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Pilot grant awardees from 2019 report final project outcomes

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The Population Health Initiative awarded six pilot research grants to faculty-led teams from seven different schools and colleges, plus representatives of both UW Bothell and Tacoma, in March 2019. Since then, the interdisciplinary project teams made significant progress towards addressing major challenges impacting population health locally and globally. Projects are now closing out, and highlights of each can be found in the following accordions.

Tire chemical responsible for killing coho salmon in urban streams

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A team led by researchers at the University of Washington Tacoma, UW and Washington State University Puyallup have discovered why more than half of the coho salmon that return to Puget Sound’s urban streams die before they can spawn. When it rains, stormwater flushes bits of aging vehicle tires on roads into neighboring streams. The killer is in the mix of chemicals that leach from tire wear particles: a molecule related to a preservative that keeps tires from breaking down…

Project seeks to better tailor responses to student mental health at the UW

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In March 2020, the Population Health Initiative awarded six pilot research grants to faculty-led, interdisciplinary research teams committed to addressing critical population health challenges. One such project, “Analysis to Translation: Accelerating and Tailoring Responses to Student Mental Health,” examines the mental health of the undergraduate student population and aims to put their findings in conversation with mental health resources available at the UW. To accomplish this, the research team combines expertise in engineering, computer science, and mental and behavioral health….

Round 2 of Washington food study underway to determine insecurity during pandemic

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Fish at a market

Recognizing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Washington residents’ access to food and economic needs, University of Washington researchers have teamed with researchers from Washington State University and Tacoma Community College to conduct food security surveys. With support from the UW Population Health Initiative, the first wave of surveys was conducted in the early summer of 2020. Over 2,000 Washington state residents participated, from across 38 counties. The survey results will be used to inform Washington state and county…

New smartwatch app alerts d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing users to desired sounds

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University of Washington researchers have developed SoundWatch, a smartwatch app for deaf, Deaf and hard-of-hearing people who want to be aware of nearby sounds. When the smartwatch picks up a sound the user is interested in — examples include a siren, a microwave beeping or a bird chirping — SoundWatch will identify it and send the user a friendly buzz along with information about the sound. The SoundWatch app is available for free as an Android download. The researchers are…

UW psychologist shares how to find meaning and connection this year

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How you spend the holiday season this year should look different as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But by being intentional about how we approach and experience the season, we can find joy, and recognize – even embrace – how we have weathered this year, shares Jonathan Kanter, a research associate professor of psychology at the University of Washington. Kanter, director of the Center for the Science of Social Connection, offers some suggestions for a healthy and, yes, happy,…

Understanding the amount of income needed to support families in Washington state

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The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State is a report that identifies, county-by-county, the amount of income needed to support families of various sizes without additional help from the government, community or other personal resources. The latest study, released Oct. 15, shows an increase in the cost of living for almost every family size, in every county, since the last report in 2017. While counties on the west side of the Cascades generally require higher wages to pay for basic needs…

Awardees of 2020 pilot research grants report on project progress

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The Population Health Initiative awarded six pilot research grants in March 2020 to faculty-led teams from 10 different University of Washington schools and colleges. The initiative’s pilot research grant program seeks to spur new, interdisciplinary collaborations among investigators for projects addressing major population health challenges. At the half-way point, investigators are reporting significant progress in their work despite the disruptions posed by the pandemic. Work to date from the respective projects can be found in the following sections.

Improving smoke forecasts by flying through wildfire smoke plumes

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Recent years have seen hazy skies and hazardous air quality become regular features of the late summer weather on the West Coast. New research led by the University of Washington looks at the most detailed observations to date from the interiors of West Coast wildfire smoke plumes and showed that smoke forecasts may incorrectly predict the amount of particles in staler smoke. The new results could significantly change the estimate for particles in staler smoke, which could be the difference…

Winter 2021 undergraduate course highlights UW population health research

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This winter, the Population Health Initiative is again partnering with the University of Washington’s Undergraduate Research Program (URP) to offer a series of lectures that focus on the three pillars of population health: human health, environmental resilience and social and economic equity. The Research Exposed! (General Studies 391, SLN 15106) course will feature faculty from a number of disciplines discussing their population health-related research. Undergraduates may take this course for credit (i.e., one credit/quarter; three quarters max). The course will…