LATEST NEWS & PUBLICATIONS
The Presidents of the National Academies of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine have urged the Biden-Harris administration to create a new presidential bioethics commission. Their letter to Dr. Alondra Nelson, Interim Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), is based on a white paper authored by a working group led by Susan M. Wolf, Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota, and R. Alta Charo, Warren P. Knowles Professor Emerita of Law and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Consuelo Hopkins Wilkins and co-authors recently published a paper that details goals and recommended strategies for achieving diversity, equity and inclusion in clinical research (Boulware, L. et al. Combating Structural Inequities — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Clinical and Translational Research. New England Journal of Medicine 2022;386(3):201-203.).
Consortium Chair Susan Wolf was quoted in the New York Times on whether biobanks should offer information about genetic risks to individuals participating in a biobank. Biobanks are large-scale collections of medical records, biospecimens, and DNA that researchers can use to study the health impact of genetic variants (click this article's title to read more).
Profs. Susan M. Wolf and James G. Hodge, Jr., are publishing an important new article on “Designing COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in Colleges and Universities: A Roadmap to the 10 Key Questions” in the Journal of Law and the Biosciences. With the Omicron variant now driving a major surge in COVID-19 infections, the authors map the ten big questions that institutions of higher education need to address to ensure that any COVID-19 vaccine and booster mandate is effective in reducing risk and advancing institutional goals.
Researchers from the Food Protection and Defense Institute (FPDI) are working with food producers to protect vulnerable software systems against cybersecurity threats. While many people are familiar with cyberattacks that focus on stealing data or intellectual property, cyberattacks on food production facilities often lock up software systems so perpetrators can demand a ransom to unlock them. The FPDI is a Consortium member center.
Representatives from the Institute on the Environment (IonE), including Prof. Cathy Jordan, Director of Leadership and Education, and Beth Mercer-Taylor, Co-Program Director of Sustainability Education, were among a delegation of 29 University of Minnesota staff, students, and faculty that attended the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.
The Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) opened the doors of its new facility on November 1, 2021. The new facility is located on a 10.2 acre property that features event and conference spaces, accessible playgrounds, and walking trails, all of which supplement its cutting-edge brain assessment research and outpatient clinics. MIDB takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding brain development and how and when interventions can be most effective. MIDB is co-directed by Damien Fair, PA-C, PhD, and Michael Georgieff, MD, and is a Consortium member center.
Researchers at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) have received a $600,000 award from the Health Resources and Services Administration for a 3-year project to improve access to diagnostic evaluation for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Families in rural and linguistically or culturally diverse areas often face barriers to ASD evaluation for their children. Delays in diagnosis and intervention can lead to health disparities.
The Institute on the Environment (IonE) will host the Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC), a consortium of higher education and natural resource institutions that will seek to advance actionable science meant to address the climate crisis affecting Midwestern ecosystems. The Midwest CASC is the ninth CASC program established by U.S. Geological Survey and will work closely with federal, state, and Tribal entities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
The Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Planning Grant Program provides funding meant to establish interdisciplinary faculty research teams or community-university research partnerships related to food, nutrition, and health. Grant funding will range from $5,000 to $10,000 for one year; higher levels of funding will be considered if very strong justification is provided. Grant proposals are due November 17, 2021, and awards will be announced December 17, 2021.