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Rural and minority dementia patients face disparities in access to neurologists

March 20, 2024

Close up of neurologist's hands pointing at MRI brain scanGetting dementia diagnosed can be a long and difficult process for anyone, but some may face additional challenges based on race or ethnicity and where they live, according to a study led by Washington State University researchers.

The study of nearly 95,000 Washington state residents found that people living outside of urban areas as well as Native American and Hispanic people face longer travel distances to be seen by neurologists. The researchers said these disparities could be contributing to delayed diagnoses, which can result in higher costs of care, reduced chances of preserving cognitive function and lower quality of life for dementia patients.
» Read more


Multiple air pollutants linked to asthma symptoms in children

March 13, 2024

Close up of teen boy coughing from asthmaExposure to several combinations of toxic atmospheric pollutants may be triggering asthma symptoms among children, a recent analysis suggests.

The study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, showed that 25 different combinations of air pollutants were associated with asthma symptoms among 269 elementary school children diagnosed with asthma in Spokane, Washington. In line with previous research, the WSU-led study revealed a socioeconomic disparity—with one group of children from a lower-income neighborhood exposed to more toxic combinations, a total of 13 of the 25 identified in this research.
» Read more


AI research supports health equity in rural Washington

February 22, 2024

WSU logoWashington State University sociologist Anna Zamora-Kapoor is studying how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) could help improve cancer survival outcomes among the Pacific Northwest’s rural Hispanic population.

As one of 25 fellows in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) AIM-AHEAD leadership program, and in partnership with Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster, Washington, Zamora-Kapoor is using AI generated text messages and a text-based intervention to help identify, schedule, and follow up with patients eligible for a low-dose computed tomography (CT) scan, an efficient and effective way to screen for lung cancer.
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Top research coverage of 2023

January 31, 2024

Whiskey being poured over ice in a glassWhisky, contraception, cannabis: many of the Washington State University studies that garnered the most attention from news media in 2023 seemed to involve human pleasures — and their consequences. That focus may say something about the global mood in the first post-pandemic year, but it also speaks to the real-world impact of WSU’s research enterprise.
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Protein discovery could help solve prostate cancer drug resistance

January 22, 2024

Image of unidentifiable doctor talking to patient about prostate cancer, with illustration shown on a tabletResearchers have identified a receptor protein known as CHRM1 as a key player in prostate cancer cells’ resistance to docetaxel, a commonly used chemotherapy drug to treat advanced cancer that has spread beyond the prostate. The discovery opens the door to new treatment strategies that could overcome this resistance. This could ultimately help extend the lives of those with prostate cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among men.
» Read more


WSU team to study care of babies exposed to drugs

January 8, 2024

Close up of unrecognizable young mother with her newborn baby in slingAs overdose deaths from fentanyl are soaring across the nation, researchers at Washington State University Spokane are focusing on a new way to help the youngest victims of the opioid crisis—babies going through substance withdrawal after being exposed before birth, a condition known as neonatal abstinence syndrome. Often referred to as NAS, it can cause a wide range of symptoms, including tremors, seizures, poor feeding and excessive crying. If left untreated, it may have long-term impacts on a child’s mental and behavioral health.

As part of a state-supported pilot project, a team of researchers in the WSU colleges of nursing and medicine will spend the next year studying health outcomes at Maddie’s Place, a newly opened, Spokane-based transitional care nursery that provides care and support for drug-exposed babies and moms.
» Read more


Better mental, physical health in older people tied to living near nature

January 4, 2024

Older couple walking for exercise in a parkEven small differences in the availability of urban green and blue spaces may be associated with better mental and physical health in older adults, according to a Washington State University study.

The study’s findings showed that having just 10% more forest space in a person’s residential ZIP code was associated with reduced serious psychological distress, which covers mental health problems that require treatment and interfere with people’s social lives, work or school. Similarly, a 10% increase in green space, tree cover, water bodies or trail length lowered the chance that older people reported their general health as poor or fair.
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WSU experts offer advice on turning New Year’s resolutions into reality

January 2, 2024

Silhouette of person climbing steep hill at sunsetFrom ancient Babylonians making new commitments to their gods to today’s average office worker pledging to give up soda, humans have been struggling with New Year’s resolutions for a very long time.

