Media Coverage

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.”

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.

The Conversation published an article co-authored by Ross Koppel, professor of biomedical informatics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, about intended and unintended effects antidepressants. Koppel and a Harvard University researcher have discovered that the FDA antidepressant warnings have led to reduced mental health care and increased suicides among youth – even though researchers have yet to find a clear link between antidepressants and increased suicidality in young people. The article also appeared on several media outlets, including The Houston Chronicle, Yahoo! News, and The Darien Times.

Scientific American highlights UB-led research on the evolution of the growth hormone receptor gene. The findings suggest that a variant of the gene called GHRd3 may have helped humanity's ancestors survive periods of scarcity. The study was led by Omer Gokcumen, associate professor of biological sciences; Xiuqian Mu, associate professor of ophthalmology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB and the Ross Eye Institute; Skyler Resendez, a postdoctoral fellow in biomedical informatics in the Jacobs School; and Marie Saitou, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and a former postdoctoral researcher in Gokcumen’s UB lab.

A story about the origins of COVID-19 and an overview of the WHO-China investigation report quotes from a previous comment written by Ram Samudrala, PhD, professor of biomedical informatics and chief of the Division of Bioinformatics, who wrote “In my opinion, in terms of a conspiracy that involves humans, the best way to evaluate its correctness, is to ask: ‘How many people would have to keep quiet in order for this to work?’”

Publications reported that UB is a member of a multi-institution collaboration to use artificial intelligence to repurpose existing drugs as new treatments for COVID-19. The story quotes Ram Samudrala, PhD, professor of biomedical informatics and chief of the Division of Bioinformatics: “Our long-term goal is to not only repurpose drugs, but also design new ones in the context of their proteomic interaction environments in a faster, cheaper, safer and better manner.”

Wearable devices like Fitbits, Apple Watches and Garmin watches gather data about physical activity, heart rate, body temperature and quality of sleep. Several studies are testing algorithms that assess data from wearable devices to detect COVID-19. Results to date show that the concept is sound. Albert H. Titus, PhD, professor and chair of biomedical engineering says: “The difficulty many people have getting tested for SARS-CoV-2 and delays in receiving test results make early warning of possible COVID-19 infections all the more important, and data from wearable health and fitness devices shows promise for identifying who might have COVID-19.” He notes that continued development of broadly accepted health-based wearables should include community input.

Peter L. Elkin, MD, professor and chair of biomedical informatics, is leading a team that is using 3D printing technology to make reusable N-95-like respirators. The life-saving machine prototype is considered reusable because it would be able to be sanitized after each use. A prototype has already been sent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency approval. The project coordinator is Albert H. Titus, PhD, professor and chair of biomedical engineering.

In a few short months, an interdisciplinary team of researchers has reoriented its focus from academic pursuits in order to model the local transmission of COVID-19 cases. Now members are turning their attention to modeling the effects of reopening the local economy. Gabriel Anaya, MD, a clinical informatics fellow in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Sarah G. Mullin, a doctoral student in biomedical informatics, are playing crucial roles in developing the models. Peter L. Elkin, MD, professor and chair of biomedical informatics, is supervising them.

Researchers in the Department of Biomedical Informatics are now turning to modeling the effects of reopening the economy and the impact of interventions, such as face masks. Gabriel Anaya, MD, a trainee in the clinical informatics fellowship, is quoted: “We know that if half the population uses face masks we can mitigate increasing cases. But it depends on how consistent people are with face mask use.”

Michael G. Dwyer, III, PhD, assistant professor of neurology and biomedical informatics, was interviewed about a group of Americans and Canadians in Cuba who in September suffered symptoms that included hearing loss, dizziness, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues and difficulty sleeping, which prompted concerns their symptoms were caused by a neural toxin. Dwyer said the brain is made up of gray matter and white matter. “The gray matter is kind of like the actual computational units, the neuronal cell bodies,” he said. “The white matter is the wiring closet of the brain, composed almost entirely of axons that helps connect different parts of the brain.”

Health-care providers are adding more functions to their patient portals to improve the efficiency of their practices as well as patient outcomes. Peter Winkelstein, MD, MBA, executive director of UB’s Institute for Healthcare Informatics, said many physicians aren’t yet comfortable enabling such advanced functions because they feel they’re ceding too much control to the patients.

The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has received a $2.5 million National Library of Medicine grant to train new research leaders in the field of biomedical informatics. Peter L. Elkin, MD, professor and chair of biomedical informatics and director of the new training program, said the grant “puts the department at the forefront of this rapidly changing field.”

Among trends that are expected to impact health care in 2017 is an experimental smartphone app developed by Peter L. Elkin, MD, professor and chair of biomedical informatics, that pairs interested patients with nearby clinical trials whose area of study dovetails with their condition.

The University at Buffalo aims to recruit more participants in its clinical trials by working with a group of patients led by Laurene M. Tumiel Berhalter, PhD, associate professor of family medicine and director of community translational research. According to SUNY Distinguished Professor Timothy F. Murphy, MD, senior associate dean for clinical and translational research, people in the community should be involved in all phases of clinical research. Additionally, Peter L. Elkin, MD, professor and chair of biomedical informatics and professor of internal medicine, has developed a cell phone application that helps patients access information about available clinical trials.

A smartphone app developed by Peter L. Elkin, MD, professor and chair of biomedical informatics, is designed to help patients find clinical trials and to help doctors find patients for their research.

An article about the difficulties Buffalo has had recruiting doctors to Western New York looks at how that is changing with the construction of the new Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences building downtown, and quotes Steven D. Schwaitzberg, MD, chair of the Department of Surgery, who was recruited to UB this year from Harvard. The article also quotes Peter L. Elkin, MD, professor and chair of biomedical informatics.

Peter Winkelstein, MD, executive director of the Institute for Healthcare Informatics and clinical professor of pediatrics, asserts that professionals in the health care information technology field are aware of electronic health records’ challenges and strive to improve the technology to provide better health care.

A small number of hospitals and physicians’ practices are experimenting with robots in doctors’ rounds, a practice known as telerounding, and Peter L. Elkin, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics, comments on the technological advances behind this kind of support. 

Commenting on the patient with the Ebola virus who was sent home from the emergency room, Peter Winkelstein, MD, executive director of the UB Institute for Healthcare Informatics, says medical professionals “missed” an important piece of the patient’s history.