Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
May 1, 2025
May 1, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Science & Technology





BEANTIN WEBBKOMMUNIKATION/CC BY-SA 2.0
Researchers at the International Vaccine Access Center developed VIRA, a chatbot designed to give personal, confidential answers to over 150 questions.

Vaccine chatbot answers public health questions

As the pandemic enters its third year, 23% of the U.S. population remains unvaccinated, many haven’t received a booster, and vaccine misinformation continues to spread. To address these issues, researchers at the Bloomberg School of Public Health’s International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) developed the Vaccine Information Resource Assistant (VIRA): a chatbot designed to give personal, confidential answers to over 150 questions.








ROSIE JANG/CARTOONS EDITOR 
Difficult classes can often have students feeling like they are sacrificing their physical or mental health.

Project MD 27: Do I really need to pass physics to be a doctor?

It feels like Trisha Parayil will be in school forever. Even during her two gap years between graduating from Hopkins and applying to medical school, Parayil opted to teach high school science in Bridgeport, Conn. through Teach for America. Outside of lab experiments and grading quizzes, Parayil is also working on getting a masters from the School of Education. 



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.






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