precursors
UW researchers have developed a smartphone app that uses sonar to monitor someone’s breathing rate and sense when an opioid overdose has occurred.
November 30, 2018
UW professors Terrance Kavanagh, Jay Shendure elected as fellows of the AAAS
Two University of Washington researchers, Terrance Kavanagh and Jay Shendure, are among the 416 new fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, announced in November.
November 20, 2018
Mobile health has power to transform HIV/AIDS nursing
The abundance of personal smartphones in southern African countries got University of Washington professor Sarah Gimbel thinking: What if these phones were used by front-line health workers — namely nurses — to collect and analyze data on patients living with HIV or AIDS to improve their care?
October 19, 2018
PTSD symptoms improve when patient chooses form of treatment, study shows
A study led by the University of Washington is the first large-scale trial of hundreds of PTSD patients, including veterans and survivors of sexual assault, to measure whether patient preference in the course of treatment impacts the effectiveness of both cognitive behavioral therapy and use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a type of antidepressant often prescribed for PTSD.
October 18, 2018
New Faculty Chair George Sandison outlines his priorities
The incoming chair of the Faculty Senate sat down for a Q and A with UW News.
October 11, 2018
UW professor of global health a lead author on new climate report
Kristie Ebi, a UW professor of global health, was a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s “Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 C” that compares the effects of 1.5 versus 2 degrees Celsius of global warming.
October 10, 2018
Prescience: Helping doctors predict the future
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new machine-learning system, called Prescience, which uses input from patient charts and standard operating room sensors to predict the likelihood that a patient will develop hypoxemia — a condition when blood oxygen levels dip slightly below normal. Prescience also provides real-world explanations behind its predictions.
September 19, 2018
UW offers new concurrent graduate degree program for nurses with focus on population, global health
Nurses and nurse-scientists interested in advanced multi-disciplinary training for population and global health practice can now apply for a new University of Washington degree program.
August 16, 2018
Men and women show surprising differences in seeing motion
A new UW-led study shows that males and female process visual motion differently, a variation that may be attributable to a neural regulatory process that is different in the male brain.
August 7, 2018
NIH awards University of Washington, partner institutions $6.5M for reusable, reproducible biomedical modeling
The NIH has awarded a $6.5 million, five-year grant to the University of Washington and partner institutions to establish the Center for Reproducible Biomedical Modeling. The center’s primary goal is to develop more effective predictive models of biological systems, which are used in research and medicine.
August 3, 2018
UW, PNNL to host energy research center focusing on bio-inspired design and assembly
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded an expected $10.75 million, four-year grant to the University of Washington, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and other partner institutions for a new interdisciplinary research center to define the enigmatic rules that govern how molecular-scale building blocks assemble into ordered structures and give rise to complex hierarchical materials.
April 25, 2018
UW breaks ground on new Population Health building
A crowd of dignitaries gathered Wednesday for the official groundbreaking of the university’s new 290,000-square-foot Population Health Building, a facility that will house the Population Health Initiative launched by the UW in 2016.
UW faculty selected as authors, editors of international report on climate change
About twice each decade, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, looks at what is known about the science of climate change, the extent to which human activities are changing the Earth’s climate, and what risks these changes pose to human and natural systems. Organized into three working groups, each assessment is…
March 27, 2018
Distinguished pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Danielson to be UW’s 2018 commencement speaker
Dr. Benjamin Danielson, a 1992 graduate of the UW School of Medicine, a Children’s Hospital pediatrician and director of the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, will be the featured speaker at the University of Washington’s Commencement exercises Saturday, June 9.
March 19, 2018
University of Washington graduate and professional disciplines rank highly in US News’ Best Graduate School lists
Nearly 50 different graduate and professional programs and specialties at the University of Washington are among the top 10 in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best Graduate School rankings released March 20.
March 15, 2018
With new ‘shuffling’ trick, researchers can measure gene activity in single cells
Researchers at the University of Washington and the Allen Institute for Brain Science have developed a new method to classify and track the multitude of cells in a tissue sample. In a paper published March 15 in the journal Science, the team reports that this new approach — known as SPLiT-seq — reliably tracks gene activity in a tissue down to the level of single cells.
March 12, 2018
UW study offers help to soldiers with signs of PTSD
The University of Washington is launching a study to identify soldiers experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms and to determine whether free, confidential, over-the-phone counseling can help them navigate resources and spur them to seek further support.
January 19, 2018
University Faculty Lecture to highlight screening newborns for genetic diseases
For this year’s University Faculty Lecture, University of Washington chemistry professor Michael Gelb will discuss the science behind screening newborns for treatable — but rare — genetic diseases.
January 16, 2018
Researchers program biomaterials with ‘logic gates’ that release therapeutics in response to environmental triggers
Drug treatments can save lives, but sometimes they also carry unintended costs. After all, the same therapeutics that target pathogens and tumors can also harm healthy cells. To reduce this collateral damage, scientists have long sought specificity in drug delivery systems: A package that can encase a therapeutic and will not disgorge its toxic cargo…
December 5, 2017
Living cell membranes can self-sort their components by ‘demixing’
Scientists at the University of Washington show for the first time that the complex distribution of molecules within a membrane of a living yeast cell arises through demixing.
December 3, 2017
Kim Nasmyth — a UW postdoctoral alumnus — wins Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for discoveries in cell biology, genetics
Kim Nasmyth, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Oxford and former postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington, is one of five recipients of the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Nasmyth and other prize recipients were honored by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation at a ceremony December 3 at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.
October 6, 2017
3 UW researchers chosen for NIH High-Risk, High-Rewards program
Three University of Washington faculty members are among those honored with an NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Research grant, which fund exceptionally creative scientists proposing to use highly innovative approaches to tackle major challenges in biomedical research.
September 6, 2017
PupilScreen aims to allow parents, coaches, medics to detect concussion, brain injuries with a smartphone
University of Washington researchers are developing a smartphone app that is capable of objectively detecting concussion and other traumatic brain injuries in the field, which could provide a new level of screening for athletes and accident victims.
August 28, 2017
New app could use smartphone selfies to screen for pancreatic cancer
A new app could lead to earlier detection of pancreatic cancer simply by snapping a smartphone selfie. The disease kills 90 percent of patients within five years, in part because there are no telltale symptoms or non-invasive screening tools to catch a tumor before it spreads.
July 17, 2017
Material from shellfish delivers a boost to bioassays and medical tests
Scientists at the University of Washington have discovered a simple way to raise the accuracy of diagnostic tests for medicine and common assays for laboratory research. By adding polydopamine — a material that was first isolated from shellfish — to these tests at a key step, the team could increase the sensitivity of these common bioassays by as many as 100 to 1,000 times.
June 26, 2017
Microscope can scan tumors during surgery and examine cancer biopsies in 3-D
A new UW microscope could provide real-time results during cancer-removal surgeries, potentially eliminating the 20 to 40 percent of women who have to undergo multiple lumpectomy surgeries because cancerous breast tissue is missed the first time around.
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