Yet there is hope, according to a group of Washington State University experts who offer their insights into keeping positive lifestyle changes going in the weeks and months ahead.
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WSU helping recruit Native people for Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials

December 15, 2023

Researcher Amanda Boyd is shown at a research site near the Arctic circle where she studied health communications in Inuit people.A WSU project to enhance recruitment of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people into clinical trials has received $250,000 for a one-year pilot study. Amanda Boyd, associate professor in the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and co-director of the Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health (IREACH), will lead the effort with colleagues Denise Dillard, Juliana Garcia, and Clemma Muller. The funding will enable the team to create a culturally relevant recruitment framework specific to enrolling AI/AN people into Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) clinical trials and donating biospecimens.
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WIC participation helped families better cope with 2022 infant formula shortage

December 7, 2023

Mother bottle feeding baby boyFamilies that participated in the WIC program—also known as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children—were much less likely to use potentially unsafe infant feeding practices during the 2022 U.S. infant formula shortage than income-eligible families that did not participate.

Both WIC participants and non-participants reported being affected by the shortage at similar rates, according to a Washington State University study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. However, the researchers found that WIC participants were significantly more likely to cope with the shortage by changing the brand or type of formula or by getting it from a different source. They were also less likely to use less healthy feeding practices, such as using dairy milk or milk alternatives, watering down formula or using homemade formula.
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WSU scientists helping increase recruitment of Native people for Alzheimer’s research

November 8, 2023

Natives Engaged in Alzheimer’s Research study team members Justina Tavana and Dr. Perry Ridge from Brigham Young University with study participants at the April 2023 Brain Health Event held in American Samoa.A series of culturally tailored workshops designed to provide education on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias have drawn the participation of more than 1,000 Native elders from across the United States in the last two years.

The “Brain Health Events” are a key component of a $14.6 million research effort being led by scientists at the Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health (IREACH) at Washington State University. The goal of the National Institute on Aging funded project is to reduce disparities associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN), and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) groups.
» Read more


Epigenetic signature for obesity found in study of twins

November 1, 2023

Women's legs on a scale with measuring tape in the foreground. A susceptibility to gain weight may be written into molecular processes of human cells, a Washington State University study indicates.

The proof-of-concept study with a set of 22 twins found an epigenetic signature in buccal or cheek cells appearing only for the twins who were obese compared to their thinner siblings. With more research, the findings could lead to a simple cheek swab test for an obesity biomarker and enable earlier prevention methods for a condition that effects 50% of U.S. adults, the researchers said.
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Research Highlights

Making an Impact
Blood sugar lows and highs hamper brain function in type 1 diabetes

A woman is shown with a glucose monitoring device mounted on her arm and holding smartphoneLarge swings in blood glucose tied to Type 1 diabetes may impact the brain’s ability to quickly process information, according to a study led by scientists at Washington State University and McLean Hospital in Massachusetts. The research also showed that some individuals are more severely impacted by these changes, which includes older people and those with certain health conditions.

Published in npj Digital Medicine, the study found that very low and very high glucose levels were associated with slower and less accurate cognitive processing speed, with the most dramatic effect seen at low glucose levels. Optimal cognitive processing speed—the ability to respond to and process information quickly—is important for a wide variety of everyday tasks and contexts, from driving and operating machinery to decision-making in fast-paced environments.
» Read more


Researcher on the Rise
Q&A with Fan Zhang

Portrait photo of Fan ZhangFan Zhang spent more than a decade exploring different research topics before landing in the lab of WSU professor of pharmaceutical sciences Jiyue Zhu as a postdoctoral research associate. Now a research assistant professor, Zhang studies the molecular mechanisms of cancer and aging, hoping to contribute to scientific advances in those two areas.
» Read more


Media Mentions

Washington State Magazine featured a series of four articles titled “Examining substance use and alternatives to misuse,” three of which highlighted the work of addictions researchers at WSU Spokane. Substance use and addiction features Celestina Barbosa-Leiker, John Roll, Sterling McPherson, Ekaterina Burduli, Marian Wilson and Nicole Rodin. In Contingency management works, so why isn’t it being widely used?, Michael McDonell explains the barriers to implementing a highly effective substance use intervention studied at WSU and elsewhere for decades. Finally, Understanding pain focuses on a collaborative effort to train health professions students and practicing professionals to better understand chronic pain and opioid use. The article quotes Connie Remsberg and Dawn DeWitt, who are on the Interprofessional Team-Based Opioid Education development and research team.

Kimberly Honn (College of Medicine/Sleep and Performance Research Center) made an early-morning appearance on KREM 2 News in Spokane to discuss the impact of changing the clocks to Daylight Saving time on sleep and health and answer viewer questions.

Research led by Mary Paine (College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences) was mentioned in a Washington Post article on deaths related to the use of kratom, a herbal substance that produces opioid- and stimulant-like effects. Paine leads the Center of Excellence for Natural Product Drug Interaction Research (NaPDI Center), an NIH-funded, multidisciplinary center established to develop standardized approaches to study the interactions between natural products and conventional drugs. Kratom is one of the high-priority natural products studied by the NaPDI Center. (Note: Article access is by subscription only. The same article is posted on SFGate, where it can be freely accessed.)

