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Immunology

Temple researchers receive NIAID grant to study immunological synapse formation – News-Medical.Net

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Apr 14 2020

Switching immune cells on is a critical step in combating infection. In the case of T cells, which are key players in immunity, this happens when dormant T cells circulating in the blood encounter a suspicious agent on the surface of specialized antigen-presenting cells (APCs). APCs detect and pick up foreign agents they encounter as part of routine immune surveillance.

In order for T cells to get a good read on foreign molecules, they must establish a close communication interface with APCs. This interface, known as an immunological synapse, is vital to T-cell activation. Researchers have been doggedly pursuing a greater understanding of what happens during synapse formation and how these events shape immune responses against everything from the common cold to novel infections to cancer.

Now, thanks to a new $1.98M grant from the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) are poised to make major headway into the study of immunological synapse formation.

T-cell activation is vital for immunity, for fighting off infectious diseases. We're living through a pandemic right now, and COVID-19 is showing us why it is so important to develop a deeper knowledge of the mechanisms underlying T-cell activation."

Jonathan Soboloff, PhD, Professor of Medical Genetics and Molecular Biochemistry at the Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology at LKSOM, and senior investigator on the new grant

A major goal of the research funded by the new NIAID award is to identify the role in immunological synapse formation of a molecule known as STIM1. STIM1 is a calcium sensor located within the endoplasmic reticulum, a continuous membrane system in the cell that functions in part in protein folding and transport. In previously published work within the field, STIM1 was shown to move to the side of the T cell where the immunological synapse forms. Dr. Soboloff and colleagues have found that STIM1 localization to the immunological synapse raises local calcium levels, leading to the loading of calcium into mitochondria - the energy-supplying powerhouses of cells.

These observations suggest that STIM1 supports mitochondrial function during T-cell activation. "Using novel STIM1 mutants, we will determine what makes STIM1 move to the immunological synapse during T cell activation," Dr. Soboloff said. "This will also allow us to characterize its impact on cellular metabolism to better define how STIM1 and calcium regulation impact T-cell activation."

Under the new grant, Dr. Soboloff also plans to investigate the role of proteins known as septins in immunological synapse formation and the activation of immune cells. Septins provide a sort of scaffolding inside cells that influences protein movement to specific locations and that creates barriers to prevent proteins from leaving cellular compartments. While septins are known to contribute to STIM1 function in some contexts, there are no publications regarding their involvement in protein localization during the formation of the immunological synapse.

"Ultimately, through experiments in cell lines and mouse models, we want to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms driving STIM1 translocation and determine the physiological relevance of this process," Dr Soboloff explained. "In addition to extending our understanding of STIM1 in the context of T-cell activation, new knowledge of how these mechanisms are applied could lead to novel insight into the significance of STIM1 regulation in cellular metabolism and its implications more generally in cell biology."

The NIAID award provides support for Dr. Soboloff's research into STIM1 and T-cell activation through March 2025. Co-investigators on the award include Yi Zhang, MD, PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, and John Elrod, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Associate Professor at the Center for Translational Medicine and the Alzheimer's Center at Temple.

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Temple researchers receive NIAID grant to study immunological synapse formation - News-Medical.Net

Immunology

Study looks at chance of social distancing continuing through 2022 – MyNorthwest.com

A sign posted at a Seattle Costco warehouse. (MyNorthwest photo)

A new study looks to understand the future of how COVID-19 will spread in the postpandemic period, and just how long well need social distancing measures.

The study, authored by five researchers fromthe Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and the Department of Epidemiology at Harvards School of Public Health, was published on ScienceMag.org on Tuesday.

Research paper claims social distancing needed for 18 months or more

The various models implemented by the study present a range of possible outcomes, including a scenario where the outbreak completely ends in 2022, with some social distancing measures relaxed by early-to-mid-2021.

An improved outlook will be largely dependent on new therapeutics, vaccines, or other interventions such as contact tracing and quarantine.

In the absence of such interventions, surveillance and intermittent distancing may need to be maintained into 2022, it estimates.

That being so, the study also points out that any social distancing measures extending into 2022 present a substantial social and economic burden. It lists a handful of urgent priorities well need to focus on if were to avoid that future.

