2022

MSN quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story on monkeypox. While monkeypox is rare and isn’t considered to be a highly infectious virus that’s easily spread between people, infectious disease experts say that the latest string of cases is puzzling, the article reports. “There’s a lot we don’t know at this point,” says Russo. “There may be some new epidemiology and new modes of transmission that we don’t understand. We need to sort that out.”

Prevention quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story titled, "FDA Recommends COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Under 5 — What You Need to Know." Russo says that “the safety signals look good” and “the benefits far outweigh the risks,” when it comes to vaccinating children under five. “I don't have any children in this age group, but I would not hesitate to give them the vaccine if I did,” he says. Yahoo! Life and other outlets republished the story.

Bioengineer and other science news outlets report that a cardiac SPECT imaging system performs scans 10 to 100 times faster than current SPECT systems, according to new research presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2022 Annual Meeting. Authors of the abstract include Rutao Yao, PhD, professor of nuclear medicine.

Business First reports that Mike Cummings, MD, vice chair of community affairs and outreach for the Department of Psychiatry and associate medical director at Erie County Medical Center, is among community and business leaders who have been named to a steering committee charged with setting policies for eligibility and dividing $3 million raised so far for the Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund. The committee is led by co-chairs Rev. Mark Blue, president of the Buffalo NAACP, and Paul Vukelic, president and CEO of Try-It Distributing Co. The fund is being administered by the nonprofit National Compassion Fund.

Healthline quotes Kenneth Leonard, PhD, director of the Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, in a story that covers topics including surveys on drinking trends during the pandemic. Leonard said these surveys should be taken with a grain of salt, because changes in alcohol consumption varied across the country. “COVID didn’t really strike everybody in the same way,” he said. “Overall, there was probably some increase in drinking, and [this was] likely among those people who are most at risk of heavy drinking.”

Technology Networks published a story on a study led by Jian Feng, professor of physiology and biophysics in the Jacobs School. The research has important implications for developing future treatments for Parkinson’s disease, a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement and often includes tremors. “In this study, we find a method to differentiate human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to A9 dopamine neurons (A9 DA), which are lost in Parkinson’s disease,” Feng says. “These neurons are pacemakers that continuously fire action potentials regardless of excitatory inputs from other neurons. Their pacemaking property is very important to their function and underlies their vulnerability in Parkinson’s disease.”

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, spoke to The Buffalo News about local trends in the pandemic. For most people ages 50-60, Russo has recommended getting the fourth shot immediately only if someone has comorbidities that place them at higher risk of developing a dangerous case of Covid-19, the News reports. Otherwise, waiting till the winter months are closer might be more advisable, the News adds. The best advice, as always, is to consult your own physician. “Focus on, ‘What will it do for you right now?’ ” Russo said. “We’re at the tail end of this wave right now. If you don’t travel and you remain in Western New York, with each passing day, the likelihood that you will get infected is significantly decreasing.”

Verywell Health quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story titled, "COVID 'Revenge Travel' Is Not Risk-Free." “If you have flexibility, you ideally want to travel to places that have a low incidence of disease at this time,” said Russo. “Infections are going up and down in different places, and not all locations are equally safe for your risk of catching COVID.”

Opera News published a story about the benefits of eating fruit after a meal and mentioned 2010 research from UB that promoted the role of flavonoids in orange juice as “scavengers” in the body. Two antioxidants, naringin and hesperidin, neutralize the oxidative stress and inflammation generated by an unhealthy meal and prevent damage to the blood vessels. Husam Ghanim, PhD, a research associate professor in the Department of Medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biological Sciences, was the first author on that study.

Medical Xpress published a story on how a new study from Jian Feng, professor of physiology and biophysics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has important implications for developing future treatments for Parkinson’s disease. Feng is the senior author on the paper published May 24 in Molecular Psychiatry. "This exciting breakthrough is a critical step forward in efforts to better understand Parkinson's disease and how to treat it," said Allison Brashear, MD, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School. "Jian Feng and his team are to be commended for their innovation and resolve."

Local news outlets reported on a partnership between American Medical Response (AMR), UBMD Emergency Medicine and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to equip and prepare health care workers for mass casualty events. "Because of their specialized training, [emergency medical physicians] can perform in real-time, on-site, assessments, care, on the scene medication and direction, outside the scope of the standard EMS," Allison Brashear, dean of the Jacobs School, is quoted on WKBW-TV. Johanna Innes, program director of the fellowship in emergency medical services at the Jacobs School, said in The Buffalo News that UB physicians will staff new emergency response vehicles. "The great thing about having so many vehicles is that availability will always be there, because we all work clinical shifts," Innes said.

Yahoo! and MSN quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, for a story about a new COVID-19 vaccine booster candidate from Moderna that targets Omicron variants. Russo pointed out that while COVID-19 vaccines have done a good job of keeping most fully vaccinated people from developing severe symptoms, being hospitalized and dying, they are still “imperfect.” “The hope is that, if we have variant-specific vaccines, that will do a better job at infection prevention and perhaps a whiff better at preventing hospitalizations and deaths,” Russo said.

