Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
June 16, 2025
June 16, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Science & Technology




ISTOCKPHOTO/GORODENKOFF
Jessica Kasamoto stresses the importance of finding research that sparks joy.

Looking for research? Here is some advice

Dear freshmen, First and foremost, congrats on making it through your first semester, and to those of you who are in Baltimore, welcome to campus! School-imposed quarantine, illegal parties and an otherwise confusing beginning to this semester aside, I know many of you guys are hoping to create a normal-ish experience for yourselves this semester.




JOSHUA MIRANDA/PEXELS 
A study surveyed 1,000 Americans to better understand beliefs about social distancing. 

Social distancing linked to socioeconomic status, Hopkins study shows

When not researching COVID-19, Hopkins Economics Professor Nick Papageorge investigates factors surrounding adherence to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment regimens. For those living with HIV, taking prescribed medications has not only a personal health benefit but a public health benefit, as it decreases the likelihood of transmitting the disease. 


COURTESY OF JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR GLOBAL HEALTH
A team of researchers at the Bloomberg School of Public Health created a national survey to discern the impact of the pandemic on racial and ethnic minorities.

National Pandemic Pulse team continues to research racial disparities during the pandemic

The Hopkins Center for Global Health hosted its new virtual seminar series on Feb. 3 with the first of a two-part seminar titled “National Pandemic Pulse: Findings from a U.S. Representative Survey in December 2020.” National Pandemic Pulse is part of an initiative by the University’s Inequities in COVID-19 project tasked to monitor the effects of the pandemic on low-income and minority groups in the United States.




WESLEY FRYER / CC BY 2.0
Run by Hopkins, the widely-used COVID-19 tracking map illustrates the spread of COVID-19.

Hopkins COVID-19 tracking map celebrates one-year anniversary

Jan. 22 marked one year since the launch of the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (CRC). Upon its launch, the website became a preferred source for the general public and news media over the world, including the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. 


CC 3.0  CONTAINS MODIFIED CORPENICUS SENTINEL DATA 2020
This satellite image of Baltimore illustrates the lack of greenery in the city, making it susceptible to the urban heat island effect.

How does the U.S. Supreme Court affect climate policies in Baltimore City?

On Jan. 28 the Center for the Law and the Public’s Health and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute hosted a discussion on “Climate Change, Public Health, and the U.S. Supreme Court.” Guest speakers included the Baltimore Chief of the Affirmative Litigation Division Sara Gross, University of Maryland Environmental Law Professor Robert Percival and University of Maryland Public Health Professor Amir Sapkota. 



COURTESY OF TEAM POLAIR
The team of undergraduates designed their winning face mask with help from the Whiting School of Engineering and industry sponsors.

Hopkins team wins $250,000 for a face mask design

Team Polair, a Hopkins team of 25 undergraduate Biomedical Engineering students, took runner-up in the XPRIZE Next-Gen Mask Challenge, winning $250,000 for the design of a clear, adaptable face mask. The four-month international contest, sponsored by California nonprofit organization XPRIZE, challenged participants to design face masks that are user-friendly and safe for the environment.



COURTESY OF GENEVIEVE BRIAND
Figure 1.This graph shows deaths in each age group listed in the legend on the right as percentages of total deaths by all causes. Each column represents one week of data from Week 1 ending Feb 1 to Week 32 ending Sept 5.

Public health experts and biostatisticians weigh in on "COVID-19 Deaths: A Look at U.S. Data" webinar

The News-Letter published “A closer look at U.S. deaths due to COVID-19” on Nov. 22. The article was written to recap a webinar held on Nov. 13, where Genevieve Briand, the assistant director for the Master’s in Applied Economics program at Hopkins, presented data she had downloaded from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and plotted independently. The analysis presented in the webinar was not a published, peer-reviewed study; it contradicted data published by Hopkins, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the CDC.






PUBLIC DOMAIN
Hopkins undergrads are working with Anton Dahbura and Terry Thompson to continuously update the Cyber Attack Predictive Index.

Students work on an Index to help predict cyber conflicts

Last week, it was reported that cyberattacks on U.S. hospitals and health systems have increased this year. Clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine have been disrupted and hospitals’ access to patient records have been blocked as a part of ransomware attacks. 


News-Letter Magazine