That includes:

The study also looks into how the virus might spread seasonally in the months and years ahead, predicting that we could very well see regularly recurring winter outbreaks. Additionally, even after the pandemic is completely under control this year, it warns that we could see a resurgence as late as 2024.

While it acknowledges that SARS the closest genetic relative to coronavirus was largely eradicated by intensive public health measures, most public health officials consider this scenario unlikely.

State Superintendent says school closures likely to fall and beyond

Alternatively, the transmission of (COVID-19) could resemble that of pandemic influenza by circulating seasonally after causing an initial global wave of infection, the study concludes.

The study closes by noting that its goal is less to endorse social distancing measures years into the future, and more to identify likely trajectories of the epidemic under alternative approaches and to spur innovative ideas to expand the list of options to bring the pandemic under long-term control.

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Study looks at chance of social distancing continuing through 2022 - MyNorthwest.com

Immunology

Disease Research Leads in Colorado – AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST – AGInfo Ag Information Network Of The West

Scientists around the world are racing to find a vaccine or treatment that will hinder the coronavirus harmless, each taking a unique trajectory.

In Colorado top agriculture and animal research is leading the way toward potential breakthroughs. Colorado State University VP for Research Alan Rudolph.

We study the immunological profile of the virus and the host or host response in animals to better understand the immunological profile and try to translate that to humans. There is research on immunology in animals that were doing. The other thing that the animal community is aware of is that alpacas are used to create thermostable antibodies for use in the current Covid response. In fact were doing that research at CSU on alpacas to explore whether they can produce stable antibodies against disease. There are other groups looking at how to create smiliare types of reagents that could be used in the Covid response using the immunological response from animals.

Nearby CSU engineers and infectious disease researchers have been developing a low-cost sprayable disinfectant that kills the virus that causes COVID-19 and that can be brought to market quickly working with a design firm in Ft. Collins. The technology deactivates the virus by rendering it incapable of replicating. Local researchers are using similar technology to develop a vaccine for the disease.

Dr. Rudolph says CSUs Infections Disease Research and Response Program is allowing researchers to quickly take their ideas and put them into practice.

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Disease Research Leads in Colorado - AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST - AGInfo Ag Information Network Of The West

Immunology

Tumors hijack the cell death pathway to live – Newswise

Newswise DALLAS April 13, 2020 Cancer cells avoid an immune system attack after radiation by commandeering a cell signaling pathway that helps dying cells avoid triggering an immune response, a new study led by UTSW scientists suggests. The findings, published in a recent issue ofNature Immunology, could eventually lead to new ways to augment existing treatments to fight this disease.

Researchers have long known that radiation a mainstay of treatment protocols for many types of cancerous tumors kills cancer cells in two different ways: The high-energy beams smite some cells directly, and these dead cells leak DNA that triggers a tumor-fighting immune response through proteins known as interferons (IFNs). But even though cancerous cells make up the vast majority of a tumor, explains study leaderYang-Xin Fu, Ph.D., studies have shown that these cells secrete very little IFN themselves, muting the immune response that could eradicate them.

We figured that tumor cells must have some mechanism to escape interferon production, Fu says.

To figure out what that mechanism might be, he and his colleagues tested 42 FDA-approved drugs that block various parts of cell signaling on mouse colon cancer cells growing in petri dishes, searching for any that might be able to prompt these cells to secrete abundant interferons after radiation. Their search identified a drug known as emricasan, often prescribed to liver transplant recipients to help prevent rejection. This drug broadly inhibits production of a family of enzymes known as caspases, which not only help trigger cell death but also muffle the immune systems response to dying cells.

Further experiments indicated that one particular member of this family known as caspase-9 (CASP9) was key for preventing the cancer cells from secreting IFN. When the researchers genetically manipulated cancer cells to turn off CASP9 production, radiation increased their IFN production thousands-fold compared with wild type cancer cells that hadnt been modified.

When the researchers placed these CASP9-deficient cancer cells into mice, their tumors completely regressed after radiation, compared with those carrying tumors made of wild type cells. Additional experiments showed that a particular population of immune cells, known as CD8+T cells, were recruited by the secreted interferon and were responsible for this dramatic regression.