Yahoo! and MSN quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, for a story about the Food and Drug Administration recommending Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization. It would be the fourth COVID-19 vaccine used in the U.S., but Russo believes there’s a chance that the Novavax vaccine will convince people who have been vaccine hesitant to get the shot. “Some people have said that the mRNA vaccines are ‘too new’ or ‘experimental’—none of which is true—but this is a more traditional type of vaccine platform that may be more appealing,” Russo said.

An article originally appearing in Prevention and reposted in Yahoo! News on proms being the latest superspreader event for COVID-19 quotes Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “Prom has "all the elements to facilitate the spread of COVID," says Russo. "They're usually indoors with a large number of people that are in close contact — in some circumstances, very close contact — for a prolonged period of time," Russo says.

An article in Prevention on orthopox and how it relates to monkeypox quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. They all have these blistering skin lesions that evolve,” Russo says. “They’re more likely to occur in the head and neck area and spread, but sometimes people will just get them on their hands.” The article appeared on Yahoo! News.

Prevention magazine’s article on hand, foot and mouth disease quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. “Hand, foot, and mouth disease is primarily a disease in children, but adults can get it if they’ve never been exposed before,” says Russo. “It’s very infectious.” Typically, adults who get hand, foot, and mouth disease have close interactions with kids, Russo says. “They may be daycare workers or parents caring for infected children,” he says. 

Buffalo Business First published an article on how Buffalo MATTERS, a program developed by UB emergency medicine physicians to expedite patient access to comprehensive and effective opioid use disorder treatment, received $8 million from New York State to expand. The state funds will be used to hire more providers to expand telemedicine coverage round the clock for assessment and medication prescribing, which will help fill gaps in parts of the state where there are fewer options for health care. “So many people struggle with mental health and addiction at the same time,” said Joshua Lynch, clinical associate professor of emergency medicine in the Jacobs School. “Those two things will help, and with that will come a new electronic referral platform later this year that will allow all this to happen and to refer people without making phone calls.”

MedPage Today quoted Andrew Talal, MD, MPH, professor of gastroenterology in the Department of Medicine, in a story about a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure associated with resolution of hepatic steatosis and other benefits in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and obesity. "A significantly larger number of POSE 2.0 participants had resolution of steatosis, with marked improvements in metabolic parameters," said Talal. "Overall, it appears that POSE 2.0 may be a promising surgical intervention for management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in obese individuals." Talal was not involved in the study.

Rappler republished a piece by Sourav Sengupta, MD, MPH, assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics in the Jacobs School, about choosing the right type of mental health therapy. “In thinking about what kind of therapy you might benefit from most, consider how you tend to approach and solve problems in your daily life,” he wrote. “Just as important as the type of therapy is how well you connect with your therapist. Finding a good match can be a challenge. A recommendation from people you know and trust, such as your friends or primary care provider can help point you in the right direction.” The Pittsburgh Courier also published the story, which originally appeared in The Conversation.

Men’s Health quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, for a story on monkeypox, a rare virus that isn’t considered to be highly infectious. But experts say that the latest string of cases is puzzling. “There’s a lot we don’t know at this point,” said Russo. “There may be some new epidemiology and new modes of transmission that we don’t understand. We need to sort that out.” Yahoo Life! also distributed the story. 

Prevention reports on what people should do they have COVID-19. “Right now, there’s no data that show that eating special types of food or taking certain vitamins for COVID-19 like vitamin D, zinc, or vitamin C are going to influence the course of your COVID,” says Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. But, he says, “people are still looking at this. The absence of data doesn’t exclude the possibility that some dietary modifications or enhancements will benefit you.”

Sleep Review has published a cover story profiling Margarita Dubocovich, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. It describes the contributions she has made since the 1980s to the study of melatonin and its impact on the body. The story quotes Alfred J. Lewy, professor emeritus at Oregon Health and Science University, who talked about her “elegant pharmacological studies” and their impact on designing drugs to treat disorders related to circadian rhythms. He said: “One cannot imagine the melatonin receptor field without Margarita’s many contributions.”  The article also discusses the successful mentorship program she launched, Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentorship in the Biosciences (CLIMB) at UB, which over the past 11 years has hosted more than 500 students, half of whom are underrepresented in the sciences.

Self reports that the FDA approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s booster dose for COVID-19 for children ages 5 to 11. Getting vaccinated and boosted is the best protection we have against severe COVID-19, which can lead to hospitalization or death. “Children are not bulletproof against COVID-19,” said Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases.

Health reports that the FDA authorized a new combined at-home test for COVID, flu and RSV. "To a degree, it would decrease interactions and infected people coming into waiting rooms," said Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. "It could also lighten the queue," he added, noting that it would free up doctors to treat other people.