A new project led by Celestina Barbosa-Leiker (College of Nursing) to study care provided to drug-exposed babies and their mothers at Maddie’s Place, a neonatal transitional care nursery based in Spokane, was given caught the attention of Spokane-area news outlets. It was covered in a special report on KXLY News, as well as in articles in the Spokesman-Review, the Inlander, and on Spokane Public Radio.

A study led by Adithya Vegaraju (College of Medicine) and Solmaz Amiri (College of Medicine/IREACH) that found that urban seniors who live near nature enjoyed better mental and physical health was covered by a wide variety of news outlets across the region and beyond. This included articles in the Spokesman-Review, KREM 2 News, KNDO (TriCities/Yakima), CTV News (Canada), Earth.com, The Doctor Will See You Now and ZME Science.

A newly published study led by Jason Wu (College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences) that identified a protein that could help solve prostate cancer drug resistance was highlighted in the print issue of the Times (UK), Correio Braziliense (Brazil), the Good Men Project, Inside Precision Medicine and Fierce Biotech.

Ken Isaacs (Gleason Institute) and Jonathan Wisor (College of Medicine/Sleep and Performance Research Center) were interviewed by KXLY News for a story that reported on a third-party study on the effects of COVID-19 virus on the brain’s dopamine neurons.


old graphic for research symposiumPlease plan to attend this year’s Inland Northwest Research Symposium, where faculty, students and community researchers will share their work firsthand with colleagues, students and the public. The event will be held on Tuesday, March 26, in the Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences Building (PBS) on the Spokane campus.

8:30 – 11:30 a.m., Poster Presentations, PBS Lobby

Noon – 1:00 p.m., Keynote Address, PBS 101
Hannibal Person, MD FAAP, will present “Bias Reduction in Medicine Pediatrics+: A Novel Antiracism Curriculum for Pediatricians.” Lunch is provided to registered attendees. For more details, please see the Inland Northwest Research Symposium webpage.


Awards & Honors

Portrait photo of Kimberly HonnKimberly Honn, an associate professor in the College of Medicine and a researcher in the Sleep and Performance Research Center, has been elected as president of the Working Time Society (WTS). WTS is the academic counterpart of the Scientific Committee on Shiftwork and Working Time of the International Commission on Occupational Health, a non-governmental organization recognized by the United Nations. With an international membership that represents more than 27 countries across six continents, WTS brings together stakeholders to address the psychosocial aspects and health problems connected with shift work and working hours and advises national and international bodies on occupational issues related to working times. Honn conducts research on the effects of sleep loss and shift work schedules on cognitive performance, safety and health, which translates into real-world settings like aviation, trucking and rail. An active WTS member since 2015, she co-chaired the society’s biennial meeting—the International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Time—held in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, in 2019 before joining its board as a member in 2021. Her three-year term as president takes effect in April 2024.

Portrait photo of Marian WilsonMarian Wilson, an associate professor in the College of Nursing, was elected to the board of directors for the American Society for Pain Management Nursing (ASPMN) in October 2023 and appointed to serve as associate editor of ASPMN’s official journal, Pain Management Nursing, in December 2023. ASPMN is a professional nursing organization that aims to advance and promote optimal nursing care for people affected by pain by promoting best nursing practices. Wilson also serves on the society’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee and is on the board of directors of its Pacific Northwest Chapter.

Portrait photo of Hans Van DongenHans Van Dongen, a professor in the College of Medicine’s Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology and the director of the WSU Sleep and Performance Research Center, has been selected as the presenter of the Distinguished Faculty Address, one of the honors bestowed on exemplary faculty as part of WSU’s systemwide Showcase events. The annual Distinguished Faculty Address recognizes a faculty member who has risen to the front of the ranks of his or her discipline through achievements in research, scholarship and teaching. In his address, “Sleep and Its Impact on Performance, Safety and Health in Our 24/7 Society,” Van Dongen will discuss his 20-year journey to advance the science of sleep loss and help those whose work hours support our 24/7 society. The address will be held in-person on Wednesday, March 27, at 3 p.m. at the Health Education and Research Building, Room 432, on the WSU Spokane campus. The event will also be livestreamed via Zoom.


Newly Tenured/Promoted Researchers

Congratulations to our newly tenured and/or promoted researchers, whose work is contributing toward solving society’s most pressing health challenges.