Peering deeper into the mechanism behind how CASP9 helps protect tumor cells from the immune system, the researchers looked for the molecular trigger behind the production of this enzyme. Because cells secrete DNA from the nucleus only after theyre dead, the researchers looked to an event that occurs earlier after radiation damage: the secretion of DNA from mitochondria, the cells power-generating organelles. When the researchers removed mitochondrial DNA from cancer cells, they no longer produced IFN when they were irradiated, suggesting that this was the triggering event.

Although blocking CASP9 production appears to be a promising way to boost the anti-tumor immune response, it comes with a significant drawback: When tumors in animal models lost CASP9 signaling, these masses found a new way to evade immune attack by stepping up production of a protein called programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), which shields cancer cells from immune discovery. However, when the researchers administered an antibody that blocked PD-L1, the tumors regressed again. Using a combination of CASP9 inhibitors with anti-PD-L1 could offer a new strategy for boosting the effects of radiation, Fu says.

This approach could eventually give doctors the confidence that theyre irradiating the tumor that they can see and using the immune system to knock out other tumor cells that they cant see, he adds. Together, this may be able to give some patients long-lasting survival thats not yet achievable.

Other UTSW researchers who contributed to this study include Chuanhui Han, Zhida Liu, Yunjia Zhang, Aijun Shen, Chunbo Dong, Anli Zhang, Casey Moore, Zhenhua Ren, Changzheng Lu, Xuezhi Cao, Chun-Li Zhang, and Jian Qiao.

This study was supported by Texas CPRIT grants RR150072 and RR180725.

Dr. Fu holds the Mary Nell and Ralph B. Rogers Professor in Immunology.

About UTSouthwestern Medical Center

UTSouthwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institutions faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 22 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 17 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,500 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UTSouthwestern physicians provide care in about 80 specialties to more than 105,000 hospitalized patients, nearly 370,000 emergency room cases, and oversee approximately 3 million outpatient visits a year.

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Tumors hijack the cell death pathway to live - Newswise

Physiology

Feel Like Youre in Prison? These Trainers Actually Were – The New York Times

In isolation is where I really learned to reflect, to think about what I wanted my life to be and what I was going to change, Mr. Guadalupe said. Its where I practiced yoga, its where a cellmate taught me to meditate.

Second U trainers have been discussing how prison mentally fortified them with each other, and their clients. There are huge parallels, said Tommy Morris, one trainer. Ive had people say to me, I dont know how you did it in prison, Ive been home two weeks and its driving me nuts. The most important thing is you have to have a regimen, you have to have a steady schedule of regular things you do. And if you can, take time out every morning for prayer, yoga, meditation, whatever you do to get in tune with yourself so you know fundamentally that you are OK.

Kerry Faherty, a founder and the chief impact officer of Faherty Brand, a clothing company, met Mr. Guadalupe when she invited him to speak about social justice at a company retreat after hearing about his work from an employee. Since then, she has joined the organizations board and is trying to help him scale his model nationally.

These people come out of jail with nothing, said Ms. Faherty, 36. They dont have money, they dont have a support system, many are coming from traumatic childhoods, many have been out of society for 10 to 30 years, and you have a criminal record how are you going to get a job? What Hector is doing makes a lot of sense.

She and her husband, Alex Faherty, also work out with Mr. Guadalupe weekly, and in the last several weeks, Faherty Brand has offered group fitness classes (normally $35 per person, per hour) for free to its employees in Zoom sessions led by trainers from A Second U. So have Bombas, the sock company, and others. Individual sessions cost $45 per hour. The screen can offer a layer of comfort on both sides.

Mr. Guadalupe is working to make sure that the coronavirus pandemic doesnt prevent the newest class of students from embarking on a path from halfway houses and uncertainty to a making a living, and possibly building a career. Distance classes of anatomy, physiology, CPR and computer skills will begin later this month.

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Feel Like Youre in Prison? These Trainers Actually Were - The New York Times

Physiology

Coach Kim: What to do when you’re overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty – KSL.com

SALT LAKE CITY Uncertainty is the fear of the unknown, and we are all experiencing that these days.

