Arizona has one of the highest COVID-19 death rates in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Certainly we can look to Texas and Florida and go, gosh, how did we beat them?" said Joe Gerald, MD, PhD, associate professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

The Arizona Department of Health Services wants to know who has the desire and credentials to do human studies on whether marijuana can treat health conditions such as autism. Tally Largent-Milnes, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology in the College of Medicine – Tucson, wants to someday learn if cannabis can treat migraines. “Until we are able to run these clinical trials in a well-thought out manner, we’re never going to know the answer,” she said.

The coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech is much less effective in preventing infection in children ages 5 to 11 years than in older adolescents or adults, according to a large new set of data collected by health officials in New York. Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson, is quoted.

A new program unites Arizona’s three universities in the fight against Valley fever. “Two-thirds of all Valley fever infections in the United States occur in Arizona,” said John Galgiani, MD, director of the College of Medicine – Tucson’s Valley Fever Center for Excellence.

Harmful bacteria on a dirty yoga mat can put you at risk for a skin infection. Kelly Reynolds, MSPH, PhD, professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, is quoted.

As states across the country are lifting COVID-19 precautions such as mask mandates and some churches have dropped online services, the immunocompromised are weighing their risk of possible exposure in worship services. And some are finding their fellow parishioners and church leaders aren't taking measures to protect them. Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson, is quoted.

UArizona Health Sciences translational scientists are converting discoveries into treatments, bringing the fruits of the lab to the clinic.

Michael Grandner, PhD, director of the Sleep and Heath Research Program at the College of Medicine – Tucson, provides his top three ways to train your brain to fall asleep.

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD, a professor of epidemiology at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, is quoted. She joined 400 public health researchers, practitioners, physicians and educators in signing an open letter encouraging elected officials to reevaluate ending mask mandates for schools.