Spectrum Local News spoke to Sourav Sengupta, MD, MPH, assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, about parents talking to their children about the mass shooting in Buffalo. "We don't want to be using a lot of adult words and concepts,” he said. “We really want to try to get down to their level and communicate in a way that they're going to understand. It usually means sometimes not giving a lot of details.”

An article in Prevention magazine on recurring COVID-19 infections quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. The ways of protecting yourself from a COVID reinfection are similar to how you’d protect yourself from a first COVID infection, Russo says. “Get vaxxed to the max and, when there’s high community burden of disease, avoid risky situations and wear a mask,” he says. “Our vaccines are imperfect against preventing infections, but that is your best strategy.” Russo cautions against relying on immunity from a previous infection. “If you’ve been infected previously, your best protection is packaging that with vaccination,” he says. “You shouldn’t feel like, ‘I’ve had COVID, this is behind me and it’s all good.’ That’s just not the reality.”

In a guest column in The Buffalo News, Philip L. Glick, MD, MBA, professor of surgery, and Iris Danziger, MD, clinical assistant professor of otolaryngology, both at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, write in the absence of laws restricting the sale of tactical gear and assault weapons to civilians, society can be better prepared to save the lives of innocent victims by following guidance from the American College of Surgeons. “With three quick actions – call 911, find the bleeding site and compress/apply pressure – you can be trained to save a life. And when indicated, you can be trained to apply a combat application tourniquet,” they wrote.

Medical Xpress, Neuroscience News and other websites report on a UB preclinical study that examines how binge drinking affects adolescents, especially the adolescent brain. Prior research has suggested that alcohol exposure during adolescence can lead to the development of various health risks, such as addiction, depression and brain trauma, in adulthood. “To this end, we wanted to understand how adolescent binge drinking changes brain function and brain connectivity, the ability of different regions in the brain to interact,” said Panayotis K. Thanos, PhD, senior author and senior research scientist in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.  

Prevention reports on tick repellents. Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, said he recommends DEET and picaridin. “There’s the most data with those,” he says. Russo also suggests looking for formulations that are made up of 20% to 30% of these ingredients for everyday use. “You definitely don’t want less or more than that,” he says. “This will give you about eight hours of protection.”

MedPage Today quoted Andrew Talal, MD, MPH, professor of gastroenterology in the Department of Medicine, on research that concludes  those with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were more likely to have cardiovascular disease (CVD) than those overweight or obese. "The results are interesting because the authors found a significantly increased prevalence of CVD compared to overweight/obese individuals even though the prevalence of risk factors for atherosclerotic disease and metabolic diseases were lower," said Talal. "Primary care physicians, endocrinologists, hepatologists and public health officials should consider screening for CVD in lean individuals with NAFLD."

MedPage Today reports on a study regarding nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in lean patients and how it’s linked with COVID-19 risk. “The results are interesting because the authors found a significantly increased prevalence of COVID compared to overweight/obese individuals even though the prevalence of risk factors for atherosclerotic disease and metabolic diseases were lower," said UB physician Andrew Talal, MD, MPH, who was not involved in the study.

The Buffalo News reported on the baby formula shortage and quoted Steven Lipshultz, MD, chair of pediatrics at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who recommended that for a child older than 6 months old and otherwise healthy, using in the short-term whole pasteurized milk or buying donor breast milk as a substitute. “It becomes really important for those families particularly concerned and anxious to reach out to their child’s pediatrician because we are here to support families,” Lipshultz said. “It’s a serious problem. The anxiety is real and it’s increasing.”

Prevention reports on whether dizziness and vertigo are symptoms of COVID-19. While simply feeling dizzy doesn’t automatically mean you have COVID-19, especially if you have no other symptoms, it’s worth talking to your doctor if the feeling persists or you start experiencing a loss of balance, says John Sellick, DO, professor of medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “We see dizziness with many other infections and illnesses,” he says. “But since there’s so much COVID-19 circulating, it may be worth exploring.”

The Buffalo News published a front-page story about Aaron Epstein, the UB surgical resident who recently returned from a monthlong mission in Ukraine leading his team of doctors and surgeons who trained thousands of Ukrainians in combat care and medical procedures. Epstein founded the Global Surgical Medical Support Group, work that the story notes has earned him the 2022 Citizen Honors Award, America’s second-highest civilian honor, which will be presented to him by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society in July. In Ukraine, Epstein said: “The most dramatically awful things we’ve seen are areas that Russian troops occupied with instructions to vacate the population, either by escorting them out or executing them.” The story adds that UB has accommodated his aid work and that its chair of surgery, Steven Schwaitzberg, MD, recruited him for his achievements as a humanitarian and a doctor. The online story includes a short video interview with Epstein.

Buffalo Business First wrote a story about the research of Ruogang Zhao, PhD, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, who is working on 3D printing of engineered tissue. His research was published in February in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials. Zhao is quick to point out this isn’t something that’s available now, or even in a couple of years, but early signs are positive. “That’s really our long-term goal to make this a working, transplantable organ that can help patients, but maybe in 20 years,” he said. “As scientists, we don’t want to discourage the general public, saying everything is so far away, but in the scientific community we know we have to be conservative.”

