COVID-19: The latest research and innovations
Schulich Medicine & Dentistry continues to lead on a global scale during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Faculty and learners at the School are developing innovative new technologies and devices to support health care providers, exploring important lessons from countries who have successfully managed COVID-19 and focusing on youth mental health during the pandemic.
Latest COVID-19 stories:
Brain Study explores lasting impacts of COVID-19
The COVID-19 Brain Study looks to recruit 50,000 individuals who received a confirmed positive diagnosis of the virus in order to answer pressing questions about the disease’s direct and indirect effects on the brain.
What strategies need to be implemented in order to curb the spread early for future outbreaks?
Epidemiologist and public health physician Dr. Saverio Stranges is exploring why some countries have succeeded at controlling the outbreak of COVID-19, and others have not.
COVID-19 patients who undergo surgery are at increased risk of postoperative mortality
Janet Martin, PharmD, contributed to a new study in The Lancet showing that COVID-19 patients who undergo surgery experience substantially worse postoperative outcomes than would be expected for similar patients who do not have COVID-19.
Investment bolsters pandemic research
Several additional research projects received funding through the second round of the “Research Western Catalyst Grant: Surviving Pandemics” initiative, including two projects at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry – congratulations to David Heinrichs, PhD, and Eva Turley, PhD.
Support mental health of youth during pandemic
Dr. Javeed Sukhera discusses how we can support kids’ and teens’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a shift to acceptance-based strategies.
Student idea may box out infection during intubation
First-year medical student Mike Ding is working with a team of experts at Western to produce and test a barrier that may protect health care providers during intubation procedures. The prototypes are reusable transparent boxes placed over the patient’s head and upper body with ‘ports’ big enough to house the health-care workers’ arms. They are currently being tested as a possible supplement to conventional personal protective equipment.
Homegrown idea looks to solve ventilator shortage
A 3D-printed ventilator might be the answer to a global problem first exposed in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. An interdisciplinary research team at Western is developing ventilator prototypes that can be used as a backup in health-care facilities during emergency responses – like pandemics – or deployed into developing countries or remote regions that don’t have access to regular ventilators.