Fear is triggered when we feel out of control or when someone or something doesn't meet our expectations. We all live with various amounts of fear every day. But when a massive problem like a pandemic happens, it throws our entire society into fear, and we can quickly become overwhelmed.

Last week, I interviewed James Purpura, founder of Powerful U and the author of the book "Perception: Seeing is Not Believing," to get his thoughts about dealing with the uncertainty and fear we are all feeling.

Purpura said that in order to get a fundamental understanding of fear, we must first understand the core principle that dictates all of our experiences: Humans can only act in accordance with their beliefs based on their current physiological state.

The "belief" part is where many experts contend that we dont actually have free will, Purpura said, because we can only act in accordance with our beliefs. This is true because our beliefs create our perception of everything, he said.

Why are so many people acting irrationally when the vast majority of them know logically that they are not at risk of dying from the COVID-19 virus? The answer might shock you. Purpura said its because they dont have a choice to act differently.

This is where your physiological state (your bodys ability to function) comes into play because it dictates which parts of the brain you are able to access, he said. When youre in a fear state fight or flight you only have access to the part of your brain that deals with survival. When you are in survival mode, you are in a reactionary state and you dont have access to the area of the brain that dictates logic or reason.

Purpura explained that when you are in the physiology of fear, your mind views everything as a matter of life and death, which means it weighs every decision against your need to survive. This is why you feel so much resistance when you are in a fear state, and why you sometimes act irrationally and do things you dont really want to do, he said. Everyone knows that there is no logical need to have hundreds of rolls of toilet paper stockpiled in a garage, yet some otherwise reasonable people still buy more than necessary.

How do we break out of the physiology of fear and regain access to the rational parts of our brain? Purpura said we do it the same way our species has for hundreds of thousands of years.

But first, he said, its important to understand that we cant rationalize our way out of fear. This is because our minds are no longer in control; our bodies are.

Your body has to send a signal to your brain that the danger has passed and it is time to move out of fear into a higher state of awareness, Purpura said. You may need some deep diaphragmatic breathing to calm yourself down and change your state back to logic.

Back in the days when our ancestors really were fighting for survival, when they finished running to escape or were done fighting, Purpura explained, the first thing they did was catch their breath. This would be impossible to do until they were safe. That is why deep breathing is the signal to your brain that you can relax. That is also why meditation can be effective.

Deep breathing in meditation lets you take control of your physiology, Purpura explained. Most people dont meditate because they find it hard to clear their minds, he said, but most of the benefits of meditation come from the breathing.

First, recognize the shift in physiology due to the fear. Fear usually shows up in your body in the chest, midsection or stomach, Purpura said, but it can show up anywhere. If you catch it early enough, you can just breathe until the anxiety associated with the fear dissipates. Then you can process the fear rationally.

If you dont catch it right away, you can try the process below, but there are a few things you need to know first, Purpura said. This will take practice, and you will likely fail a few times before you get it right. Your mind may resist this process until it realizes that there is less pain associated with doing the process than defaulting to a fear pattern you instinctively run to.

When you experience fear that overwhelms your system, you will default to actions or behaviors to escape the pain, Purpura said. These behaviors become patterns that now run automatically whenever your fear is triggered. These patterns can be almost anything, including: addiction, expressing anger, beating yourself up, or even buying more toilet paper than you need. Awareness is the key to changing your automatic response to fear, Purpura said.

As feelings of fear, pain and discomfort intensify, you will start moving toward the behavior pattern you think will keep you from pain. But just before you engage in that unhealthy behavior, there will always be a pause. This pause, Purpura said, is your opportunity to shift out of the fear state before you engage your old pattern. Once that pattern is activated, it is very difficult to interrupt because you are then on autopilot.

Here are some steps Purpura recommends for taking advantage of the pause:

Purpura has been teaching and using this technique for years. I have found it very effective myself and recommend you try it when fear of the unknown gets triggered this week.

You can do this.

