Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
April 26, 2024

Science & Technology



GRÉGOIRE LANNOY/CC BY-NC 2.0
According to Grover, there is a lack of concern in the perception of vision care.

Hopkins alum Lori Grover speaks on importance of optometry

As part of the School of Public Health’s Spotlight Series, alum Lori Grover gave a virtual talk on March 16 that covered the broad intersections between optometry and public health. She expounded on the value of optometry toward aiding the overall health of individuals and communities alike.


THOMAS SPLETTSTOESSER / CC BY-3.0 NA
Shan’s talk focused on the molecular mechanisms cells employ to selectively create different proteins out of the biochemical goop found in cells.

CalTech professor Shu-ou Shan speaks on nascent proteins

Researchers, students and faculty attended  the most recent installment of the Hopkins Department of Chemistry Colloquium Seminar Series  last week. Working at the interface of biology and chemistry, Shu-ou Shan, Altair professor of chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, gave a seminar detailing the methods cells use to create “order from chaos.”


ArchesNPS / CC PDM 1.0
The team has received $1.35 million dollars from an EPA grant to assess the exposure of children to dust and soil.

Hopkins team studying dust and soil exposures for children receives $1.35 million EPA Grant

Recently the project INnovations to generate estimates of children’s soil/dust inTakes (INGEST) received a $1.35 million research grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A team of researchers from Hopkins and the University of California, San Francisco will quantitatively assess children’s dust and soil exposures using a set of novel research approaches.


BERLIN MEDIA/CC BY 2.0
For International Women's Day, FastForward U hosted a panel with three female-founded startups. 

FastForward U hosts International Women's Day panel

FastFoward U’s first Ask a Female Founder Panel was held on March 8 in celebration of International Women’s Day. To discuss the factors, challenges and lessons learned from being a woman founder, Kristen Corlay Sanmiguel, co-founder of Cabilde, Nandita Balaji, co-founder of InfernoGuard, and Selena Shirkin, founder of StetPulse, came together for a discussion.







HEY PAUL STUDIOS / CC BY 2.0
The previous equation used in kidney function tests by the Hopkins Health System produced two different values depending on whether a patient was Black or not. 

Hopkins announces adoption of race-free kidney function algorithm

This year, the Hopkins Health System will adopt a race-free kidney function equation in the hopes of allowing more Black patients to have early access to the diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases. The change will be immediately implemented in hospitals and laboratories affiliated with Hopkins.


ROSIE JANG/CARTOONS EDITOR
Students must confront many factors when deciding whether this is the year to apply to medical school. 

Project MD 2027: making the decision to apply to medical school

When Siena DeFazio was younger, she dreamed of opening a free veterinary clinic. Growing up in rural Florida with lots of official and unofficial pets, her family seldom had the means to pay to save an animal’s life after an illness or accident. Now that DeFazio is a junior at Hopkins, she is interested in treating a different set of patients.


SHIXART1985/CC-BY-SA 2.0
The goal of the free COVID-19 Ambassadors course is to empower more people to communicate with parents in the U.S. who have concerns about vaccinating their children.

Hopkins offers free COVID-19 vaccine ambassadors course

The School of Public Health has released a new virtual course titled COVID-19 Vaccine Ambassador Training: How to Talk to Parents. The course, completely free on Coursera, is the latest offering from the Hopkins COVID-19 Training Initiative, which aims to share COVID-19 training support for public health workers across the United States.



COURTESY OF SUA MYONG 
With the oldest undergraduate program in the nation, the Biophysics department at Hopkins has curated a closely knit major that allows students to study life’s processes while incorporating perspectives from biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science. 

Meet the Major: Biophysics equips students to investigate life’s elemental processes

Studying biomolecular processes at the nanometer scale is not an opportunity every major or even every university offers. With the oldest undergraduate program in the nation, the Thomas C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics at Hopkins has curated a closely knit major that allows students to study life’s processes while incorporating perspectives from biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science. 


WOKANDAPIX/CC-BY-SA 2.0
Mental health varied fourfold across groups of children according to both the type and amount of relational health risks and social health risks they experienced.

Study looks at influences on children's mental health

As the COVID-19 pandemic approaches the two-year mark, the mental health crisis induced by it continues to escalate. With 14% of U.S. youth and 19% of adults suffering from mental illness, understanding the factors that influence mental health is a crucial endeavor. These efforts are led in part by Christina Bethell, director of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative and professor of population, family and reproductive health at the School of Public Health.


COURTESY OF GEORGE DIMOPOULOS AND MARIA LUISA SIMÕES
Dimopoulos (left) and Simões (right) are two members of the team that identified an important gene in malaria transmission.

Hopkins scientists identify vital gene in malaria transmission

Last month, four Hopkins scientists published their research on a potential way to fight against malaria in Public Library of Science Biology. They discovered that knocking out C-type lectins 4 (CTL4), a gene in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, results in effective resistance to the malaria parasite. 





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