blog posts Negative mental health effects of pandemic fade over time Jan 30, 2021 10:15 am Social distancing policies correlated with immediate increases in interest in information about “isolation” and “worry” – but those effects tapered off two to four weeks after their respective peaks, says a new UIUC study. More than 1,200 Illinois K-12 Schools have signed up for SHIELD testing Aug 25, 2021 9:30 am More than 1,200 K-12 schools across the state have signed up to use the SHIELD Illinois COVID-19 saliva test for the start of the 2021-22 academic year. Models predict optimal airplane seating for reduced viral transmission Dec 21, 2021 12:15 pm A new study led by a UIUC computer science professor and aviation risk expert calculated the optimal ways to seat passengers on airplanes based on the most recent data on aerosol transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19. Mitigating lung damage, mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 Oct 5, 2021 11:45 am In a new paper, researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago report that a drug approved for treating patients with autoimmune disease helped to prevent lung damage and death in mice infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19 in humans. Med students administer vaccines to underserved communities Jun 25, 2021 11:30 am Medical students in Champaign-Urbana are working to get vaccines to underserved communities. They’re sharing information about the shot, while also advocating for it. Media faculty to study public attitudes of COVID-19 testing Oct 25, 2022 12:30 pm Three UIUC College of Media faculty have received a $25,000 research grant from SHIELD Illinois for a project that will examine public attitudes, news framing, and online engagement about SHIELD COVID-19 testing. Maps show the need for racial equity In Chicago’s road to COVID-19 recovery Apr 24, 2021 12:00 pm The Mapping COVID-19 Recovery Project is the collaborative effort of 25 major Chicago foundations, nonprofit organizations, and public and private groups, including the Field Foundation of Illinois, the MacArthur Foundation, the city’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Machine-learning model can distinguish antibody targets Apr 27, 2022 8:45 am A new University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study shows that it is possible to use the genetic sequences of a person’s antibodies to predict what pathogens those antibodies will target. Less access to nature linked with COVID-19 rates Oct 25, 2021 12:00 pm New research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and others suggests less access to nature can have significant health impacts during the pandemic. Killeen recognizes innovation and work that have kept campuses open Mar 11, 2021 12:00 pm University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen on Thursday recognized the thousands of staff, faculty and students whose efforts made the challenging 2020-21 academic year not only possible at the three system universities but a model of success. K-12 Shield Playbook offers guidance for reopening schools Apr 15, 2021 12:15 pm A new resource is available to help guide teachers and school administrators as they reopen schools amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, assembled by researchers and experts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In survey, COVID-19 vaccine recipients report changes in menstrual bleeding Jul 22, 2022 9:45 am In a survey of more than 35,000 people, UIUC anthropology professor Kathryn Clancy and her colleagues collected evidence that many individuals experience menstrual changes after COVID-19 vaccination. Inside the massive SHIELD Illinois testing operation Feb 24, 2022 9:00 am WTTW visited the SHIELD Illinois COVID-19 testing site at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora and one of the testing labs in North Chicago recently to take a look inside the massive operation. Illinois tax revenue losses lower than expected during pandemic Jan 26, 2021 11:00 am The pandemic hit state tax revenues hard last spring when a widely restrictive stay-at-home order was in effect, but much of that early loss was recovered in subsequent months, according to the report from the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs. Illinois researchers advance COVID-19 point-of-care technologies Jul 27, 2021 9:15 am Advances made by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are set to improve the ability to diagnose COVID-19 and other infectious diseases more quickly and at the point of care. Illinois public universities seek additional COVID-19 relief Jan 29, 2021 3:30 pm Presidents of the state's public universities sent a letter to Illinois federal legislators today seeking additional relief from increasing costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Illinois K-12 public schools can access free SHIELD Illinois COVID-19 testing Aug 5, 2021 12:45 pm The llinois Department of Public Health announced that it has expanded access to free COVID-19 testing to al K-12 public schools across Illinois outside of Chicago, which received its own funding. Schools can choose to utilize the SHIELD Illinois saliva-based test developed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Illinois Extension contributes to vaccination awareness effort in state Jul 16, 2021 2:45 pm A new partnership between Cooperative Extension, the