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Latest news and updates

Latest news and updates

Teaching students about microgrids advances Indigenous energy sovereignty

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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…

Researchers seek to increase firearm safety in rural areas by studying patterns among youths

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Researchers from the University of Washington explored the patterns of handgun carrying among young people growing up in rural areas as part of a wider Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded series of projects focusing on firearm violence and injury prevention. Their goal was to inform programs that help prevent violence and injury from firearms in rural areas by gaining a better understanding of the motivation and culture behind handgun carrying in these areas. The team identified six patterns of…

UW professor’s book redefines reasoning and solutions for homelessness

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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

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“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

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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

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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

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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

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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…

Awardees of 2021 pilot research grants report on project progress

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The Population Health Initiative awarded eight pilot research grants in March 2021 to faculty-led teams representing seven different University of Washington schools and colleges as well as external partners. These pilot research grants are intended to spur new, interdisciplinary collaborations among investigators for projects addressing major population health challenges. Now at the project mid-point, investigators are reporting significant progress in their work, with work completed to date from the respective projects described in the following sections.

Panelists discuss relationship-driven approach to sustainability in coffee and tea industries

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On May 18, 2022, panelists Jeannie Liu of Miro Tea, Brian James of Herkimer Coffee and Dr. Alissa Bilfield, assistant teaching professor in the University of Washington Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, gathered in the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health to address the importance of sustainability in the continually growing and changing coffee and tea industries. The event began with Bilfield, author of, “Brewing Sustainability in the Coffee and Tea Industries, From Producer to Consumer,” offering insights…