Laura McKinney, associate professor of sociology, and Michelle Foa, associate professor of art history, have received a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities to develop a minor in environmental humanities. The interdisciplinary curriculum will give students more opportunities for deep examination of people’s relationship to the environment and draw on the expertise of humanities, social and natural sciences, and architecture faculty.

Professor of English and Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities Jesmyn Ward was awarded the 2022 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. The annual prize honors an American literary writer whose body of work is distinguished for its mastery and originality. Ward is the youngest person to receive the award.

Dr. Lu Qi of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine found that people who always add extra salt to their meals have a 28% higher risk of dying prematurely compared to those who never or rarely add salt. By age 50, always adding salt could shave off 2.28 years for men and 1.5 years for women.

José Silvestre, a PhD candidate in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, is part of a team of scientists that analyzed 50 years of satellite imagery to generate the first global database of river avulsions. Avulsions occur when a river abruptly jumps course and forges a new river channel. Silvestre hopes to gain a better understanding of what controls avulsion location in the context of climate and land use changes.

Using CRISPR analysis, School of Medicine researchers have developed a highly sensitive blood test for tuberculosis that screens for DNA fragments of the bacteria that cause the disease. The test can deliver results within two hours. Dr. Tony Hu, Weatherhead Presidential Chair in Biotechnology Innovation and professor in biochemistry and molecular biology, biomedical engineering, and microbiology, is lead author of the study.

School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine assistant professors Brigham Walker and Janna Wisniewski and professors from Portland State University presented research on the barriers patients from marginalized communities face when seeking primary care appointments and how healthcare providers can address these inequities. The research is part of Count the Costs: Racial Inequity, launched by The Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the A. B.

Katharine Lee, assistant professor of anthropology, co-authored a study that found COVID-19 vaccines affected people’s menstrual periods, especially those who don’t typically have periods due to long-acting contraceptives, gender-affirming hormone treatments or menopause. The study began shortly after vaccines became widely available and individuals reported through social media changes in their menstrual cycles after receiving the vaccines.

Researchers are investigating the role endothelial cells play in the development of severe and long COVID-19. The cells line blood vessel walls and can malfunction following SARS-CoV-2 infection. This dysfunction can cause blood clotting in organs, as seen in the most severe COVID-19 cases. Dr. Xuebin Qin of the Tulane National Primate Research Center is leading the research.

According to a study co-authored by Ilana Horwitz, assistant professor in the Department of Jewish Studies and holder of the Fields-Rayant Chair in Contemporary Jewish Life, girls raised by Jewish parents are 23 percentage points more likely to graduate college than girls with a non-Jewish upbringing. Girls raised by Jewish parents also graduate from more selective colleges, the study, which involved researchers from Cornell and Stanford universities, found.

Four School of Science and Engineering students won the grand prize at the eighth annual Tulane Novel Tech Challenge for their design of a home-use test to detect endometriosis. Named Team Fleur FemTech, the group developed a tool that utilizes lateral flow technology and antibody detection techniques to determine if a person has elevated levels of antibodies associated with endometriosis.