The Buffalo News quoted physician David M. Holmes, MD, a clinical associate professor of family medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, for a story about how poorly the Western New York region did on the latest “County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2022,” an annual report that measures health factors and outcomes in all U.S. counties.  Holmes recommended a holistic approach to better regional wellness – with a greater emphasis on improving mental health. “I’ve found that about half the patients at the ECMC Family Health Clinic are there because of unhealthy ways of coping with stress,” he said.

WBFO reported that COVID-19 infections in Western New York have risen again but local hospitals seem to have the situation under control. Nancy Nielsen, MD, PhD, senior associate dean for health policy at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, said about half the infections are "incidental," meaning their infections were discovered from tests taken prior to hospital admission. "The recommendation is that whenever possible, a COVID positive patient ought to be in a single room using respiratory precautions," Nielsen said.

MSN quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, for a story about Paxlovid, the anti-viral COVID-19 medication that tends to leave a “bitter, metallic” taste in your mouth. The other side effects of the medication “have been relatively minor and transient," Russo was quoted as saying.

MSN, Yahoo! and Prevention quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, for a story about what to know about the BA.2.12.1 Omicron subvariant of COVID-19. People who should be most concerned about its spread are those considered at high risk for serious complications for COVID. “Get your booster shot, if you’re eligible,” Russo said. “And if you’re considered high risk, be careful. Few people are wearing face masks right now. You should consider masking up to protect yourself while we have a large community burden of disease.”

The Scientist consulted Gabriela Popescu, PhD, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, about research published this week in Nature. The research suggests injecting cerebrospinal fluid from younger mice into older mice can rejuvenate the memory of the recipients under specific conditions. Popescu said the paper’s observations are interesting and “a good fact to know,” but she has reservations. “I think it’s wrong to sell science this way,” said Popescu, referring to studies that imply there’s a straightforward way to reverse aging, memory loss or other common sources of health-related anxiety.

MSN and Yahoo! quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story about 100 million new COVID-19 infections are estimated for the U.S. this fall and winter. “This virus is unfortunately a keeper,” Russo said. “It’s going to be minimally like flu where we see intermittent surges and winter respiratory virus season is an unquestionable time when we’re going to see a surge.”

The Buffalo News quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, about Gov. Kathy Hochul testing positive for COVID-19.  “The best we know is she's healthy and vaxxed to the max, so I fully expect her to have an uneventful recovery,” Russo said. In addition, WIVB-TV talked with Russo about COVID hotspots in New York.

Health magazine quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, on why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration restricted Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine to only a select group of people. "We've always recommended that, if you initially go with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you're better off getting the Moderna or Pfizer booster shot," Russo said. "While the risks of TTS [a rare and potentially fatal blood-clotting condition] after the J&J vaccine are low, they're not zero and we have other options."

Futurity reported on UB research that found over the past two decades, more Black men have been dying from obstructive sleep apnea than have white people or Black females. Their death from sleep apnea has continued to rise, in contrast to rates that have flattened for white people and Black females. The study, led by Yu-Che Lee, medical resident in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, identifies for the first time this significant racial health disparity in mortality resulting from sleep apnea.

SELF magazine reports on the latest outbreak of bird flu and quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who said: “Bird flu mainly infects and spreads within bird populations, but occasionally it can spread to other species, as well—including humans.”

Spectrum News 1 interviewed Vanessa Barnabei, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, in a report on the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court and the ramifications the decision could have on women’s reproductive health care. “It just removes a woman’s personal autonomy from their own health care decisions,” said Barnabei. “We’re already dealing with rising maternal mortality rates in the United States and I think there’s a lot of fear that this could add to that with women seeking unsafe abortions.”

Medical Xpress and Technology.org reported on UB research that found over the past two decades, more Black men have been dying from obstructive sleep apnea than have white people or Black females. Their death from sleep apnea has continued to rise, in contrast to rates that have flattened for white people and Black females. The study, led by Yu-Che Lee, medical resident in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, identifies for the first time this significant racial health disparity in mortality resulting from sleep apnea.

Salon quoted Paresh Dandona, MD/PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine, in an article on Rep. Matt Gaetz’s comments on the rising costs of insulin. Gaetz, who voted against a bill that would cap insulin costs at $35 per month, argued for weight loss as a potential solution rather than capping drug prices. Alleviating and treating diabetes is not as simple as eating healthier and exercising more, said Dandona. Those factors may “help control diabetes and it may reduce the insulin dose, but it doesn't eliminate its use,” he said. “To expect that somehow magically insulin requirements will vanish if patients lose weight is really talking in cuckoo land.”

WGRZ reported on UB surgical resident Aaron Epstein who returned from providing medical assistance in Ukraine. Epstein discussed his experience on April 29, at Coco Bar & Bistro in Buffalo. He was recently awarded the Citizens Honor Award for Service, considered the second highest civilian award in the U.S.

