Geoffrey Gurtner, MD, will join the College of Medicine – Tucson in January 2022 as head of the Department of Surgery.

A team led by Valley Fever Center for Excellence researchers successfully tested a vaccine for dogs, with two doses providing high levels of protection.

Most people pursue hobbies such as golf, music or art. College of Medicine – Tucson professor Todd Vanderah, PhD, constructs custom homes.

A study by researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences found that patients undergoing active chemotherapy had a lower immune response to two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. A third dose increased patients’ response. “We wanted to make sure we understand the level of protection the COVID-19 vaccines are offering our cancer patients, especially as restrictions were being eased and more contagious variants were starting to spread,” said Rachna Shroff, MD, MS, chief of gastrointestinal medical oncology at the UArizona Cancer Center.

Researchers at the University of Arizona have successfully tested a Valley fever vaccine for dogs. It's a two-dose vaccine designed to help them fight the disease, which is caused by a fungus called Coccidioides posadasii. "The idea of a vaccine to prevent Valley fever has been the holy grail since the 1950s," said John Galgiani, MD, director of the UArizona Valley Fever Center for Excellence and a professor of medicine. "We created a vaccine that worked. The dogs had all sorts of laboratory evidence of active, very widespread disease, and the vaccine prevented it."

Researchers identified a compound that acts as a Trojan horse for copper, effectively killing pathogens that cause some upper respiratory infections.

During the summer of 2020, Arizona’s health authorities activated crisis standards of care, and hospitals began rationing medical supplies. The situation has improved, but the persistently high levels of cases and deaths following a long period of low community transmission are concerning, according to a recent report written by Joe K. Gerald, MD, PhD, associate professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and Patrick Wightman, PhD, MPP, a researcher at the Center for Population Science and Discovery.

Data from an ongoing research study at the University of Arizona Health Sciences show that first responders – including firefighters, law enforcement, correctional officers and emergency medical service providers – are at elevated risk of COVID-19 infection compared with other essential workers and frontline health care personnel.

During the summer of 2020, Arizona’s health authorities activated crisis standards of care, and hospitals began rationing medical supplies. The situation has improved, but the persistently high levels of cases and deaths following a long period of low community transmission are concerning, according to a recent report written by Joe K. Gerald, MD, PhD, associate professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and Patrick Wightman, PhD, MPP, a researcher at the Center for Population Science and Discovery. This article originally published in The Washington Post.