News
Collaborative project begins testing health care workers for COVID-19 antibodies
A collaborative project to research COVID-19 in Louisville has begun testing thousands of health care workers for the virus and for antibodies. The Co-Immunity Project is a collaboration between the University of Louisville, the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council and all three of the city's major health care providers - Norton Healthcare, Baptist Health and UofL Health.
Other side of the curve: Hospitals, labs partner to test for COVID-19 antibodies, immunity
After weeks of social distancing measures have been ordered to help Kentucky flatten the COVID-19 curve, Louisville's hospitals and research facilities are now collaborating to help the Commonwealth figure out what comes next. All three of Louisville's major hospital systems are partnering with the University of Louisville and the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council on the Co-Immunity Project, which will perform antibody testing that could be crucial to helping Kentucky reopen its economy.
Louisville hospitals testing plasma from healthcare workers for COVID-19 antibodies
The plasma of medical providers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic could save countless lives.
Data show air temperature may influence COVID-19 case rates
The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused tremendous upheaval throughout the world, leading to extensive efforts to reduce transmission of the virus and cases of the disease it causes, COVID-19, resulting in significant economic disruption. Since warmer weather is known to decrease the transmission of other coronaviruses, researchers at the University of Louisville’s Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the U.S. Department of Defense Joint Artificial Intelligence Center theorized that atmospheric temperature also would affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2. To find out, they compared temperature data and logged cases of COVID-19 in 50 countries in the Northern Hemisphere between Jan. 22 and April 6.
158 Interview with Daniel Conklin, Ph.D. on How the Environment Impacts Diabetes
In this podcast Tracy Herbert interviews Daniel Conklin, Ph.D. Professor of Medicine at the University of Louisville Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute. Dr. Conklin shares insights on how pollution in the environment plays a role in insulin resistance.
Another phase of co-immunity testing underway at UofL
UofL Health has prepared to launch another round of co-immunity testing and needs participants to learn more about COVID-19 and the effects it has on the Louisville Community. Early rounds of UofL Health’s co-immunity project provided important information on COVID-19 in Louisville. The co-immunity research project is aimed at figuring out where COVID-19 is and where it has been in Louisville.
Phase II of U of L Co-Immunity Project seeks more participation to accurately gauge COVID-19 statistics
The second phase of community testing is about to begin for the University of Louisville's Co-Immunity Project. Researchers have sent out about 32,000 letters to specific households across Jefferson County requesting participation in the study. If you received one of the letters, you're invited to participate in the project. It requires a quick registration online followed by a COVID-19 test and a simple antibody test.
U of L will send up hot air balloon to encourage participation in Co-Immunity Project
The University of Louisville is taking to the sky to encourage people to participate in a COVID-19 testing research project. A green hot air balloon was inflated at U of L's campus Thursday that says "Co-Immunity Project," an initiative in which the university has teamed up with other community partners to track the spread of COVID-19.
Louisville hopes to get its ozone under better control
Louisville has made great strides to improve its air quality over the decades. Recently the city was commended by the EPA for reducing sulfur dioxide emissions from the Mill Creek Generating Station. While the air is cleaner, ozone continues to be a thorn in the city's side.
New Co-Immunity Project data show COVID-19 infection among health care workers may be lower than the general population
Louisville health care workers experienced an increase in SARS-CoV-2 infection from May to July, according to the Co-Immunity Project, the University of Louisville’s groundbreaking initiative to track COVID-19 in Metro Louisville. In July, the Co-Immunity Project tested health care workers as part of the second round of Phase I of the project, which tracks current and previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, among health care workers. Despite the increase, their rates remained significantly lower than those of the general public, which project leaders believe may be the result of personal protective equipment (PPE) use and other safety procedures.
Commonwealth of Kentucky launches initiative to test healthcare workers for immunity and establish top plasma donor pool
The Commonwealth of Kentucky, in collaboration with the University of Louisville Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute and the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council, is launching a groundbreaking initiative with three large Kentucky hospital systems – Baptist Health, Norton Healthcare and UofL Health. The purpose is to help health care workers understand whether they were unknowingly exposed to COVID-19, to determine how much immunity was generated by such exposure, and to identify those with the best immune responses as donors of high-quality plasma for rescue treatment of patients with advanced COVID-19.
Trees Are Key To Fighting Urban Heat — But Cities Keep Losing Them
Trees can play a huge role in the health of people living in cities, but across the country, cities are losing millions of trees year after year. And many poor urban neighborhoods — often home to a city's most vulnerable — are starting at a disadvantage.
Green Heart Project plants 8,000 trees to study health effects
On Oct. 14 the University of Louisville’s Green Heart Project started planting 8,000 trees in South Louisville to study effects of plants on human health. This is one of the largest tree and shrub planting projects in U.S. history. “This is a Green Heart Project and in this project we are trying to study what effect vegetation and trees might have on the health of a community,” said Aruni Bhatnagar, director of the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute at U of L. “Our primary objective is to understand how increasing greeness effects the risk of heart disease in the community.”