Extension Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is empowering land-grant universities across the country to strengthen immunization education with a special focus on adult vaccine hesitancy around both COVID-19 and other adult vaccines. IDPH to offer free covidSHIELD tests for public schools for 2022-23 school year Jun 14, 2022 2:00 pm The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced a renewed agreement with SHIELD Illinois that offers every public school outside of Chicago the opportunity to use the University of Illinois System’s innovative, saliva-based COVID-19 testing platform at no cost for the 2022-23 school year. IDPH expands COVID-19 testing to elementary schools Jun 10, 2021 8:45 am To help ensure schools can more safely resume in-person learning, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced it is expanding access to no-cost and low-cost COVID-19 testing to elementary schools across Illinois. Schools can choose to utilize the saliva-based covidSHIELD test developed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. IDPH, DPI, Shield T3 to expand wastewater monitoring to schools Sep 29, 2022 3:45 pm The state of Illinois announced it is launching an innovative pilot program to protect school children from COVID-19 and reduce its spread through classrooms by analyzing school wastewater for the coronavirus, an expansion of the partnership between IDPH, the Discovery Partners Institute and Shield T3. IDPH & DPI announce statewide system to monitor COVID-19 in wastewater May 25, 2021 8:30 am The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) today announced a statewide system to monitor the virus that causes COVID-19 and its variants in wastewater, providing public health officials with early warnings of a potential outbreak on a county-by-county basis. How wearable AI could help you recover from covid Jun 9, 2021 8:00 am Funded by the National Institutes of Health, clinicians at UI Health have been conducting a study with digital-medicine startup PhysIQ to do remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients. How pandemic-related changes affect college students' motivation May 26, 2021 9:30 am A study by educational researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that some biology students’ interest in their studies and motivation actually increased during the pandemic. How misinformation about COVID-19 spreads in rural areas Oct 25, 2021 1:00 pm A team at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign is investigating how misinformation about COVID-19 spreads in rural areas of the state. How masks affect speech acoustics Dec 23, 2020 8:15 am Masks are an important tool for fighting COVID-19 but wearing one can make it difficult for others to hear us speak. Using a unique laboratory setup, UIUC researcher Ryan Corey tested how different types of masks affect the acoustics of speech. Helping East St. Louis residents overcome barriers to testing, vaccination Mar 23, 2022 8:00 am A project co-led by UIUC that is underway in East St. Louis, Illinois, is investigating strategies for overcoming barriers to COVID-19 testing and vaccination among more than 548 medically and socially vulnerable residents of St. Clair County. Health experts caution against ‘new normal’ strategies for COVID-19 May 19, 2022 3:45 pm Jun Ma, of the University of Illinois Chicago, said that together, the COVID-19 pandemic and the chronic disease crisis create what is called a synergistic endemic, or syndemic — overlapping epidemics that interact, increasing the burden of disease and the likelihood of poor outcomes. Frequent COVID-19 testing key to efficient, early detection, study finds Jul 2, 2021 8:00 am COVID-19 testing works best when administered multiple times per week as part of a routine screening program, such as the SHIELD Illinois saliva-testing protocol, a new study found. Food-buying behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic Aug 11, 2022 10:00 am A new study examines how Americans acquired food at various points during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how those activities changed over time as case numbers fluctuated and vaccines became available. First vaccine doses in Chicago Dec 15, 2020 12:45 pm Five front-line medical workers, including UI Health's Dr. Marina Del Rios, received the vaccine against COVID-19 in Chicago on Tuesday, December 15, marking an important milestone in the fight against the coronavirus. Fast, cheap COVID-19 antibody test developed Jan 25, 2021 3:00 pm Researchers in Urbana-Champaign have developed a simple, fast, cost-efficient COVID-19 testing system. The test demonstrates great potential for wide applications in diverse working environments. Economic impact of COVID-19 Dec 1, 2020 1:45 pm Kenneth Kritz, distinguished professor of public administration at UIS, examines the economic impact of the pandemic on the United States economy. Early, mid-career women experienced higher stress than other academics during pandemic Dec 13, 2021 12:30 pm The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women who are early and mid-career academic faculty members, according to a recent study by University of Illinois Chicago researchers. DPI & IDPH launch online COVID-19 tracker Jan 10, 2023 1:30 pm The Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today a new website that tracks the levels of COVID-19 in wastewater samples in Chicago and other cities across Illinois. DPI & CDPH system to monitor COVID-19 in Chicago wastewater extended for two years Dec 21, 2021 12:00 pm The Discovery Partners Institute, part of the University of Illinois System, and the Chicago Department of Public Health have announced the citywide system to monitor the virus that causes COVID-19 and its variants in wastewater will continue for two years, leveraging $2.14 million in federal funding. Does our place in society influence how we respond to COVID-19 protocol? Jan 5, 2022 1:30 pm University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign electrical and computer engineering professor Lav Varshney is a co-author of a new study that explores how social capital influences choices regarding COVID-19 mitigation compliance. DNA sensor quickly determines whether viruses are infectious Sep 29, 2021 9:15 am A new sensor developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators can detect not only whether a virus is present, but whether it’s infectious – an important distinction for containing viral spread. DNA nets capture COVID-19 virus in low-cost rapid-testing platform Sep 29, 2022 3:45 pm Tiny nets woven from DNA strands can ensnare the spike protein of the virus that causes COVID-19, lighting up the virus for a fast-yet-sensitive diagnostic test – and also impeding the virus from infecting cells, opening a new possible route to antiviral treatment, according to a new study. Discovery Partners Institute receives $2.36M disease-control contract from CDPH Feb 21, 2023 10:30 am The Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) is expanding its wastewater surveillance in Chicago beyond the virus that causes COVID-19 under a Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) agreement that extends their disease-control efforts into mid-2024. The DPI-led scientific team is now also analyzing wastewater for evidence of influenza A and B. The new agreement permits this search to grow to include other pathogens, such as the polio or monkeypox viruses, should they emerge as public health concerns. Developing therapeutic intervention for respiratory diseases like COVID-19 Dec 14, 2021 9:30 am Through the support of the American Lung Association, a UIUC bioengineering professor is developing a therapeutic intervention for respiratory diseases like COVID-19 by engineering commensal microbes to produce & deliver treatment at the infection site. Developing antivirals for pandemic-level viruses Aug 11, 2022 10:00 am Researchers at UIC are working with the National Institutes of Health and researchers from across the country to establish a center for antiviral drug development for pandemic-level viruses, including Ebola and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Detecting outbreaks through wastewater Oct 27, 2020 1:45 pm The Walder Foundation has awarded a Discovery Partners Institute science team led by UIC $1.25 million to develop a prototype capability for detecting COVID-19 outbreaks and trends in Chicago’s wastewater. ‘Decoy’ protein works against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants Jan 20, 2022 1:15 pm A drug treatment that acts as a decoy against SARS-CoV-2 was highly effective at preventing death and lung damage in humanized animal models of severe COVID-19 disease, according to a Nature Chemical Biology study from researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago. Culture shapes willingness to share personal data to reduce COVID-19 spread Jan 27, 2021 8:30 am Junghwan Kim, a graduate student in geography and geographic information science at UIUC, co-led a study of people’s attitudes toward sharing their geographic data with public health officials. COVID cases among TSA officers shows effects of end to federal mask mandate May 19, 2022 3:00 pm Sheldon Jacobson, professor of computer science at UIUC shares his views on the rising cases of COVID among TSA officers in a Chicago Tribune commentary. COVID-19 virus spike protein flexibility improved by human cell's own modifications Jul 15, 2022 10:45 am University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers created atomic-level models of the spike protein that plays a key role in COVID-19 infection and immunity, revealing how the protein bends and moves as it seeks to engage receptors. COVID-19 research on wastewater systems to track pandemics Oct 25, 2022 12:45 pm The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $1,000,000 in research grant funding to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to improve wastewater monitoring to rapidly detect the emergence and spread of infectious disease in the current COVID-19 pandemic, and to detect other pathogens that could cause future pandemics. COVID-19 outcomes not consistently explained by race, social vulnerability Apr 18, 2022 3:15 pm And according to a paper co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political scientist who’s an expert in data-driven social research, the racial health disparities experienced by minorities in the U.S. during the early months of the initial outbreak should be of concern for everyone. COVID-19 mobility restrictions effective for short duration, study finds Apr 22, 2021 12:45 pm Attempts at restricting people’s mobility to control the spread of COVID-19 may be effective only for a short period, researchers said. A new study examines people’s mobility for seven months during the pandemic in the United States using publicly available, anonymized mobile phone data.