The Washington Post interviewed Vanessa Barnabei, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, on the increasing number of non-White birthing people seeking hospital alternatives for their labor and deliveries. A report by the National Partnership for Women and Families showed that birth at home or community birthing centers have increased by 20 percent across racial and ethnic lines. The issue arises on how some birthing people need medical interventions, such as surgery or medication. Barnabei said most of the findings of the NPWF were credible, and she agreed that integrating midwifery services into traditional practices can help patients, their babies and physicians. Barnabei did, however, have concerns about the report’s claim that birth center infants were 26 percent less likely to be born preterm compared to those born in hospitals, a stat she called misleading. “They shouldn’t be doing deliveries of preterm births in nonhospital settings,” she said. The story was also published in The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer and on other sites.

AAMCNews reported on how medical trainees have been assisting in the conflict in Ukraine. The story noted that the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group, founded by Aaron Epstein, MD, surgical resident in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, has dispatched roughly 50 volunteers to Ukraine, where they have trained some 4,000 civilians. Epstein ran a one-day course for civilians designed to teach “all the basics of how to save a life,” including decontaminating people who may have been exposed to  chemical and biological warfare. Epstein noted: “Many people want to help. We’ve gotten thousands of applications to join our team. But very few are equipped with the necessary training and are psychologically ready for the reality of what’s involved.”

WKBW reported that therapies are available for vulnerable Erie County residents who get COVID-19. The story quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, who cautioned that the drugs are not appropriate for those who are pregnant or thinking of getting pregnant.

The Buffalo News reported on rising COVID-19 levels in WNY and quoted Nancy Nielsen, MD, PhD, senior associate dean for health policy in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who said: "I'm concerned but not troubled. What I would say is, when the individual risk goes up from low to medium to high, pay attention. Just as you would if it's getting colder outside, you put on a jacket.”

The Daily News (Batavia) reported on a $1.3 million grant to Stephen A. Koury, PhD, research associate professor in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, which allows WNY high school students and teachers to learn about genomic sequencing. The story notes that the Metagenomics Education Partnership is between the Department of Biotechnical and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, New York State Area Health Education Center System, UB’s Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences and the Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper with schools across a 14-county region of Western New York. The five-year grant will be able to support a total of 500 students.

A Kaiser Health News article featured Paresh Dandona, MD, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine, about whether the demand for insulin also increases the price. “As obesity increases, diabetes increases as well,” said Dandona. But many of these patients are not prescribed insulin as a treatment. Around 30% of people with Type 2 diabetes use insulin when other drug options are not successful in treating the disease, Dandona said. For some Type 2 patients, exercising and a healthier diet “may help reduce the insulin dose, but it doesn’t eliminate its use.” The article was picked up by several media outlets, including Waco Tribune-Herald, Arizona Daily Sun, and Casper Star Tribune.

The Buffalo News featured Robert Zivadinov, MD, PhD, professor of neurology and professor of biomedical informatics in the Department of Neurology, in an article about how UB researchers are studying patients who have multiple sclerosis at a specialized nursing home in Massachusetts. Zivadinov and colleagues have spent time there gathering MRIs, blood samples and medical data of residents with severe MS, launching a clinical study to compare them with the same information from an equal number of more typical patients in Western New York. “This is probably a decade-long project,” said Zivadinov. “There are no best practices. There are no comprehensive studies. There isn’t even a consensus clinical definition of ‘severe MS,’” he said. “We need to do so many steps to even create outcomes and understand where we need to attack.”

Spectrum News reported on underserved patients with multiple sclerosis, especially African Americans, who have been found to have more disabling illness than whites with the disease. The story focused on an initiative of UBMD Neurology that is focused on providing better and earlier care to these patients through the education of providers. The story quoted Channa Kolb, MD, assistant professor of neurology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who said, “We’re going to educate primary care providers, we’re going to educate medical students, we’re going to educate medical residents all about neurodisparities and implicit and how to fight against this for all patients especially African Americans who have been so neglected.”

WKBW-TV reported on the first-of-its kind UB study called Comprehensive Assessment of Severely Affected MS that will examine why 5-10% of multiple sclerosis patients develop severe disease. The story quoted principal investigator Robert Zivadinov, MD, PhD, professor of neurology and professor of biomedical informatics in the Department of Neurology, who said: “These people have been really neglected for too many years.” He added: “The usual tests in Multiple Sclerosis, clinical ones want you to move, to walk, measure your walking ability, measure your cognitive ability. And so with this study, we had to first invent how to even examine these people — in some standardized way,” The study will follow 60 patients at a Boston residential facility and 60 Western New York patients.

VeryWell Health interviewed Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in an article about the success of sabizabulin, a drug that has the potential to half the risk of death for people with moderate and severe forms of COVID-19. Sabizabulin helps tamp down on an important part of the virus replicating in the body. “When the virus enters the cell, a variety of steps need to occur,” said Russo. “One of those is that it needs to move within the cell from one compartment to the other. This drug interferes with the process.”

