The Africana Studies Program has launched its new Black Studies Book Club. “Our plans are to bring in a scholar (once per semester) whose recent publication has shifted the conversation in Africana Studies to deliver a public lecture and to facilitate a more intimate, book club–style conversation,” said Mia L. Bagneris, director of the Africana Studies Program.

Michael J. Moore, a professor of biomedical engineering at the School of Science and Engineering, is part of a national study that aims to provide solutions to the national opioid overdose crisis by creating a living bioengineered nerve circuit that mimics the pain transmission pathway in the spinal cord. The circuit of living cells is designed to help scientists test the effectiveness of non-addictive alternatives to opioid painkillers.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has selected Monica Embers, associate professor of microbiology and immunology and director of vector-borne disease research at the Tulane National Primate Research Center, to serve as one of 14 members of the 2021 Tick-Borne Disease Working Group. The primary function of the Working Group is to develop a report of findings and recommendations regarding the federal response to tick-borne disease prevention, treatment and research.

Machu Picchu, the most famous landmark of Inca civilization, was believed to be built around A.D. 1438. A new study, co-authored by Jason Nesbitt, associate professor of anthropology at the School of Liberal Arts, suggests the citadel may have been built some two decades earlier. Nesbitt, along with researchers from Yale and the University of California–Santa Cruz used accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) — an advanced form of radiocarbon dating — to determine the age of human remains recovered during the early 20th century at the site.

“Developing the building in a way that is true to the roots and spirit of the historic former Charity Hospital has been a guiding principle for Tulane University since this project’s inception.”

As part of its commitment to support income growth and greater equity and economic well-being in the community, Tulane has raised its minimum wage for all staff to $15 per hour. The change in minimum compensation, from the current rate of $10.82 per hour, puts the university’s minimum wage at more than double the federal and state minimum. The university has also standardized student wages by raising the minimum hourly rate to $10 per hour from $7.25 per hour.

The 2021 cohort of Newcomb-Tulane College Senior Theses and Projects are available to view online through Tulane University Libraries’ Digital Repository. The repository includes 67 theses and research projects from recent Tulane graduates that cover a wide range of subjects such as motherhood in prison and healthcare delivery barriers experienced by the Navajo Nation.

The Tulane University Marching Band played at the 2020 World Expo in Dubai on Nov. 28, 2021. The band took the stage as the only college band to perform on U.S. National Day. Formerly known as the World’s Fair, the six-month Expo began Oct. 1 and will run through March 31, 2022. World Expo showcases innovation and culture from 192 countries, with 25 million visitors worldwide expected to attend. It had been postponed from last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These are the types of traumas that chip away at your resilience. … And people of color have to be more resilient because we face 
more trauma.”