Oct. 17 - Integrative health center opening; disaster preparedness drill
Section 1
A thunderstorm’s remnants provide a reflection for Rowland Hall. Photo by Ian Parker
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
Attending Thursday’s Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute ribbon-cutting ceremony were (from left) California Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris; Chad Lefteris, UCI Health CEO; Dr. Shaista Malik, SSIHI executive director and associate vice chancellor for integrative health; Henry Samueli; Susan Samueli; UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman; UCI Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Dr. Steve A.N. Goldstein; UCI Health COO Nathan Shinagawa; and Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan. Photo by Jeff Antenore
New Susan Samueli Health Institute celebrates campus opening
The latest addition to UCI’s ever-expanding campus is the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, whose new on-campus home officially opened Thursday in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Susan and Henry Samueli, Chancellor Howard Gillman and several campus and civic leaders, including Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan. The 21,432-square-foot institute offers spaces for innovative student instruction, multidisciplinary research, engaging community education and team-based, whole-person clinical care. SSIHI also includes 42 rooms for examination, treatment and consultation; a lab; an infusion suite; a pharmacy; the Mussallem Nutritional Education Center; an intensive cardiac rehabilitation space; and the Palmer Family Research and Conference Room.
Dozens of emergency medical technicians, firefighters and other first responders storm into UCI’s Donald Bren Hall for a disaster drill in July. Photo by Steve Zylius/UCI
UCI researchers aid National Science Foundation disaster preparedness initiative
Over the summer, researchers in UCI’s Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences planned and carried out a unique disaster drill in which the main evacuees were residents of an elder care facility. A mock scenario simulated a multipronged situation involving an earthquake and fire unfolding during a global pandemic. The exercise was held as part of UCI’s CareDEX project, a National Science Foundation-funded initiative devoted to enhancing disaster resilience in aging communities. A multidisciplinary team of CareDEX researchers led by Nalini Venkatasubramanian, professor of computer science, is exploring the use of smart sensors, Internet of Things technologies and secure data exchange tools to provide extra help locating and evacuating older adults from residential care facilities during wildfires, earthquakes and other hazards.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
New COVID-19 variant BQ1.1 already causes 1 in 10 new cases
In just over a month since a new COVID variant known as BQ.1 was first named, that strain and a descendant called BQ.1.1 have already grown to make up more than 10% of new infections across the country, according to updated estimates published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The news comes as federal health authorities have been bracing for a widely expected resurgence of COVID-19 this fall and winter. BQ.1 variants have already outpaced many rival strains in European nations from England to Germany, which have already seen renewed waves begin.
Beware the dangers of ‘medium’ COVID
A story in The Atlantic reports that several new studies about the long-term effects of COVID-19 indicate that the majority of vaccinated people who experience the illness will suffer the “gravest risks” to their health in the first 12 weeks. The article also suggests that these symptoms deserve their own collective moniker: “medium COVID.”
EVENTS
Cognitive Decline and Political Leadership Webinar
Wednesday, noon (sponsored by UCI Center for Neuropolitics)
Visit today.uci.edu to see and submit event listings. Events of general interest will be shared in UCI Digest two days before they occur.
UCI IN THE NEWS
Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register and The Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.
Integrative health institute expands at UCI
The Orange County Register, Oct. 15
Cited: Shaista Malik, executive director of Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute
Protests in Iran are a reminder: Stop policing what women want – or don’t want – to wear
Chicago Sun-Times, Oct. 16
Cited: Catherine Z. Sameh, associate professor of gender and sexuality studies
How boards can raise their digital game
Fortune, Oct. 14
Cited: Vijay Gurbaxani, director of UCI Center for Digital Transformation
#UCICONNECTED
Ph.D. candidate Joana Tavares just completed an American Association for the Advancement of Science fellowship. Photo by Steven Zylius/UCI
UCI-trained science journalist wins fellowship to study climate change
This summer, UCI’s Joana Tavares won the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship so she could spread the word about humanity’s climate crisis as a science reporter at the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Simultaneously, Tavares created a radio show through KUCI called “Earth Calling,” which she uses to have a conversation with listeners about climate science. UCI Physical Sciences Communications caught up with Tavares to ask her how the fellowship went, and who she thinks should consider applying for it.
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