Authors note: Master Coach Kimberly Giles is offering a free Zoom call for any who are struggling during this quarantine time or want to spend it doing some personal development. Join her Monday nights at 7p.m. MDT at https://zoom.us/meeting/8187971392, or call #253-215-8782. She will be offering this FREE Coach Kim Clarity Call each week until we are past this challenging time.

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Coach Kim: What to do when you're overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty - KSL.com

Physiology

Coronavirus: How Will Isolation With Your Significant Other Impact Your Health? – The National Interest

In the wake of COVID-19 social distancing and stay-at-home orders, young couples may find themselves spending more time with each other than ever before.

In unprecedented times, couples navigate the latest relationship test. ItsDanSheehan/Twitter

As a developmental psychologist who conducts research on adolescent and young adult relationships, Im interested in understanding how young peoples everyday social interactions contribute to their health. Past research shows that people who have higher-quality friendships and romantic relationships during their teens and 20s typically have lower risk for illness and disease during adulthood, whereas individuals with early relationships characterized by conflict or violence experience heightened risk for negative health outcomes. Why might this be the case?

Can matters of the heart affect your heart?

My colleagues and I wondered whether young peoples everyday, seemingly mundane, interactions with their dating partners might have acute effects on their physiological functioning. These direct connections between social functioning and physiology could accumulate over time in ways that ultimately affect long-term health.

We conducted a study to examine whether young dating couples everyday romantic experiences were related to their physiology. We specifically investigated if couples feelings towards one another during the day predicted changes in their heart rate while they slept.

We focused on overnight heart rate because other research shows that having chronically elevated heart rate can hamper the essential restorative effects of sleep and increase risk for later cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States.

To test our question, we used participants from a larger, ongoing study in our lab at the University of Southern California to capture a day in the life of young dating couples. The couples, most of whom were in their early 20s and had been dating for 1-2 years, were recruited from the Los Angeles area.

24 hours together

They were asked to choose a day they were planning to spend most of their time together and, on that chosen day, couples came into our lab first thing in the morning. They were equipped with a wireless chest-strap heart monitor and lent a mobile phone that sent surveys every hour until they went to bed. When participants left the lab, they were told to go about their day as they normally would.

Our study focused on 63 heterosexual couples who had valid 24-hour heart rate data (some participants took the monitors off when they slept or reattached them incorrectly after showering).

Every hour during the day, participants rated two things: how annoyed and irritated they felt with their dating partner, and how close and connected they felt to their dating partner. Participants also reported on their hourly behaviors to make sure we knew about anything else that could affect their overnight heart rate like whether they drank alcohol, exercised or took medication. For 24 hours, the heart rate monitor tracked couples heartbeats per minute, an indicator of physiological activity.

From feelings to physiology

Even after taking into account both partners daytime heart rate, stress levels, drug or alcohol use and physical activity, we found that mens overnight heart rate changed depending on how women felt toward their partner throughout the day.

When women felt closer and more connected to their partners during the day, men had lower overnight heart rates. When women felt more annoyed and irritated with their partners during the day, men had higher overnight heart rates. On average, mens overnight heart rates were about 2 to 4 beats per minute slower in couples where women expressed more closeness. On the other hand, mens heart rates were about 1.5 to 3 beats per minute faster if women expressed greater annoyance.

Interestingly, we found that womens annoyance did not predict increases in mens heart rate, if women also felt close to their partners throughout the day. In other words, the negative effects of annoyance got diluted if some closeness was also in the mix.

There were actually no effects of mens annoyance or closeness on womens overnight heart rates mens cardiovascular responses appeared to be uniquely sensitive to womens daytime relationship feelings. Other research has found similar gender differences. One possibility is that women are more likely to express their feelings of closeness or annoyance, whereas men may feel less comfortable engaging in such communication.

Of course, every relationship has its natural ups and downs, and our study only captures a snapshot of young dating couples lives together. However, the findings suggest the way romantic partners feel about one another, even within a single day, can have acute effects on their biological functioning during sleep.

These seemingly trivial, everyday experiences could build up over time and help explain why relationships wind up affecting peoples health for better or for worse.

[You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversations newsletter.]