College of Nursing
Ekaterina Burduli
– granted tenure/promoted to associate professor
Kawkab Shishani
– promoted to professor

College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
Taylor Bertsch
– promoted to career-track associate professor (scholarly)
Travis Denton – granted tenure/promoted to associate professor
Kimberly McKeirnan – promoted to career-track professor (scholarly)
Bhagwat Prasadpromoted to professor
Megan Undeberg – promoted to career-track professor (scholarly)
Hui Zhang – granted tenure/promoted to associate professor

Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
Chris Davis –
promoted to career-track professor (scholarly)
Leila Harrison – promoted to career-track professor (scholarly)
Hans Haverkamp – granted tenure
David Jenson – granted tenure/promoted to associate professor
Pablo Monsivais – promoted to professor
Oladunni Oluwoye – granted tenure/promoted to associate professor

This list contains the names of tenure-track and scholarly career-track faculty associated with the Spokane campus. For a full list tenured/promoted faculty that includes clinical and teaching career-track faculty, please see the Newly Tenured and/or Promoted Faculty webpage.


Watch the recording above to see the February 21 Wake Up with Research presentation, Food for Thought: Exploring the Science Behind What We Eat. You’ll hear about the latest research on food, nutrition, and human health conducted by WSU researchers from around Washington who are working to make life healthier and tastier for us all.

This was our last Wake Up with Research event of the 2023/2024 academic year. We will resume the series in the fall.


Publication Highlight

Eating more plant-based proteins like beans, soy, nuts, and seeds could be the key to a more sustainable diet, according to a study conducted by nutrition researchers in the College of Medicine.

Unlike other assessments that use one or two measures, this study defined sustainable foods based on all four dimensions of food sustainability as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations—nutrition, relatively low environmental impact, low price, and acceptability to people from a variety of backgrounds.

Published in the journal Sustainability, the study found that only 165 out of nearly 6,000 food items analyzed qualified as optimally sustainable. More than half of those, 94, were plant proteins.
» Read more on the College of Medicine news site


Funding Highlights

Portrait photo of Amber Fyfe-JohnsonAmber Fyfe-Johnson (College of Medicine/IREACH) has been awarded a five-year, $2.9 million grant by the National Institute of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study the role of the gut microbiome, outdoor time and stress in childhood obesity. One-third of US children are overweight or obese. Children who live in low socioeconomic status households experience especially high rates of obesity and show elevated biomarkers for chronic stress, which could be tied to a lack of access to parks and green space in low-income neighborhoods. Outdoor time reduces stress in children and is thought to influence the biological causes of childhood obesity, including imbalances in the gut microbiome, the microorganisms found in the digestive tract. This study will be the first to examine how long-term changes in the gut microbiome relate to outdoor time, stress, and the development of obesity in early childhood. The study will be conducted in 300 children; 150 children enrolled at licensed outdoor preschools, and another 150 children enrolled in traditional indoor preschools. This research may ultimately help prevent and manage childhood obesity and reduce inequities by promoting outdoor time among children in low-income households.

Portrait photo of Solmaz AmiriSolmaz Amiri (College of Medicine/IREACH) has received a $198,905 grant from the Alzheimer’s Association for a three-year study to better understand place-based disparities in dementia-related outcomes among American Indian people, a population with a high rate of known risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and underrepresented in dementia research. The researchers will use data from 400 participants enrolled in the Strong Heart Study, a long-running study of aging in American Indian adults, along with data from other sources that relate to participants’ living environments, such as data from the American Medical Association and US Census, as well as satellite imagery. Their analysis will connect these data to examine how cognitive test scores and brain imaging relate to physician access, neighborhood socioeconomic status and exposure to green spaces like parks. The goal of this research is to determine which neighborhood characteristics may impact cognitive health, which could ultimately lead to the creation of infrastructure and resources that help delay the progression of cognitive decline among American Indians.

Portrait photo of Jae KennedyJae Kennedy (College of Medicine) has been awarded a $60,000 consulting contract by Special Olympics, an international non-governmental organization that promotes the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. Best known for its sports opportunities, Special Olympics also offers a wide range of health interventions and strives to work toward health equity among its athletes and others living with intellectual disabilities around the world. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities face significant health disparities due to stigma, exclusion and lack of access to quality healthcare and support services. As part of a new Special Olympics initiative known as Rosemary Collaborative, WSU will work with the Special Olympics of Washington State, the Arc of Washington and other disability advocacy organizations in the state to create a more inclusive health system. The researchers’ work will include an assessment of the needs of the estimated 117,000 Washingtonians with intellectual and developmental disabilities; an evaluation of the responsiveness of the public health system; and an advocacy plan that identifies opportunities to increase access to needed services and for improved inclusion of this population in state policies and programs.


Grant & Contract Award Summary
October 1 – December 31, 2023

This summary provides an overview of funding activity in the third quarter of this fiscal year, which covers awards for new and continuing research and other sponsored projects received between October 1 and December 31.
» Read more


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