The COVID-19 pandemic brought mRNA vaccines into the limelight. But the technology may also prove to be a powerful weapon against hard-to-treat cancers. A head and neck cancer patient who was treated in a personalized cancer vaccine clinical trial offered at the University of Arizona Cancer Center is featured.

With summer in full force, it’s more important than ever to wear sunscreen when outside. Arizonans are at a particular risk for sun-related skin damage, according to experts at the University of Arizona Cancer Center's Skin Cancer Institute.

The FDA approval of the monoclonal antibody aducanumab for Alzheimer's disease has elicited a decidedly mixed response from neurologists who treat dementia. “The FDA had to do a lot of analyses and make a very complicated judgement. I can't join the skeptics who say ‘just say no.’ There are a lot of unanswered questions. It is a tough call," said Pierre Tariot, MD, director of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute and a research professor at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

As the more contagious Delta variant spreads rapidly, health experts are worried vaccines won't be as effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19. "It's quite reasonable, especially in indoor crowded spaces, even for vaccinated people to wear a mask because the risk of getting sick is higher now than it ever has been before for people who are fully vaccinated," said Shad Marvasti, MD, director of public health, prevention and health promotion at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

A UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson study aims to reduce relapse rates of recently quit smokers by training them to help others quit smoking.

Basic scientists and clinical researchers working together leads to center’s many achievements.

Health experts are concerned that Arizona’s recently approved budget, which bans public schools and universities from enforcing mask mandates and COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated students, is endangering public health across the state. “Banning schools from adopting a simple, cost-effective and scientifically proven safety measure like mask wearing while we are still in the midst of a pandemic makes absolutely no scientific or public health sense," said Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD, a professor and epidemiologist at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Shad Marvasti, MD, director of public health, prevention and health promotion at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, says it would be a good idea to bring back mask mandates. "We don’t want to wait until after the fact and get caught with this thing already ahead of us when we know that masks work," Marvasti said.

Some nursing students and faculty are back to in-person training at ASTEC.