Getting sick often may impact how quickly the brain ages and increase the risk of dementia or other forms of cognitive decline, according to a study led by Elizabeth Engler-Chiurazzi, assistant professor of neurosurgery and behavioral neuroscientist at the School of Medicine. The study found that repeated, intermittent experiences with moderate inflammation, such as that caused by the flu or a common cold, caused impaired cognition.

Researchers at the Tulane National Primate Research Center will examine how chronic oral infections affect the severity of HIV infection and the efficacy of antiretroviral therapies used to treat HIV. A $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will fund this research, which will be led by Prasun Datta, associate professor of microbiology and immunology.

Award-winning neuroscientist Matthew Dalva has been appointed as director of the Tulane Brain Institute and the university’s newest Presidential Chair. Dalva, whose research focuses on how the connections of the brain form and are changed by experience, will succeed Professor Jill Daniel, who has served as director of the institute since its inception in 2016.

Researchers at the Tulane National Primate Research Center co-authored a study that shows a new COVID-19 vaccine offers protection against Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 for at least six months. The trial tested a vaccine, which is currently in use in South Korea, on nonhuman primates.

An interdisciplinary team of engineers and doctors are researching the development of new technology designed to detect severe COVID-19 complications. The goal is to develop a diagnostic test that uses a drop of blood from a finger prick and could be performed at a hospital, in a clinic or at home.

A study co-authored by Emily Cook, assistant professor of economics, shows that colleges that required COVID-19 vaccinations averted an average of 339 cases per 100,000 residents and almost 7,300 deaths within their surrounding communities in fall 2021. The research group used data on colleges’ vaccination policies, semester start dates and county-level public health outcomes.

Tulane immunologist Clovis Palmer analyzed the metabolic changes that occur in cells when viral invaders, such as HIV, hepatitis B, or SARS-CoV-2, pose a threat. Palmer concluded that the way in which cells use nutrients in the presence of a viral pathogen can determine disease outcome and severity.