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

By TRISHA PARAYIL and BAYLEIGH MURRAY | December 14, 2020

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.

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Columnist Jessica Kasamoto argues that “rosy retrospection,“ the tendency to view the past in a positive light, is one cognitive bias that has been at play this year.

A list of a few cognitive biases that you may have experienced this year

By JESSICA KASAMOTO | December 14, 2020

As the year wraps up, I think most of us would agree that 2020 was a year of many things: quarantine, masks, social injustice, wildfires, political polarity, cynicism, sadness. It is also the year that you can probably name more than two sitting governors because the media actually cares about them now.

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The CRC collects information from more than 300 data sources, including the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Coronavirus Resource Center named one of Time's best inventions of 2020

By JENNIFER JIANG | December 13, 2020

In late January, Hopkins launched its COVID-19 Dashboard, a project created by Civil and Systems Engineering professor Lauren Gardner and her graduate student, Ensheng Dong. This tool allows the public to visualize and track the spread of COVID-19.

COURTESY OF TEAM POLAIR
Team Polair, a group of 24 Hopkins undergrads, held regular virtual meetings to design their mask.

Hopkins undergraduates are finalists in global competition to reimagine masks

By WILLIAM BLAIR and ELLIE ROSE MATTOON | December 10, 2020

Team Polair, a Hopkins team of 24 Biomedical Engineering (BME) undergraduates, has developed a clear, adaptable face mask for the XPRIZE Next-Gen Mask Challenge. The team is among five finalists in the global competition.

COURTESY OF VIJAY RAMASAMY 
Ramasamy is pictured on the left, along with with Laura Kelly, the governor of Kansas, and his parents.

Public health alum awarded Rhodes Scholarship

By ESTELLE YEUNG | December 7, 2020

Hopkins alum Vijay Ramasamy was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship on Nov. 21 and was one of 32 students to become part of the American Rhodes Scholar Class of 2020.

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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

By TRISHA PARAYIL | December 3, 2020

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.

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Yukyan Lam conducted a cumulative impact analysis to determine the burden of environmental, social and economic stressors on communities in Chicago.

Mapping and community-based research promote environmental justice

By RADLEY FAULKNOR | December 2, 2020

Environmental equity is a pressing issue in America. Many low-income areas and communities of color face the brunt of pollution, as their neighborhoods are often the designated locations of factories, refineries and incinerators.

A closer look at U.S. deaths due to COVID-19

By YANNI GU | November 27, 2020

Editor’s Note: After The News-Letter published this article on Nov. 22, it was brought to our attention that our coverage of Genevieve Briand’s presentation “COVID-19 Deaths: A Look at U.S. Data” has been used to support dangerous inaccuracies that minimize the impact of the pandemic.

COURTESY OF HOPKINS BUSINESS OF HEALTH INITIATIVE
The panelists discussed decision-making models which may inform vaccine distribution and health policies at the local, state and federal levels.

Decision-modelers help policy-makers navigate risks and tradeoffs

By TRISHA PARAYIL | November 23, 2020

With the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, individuals, clinical professionals, public health leaders and policy-makers must contend with steep trade-offs and high-stake dilemmas.

COURTESY OF JOHNS HOPKINS
Fauci believes that the development of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 will embolden  pharmaceutical companies to create avant-garde treatments for diseases like AIDS.

Fauci uses the history of coronaviruses as a guide for the present and future

By TRISHA PARAYIL | November 23, 2020

In late January, within days of the identification of SARS-CoV-2, Dr. Anthony Fauci co-wrote a paper titled “Coronavirus Infections — More Than Just the Common Cold.”

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Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have created, or are creating, four different types of COVID-19 vaccines: RNA, DNA, weakened virus and protein-based vaccines.

How do different vaccines compare biologically?

By AMRITA BALRAM | November 23, 2020

News of the COVID-19 vaccine has been dominating news headlines and giving people around the world a sliver of hope before the end of the year.