More trees, fewer health problems: Inside Green Heart Louisville’s five year study on air pollution control
Green Heart Louisville, a five-year project through UofL, wants to be a part of the solution, planting about 8,000 trees in South Louisville neighborhoods and studying their effect on residents’ health. Planting began Oct. 5 with the help of nonprofit Louisville Grows, which is canvassing and coordinating the planting of trees and shrubs on private, residential property.
Vaping Is Far From Harmless
While cigarettes generally produce a thousand times more carbonyls because of the combustion process, e-cigarettes produce a varying amount depending on the ratio of glycol to glycerin in the vaping fluid and how much of it is heated, says Daniel Conklin, an environmental cardiologist at the University of Louisville. Conklin has investigated how e-cigarettes might affect cardiovascular disease using a type of mouse bred with a disorder that mimics heart disease seen in humans. Acrolein is of particular concern because it is considered to be the main contributor to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease among cigarette smokers, he says.
UofL E-Cigarette Research Shows Harm To Health
University of Louisville researchers are studying the effects of electronic cigarettes and hookahs on cardiovascular health. Cardiovascular researcher Daniel Conklin is leading this study. Conklin and his team have discovered in mice that there is a build up of plaque from exposure to e-cigs, resulting in an increased risk for cardiovascular issues.
Experts Have a Warning For Kentucky’s Youth About Vaping Dangers
The number of young people in Kentucky using electronic cigarettes — vaping — is increasing, but health experts offered solutions as part of WFPL’s In Conversation Friday. Conklin said many young people don’t know how e-cigarettes affect their health. According to a study cited by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, the number of youth vaping in Kentucky doubled from 2016 to 2018 among 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th graders who were surveyed.
June 18, 2019: Rep. Schiff On Iran; Effects Of Vaping On Cardiovascular Health
The use of vape pens, electronic cigarettes and other "electronic nicotine delivery systems" has exploded over the last decade or so, especially among teenagers. But compared with traditional cigarettes, there's very little research on the public health effects of this booming industry. Here & Now visits the lab of Dr. Daniel Conklin, an FDA-funded researcher at the University of Louisville who is studying the effects of vaping on cardiovascular health.
Vaping Could Cause Cardiovascular Harm, Researcher Says
San Francisco city supervisors will consider a ban Tuesday on the sale of electronic cigarettes in that city until the Food and Drug Administration completes its review of the devices. “Personally, I think anybody who sees the uptake of e-cigarettes amongst youth should be concerned about long-term consequences … because we just don’t know what the health risks are,” says Dr. Daniel Conklin, a University of Louisville Medical School professor and researcher studying the effects of vaping on the cardiovascular system.
WFPL: We Listen Back To Previous Shows On Youth Vaping, Vaccination Awareness And Louisville’s Parks
WFPL revisits episodes on vaping, the vaccination debate and Louisville’s park systems. This podcast features Dr. Daniel Conklin.
Pushing the tobacco age to 21 is good, but it's not enough
It is universally acknowledged that smoking leads to premature disease and death. Yet, 1 billion people worldwide, including 38 million adults in the U.S. continue to smoke. It's not because they are oblivious to the dangers of smoking, but because their addiction smothers all prudent consideration of the adverse health effects of tobacco use. Most people become addicted to nicotine when they are teenagers. That's why it's imperative that we do all that we can to deter early nicotine addiction in youth. Initiatives to raise the national sales age for tobacco products to 21 deserve serious consideration by the Congress.
BBC Weekend: JUUL, E-Cigarettes, and Science Interview with Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar
Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar speaks on BBC Weekend about the importance of independent E-Cigarette research.
Scientists Wanted: Recruited by Juul, Many Researchers Say No
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Alex Carll of the Envirome Institute was presenting his research about the impact of e-cigarette smoke on mouse hearts at an American Heart Association conference when a man from Juul Labs approached him and started asking questions.
Study finds e-cig flavors can damage cardiovascular cells
E-cigarette flavors can damage the cells that line your blood vessels and perhaps your heart health down the line, according to a new study of human cells in the lab. The study, co-written by Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar, Director of the Envirome Institute at the University of Louisville, published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, adds to growing evidence that the flavored "e-liquids" used in vapes can hinder human cells' ability to survive and function. The authors say these changes, some observed in the absence of nicotine, are known to play a role in heart disease.
FDA funds e-cigarette research at University of Louisville
There are a lot of questions when it comes to vaping and its health effects. The FDA funded research being conducted at UofL.
DW's The Day with Drs Alex Carll and Aruni Bhatnagar
Smoking Kills - What About Vaping? E-cigarettes have been touted as a way to cut back on tobacco intake. "Vaping" as it's known is increasingly popular with smokers. But are e-cigarettes actually less harmful than the average tobacco product? DW's Sumi Somaskanda talks with Aruni Bhatnagar and Alex Carll, two experts on the effects of vaping.