Parade Magazine interviewed Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, about the longevity of COVID-19 home test kits. Some at-home COVID tests have had their expiration or “use by” date extended after they were put on the market, so if someone has an expired at-home test, it’s a good idea to Google it before throwing it out to make sure it’s truly expired. “My understanding of the at-home rapid tests is that what [the U.S. Food and Drug Administration] wanted was ‘real-time data for stability,’” Dr. Russo says. He explains that this is a prediction of how stable the tests are and will be; info to be assessed and updated in the future based on performance over time. 

A Prevention article about a judge ending the federal travel mask mandates quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. Russo says the move marks a big change. “We’re entering this stage of the pandemic of personal responsibility,” he says. “Those individuals that are at a bigger risk of getting infected may still decide to mask up.” The article also appeared on Yahoo! News.

Spectrum News reported on the challenges facing aspiring physicians who started their medical education during a global pandemic. The story focused on the Jacobs School’s Match Day celebration last month, where students find out where they will do their medical residencies. The story quoted Ellen Lutnick of the Class of 2022, who said the pandemic created uncertainties about when important exams would be held and how, but these challenges were overcome. Neneyo Mate-Kole proudly displayed his letter showing he will start at Howard University and finish at the University of Chicago. “It’s so gratifying to see them so happy,” said Alan Lesse, senior associate dean for medical curriculum in the Jacobs School, who was briefly overcome with emotion as he spoke. “I hope all of them have as much fun as I’ve had.”

Health Magazine interviewed Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, about the FDA authorizing the first breath test to detect COVID-19. The breathalyzer can give results in just three minutes. "People can be screened soon after they arrive at the doctor's office," said Russo. "And if someone tests positive, they probably should not be in the office where they can infect others or should at least be wearing a mask." A rapid test like this could also encourage people to take their symptoms more seriously and actually quarantine while they wait for their official test results instead of going about their normal lives where they could expose others, according to Russo. The article also appeared on MSN.

Prevention quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story titled, "Is COVID-19 Endemic Yet? Infectious Disease Experts Aren’t So Sure." “SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is not going away,” Russo says. He says we’re “transitioning” from pandemic to endemic status but aren’t there yet. “Right now across the country, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 are down,” he says. “There are local outbreaks in some areas and others are quiet.” The rise of the BA.2 variant has caused cases to jump again in some areas, which has slowed the transition to endemic status and caused some uncertainty about where things are headed, Russo says. Yahoo! News and MSN also carried the story.

Healio reports that a study published in Sleep Medicine highlights an uptrend in sleep-related mortality and associated cardiovascular disease outcomes among Black men in the U.S. "Black males are the only demographic group that had a continuous increase in mortality between 1999 and 2019,” Yu-Che Lee, resident physician at UB and colleagues wrote.

WKBW-TV interviews Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story on increasing COVID-19 cases in Erie County. "It's due to the combination of looser restrictions, the highly infectious Omicron sub-variants that are circulating, and people gathering, doing social catch-up indoors with this cooler weather where the virus spreads so readily," Russo said.

Yahoo! News interviews Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story titled, "The Way You Handle Your Pet’s Food Could Make You Sick." Russo stresses that the biggest risk of getting sick from dog food is from raw pet food. “The risk with that is much greater than with dry dog food,” he says. “You need to be much more careful in washing your hands with this.” However, he says, “there’s no question that other commercially-prepared food can be contaminated as well.” Prevention and other outlets also carried the story.

ABC Radio in Australia interviewed Jian Feng, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics, in a story titled, "Chimeras in medicine," involving the possibility that in the future, humans may be able to grow organs in animals to be safely transplanted into humans. Feng says that while progress is being made in the field, certain advances are "pretty far off." Program co-host Carl Smith noted that, "There are plenty of hurdles to jump to reach that goal. One is that the chimeras created so far has a very small proportion of human cells, often around just one-tenth of 1%. Jian Feng's team recently celebrated creating a human–mouse chimera with a higher proportion, but this is still an area that will need more work."

Health.com interviews Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story on a meningococcal disease outbreak in Florida. If you don't know whether you're at risk, you should get the vaccine to be safe, Russo said: "It's definitely important to protect yourself from meningococcal disease, and the vaccine is the best way to do that."

Yahoo! Life quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, on tick-borne diseases. Lyme disease is one of the most well-known tickborne illnesses, and it can lead to symptoms like fever, headache, fatigue and a skin rash called erythema migrans, according to the CDC. "But the same ticks that carry Lyme disease also can cause babesiosis, ehrlichiosis and other diseases," Russo says.