Hannah L. Schacter, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Wayne State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Image: Reuters

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Coronavirus: How Will Isolation With Your Significant Other Impact Your Health? - The National Interest

Physiology

Thinking outside the mask – Bangkok Post

Washing hands, social distancing, self-isolating -- what else can we do to stay healthy during the Covid-19 pandemic?

Wellness and integrative medicine specialist Prof Marc Cohen has written a poem, which summarises 50 evidence-based activities that will help boost the immune system and relieve anxiety.

"The 50 activities will take you from being wired and tired to chill and fulfilled," said the Australian doctor, who founded the Extreme Wellness Institute in Melbourne.

With degrees in Western medicine, physiology, psychological medicine and PhDs in Chinese medicine and biomedical engineering, he pioneered the introduction of complementary, holistic and integrative medicine into mainstream settings.

Advice taken from a passage of his poem includes "slip into a bathtub, sauna or spa, care for a pet, take up a sport, go on vacation, make your home a resort".

The use of heat such as through hot springs, saunas, steam rooms and hot baths can help address immunity.

"Humans can tolerate temperature that viruses can't. We have a very sophisticated cellular and physiological mechanism for dealing with heat," he noted. "Overheating the body makes the immune system more active, so that it can clear the virus much quicker. If you can go to a state of being comfortably uncomfortable with heat, that temperature is likely to be the temperature that the virus will not survive."

Warm moist air will facilitate nasal mucociliary clearance, which is one of the major defence mechanisms against the virus that lodges in the coldest part of the body.

At home, a warm moist environment can be rendered by a humidifier, placing bowls of water near a heater, or steam inhalation. An Australian traditional remedy is to put eucalyptus or tea tree essential oils in a bowl of boiling water. Then put a towel over your head, and breathe for aromatherapy.

"Using oil with antiviral properties, you can actually help give your body an advantage over the virus, in the place where it first lodges in your body. That's the first line of defence, which is your nose," he said. "The second line of defence is your systemic immune system, which generates fever. You can artificially do that by using heat and that is a really effective way to give your body an advantage over the virus."

The body, however, may fall prey to the virus when people are in fear and stuck in the Fight-or-Flight mode, which makes them fight back or run away from a threat.

"That is a real concern right now as a lot of people are living in fear, and that fear itself will suppress their immunity," said Prof Cohen, who has written Hacks To Relax, listing 10 things that people can do as emotional first-aid.

The poem goes: "Touch all your fingers, wiggle your toes, soften your stomach, breathe through your nose, sigh, smile, swallow, sing, flutter your eyelids and focus within."

"These activities stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system. You need to balance the Fight-or-Flight episodes with Rest-and-Digest episodes," he said. "But people are not getting enough of that. They are wired on adrenaline and sympathetic nervous activation. That exhausts them, suppresses the immune system, and makes them much more vulnerable when they do get the virus and succumb to it."

The Fight-or-Flight response is a primitive survival mechanism that helped our cavemen ancestors deal with danger. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to lockdown that calls for people to go back into their "cave".

"At the moment, we're in an emergency and that's the Fight-or-Flight response. Now, you've gone back into your cave, and you've had the Rest-and-Digest, then you will emerge and see what else you can do in the world," he said.

"The whole world has been forced to go into the Rest-and-Digest mode. We've been forced to go in, and look within, and think what's important to us, what sort of world we want to live in, and what's our contribution. When the global shutdown is released, we will see a whole new world, and that world has to be focused on wellness because the alternative is unthinkable."

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Thinking outside the mask - Bangkok Post

Physiology

Sports, STEM, and science communication – Penn: Office of University Communications

Postdoc fellow John Drazan understands the importance of having credentials. As a former college basketball player, Drazan knows that athletics provides students with persistence, resilience, and a growth mindset. As a researcher, Drazan uses the scientific method to conduct biomechanics research with his mentor Josh Baxter at the Perelman School of Medicines Human Motion Lab.

Using his credentials in both sports and science, Drazan has spearheaded innovative ways to share STEM with sports communities through engaging, hands-on activities. Now, Drazan is also using his dual credentials to connect scientific experts with sports reporters to help communicate the science behind the coronavirus pandemic to a new audience.

