Media Coverage

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.

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.”

An article in The Buffalo News about how racism and biology written Mark R. O'Brian, PhD, Professor and Chair of Biochemistry in the Jacobs School. O'Brian writes, "Presumably, race construed as having biological meaning raises fears that it can explain racial disparities in society and therefore justify racism. Although these fears are understandable, it is the misrepresentation of human biology and genetics that have been used to promote race-based social hierarchies, eugenics and genocide."

Several media outlets reported on the detection of the Omicron variant by UB scientists. The Buffalo News, WGRZ-TV, WIVB-TV and WKBW-TV were among outlets reporting on this story, as well as WBEN, which quoted Jennifer Surtees, associate professor of biochemistry, co-director of UB’s Community of Excellence in Genome, Environment and Microbiome, and head of the COVID-19 sequencing team at UB. Surtees said, “People who are 6 months past the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or two months after one dose of the J&J vaccine, are poorly protected against Omicron. The good news is that third dose, a booster, brings that protection way up again.” Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases in the Department of Medicine, told WKBW that, "Given how infectious Omicron is, given that immunity from prior infection and vaccination has been waning, the risk of getting infected is greater than ever."

The Buffalo News interviewed Jennifer Surtees, associate professor of biochemistry in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, about when the omicron variant is expected to be found in Western New York. Delta variant continues to fuel rising Covid-19 case numbers across the Northeast, including Western New York. But Surtees expects omicron will arrive in force during the coming weeks. “I believe it's here,” said Surtees. “We just need to get the sequence data to back up that suspicion. We are anticipating another wave, this time with omicron."

WKBW-TV reports that UB experts are reviewing positive COVID-19 samples in Western New York in an effort to monitor for the omicron variant and quotes Jennifer Surtees, co-director of UB’s Genome, Environment and Microbiome Community of Excellence. “So far, we have not seen the omicron variant in Erie County or Western New York,” Surtees said. Surtees says they are reviewing hundreds of COVID positive samples that have poured into the lab over the last couple of weeks, trying to detect the new variant. “We have literally hundreds of samples that are in our pipeline right now. We’re cranking through those samples and we're obviously keeping an eye out for not only delta but the omicron variant as well.”

HealthCentral reported on psoriasis flares and quoted Jason Rizzo, research assistant professor in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who said: “It’s a complex multifactorial disease, where both genetics and environment play a role. As far as the psoriasis flare, trauma to the skin can actually trigger it.”

Spectrum News reported on the sequencing of anonymous samples taken from patients with COVID-19 that Jennifer Surtees, associate professor of biochemistry in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has been doing since the start of the pandemic. The story quotes Surtees, who says that nearly all the samples currently being sequenced are of the Delta variant, and that samples are being provided by health care providers and KSL Diagnostics. Surtees said, “We’d like to expand our reach even further to get more sequences from around the region and different parts of WNY.”

The Buffalo News reports on COVID-19 genomic sequencing in Erie County led by UB researchers that found the dominant strain of the virus in Western New York is now the Delta variant. “I was expecting to see a lot of Delta, but I was surprised that it was virtually all Delta at this point,” said Jennifer Surtees, associate professor of biochemistry in the Jacobs School. “It was a quick shift.” The article also quotes John Sellick, professor of medicine in the Jacobs School. “This variant does not escape the vaccine,” he said. “Some people will get a mild reinfection but almost all the deaths and hospitalizations we’ve seen are among the unvaccinated and it’s not a large number.” Also reporting on the research were WIVB-TV, Niagara Gazette, The Lockport Union-Sun and Journal, and Spectrum News affiliates.

The Buffalo News reported that a UB lab will share a $20 million infusion to identify more COVID-19 variants as part of a partnership between the state and five specialized labs across New York. The effort will help medical providers and the public learn more quickly when a new variant emerges, and which variants become dominant in more pockets of the state. “It allows us to sequence more and to sequence more broadly,” said Jennifer A. Surtees, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry, who co-directs UB’s Genome, Environment and Microbiome Community of Excellence.

City & State named Norma J. Nowak, PhD, professor of biochemistry and executive director of UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, and Venugopal Govindaraju, PhD, UB’s vice president for research and economic development, to its Life Sciences Power 50 list of influential New Yorkers in the life sciences. They share the No. 10 spot.

The COVID-19 Delta variant has reached New York, according to the Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center. The lab reports 122 cases out of over 12,934 studied virus samples. Researchers at the University at Buffalo say the variant is at least twice as transmissible as the original coronavirus, and it is a concern for people who are not fully vaccinated, as well as children. “Millions of people have been vaccinated, and these vaccines are safe and they are effective,” says Jennifer A. Surtees, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry. “If you are not vaccinated, you should continue to wear a mask. You should continue to distance from people.”

Jennifer A. Surtees, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry, was quoted in a story on the delta variant of the coronavirus and its rapid global spread. Surtees noted that while 70 percent of people in New York State have had at least one shot, there are areas of the state where fewer than 40 percent have been vaccinated. “These are populations that are really at risk of a localized outbreak from delta, so I think it’s really important to still keep tracking and watch this as much as possible,” Surtees said.

Multiple outlets reported that UB scientists have discovered the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 in a sample from Erie County. “I would predict we will see more of it in more recent samples,” said Jennifer A. Surtees, PhD, co-director of UB’s Genome, Environment and Microbiome Community of Excellence and an associate professor of biochemistry.

An opinion article in the Albany Times-Union on changing math curriculum was written by Mark R. O’Brian, professor and chair in the Department of Biochemistry. O’Brian writes, “I feel certain that an airplane passenger would find considerable comfort knowing that the math that went into engineering that plane was done with objectivity and perfectionism in mind. Getting it right matters. None of these allegedly toxic traits has anything to do with white supremacy, and the proposed curricular revisions do not meaningfully address racism.”.