UW Livable City Year program seeking municipal partners

Posted on December 15, 2016

The University of Washington’s Livable City Year initiative is now accepting proposals from cities, counties, special districts and regional partnerships to be partners during the 2017-2018 academic year. UW Livable City Year (UW LCY) connects university faculty and students with a municipal partner for a full academic year to work on projects fostering livability. The municipal partner will identify a selection of projects in their community that could be addressed by UW LCY courses. Areas of focus include environmental sustainability,…

IHME study finds large increases in U.S. deaths related to substance abuse and mental disorders

Posted on December 13, 2016December 13, 2016

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington released a new study today that found substantial geographic differences in mortality in more than 3,100 U.S. counties. The study, which was published in JAMA, found that more than 2,000 counties had increases of 200 percent or more in deaths related to substance abuse and mental disorders over the last 34 years. Through their updated visualization tool and county profiles, IHME is able to offer these findings…

Creating devices that reanimate paralyzed limbs

Posted on December 6, 2016December 6, 2016

Researchers at the UW’s Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering are developing groundbreaking new medical devices intended to help restore function and mobility in individuals stricken by spinal cord injury or stroke. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, these researchers have developed implantable devices that can detect brain signals and transmit that information to other parts of the body’s nervous system. The Center’s goal is to develop a successful demonstration of this concept in humans in the next five years, which will then allow…

Community engagement leads to new vision screening law

Posted on November 30, 2016November 30, 2016

The routine distance-vision eye test has long been a staple of public school education in the State of Washington. Near-vision problems have not traditionally received the same scrutiny, which will soon change thanks to a new law signed by Governor Jay Inslee earlier this year. The law grew out of a vision and learning symposium organized in 2014 by associate professor Bill Erdly, who helped bring together the experts, advocates, and legislators needed to collaboratively develop a solution to the…

Inspiring underrepresented high school students to become next generation of nurses

Posted on November 23, 2016November 24, 2016

Less than 20 percent of the U.S. nursing workforce are from low income or underrepresented backgrounds, yet the patients those future nurses will serve are increasingly likely to be minorities. The UW School of Nursing is widening the pathway to nursing for minority students through the UW Nurse Camp. Each summer, high school students get hands-on experience in the world of nursing. Not only do they gain insight into medical career options, many begin to see earning a degree as…

School of Public Health undergraduate major receives top ranking

Posted on November 17, 2016November 17, 2016

The University of Washington School of Public Health’s undergraduate major was just ranked the best public health degree for 2016 – 2017 by College Choice. Of note was the School of Public Health’s approach to curriculum, which is intended to reach communities locally and globally so students have many opportunities to find a field that best fits their interests. College Choice’s ranking criteria included considerations such as tuition, reputation of the school, anticipated salary after graduation, and other related factors….

Clean, efficient cookstove focuses on reducing pollution illness, and early death

Posted on November 15, 2016November 15, 2016

Smoke from polluting open indoor cooking fires and cookstoves in developing countries are believed to cause millions of illnesses and premature deaths each year. Gathering fuel for these fires and cookstoves can also expose adults and children to further dangers. To overcome these challenges, researchers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering have partnered with the non-profit BURN Design Lab to develop a much cleaner-burning and more efficient cookstove known as the “Kuniokoa.” This innovative stove will be manufactured by local…

Restoring oysters in Puget Sound

Posted on November 2, 2016November 2, 2016

The nature of our local ecosystem changed when a combination of overharvesting, polluted waters, and shoreline changes led to the commercial extinction of the Olympia oyster from the Puget Sound. Dr. Bonnie Becker, UW Tacoma associate professor of marine ecology, is leading undergraduate researchers in a collaborative effort to reintroduce the native oyster to its original environment. Her teams are monitoring microscopic larvae to identify sites where the oysters can naturally seed and be self-sustaining. Reintroducing native oysters can provide…

Innovative, low cost NIFTY™ Cup seeks to save millions of lives

Posted on October 26, 2016October 27, 2016

Each year, there are millions of babies born prematurely or with oral clefts in developing countries who struggle to breast feed. These babies are often at high risk for malnourishment, infection, and often death, but thanks to Christy McKinney, a clinical assistant professor of oral health sciences, a new feeding aid for them is now readying for widespread distribution across Africa. In partnership with PATH and Seattle Children’s, McKinney has developed the NIFTY™ cup (Neonatal Intuitive Feeding TechnologY), a low-cost…