The National Desk, a nationally syndicated TV news program, interviews Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story on COVID-19 booster strategy amid concerns over another potential surge in cases. The story was carried by news outlets across the U.S. “I think about half of Americans have been infected to date and if you take that percentage combined with the proportion that's been vaccinated, we've really built a pretty good immunity wall. However, that wall is imperfect. So if you're unvaccinated, if you haven't been infected with omicron, if you're immunocompromised or if you're eligible to receive your first booster — particularly if you're 50 and older, pregnant or have underlying diseases — please do so because you're at increased risk,” Russo said.

An article in American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology reports on the work of Frances Smith, a student in the doctoral program in biochemistry at UB, who “wants to use her research to improve the quality of life of patients in the early stages of Friedreich’s ataxia,” according to the article. “Quality of life is extremely important in patients, as the most prioritized clinical benefit to therapeutics in FA are walking and balance,” Smith said. “I hope that my research of the brain environment around the neurons responsible for these functions can benefit the FA population.”

A story questioning the likelihood of a COVID-19 herd immunity in Prevention magazine quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. New variants keep arising, he says, and while someone may develop infection-acquired immunity by getting COVID-19, it’s likely they’ll only have immunity to that particular variant. “Our ability to go ahead and develop a level of immunity in the population where it will eradicate this virus really isn’t something that’s feasible, whether through infection or vaccines,” he says. The story was widely reposted, including on MSN.com.

The Buffalo News reported on Aaron Epstein, a UB surgical resident, who is leading his Global Surgical and Medical Support Group organization on the ground in Ukraine, training soldiers and civilians in caring for the wounded. Teams of volunteers including former U.S. military medics have been deploying to join Epstein for two- to three-week stretches since the war began. “We are the only group providing surgical training here, especially in things like damage control surgery, trauma chest tubes, wound closures and vessel ligation,” Epstein said. The group has trained thousands of Ukrainians in basic combat casualty care. The story notes that while in Ukraine, Epstein learned that he had been awarded the Citizen Honors Award for Service from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for his group’s work in conflict zones around the world.

A story in Health.com on the new COVID-19 XE variant quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. "There are still things that need to be sorted out with this variant, but this is not grounds for panic," Russo said.

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, was quoted on Yahoo! News in a story about higher risks of COVID-19 breakthrough infections for pregnant people. “Certainly we know that pregnant women are at greater risk,” he says. “If there is a lot of disease in the community, it would be prudent to wear a mask and take other precautions.”

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, was quoted about the benefits of the second COVID-19 booster shot by Spectrum News and carried by numerous Spectrum affiliates. “If you have three shots in your arm, that the likelihood of being hospitalized or having a bad outcome is low,” said Russo. “So that fourth shot gives you a small but clear benefit, but not as great of the benefit that was observed with the third dose.”

WKBW reported on the increase in children being diagnosed with autism, possibly due to delayed diagnoses during the pandemic and interviewed Michelle Hartley-McAndrew, MD, clinical associate professor of pediatrics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and director of the Children’s Guild Foundation Autism Spectrum Disorder Center at Oishei Children’s Hospital, who said that in 2020, the center had referrals for 594 children and in 2021 it received 1,371 calls for an autism evaluation.

An article in Technology.org reports on a study co-authored by Paresh Dandona, MD, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, on how lower doses of insulin-sensitizing drug can patients with Type 2 diabetes. Dandona says this recommendation stems directly from the findings of the Insulin Resistance Intervention in Stroke (IRIS) trial. “Unfortunately, many clinicians are reluctant to use pioglitazone because of adverse effects, particularly weight gain and edema, and the drug is seldom prescribed by neurologists in their stroke patients,” he says. The study was also reported on in MedicalXpress.

AFAR magazine quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story on what travelers should know as the CDC drops its COVID-19 warning for cruises. Travelers should still exercise caution in terms of jumping on a cruise ship, Russo tells AFAR. “As long as there’s Omicron around, there’s a reasonable likelihood there will be someone on the cruise ship that is infected and it could be transmitted to you.” He recommends that anyone who qualifies for a booster shot (including a second booster shot) should consider getting jabbed before cruising.

Spectrum News 1 reported on advances in multiple sclerosis, quoting Svetlana Primma Eckert, MD ’13, clinical assistant professor of neurology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who discussed a recent Harvard study that found that out of 900 military recruits who developed MS, almost all of them had been infected with the Epstein-Barr virus, or EBV. Eckert said, “There’s almost a perfect storm that happens with EBV infection as well as certain predispositions.”

The Buffalo News published a story on Match Day, the Jacobs School’s annual ceremony where graduates learn where they will train for their medical residency. It was the largest Match Day in UB medical school history, with a class that was expanded to 180 students in response to the growing need for physicians and other health care workers. “This is the first class to fully go through the new building, and you’re the first class to be able to have a Match Day in person after the pandemic,” Allison Brashear, dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, told those gathered.

Medscape quotes from a study led by Yu-Che Lee, a medical resident, in a story titled, "Black Men at Higher Risk for Mortality From Sleep Apnea." "OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) has been recognized as an important cause of medical morbidity and mortality and contributes to the development of systemic hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and abnormalities in glucose metabolism," Lee and colleagues note, according to Medscape. "This study provides the first systematic assessment and demonstrates remarkable demographic disparities of age-adjusted sleep apnea–related mortality in the US."

