On Monday, pharmaceutical maker Pfizer reported it’s COVID-19 vaccine appears to be 90% effective. Dr. Shad Marvasti, with the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix, is cautiously optimistic about the news. “We still want to look at the details to verify this, but it definitely sounds very promising and it’s good to hear,” Marvasti said. However, Marvasti cautions that adhering to mitigation efforts like wearing a mask and social distancing is critical even if the vaccine is approved.

As coronavirus cases grow in Arizona, the state could reach a “crisis point” after Thanksgiving, one expert recently warned. “I don’t see us reaching any particular crisis point before Thanksgiving,” Dr. Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the University of Arizona’s Zuckerman College of Public Health, told the Arizona Daily Star. “But once we hit Thanksgiving and move towards Christmas and New Year’s, I think we will eventually reach a crisis point.”

Researchers used a patient’s cancer cells to teach her immune system how to recognize and destroy the cancer, revealing an option for successfully treating others.

In pre-clinical studies, researchers found that low-dose ketamine infusions can improve pain, depression and levodopa-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson's patients.

Researchers in the College of Pharmacy say compounds targeting proteins involved in viral replication may further drug development for treating COVID-19.

A study investigating a personalized cancer vaccine has reported a 50% response rate for patients with head and neck cancer in its preliminary data.

As coronavirus cases grow in Arizona, the state could reach a “crisis point” after Thanksgiving, one expert recently warned. “I don’t see us reaching any particular crisis point before Thanksgiving,” Dr. Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the University of Arizona’s Zuckerman College of Public Health, told the Arizona Daily Star.

Joe Gerald, an associate professor at the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and an epidemiologist working on modeling the COVID-19 pandemic, has been named to Arizona Sen.-elect Mark Kelly's 13-person bipartisan transition team.

The trial for the vaccine still needs to be completed. The No. 1 priority is making sure the vaccine is safe, because even a rare side effect could hurt thousands. Dr. Jun Wang, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy said, “We should be excited, but there is way more work to do."