Posts Tagged

covid

A research team led by an assistant professor in the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) Department of Biomedical Sciences, Abraam Yakoub, Pharm.D., Ph.D., has been awarded a five-year, $4.5 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a project proposal that has the potential to “push the boundaries” of research […]

On Wednesday we held our annual Holiday Party, and as with last year, it was a virtual event. But unlike last year the attendance was modest and down from last year. We suspect that this modest turnout was a reflection of our “pandemic/virtual meeting fatigue” and, interestingly enough, may have been a demonstration of one […]

This past Tuesday was notable in two regards. Most important of course is that it was the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The other event of note is that a federal court stopped (at least temporarily) the implementation of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccination mandate for employees working on federal contracts. Since […]

Yesterday UND sponsored a Town Hall meeting for faculty and staff to discuss the recent federal mandates for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccination. There was a productive “back and forth” discussion of the issues and implications for UND. Here’s a brief overview of what was discussed. There are three ways the Executive Order regarding vaccine requirements are […]

The next Department of Internal Medicine Grand Rounds event, “COVID-19 Updates,” will be broadcast via Zoom from noon to 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. This presentation features Avish Nagpal, M.D., clinical associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at Sanford Health in Fargo, N.D. […]

As the pandemic continues, please consider the following reminder of the SMHS event procedure: All events (non-curricular activities), as defined by the University of North Dakota (UND), held on-campus as well as virtually require approval. This includes all group activities, public lectures, symposia, workshops, trainings, conferences, concerts, orientations, internships/co-ops and other campus activities. Curricular events […]

This week the faculty of the School held virtual symposia organized through the auspices of two of our research capacity-expanding grants sponsored and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The first symposium was on Tuesday and centered on investigations related to host-pathogen interactions (HPI), especially by microbial pathogens. Obviously, the subject of microbial-human […]

Over the past year and a half, I’ve written a variety of columns about the impact of the pandemic on the School and how our faculty, staff, and students have risen to the attendant challenges. Today I’d like to address some health aspects of the pandemic itself and focus on so-called breakthrough infections, since there […]

A second flu shot clinic will take place at the Fritz Pollard Athletic Center for UND students, faculty, and staff on Friday Sept. 24. The clinic will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those looking to get a shot should wear short sleeves and bring an insurance card and identification. No appointment is necessary. […]

Although medical and other students have matriculated already, the bulk of UND students are returning to campus for the start of the fall semester on Monday. I know that all of us had anticipated a more normal start to the fall semester, but the delta variant has changed that. Accordingly, we’ve had to revise and […]

The rapidly evolving pandemic situation has been a major focus of attention as we gear up for the return of the majority of students – especially undergraduates – to the UND campus in a little over a week (of course, some SMHS students already are on campus and have been for a while). The challenge […]

We have a new academic department at the UND SMHS – and a world-first to boot! To the best of our knowledge, the School now boasts the first Department of Indigenous Health. Although the new department will not be directly responsible for a specific course, it will provide a home for faculty members working in […]

I’m so tired of the pandemic and its impact on all of us! I’ll bet you feel the same way. And yet several events this week demonstrated that despite our collective pandemic fatigue, annoyance, and – yes – anger, the pandemic unfortunately isn’t done with us yet, due in large measure to the emergence and […]

This has been the first full week of study for the medical student class of 2025. Susan and I hosted a Welcome Reception for the class on Wednesday, but yet again this year it was virtual. Yesterday, the School hosted Family Day for the families of the students and I presented an overview of the […]

Next week promises to be an especially busy week for me personally, as I will be participating (albeit virtually) in the June meeting of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the accreditation body for U.S. medical schools. As I’ve mentioned before, the LCME is comprised of 19 members, 15 of whom are what the […]