Pilot grant awardees from 2020 report their final project outcomes

Posted on August 23, 2022

The Population Health Initiative awarded six pilot research grants to faculty-led teams from 10 different University of Washington schools and colleges in March 2020. The pilot research grants supported innovative interdisciplinary collaboration among research teams and resulted in projects that tackle significant local and global population health challenges. The teams have closed out their projects and provided reports on their results and future plans.

Ten new members named to Population Health Initiative executive council

Posted on August 16, 2022May 18, 2026

Ten new members have been named to the 30-member Population Health Initiative executive council by President Ana Mari Cauce. These individuals, who will begin their terms in autumn quarter 2022, are: Jody Early, professor of Nursing and Health Studies, UW Bothell Beatrice Gandara, clinical associate professor of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry Nancy Hertzog, professor of Learning Sciences and Human Development, College of Education Soo-Hyung Kim, professor of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment Karin Martin, assistant professor,…

Teaching students about microgrids advances Indigenous energy sovereignty

Posted on August 9, 2022

Indigenous tribes are historically reliant on U.S. energy production. In the past two decades, the development and implementation of microgrids on Indigenous land has allowed several tribes to move toward energy sovereignty. Northwest Indian College (NWIC) Professor Stephanie Bostwick has been instrumental in building on this progress by shifting the engineering curriculum at NWIC towards a renewable energy focus and educating students on microgrid infrastructure. In collaboration with UW researchers from the Clean Energy Institute (CEI) and engineering departments, Bostwick…

UW professor’s book redefines reasoning and solutions for homelessness

Posted on July 26, 2022

University of Washington faculty member Gregg Colburn recently authored a book titled Homelessness is a Housing Problem, which highlights factors of homelessness and solutions that lie in the housing market. His research contextualizes homelessness across different areas of the country and seeks to create a cultural and societal shift in the way homelessness is addressed. Through his research, Colburn concluded that homelessness is exacerbated primarily by housing market conditions in a specific area. High housing and rental prices combined with…

Interdisciplinary course at UW Bothell employs critical approach to disability studies

Posted on July 21, 2022

“Disability Representation in Society” is one of the many interdisciplinary courses the University of Washington Bothell offers to first-year students as part of its Diversity Core program. Taught by Dr. Mo West, this course is designed to introduce students to the multidisciplinary field of critical disability studies through an approach that builds skills that will translate to any field a student chooses to pursue. The course is a combination of reading the historical and current works of scholars and activists,…

Research finds single-dose HPV vaccine to be highly effective

Posted on July 19, 2022July 19, 2022

In the 15 years since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first HPV vaccine, access to cervical cancer vaccines worldwide has been limited by supply and cost challenges and inhibited by the multi-dose nature of the vaccines. However, a recent study, led in part by several researchers from the University of Washington, determined the sufficiency of a single-dose HPV vaccine through a randomized controlled trial in Kenya. Cervical cancer is a widespread issue that kills one woman every…

Spotlight: Nicole Errett implements an equity-focused approach to disaster research

Posted on July 12, 2022May 12, 2026

As the impacts of climate change, urbanization and globalization continue to manifest in every area of life, the increase in disasters around the world is a progressively important and relatively under researched effect of these challenges. Identifying and evaluating opportunities to reduce the health impacts of such disasters is the central focus for Dr. Nicole Errett (pictured), a researcher and assistant professor in the University of Washington School of Public Health. Errett leads a number of projects on disaster and…

Initiative awards chronic disease pilot grants to two digital biomarker-focused projects

Posted on July 6, 2022

The University of Washington Population Health Initiative and Engineering Innovation in Health program announced the award of two pilot grants to University of Washington research teams seeking to develop solutions for people experiencing chronic disease, specifically the testing of scalable ideas that seek to better understanding of the intersections of biology, data, digital tools, and behavior. These grants were made possible through a partnership with Novo Nordisk. Funded projects represent researchers from the UW College of Engineering and the School…

Initiative co-funds three Innovation Gap Fund projects with CoMotion

Posted on July 5, 2022November 3, 2023

The University of Washington Population Health Initiative has again partnered with CoMotion to co-fund three Innovation Gap Funds of $50,000 each. This $150,000 in funding will support projects that simultaneously support the UW’s vision for improving population health while also fulfilling the CoMotion Innovation Fund’s goal of enabling research that will achieve sustainable commercial or social impact. The first of the projects, pHastCam, led by Krystle Perez of the Department of Global Health, is a device (pHastCam) used to determine…