Roxanne Dávila, senior professor of practice of Spanish and Portuguese, is the new associate dean for language pedagogy and initiatives in the School of Liberal Arts. Dávila oversees all aspects relating to language learning and pedagogy and leads the school’s strategic vision for advancing language learning at Tulane.

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.

The Tulane Addiction Medicine Fellowship, offered by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the School of Medicine, is a one-year fellowship that trains physicians in the treatment, prevention and recovery of individuals with addiction. Completion of the fellowship leads to board certification in addiction medicine.

The A. B. Freeman School of Business has established the Tulane Freeman Ukrainian Speaker Series to promote the research and vision of Ukrainian scholars as the country grapples with the effects of the Russian war. A Freeman committee awarded grants this fall to 10 Ukrainian scholars addressing topics related to sustaining and rebuilding the country and its culture.

Alumni Dylan Parilla-Koester (SLA ’18), Rosalind Kidwell (SLA ’19), and Tyler Hawk (SLA ’19), all former band members, have returned to campus as band instructional staff. They join fellow alumna Annie Stansbury (SLA ’15) who is in her third year as Shockwave Dance Team instructor.

Psychology professors Courtney Baker and Bonnie Nastasi received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to implement a program to make schools safer. The program will bring training to Louisiana’s five largest school districts to help school safety crisis teams recognize, respond quickly to and prevent school violence and other crises.

The Tulane Center for Brain Health and Merging Vets and Players (MVP) have formed a partnership to establish an MVP Chapter in New Orleans to support military veterans and former professional football players in addressing the challenges they face in transition to “normal life” once the uniform comes off.

Research by Kirsten Dorans, assistant professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, suggests that a low-carb diet can help lower blood sugar levels in individuals with unmedicated diabetes and those who are at risk for prediabetes. The low-carb diet study group saw greater drops in blood sugar than the group who ate their usual diet.