Drazan first became interested in STEM when his high school physics teacher, a former NCAA Division I swimmer, showed him how math and physics could be applied to sports. I saw him as a respected athlete, not just a science teacher who was trying to grab my attention says Drazan, adding that learning from a teacher with credentials in both sports and STEM was a source of inspiration for him to pursue a career in science.

As a physics major at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where he also played varsity basketball, Drazan furthered his interest in the study of how the body works by creating his own biomechanics lab. With his unique perspective as an undergraduate physicist, Drazan went on to earn a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he studied loading patterns in orthopedic implants and developed new implantable medical devices.

While still working on his Ph.D., Drazans friend and former college basketball teammate John Scott reached out to see if he could help at-risk youth with math and rebounding as part of 4th Family Inc. Drazan quickly discovered that basketball could become a venue for teaching science to a new audience, and he and Scott went on to create the 4th Family STEM program which included summer programs such as The Science of Athletic Performance, which has helped more than 5,000 inner-city youth engage in hands-on activities focused on sports, science, and engineering.

Drazan later went on to develop similar outreach initiatives, including a partnership with Tomorrows Stars Foundation and the Court Science Academy, a four-day STEM education initiative held during the NBA Summer League. Middle school athletes from Las Vegas learned how to combine human physiology, data analytics, and engineering to study elite athletic performance. Drazan has also used science outreach to empower collegiate student athletes to be role models for their communities. Authenticity to sport is crucial, Drazan says, which is why he recruits college athletes to design, test, and run biometric tests to collect data from participants on metrics they consider important for their sport.

During these activities, Drazan collects data to evaluate how effective outreach events are in generating STEM interest for new audiences with the goal of increasing diversity in STEM. The challenge is getting people into STEM who arent already interested, and you cant be interested if you arent aware, says Drazan. Its why Drazan sees the incorporation of STEM with sports, which have pre-existing networks and diverse populations, as an important avenue for education and empowerment.

As part of his PennPORT IRACDA postdoctoral fellowship, Drazan is spending the year as a teaching fellow at Lincoln University, where he teaches an upper-level biology course on the science and engineering of sports physiology. As the novel coronavirus began to spread more quickly, Drazan shifted some of his focus in class to discuss the misinformation around COVID-19. One of the big things I talk about is that people with the most expertise are the most aware of how complex this situation is. Therefore they are often not likely to make declarative predictive statements, he says, emphasizing the importance of communicating uncertainty around the coronavirus and generalized scientific literacy.

As the latest recipient of the AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement, Drazan has also been tapping into his network of researchers, science communicators, and media outlets to help bring scientific experts to a new audience using a similar approach to his sports-focused STEM outreach initiatives. There are people who are dialed in and who value science news, Drazan says, but providing science in unexpected venues to reach new audiences is really important.

One of those unexpected venues is sports podcasts, whose audiences are currently dealing with cancellations across a wide range of events and leagues. Sports podcasts are a fantastic way to reach a broader audience, connect to topics that people are passionate about, and reach people where they are, says Liz Crocker, who works in the Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has been helping connect Drazan with scientific experts for sports podcast interviews. This kind of initiative highlights the drive and creativity that earned Drazan the AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science, Crocker says.

The first podcast that Drazan and Crocker helped coordinate was posted just three days after the NBA cancelled the 2020 season, which marked a massive shift in public perception around the seriousness of COVID-19. The Athletic interview with microbiologist Maria Elena Bottazzi and sports injury epidemiologist Zachary Binney focused on what was currently known about the novel coronavirus, how that knowledge related to the decision to suspend NBA games, and best practices for listeners on how they could deal with the virus.

Its a scary time, but if you are armed with information, its less scary, says The Athletic host Dave DuFour, who had met Drazan at an NBA Summer league event. This was our way of doing a public service, bringing people that are experts to discuss this thing affecting every single person on the planet.

Since then, Drazan has helped make connections for four additional sports podcast episodes, including one for SB Nations Buffalo Rumblings site. In that episode, Binney, who is also an avid football fan, was able to explain the COVID-19 response in the context of language already being used to talk about the teams new general manager (tear down, rebuild, success).

