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Faculty panel offers interdisciplinary perspectives on global careers in health

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The Population Health Initiative, School of Public Health, and Department of Global Health hosted a panel of faculty members on November 2, 2023 who discussed their unique paths to a global career in health. Throughout the event, panel members Sarah Iribarren, Ferdinand Mukumbang, Sarah Masyuko and Coco Alarcon shared their career journey and offered advice to students, in particular the importance of following one’s intuition and the value of mentors. Many of the panelists did not expect to go into…

A collaborative approach to assessing extreme heat health risks in youth BIPOC communities

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Washington State is experiencing an increasing number of extreme heat events due to climate change. The 2021 Pacific Northwest “heat dome,” for example, resulted in 441 deaths and became the deadliest weather-related disaster in Washington’s history. Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities are at an increased risk for extreme heat exposure due to underlying health inequities and historical marginalization, which necessitates a centering of their voices in preparing for future extreme heat events. In spring 2022, a team…

University of Washington plays a key role in our clean energy future

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The University of Washington is well-situated to be a leader in clean energy solutions and technology, with many of Washington state’s advancements in clean energy can be attributed to the forefront research and development accomplished at the UW. One of the pioneering research institutions is the UW’s Clean Energy Institute (CEI). Established in 2013, CEI is a collaborative and integrative academic center with the mission of developing climate technology innovations and bringing them to the marketplace. CEI was expanded with…

Initiative co-hosts entrepreneurial women in population health panel discussion

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The Population Health Initiative and Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship’s Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership program (WE Lead) partnered on October 11, 2023 to host a panel of innovative women working in population health. Each of the women had a unique industry background that intersects with population health. Despite their different professional focuses, the panel shared a drive for improving health outcomes and digested many commonalities in their experiences during the event. Panel Members: Mariza Hardin Co-Founder and COO, Zócalo Health Sravanthi Parasa,…

Transforming a smartphone into an accurate, fever-detecting thermometer

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A team of researchers from the University of Washington has created an app, FeverPhone, that transforms smartphones into thermometers. FeverPhone functions without the addition of new hardware, utilizing the touchscreen and existing battery temperature sensors to gather data. This information is then run through a machine-learning model to estimate an individual’s core body temperature. When tested on patients in an emergency department, the temperatures gathered from FeverPhone had a comparable accuracy to some consumer thermometers. While more training data is…

Initiative to co-host the next Fostering Climate Change Connections event on February 13

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The Population Health Initiative and EarthLab will co-host a winter quarter climate change-focused Open Space-style event in the University of Washington wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. The goal of this quarterly gathering is to help facilitate the development of new interdisciplinary collaborations between UW researchers who are seeking to take on pressing challenges related to the current climate crisis. This is the third Fostering Climate Change Connections event, following the inaugural offering in April 2023 and…

Initiative awards 12 early-stage pilot grants to interdisciplinary teams of UW investigators

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The Population Health Initiative announced today the award of 12 Tier 1 pilot grants to teams of interdisciplinary researchers representing eight University of Washington schools and colleges as well as several community-based partners. These awards are worth approximately $400,000, which includes school, department and unit matching funds, with the projects seeking to address grand challenges in areas such as mental health, housing affordability, maternal health and HIV/AIDS. “The range of innovative project ideas we are funding in this round of…

UW supports Florida International University in launching the FIU Population Health Initiative

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Florida International University (FIU) recently announced the launch of the FIU Population Health Initiative, which will unite researchers from various disciplines across the university to develop coordinated solutions that lead to improved health. The initial focus of the FIU Population Health Initiative is to advance population health through research, education and community engagement that addresses social determinants of health and promotes healthy living, longevity and quality of life. FIU will leverage a $20 million endowment from the National Institute of…

Initiative awards four pilot grants for climate change-focused projects

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The Population Health Initiative announced the award of four, $50,000 climate change-focused pilot grants to support interdisciplinary teams of University of Washington researchers to develop preliminary data or proof-of-concept needed to pursue follow-on funding to scale their respective efforts. “We are pleased to support these four teams in generating new discoveries in areas ranging from sustainable materials to aiding cities to achieve net-zero emissions,” said Ali H. Mokdad, the UW’s chief strategy officer for population health and professor of health…

New research studies how AI can support people in being more empathetic about mental health

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Lack of access is one of the main reasons people do not seek professional mental health care. That is where TalkLife, the biggest peer support platform globally, steps in to allow users to offer each other mental health support. Empathy is essential to these conversations about mental health, yet it can be challenging to know the right words to say. To improve this process, Tim Althoff, a University of Washington assistant professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer…