Holiday schedule: Brief will not publish on Nov. 25 and Dec. 2, as well as Dec. 23, 30; Jan. 6, 13.
- Features: Leading while the world waits; Artificial intelligence, real-life results.
- Awards and Recognition: A team of researchers has received a $1.2 million grant to study smart tracking systems on scooters; and more.
Leading while the world waits
The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the pace and order of lives around the world. But there is a steady hum of activity from people and organizations whose purpose and principles have put them in a position to accelerate, rather than slow down, during this crisis. The stories of several Carlson School alumni illustrate the resiliency and determination that will carry us through this challenging time, and their impact is moving us toward a stronger, more connected, and more compassionate world.
Artificial intelligence, real-life results
With help from the U of M Medical School and Institute of Health Informatics, computer science assistant professor Ju Sun is leveraging artificial intelligence to diagnose COVID-19 through X-ray imaging.
Awards and Recognition
A team of researchers has received a $1.2 million grant to study smart tracking systems on scooters for ensuring safe and smooth interaction with other vehicles and pedestrians; the U of M is a partner in a USDA grant to engage farmers and agriculture businesses in marketing their products more effectively; Laura Bloomberg has announced that she will step down as dean of the Humphrey School in June 2021; Rachel Hardeman has been honored with the Courage Award by Planned Parenthood; Julie Rohovit has been awarded the 2020 MARRCH Innovator Award of Excellence for Excellence in Program Innovation; U in the News features highlights of U faculty and staff cited in the media. Awards and Recognition.
Change your benefits now: Open Enrollment ends Nov. 30
Time is almost up for Open Enrollment for 2021 benefits. Benefits you may add, waive, or change include medical insurance, dental insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, disability coverage, and additional life coverage. Enroll now on MyU or learn more at z.umn.edu/openenrollment.
Administrative policy update
The revised policy Outside Consulting and Other Commitments includes the addition of approval locums for those involved in clinical health care as a professional activity that does not count towards the maximum time allowance. The policy also includes a new online ROC (Request for Outside Consulting) form and a requirement for eligible individuals to complete the ROC to obtain approval for each outside commitment not related to the normal course of University work. Feedback is welcome on the proposed revision under review through Nov. 25.
Canvas Gradebook recommendations and support
Canvas updated Canvas Gradebook during spring semester 2020. To support instructors, Academic Technology Support Services and partners conducted usability testing on it. Learn about the findings and get recommendations for using the Gradebook's new capabilities. To learn how to hide grades, use the Speedgrader; to learn about connections between assessments and the Gradebook, register for a Gradebook webinar on Dec. 1, 11 a.m.
Dynamic email becomes available in Gmail
Google is making Gmail more useful and interactive by enabling dynamic email, starting Nov. 23. Dynamic email allows you to reply to comments on a Google Doc, RSVP to an event, or fill out a questionnaire all within your Gmail inbox, and it ensures that the comments and forms you’re seeing are up to date. With the implementation of dynamic email, Google is moving to make work easier and more efficient across all of its applications.
Health in All Matters episode 3: Race and Incarceration
A Black boy in the U.S. has a nearly 1-in-3 chance of going to prison in his lifetime. For a white boy, it’s roughly 1 in 23. Some believe the “cradle-to-prison pipeline” for Black men is a forgone conclusion; others push back. What’s undeniable is that going to prison has a devastating impact on the health of individuals and their families. In this episode of Health in All Matters, the School of Public Health explores how to change the incarceration trajectory for Black youth and increase opportunities for health.
Osterholm Update: Episode 31: Pay to Prevail
In episode 31 of the Osterholm Update, Michael Osterholm and host Chris Dall discuss the pandemic's growing strain on healthcare systems across the U.S., the limitations of modeling, the concept of paying to prevail, and the implications of infected mink in Denmark.
Apply now: 2021-22 MnDRIVE Fellowships in Neuromodulation
The application period is open for the MnDRIVE Fellowship Programs in Neuromodulation, funded by the Minnesota Discovery, Research and InnoVation Economy (MnDRIVE) initiative. Applications are due Jan. 19.
Facing COVID-19 and winter: A mental health expert offers tips and coping strategies
Winter weather, COVID-19, and political uncertainty may amplify seasonal mental health difficulties for people this year. M Health Fairview psychiatrist C. Sophia Albott offers tips and coping strategies to safely boost your mental health this winter, while supporting the wellbeing of your family and friends.
Talking holiday travel with the U of M
The holiday season historically is a popular time to travel in the U.S. Although many Americans won’t celebrate the holidays as usual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent survey indicates that 80 percent of respondents plan to take a road trip for November and December holidays, and one in five will fly. U of M Medical School professor Jill Foster explains how to stay safe when traveling for the holidays this year.
New study sets out to elevate asymptomatic COVID-19 surveillance practices
College of Veterinary Medicine faculty are collaborating with School of Public Health researchers to roll out a surveillance study of COVID-19 among asymptomatic populations. The study will compare the incidence of infection in individuals participating in asymptomatic COVID-19 surveillance to individuals with self-reported incidence of COVID-19 illness, while also investigating the performance and efficiency of a surveillance system that uses pooled testing instead of individual testing.
Research Brief: Emerging adults are struggling with food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic
U of M School of Public Health researchers recently completed one of the first U.S. studies to examine how food insecurity and related factors are affecting emerging adults (i.e., 18- to 26-year-olds) during the pandemic to help inform the development of responsive policies and services. Additional recent Research Briefs include “Sunlight and aircraft help scientists assess how the diversity of life affects ecosystems,” “Minnesota cardiac arrest resuscitation treatment demonstrated 100 percent success rate in cannulation,” and “Wolves alter wetland creation and recolonization by killing ecosystem engineers.”
Nov. 16-20 - University Compliance Week
The Office of Institutional Compliance has announced Compliance Week through Nov. 20. The University Compliance Program works to promote a University culture that encourages ethical conduct and a commitment to compliance through awareness, recognition, and reinforcement.
Dec. 2 - Impact Leaders: A conversation with Joan Gabel and Michael Osterholm
Join the University of Minnesota community for a virtual conversation between President Joan Gabel and U of M COVID-19 expert Michael Osterholm as they reflect on the challenges, triumphs, and critical ongoing work related to the pandemic. 11 a.m.
U of M featured virtual events
Nov. 18 - Post-Election Virtual Discussion with Washington Post's Aaron Blake
Nov. 19 - Advancing Social Justice through International Education
Nov. 24 - Polling in the 2020 Elections
Nov. 30 - Creating and Using Measures of Structural Racism panel discussion
Dec. 2 - Disability aesthetics for design in performance
Dec. 2 - LawSeq: Facing the Legal Barriers to Genomic Research & Precision Medicine
Dec. 7 - Self-Acupressure for Stress Management
Dec. 9 - Bakken Center Mindfulness Programs Information Session
Dec. 10 - Nobel and Beyond: Building on the Legacy of a Hunger Fighter
Ireland native pursues her passions halfway across the world
Katie Emmett, a native of Ireland, grew up surrounded by fields and working on her neighbor's dairy farm since she was 8 years old. Aside from agriculture, Emmett has always been an active athlete. When looking for a university, she wanted to find a place where she could bring her two passions together. At the U of M Crookston, Emmett has found a place where she can thrive everyday doing what she loves the most.
Sustainability highlighted
UMD was named a top-performing sustainable university in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE) 2020 Sustainable Campus Index. Professor Julie Etterson, biology, and graduate student Ashlyn Teather, environmental education, were recognized for “their meticulous collection of sustainability research efforts, funding, and course data,” according to AASHE sustainability activities coordinator Jonna Korpi.
$1.8M NIH grant will seek to understand circadian sleep problems in neurological diseases
Ruifeng (Ray) Cao, Department of Biomedical Sciences at the U of M Medical School, Duluth Campus, will investigate the unknown mechanisms of disrupted circadian rhythms that contribute to various neurological and psychiatric diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s diseases. The research will focus on collecting new knowledge critical to understanding the role of mTOR activities in the brain clock that are associated with abnormal behavioral conditions.
Glensheen Christmas
A self-guided Christmas tour at Glensheen mansion features 25 Christmas trees, hundreds of feet of garland, and 25 hidden elves. Guests can currently take daytime, self-guided tours. Starting on Nov. 24, evening Candlelight Christmas tours and Spirit of the Lights will be offered through Dec. 27. All tours are family-friendly with health and safety measures in place.
Annual Bread ’N Bowls goes virtual
Bread ’N Bowls has been a Morris tradition for 13 years, raising awareness about violence and poverty and providing support for local nonprofits. This year the event is going virtual, with new ways for community members to get involved.
Expansion of UMR campus facilities
Rochester’s City Council approved UMR’s request to use up to $2.5 million of the city sales tax fund to support needed expansion of campus facilities. UMR is nearing the first BOLD enrollment milestone included in UMR’s BluffTop View Strategic Growth Plan. With alumni success and continued enrollment growth toward the BOLDER and BOLDEST targets, explorations are underway for options to meet additional housing and academic space needs.
UMR Career Pathways: Public Policy and Global Health
With one focus and unlimited career possibilities, UMR's innovative and efficient degree programs provide students with a foundational undergraduate education in health sciences. Discover how Glen Morris navigated UMR’s many health career pathway opportunities with an individually planned capstone to prepare himself as a Ross Fellow in Purdue University's master’s and PhD program in the department of Agricultural Biology and Engineering. Learn more about U of M Rochester’s Pathways.
Love for math, science, and the betterment of humanity
Dominic Marticorena grew up questioning medical assertions he heard, and his curiosity always led him to find out more. In his freshman year at the College of Science and Engineering, he started a student research group that both educated and gave voice to those interested in medicine. Today, the senior majoring in biomedical engineering is on his way to establishing a career that blends the best of medical science and the latest in technology, plus a healthy dose of entrepreneurship.
Measuring faculty impact outside academia
The Coventor is a low-cost ventilator first conceived by a team of University of Minnesota researchers and an alumnus. One of the team who invented the Coventor ventilator wanted to know its impact—not its treatment impact, as it had only recently been approved by the FDA. He wanted to know its news impact, so he contacted the Health Sciences Libraries’ Policy & News Media Impact Service.
Impact: Self-advocacy is alive and well
Whether fearing for their lives in congregate care settings during a pandemic, protesting healthcare rationing decisions, or standing up for their rights amidst civil unrest, people with disabilities were reminded this year why they still need to advocate for themselves. In that spirit, every article in the latest issue of the Institute on Community Integration’s Impact magazine is written or co-written by someone with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
Chalk talk
Over four days in September, artists of all ages took to the sidewalks to create inspiring chalk messages for kids battling cancer at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. Participants shared their work on social media, and Caribou Coffee made a donation for each piece submitted, raising $5,000 for pediatric cancer research. Here are a few of their works.
Gollust, students analyze health insurance-related advertising
In the final throes of the 2020 election and with open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace beginning on Nov. 1, it’s worth looking back to the last time health policy messaging in advertising was broadcast in high volumes. Associate Professor Sarah Gollust led a student team in a project to systematically analyze the content of 2018 political and product advertisements regarding health insurance and policy.
Shippee leads study to improve quality of home and community-based services for people with dementia
The population of people age 65 and older in the United States is quickly growing, with increasing numbers of them needing long-term services and supports (LTSS). Associate Professor Tetyana Shippee is the principal investigator of a study documenting trends in the services used or desired by LTSS clients and the factors related to how satisfied they are with their care. The project will also determine client and state-level factors that influence satisfaction with home and community-based services care and how it varies for people with diagnosed with dementia.
U of M team wins fall 2020 Interprofessional Geriatric Case Competition
The Minnesota Northstar Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program concluded the inaugural annual Interprofessional Geriatric Case Competition, naming the University of Minnesota team the winner. Students from medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, pharmacy, dentistry, public health, medical family therapy, speech language hearing sciences, and communication sciences and disorders worked together to develop a care plan for an older patient with multiple chronic health challenges, including COVID-19.
Nov. 19-22 - WAM Shop Fall Sale
WAM members and the U of M community will receive 20 percent off purchases during the WAM fall sale. Items include jewelry, cards, handmade goods, treats, locally made items, and more.
Dec. 3 - Headliners: Greased Lightning: How Play and Humor Fuel Innovation
Hosted by the College of Continuing and Professional Studies, join Morse Distinguished Associate Professor and product designer Barry Kudrowitz as he delves into the connections between creativity, prolific idea generation, humor, and play, and why these things should be included in our work environments if we want to enliven creative leaders. No charge, but registration is required. 7-8:30 p.m., online via Zoom.