Health Sciences In The Media

University of Arizona medical students who want to join the front lines of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic can ask to graduate early.

Scientists across the University of Arizona are working to give American public health authorities the ability to test widely for COVID-19 by making more specimen collection kits available.

Doctors and scientists discuss the claims that two malaria drugs may be a potential antidote for COVID-19. "We definitely don’t want to harm people by using drugs that have known side effects in ways that we know are dangerous," said Raymond Woosley, MD, a pharmacologist and professor of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

As the coronavirus pandemic is changing the lives of people around the world, this week’s Sunday Spotlight story reports on how people are adapting to their adjusted routines. Featuring three students from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix on March 20, “Match Day” when they discovered where they matched for residency.

Many legal experts question whether the federal government has the authority to close the borders of a state. "Such measures would need to be least restrictive to be constitutional because you would be infringing greatly on individual liberties and the right to travel," said Leila Barraza, an assistant professor and public health lawyer in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona.

"Phones, laptops and other electronics travel with us everywhere, from bathrooms to buses to kitchens and restaurants," said Kelly Reynolds, a professor and environmental microbiologist in the College of Public Health at the University of Arizona and author of a study about hygienic prevention to prevent viral spread. "Like our hands, they pick up germs along the way. Frequently touched surfaces are vulnerable to increased contamination that can spread to hands, and then to entry points on the body where infection occurs, such as the eyes, nose and mouth."

While the largest known coronavirus outbreaks in the United States so far have occurred in densely packed cities, the case in Graham County highlights the risks of the global pandemic in rural communities. Arizona's 15 critical access hospitals are mostly Level IV or Level II trauma centers, meaning they don't typically have the equipment or staff to stabilize patients for long periods of time, according to Dr. Daniel Derksen, associate vice president for health equity, outreach and inter-professional activities at University of Arizona Health Sciences.

Scientists from the University of Arizona College of Medicine have found that prolactin, known for promoting lactation in expectant mothers in their final months of pregnancy and after childbirth, may be the reason why some women are more vulnerable to developing pain than men.

Dr. Cecilia Rosales, associate dean of Phoenix programs and professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, talks about coronavirus and what people need to know to protect themselves.

A new study by researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, found that when comparing white people and Native Americans with similar income and education levels, whites consume more cigarettes and are more nicotine dependent.