Health.com quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, for its story on the TSA’s extension through April 18 of the federal mask mandate on public transportation, including airline travel. “Given that all these are indoor spaces that can be very crowded, it makes sense that the case load should be lower before the transportation mask mandate is lifted,” Russo said.

Popular Science published a comparison of the best N95 and KN95 masks and quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. Russo noted that the fit is critical to how effective any mask can be. “Everyone’s faces are different,” he said, “and masks are designed differently as well.” Head Topics also provided coverage.

Healio quoted Paresh Dandona, MD, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of endocrinology in the Jacobs School, about research suggesting that lower doses (15 mg and 30 mg) of the diabetes medication pioglitazone are as effective as 45 mg for preventing new-onset diabetes, stroke and heart attack. “The  study demonstrated that pioglitazone not only reduced the cardiovascular complications, but also reduced the progression of prediabetes to diabetes,” said Dandona.

Cases of BA.2 or “stealth omicron” have doubled in recent weeks, but Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, told McClathchy News that he doesn’t think this omicron subvariant is going to be problematic. “All in all, I think we’re really going to be okay,” Russo said.

While infectious disease experts are watching the data of an even more contagious Omicron subvariant called BA.2, they are mixed on whether it will trigger another stateside surge. Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, told The Buffalo News that the United States’ significant number of Omicron infections may create an “immunity wall” that helps keep BA.2 at bay. “We’ll see how it plays out,” Russo said. “It’s all speculative at this point.”

A WBFO-FM story about alcohol use during the pandemic quoted Kenneth Leonard, PhD, director of the Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions and senior research scientist in the Jacobs School. "Impact of COVID on people's stress levels was, to some extent, highly individualized, depending on what their resources were in order to deal with the specific issues that were impinging on them," Leonard said.

Prevention reports on how the heartland virus, a deadly tickborne illness, is emerging in Georgia. It can be tricky to diagnose, says Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. “Heartland virus is really easily confused with all sorts of other health conditions,” he says. “It’s a really non-specific viral presentation in most individuals.” Yahoo! and websites carried the story.

Prevention reports on whether COVID-19 can cause back pain. “The overwhelming number of people that have back pain do not have COVID,” says Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. “If you have symptoms of COVID-19 in addition to back pain that are more common with COVID, such as respiratory tract symptoms and loss of taste and smell, that would be a signal that your back pain could be due to COVID.” The article was carried on MSN and other outlets

WBFO reported on lessons learned two years into the pandemic and quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “I think the world assumes with the present state of medicine that, you know, we're less susceptible to the consequences of a pandemic. But the reality is that we are, and that we've learned some lessons from this pandemic,” Russo said. “It’s unlikely to be the last, and hopefully we could do a little bit better next time.”

McClatchy’s Washington Bureau quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, in a story titled, “Most in U.S. say they’d go back to wearing masks if covid cases rise again.” The article was carried by newspapers nationwide. Russo comments on the BA.2 subvariant of COVID-19: “All in all, I think we’re really gonna be okay and I don’t think BA.2 is gonna be problematic like omicron,” he said.

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Jacobs School, was quoted in two articles in The Buffalo News. One centered on St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and the other pondered what is the new normal after two years of the pandemic. “We haven’t bottomed out yet,” with COVID-19, he said. “But we’re certainly getting close there.”

The Washington Examiner, among other outlets, quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Jacobs School, in a story about how infectious disease experts are watching an omicron subvariant, BA.2., which has been circulating in New York City at a time virus-related safety measures have been lifted. “At this point, there’s no grounds for panic, though we need to keep an eye on it,” Russo said.

A new COVID-19 variant called “deltacron” is popping up in Europe and the U.S., Health reports. It likely resulted from one person being infected with two strains of COVID-19 at the same time, said Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Jacobs School. "Both viruses would need to be in their body at the same time," he said.

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Jacobs School was quoted in a Yahoo! News story on a CDC study, which found that masking works in schools — just as mandates lift across the country. "We will likely see a bump in cases with the lifting of mask mandates, while there is still COVID out there," he said. He doesn't anticipate, though, that it will be a large one.

MSN and Yahoo! quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, for a story about how to tell the difference between allergies and COVID-19. The symptoms can overlap, Russo said. “At the end of the day, people really won’t know for sure unless they take a test,” Russo said.

The Buffalo News ran a column by Rod Watson highlighting plans by the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to redesign its curriculum and put anti-racism at the core of the education it provides young doctors. The column credits former Dean Michael E. Cain, MD, and current Dean Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, who told The News the issue “is on the top of my agenda,” as dean and vice president for health sciences. The News also goes into how the effort began and quoted medical student Adetayo Oladele-Ajose, one of the catalysts: “I think there has been a shift in the culture of the school.”