July 20 - UCI to research link between childhood adversity and opioid addiction
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New Verano 8 graduate student housing complex. Photo by Ian Parker
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
Research project will study role of gene alteration in opioid crisis
UCI’s School of Biological Sciences and School of Medicine have embarked on a nearly $3.5 million project to understand the role of gene alterations resulting from childhood adversity in adults addicted to heroin. The five-year study, which will be in collaboration with the Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, will also seek to develop blood tests to predict addiction vulnerability.
UCI-led study examines COVID-19’s impact on rural Latino households
A recent study led by Denise Diaz Payán, assistant professor of health, society and behavior at the UCI Program in Public Health, sheds new light on the impact of COVID-19 on rural Latino immigrant households. Among the findings: key barriers to food access include higher food costs in small retailers due to supply chain disruptions, lack of transportation, and distance to grocery stores, which have been previously identified as impediments to food security in rural areas.
Project collaborators Richard Arum, left, professor of education and sociology, and Duncan Pritchard, Distinguished Professor of philosophy.
Anteater Virtues project wins $1 million grant
UCI has received a $1 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to expand its Anteater Virtues project, which aims to promote intellectual character traits that help students develop into more inquisitive, open-minded and authentic individuals. UCI is the only research university in the U.S. to systematically embed curiosity, integrity, humility and tenacity into the heart of its curriculum. Richard Arum, professor of education and philosophy and former dean of the School of Education, will partner on the project with Duncan Pritchard, Distinguished Professor of philosophy. They launched the project as a pilot in 2019 and now the modules are integrated into the campus’s undergraduate orientation and curriculum.
UC NEWS AND GENERAL NEWS
Confusion over COVID prevention reigns in California
Although the Centers for Disease Control categorizes 42 of California’s 58 counties as having high levels of COVID community transmission — at which point it recommends universal masking in indoor public spaces — only L.A. County appears poised to reinstate an indoor mask mandate, a move it could make as soon as July 29. No such plan is in the works in the Bay Area, where wastewater surveys suggest there is more COVID circulating than at the height of the winter omicron surge. Meanwhile, UCI is one of only a few large institutions statewide that has returned to indoor mask mandates.
78% of Americans believe COVID-19 will never go away
Meanwhile, the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index has found that 78% of Americans surveyed agreed with the statement “We will never fully be rid of the coronavirus in my lifetime.” The response was consistent among Democrats, Republicans and independents. Only 29% said they believed that the pandemic was over, suggesting a statistical overlap between those who believe that COVID-19 will never go away but also believe that the worst of the pandemic is over.
EVENTS
Racism and Segregation in Orange County: Virtual Book Talk
Thursday, noon (sponsored by UCI Libraries)
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.
‘Science Now is Very Social': Inside the Particle Physics Conference That Helps Shape 10 Years of Research
KNBC, July 19
Cited: Jonathan Lee Feng, Distinguished Professor of physics and astronomy
California fires are so severe some forests might vanish forever
Los Angeles Times, July 20
Cited: Jon Wang, Earth system scientist
Brain Inflammation May Link Alzheimer Disease With Sleep Disturbance
Psychiatric Times, July 19
Cited: Bryce Mander, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior
#UCICONNECTED
Quoc-Viet Dang, left, assistant professor of teaching, stands proudly with the ZotPonics 3.0: A Smart and Scalable Hydroponics Network team at the 2022 Winter Design Review, where the team earned a Dean’s Choice Award. Pictured with Dang, from left, are Rashmi Sharma, Megha Kak and Melinda Tran. Photo by Debbie Morales
ZotPonics team working to bring sustainable gardening to UCI
For the past three years, a UCI engineering student team has been designing an indoor hydroponics system that could be used to grow fresh produce for the campus food pantry. ZotPonics 3.0: A Smart and Scalable Hydroponics Network was featured at the 2022 Winter Design Review and a recipient of the Dean’s Choice Award. Computer science and engineering majors Daniel Lowe, Melinda Tran, Megha Kak and Rashmi Sharma worked on the team under the guidance of faculty mentor Quoc-Viet Dang, assistant professor of teaching in electrical engineering and computer science.
#UCIconnected spotlights student, alumni, faculty and staff photos, essays, shoutouts, hobbies, artwork, unusual office decorations, activities and more. Send submissions via email or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.