Were in an unprecedented media environment, where the risk of misinformation and conspiracy theories are putting peoples lives in immediate jeopardy, says Drazan, emphasizing that he hopes to continue fostering connections between scientists and sports media to help people understand the seriousness of COVID-19.

While currently busy analyzing biomechanics data, teaching at Lincoln, and writing research papers, Drazan is looking forward to doing more biomechanics research and STEM outreach in the future. In the meantime, his science outreach and communication efforts will be focused on connecting scientific experts with sports media outlets to inform the public.

As a former college athlete, he empathizes with how the sports community is feeling about the cancellations but hopes to keep getting the word out on why such cancellations are important. I can only imagine how it would feel to lose out on senior season, says Drazan. I understand how frustrating it is, but this is a national health crisis. Social distancing is really the only tool that we have in the short term. Sports took the lead with public messaging on the severity of coronavirus by suspending entire seasons, and it changed the publics perception. Even though sports are on hold for now, I think that sports are still providing our society with role models.

Images courtesy of John Drazan.

John Drazan is a Penn-Postdoctoral Opportunities in Research and Teaching (PennPORT) Fellow in the Human Motion Lab in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

This work was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (Grant K12GM081259).

More here:
Sports, STEM, and science communication - Penn: Office of University Communications

Physiology

Friends band together to highlight good news in midst of coronavirus pandemic – 11Alive.com WXIA

ATLANTA

Juliana Lee, Sophia Shim and Leo Zhu are on a mission to help others, while spreading positivity along the way.

My friend actually messaged me one day, asking how my mental health wasdoing because I didnt even realize I was posting [so much] negative news online, Lee said.

"So then I started actively looking for posted news online that talked about vaccines and recovery stories and then I realized theres actually quite a lot of stories out there, she added.

The three friends - all in their early 20s - wanted to create a positive online space that shares hopeful updates and news stories with the world during the pandemic.

While one of their main goals was to help ease the stress and uncertainty of others, Shim, Lee and Zhu found that what they were doing was also having a beneficial impact on their daily lives as well.

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The idea that we can really get some positive news and give them hope in a really challenging time, I think yes - its definitely made us feel better mentally for ourselves, Shim said.

Its actually something that I look forward to doing every morning when I wake up, Zhu added.

The COVID-19 Recovery website includes several elements, such as community hopeful and vaccine development news, Spotify playlists, binge-worthy Netflix lists, memes, blog posts making sense of science related to the novel virus and more.

READ: Mr. Tom still touches lives -- just from afar

Since launching late last month and branching out on other social media platforms, Lee said the feedback from others has been both uplifting and strong.

We actually receive one or two emails almost every day from people all over the world saying, Hey I really like your website!, she said.

Despite the day-to-day uncertainties others are facing during COVID-19 pandemic, they do want others to know that this too, shall pass.

I think its the first time that Ive seen humanity working towards one goal, which is beating this virus, Lee said.

I just want everyone to know that everyone is working hard to fight this, together, she added.

More about Juliana, Sophia and Leo:

Juliana Lee, 23, is in charge of updating the daily recovery stats on the website, sharing uplifting news, maintaining the website quality and more. She is a MSc by Research Candidate in Clinical Medicine at Jenner Institute, University of Oxford and is currently undertaking a thesis project on researching malaria using CRISPR-Cas9. She has plans to apply to a PhD program to study vaccines.

Sophia Shim, 23, is currently an academic tutor for students (elementary to university-level) for science and math subjects, as well as a figure-skating coach. Shes responsible for updating the websites #StayAtHome page, creating weekly newsletters and is the Making Sense of Science blog writer. She plans on applying for graduate school.

Leo Zhu, also 23, maintains the websites Instagram and Facebook accounts. Currently, hes undertaking a thesis project on modeling human physiology and pharmacokinetics. He plans on applying to a MD/PhD program in the future.

11Alive is focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. We want to keep you informed about the latest developments while ensuring that we deliver confirmed, factual information.

We will track the most important coronavirus elements relating to Georgia on this page. Refresh often for new information.

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Friends band together to highlight good news in midst of coronavirus pandemic - 11Alive.com WXIA