The dominance of the Delta strain of COVID-19 combined with Alabama’s low vaccination rate has led experts to turn to monoclonal antibody infusion, a treatment in which infected individuals are administered supplemental antibodies that aid in clearing and stopping infection. The infusion reduces the risk of hospitalization by 70 percent in high-risk unvaccinated and pregnant persons. Experts emphasize getting vaccinated remains the most effective way to reduce hospitalizations and stop the spread of COVID-19.
More Good News for August 27, 2021
Latesha Elopre, M.D., MSPH, (Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases) has been named assistant dean for Medical Education Diversity & Inclusion, a new position established in the UAB School of Medicine to support recruiting underrepresented medical students and providing support for URIM trainees in the learning environment.
Jacelyn Peabody Lever, Ph.D. (Post-Doctoral Fellow, Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine) was selected as an Editorial Board Fellow for the American Journal of Physiology: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. This program provides early-career researchers training in manuscript processing, submission reviews, and communication on decision making.
Live HealthSmart Alabama Mobile Market, a mobile grocery store that provides healthy, affordable food to neighborhoods in food deserts, has expanded its service area to Norwood, Fountain Heights, Tarrant, and Bessemer. The Mobile Market promotes efforts to decrease obesity, diabetes, and cholesterol throughout the state.
Dongquan Chen, Ph.D., MSHI, (Associate Professor, Preventive Medicine) collaborated on a study that reveals how an existing drug inhibits aberrant hedgehog signaling for tumor-associated macrophages — the immune cells that guard against tumor growth — instead transforms them to immuno-suppressive M2 macrophages.
Carrie Lenneman, M.D., (Associate Professor, Cardiovascular Disease) joins UAB MedCast to discuss the impact of cancer treatments on the heart. With cardiovascular disease being the second leading cause of death in cancer survivors, she addresses treatment assessment tools, and the importance of multi-disciplinary care for patients.