Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson have found that people who have had COVID-19 develop long-lasting immunity. Their study appears in the journal Immunity.

A clinical trial at the University of Arizona Health Sciences designed to study the safety and effectiveness of a personalized cancer vaccine in combination with the immunotherapy drug Pembrolizumab will expand its cohort after promising preliminary data was presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Immunotherapy of Cancer.

Give yourself the gift of good health! The University of Arizona Health Sciences is offering an uplifting program to improve health and reduce stress.

For future nurses and pharmacists, opportunities for service learning combine community outreach with hands-on education.

Health Sciences students sharpened their skills and learned to build rapport with patients as they provided flu shots to other students.

Traditional healers, who once played critical roles in governance and health care in the Navajo Nation, are dwindling in number and influence, experts and community leaders say, even as a deadly coronavirus assaults the tribe. Michelle Kahn-John, a professor of nursing at the University of Arizona and secretary of the Diné Hataalii Association, is quoted. This article was first published by the syndicated Cronkite News service on 11/10/20.

Despite news on Nov. 9 that a COVID-19 vaccine is 90% effective, it is important to note that it still could be several more months until it's widely available, and there are some potential issues that come with it. "The challenges with this vaccine is it has to be stored at -94 degree," said Dr. Shad Marvasti, Director of Public Health at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. "Most vaccines are stored at 35°F to 45°F, in a standard refrigerator."

Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson have developed a method of using ketamine in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The university has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Pharmather Inc., a subsidiary of Newscope Capital Corporation, for the development and commercialization of the method.

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.”