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Latest news and updates

Latest news and updates

Hans Rosling Center receives accolades for its unique design and project approach

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The University of Washington’s Hans Rosling Center for Population Health has been recognized multiple times at the state and national level for its unique architectural design and success in cultivating a center that seeks to promote collaboration across disciplines to discuss and solve population health related issues. The accolades awarded to the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health this year are a reflection of the way its design intentionally invites interdisciplinary collaboration. It will continue to grow in serving as…

UW partners with virus detection project to help prevent future pandemics

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The University of Washington has become a partner in the recently launched Discovery & Exploration of Emerging Pathogens – Viral Zoonoses (DEEP VZN) project led by Washington State University. The project is a five-year collaboration with the U.S. Agency for International Development with the purpose of researching and developing capabilities for identifying infectious diseases in wildlife that have the potential to affect human populations. The DEEP VZN project plans to conduct research by collecting over 800,000 samples from wildlife in…

First-year students recognized for outstanding population health research projects

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Each fall quarter, thousands of first-year students at the University of Washington participate in a population health project called The Communities & Research (CoRe) where they analyze the various factors impacting the population health of different neighborhoods in Seattle. This year, UW First Year Programs (FYP) and the Population Health Initiative partnered to introduce a new aspect of the CoRe project – the CoRe Recognition Award to recognize the projects that go above and beyond in exploring population health through…

Researchers find unsafe arsenic levels found in some south Puget Sound lakes, fish

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Researchers at the University of Washington and UW Tacoma have been studying arsenic levels in lakes in the south Puget Sound region to assess possible health risks related to eating fish and other organisms from those lakes. By assessing arsenic levels across multiple lakes at different depths, they found that sea life that lives in shallower lakes – such as snails, crayfish and sunfish – possess arsenic levels associated with increased cancer risks. The research team is now working with…

Hans Rosling Center for Population Health hosting climate resilience art piece

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The Hans Rosling Center for Population Health hosted the Climate Resilience Art Showcase on Thursday, November 17, 2021 – in partnership with EarthLab, the Climate Impacts Group and the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center – that featured the unveiling of a painting by Claire Sianna Seaman of Leavenworth that depicts climate resilience and its relationship with people and communities in the Pacific Northwest. The Climate Impacts Group sought an artist at the beginning of 2021 to create a commissioned piece…

Study shows benefits of using numerical data to explain surgical risks to patients

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A recent study conducted by a team of surgeons at the University of Washington School of Medicine investigated the benefits of presenting surgical risks to patients numerically versus using generalized terms such as “common” or “rare.” They concluded that patients are able to make more informed decisions about their health when offered numerical information. Participants involved in the study completed a series of online surveys that outlined the risks associated with either a surgical or antibiotic treatment of appendicitis. They…

UW Climate Impacts launches the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative

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The University of Washington Climate Impacts Group – in collaboration with several partners – is initiating a program focused on equitable climate adaptation in the Northwest region. Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative strives to support rural and coastal tribal communities who experience the effects of climate change disproportionately due to various socioeconomic inequities. The collaborative is working with the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments national network, which is part of the…

New study indicates sociodemographic factors increase chances of COVID-19 test positivity

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Researchers at the University of Washington recently conducted a study determining the role of clinical, sociodemographic and geographic factors in increasing the probability that patients test positive for COVID-19. Their findings were published in the October 2021 issue of PLOS ONE. Researchers assessed roughly 64,000 patients who received a SARS-CoV-2 test between January 1, 2020 and August 7, 2020 and met the prerequisite of one prior clinical visit to the UW Medicine health system. They developed a model that tracked…

Spotlight: Daaniya Iyaz’s focus on the intersection of health and environment

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Daaniya Iyaz’s interest in the intersection between health and the environment motivates her many educational and professional pursuits and drives her commitment to helping communities overcome the disproportionate effects of climate change. Iyaz is a University of Washington graduate student currently pursuing her Master of Science degree in Environmental Health. She previously earned her undergraduate degree at the UW in Bioresource science and engineering. This past summer, Iyaz also worked as a Population Health Social Entrepreneurship fellow. Iyaz is in…

Actionable strategies and approach to address disaster research response issues

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Researchers from the University of Washington, in partnership with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, have developed a Concept of Operations (CONOPS) template to better support the development of collaborative approaches to disaster research response (DR2) among academic public health and public health agencies. This template was published in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Response in October 2021. A CONOPS is a strategic plan for DR2 centered around collaborative research in preparation for future emergencies and disasters in a…