COURTESY OF LUCIANA BORIO AND CELINE GOUNDER
Borio (left) and Gounder (right) are two of the Hopkins affiliates who have joined the transition team.

Hopkins alumni and faculty appointed to Biden’s COVID-19 task force

By ELLIE ROSE MATTOON | November 23, 2020

Several Hopkins professors and alumni have been invited to serve on the Biden-Harris COVID-19 task force.

COURTESY OF HOPKINS BUSINESS OF HEALTH INITIATIVE
All four panelists agreed that a large federal budget is required to incentivize the public to vaccinate.

Panelists discuss how to optimize vaccination rates

By YANNI GU | November 23, 2020

The COVID-19 Symposium, held by Hopkins Business of Health Initiative (HBHI), featured a segment titled “Financial incentives and disincentives for achieving optimal COVID-19 vaccination rates” on Friday. A panel of experts in the fields of behavioral sciences, public health and economics discussed barriers and strategies to maximize COVID-19 vaccination rates. The discussion was moderated by Mario Macis, professor of Economics at the Hopkins Carey Business School.

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Many medical schools have adapted to challenges caused by the pandemic.

Applying to medical school during COVID-19

By ELLIE ROSE MATTOON | November 22, 2020

When Valerie Gomez, a senior Molecular and Cellular Biology major, planned to apply to medical school in the fall of 2019, she felt anxious about how she would manage the interview process. Typically, attending so many interviews would force her to miss class days and spend a large amount of money on travel.

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Huawei’s leadership in developing 5G technology exposes a vulnerability in the technological dominance of the United States.

China-U.S. technological relationship: Time for a divorce or continued cooperation?

By JENNIFER JIANG | November 22, 2020

Over the years, China’s growing global influence as an autocratic country has strained the political and economic relationship with a democratic United States.

COURTESY OF QUEST2LEARN
The team hopes that their new app will be used both during and after the pandemic.

Quest2Learn team hopes to improve virtual lab classes

By ELLIE ROSE MATTOON | November 19, 2020

A group of Hopkins undergraduate and graduate students are working together to change the way students engage with their virtual lab classes.

COURTESY OF REZA KALHOUR
Reza Kalhor is one of 20 recipients of the Packard Fellowship in 2020.

Research spotlight: Using genetic engineering to understand life's earliest stages

By JESSICA KASAMOTO | November 13, 2020

While movies like Jurassic World and Gattaca make the idea of editing genes seem wild and dangerous, some researchers at Hopkins have put these movie-induced fears to rest with applications for genetic engineering (which are far less likely to create dinosaurs that even Chris Pratt can’t tame). One of these scientists is Reza Kalhor, an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

COURTESY OF EMILY DRISCOLL
Jared Kaplan filmed a video series with Emily Driscoll, a documentary producer and director.

Videos explain theoretical physics for the average non-physicist

By MEDHA KALLEM | November 10, 2020

Jared Kaplan, an associate professor at Hopkins, created a three-part video series about theoretical physics that was recently published by Scientific American. Kaplan collaborated with Emily Driscoll, a documentary producer and director, to produce these videos.

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Baltimore’s Office of Sustainability has been making progress toward environmentally-friendly policies.

The story of Baltimore plastic continues to be written

By JASON NGUYEN | November 6, 2020

The Story of Plastic is a 2019 documentary by Deia Schlosberg that provides a sweeping look into the human-made crisis of plastic waste and its effect on the planet and its population. The film illustrates an environmental catastrophe: rivers and oceans filled with plastic waste, skies filled with poisonous emissions from plastic production and fields of garbage.

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There are several barriers to effective telehealth.

Despite increase in use, telemedicine has shortcomings

By SHIVNI PATEL | November 5, 2020

A new study by researchers at the Bloomberg School of Public Health found that despite a spike in telemedicine adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly fewer Americans have received primary care consultations or undergone cholesterol and blood pressure assessments — two critical parameters of cardiac health.

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