blog posts

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  Study finds green spaces linked to lower racial disparity in COVID-19 infection rates

  Apr 28, 2021 8:15 am

  A higher ratio of green spaces at the county level is associated with a lower racial disparity in coronavirus infection rates, according to a new study. 

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  Study examines pandemic’s impact on volunteer health care workers

  Jul 15, 2022 10:45 am

  Compassion satisfaction – the gratification associated with helping others – protected volunteer health care workers against stress-related symptoms and burnout during the early days of the pandemic, according to a new UIUC study.

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  Study examined COVID-19 policies' effects on people with disabilities

  Jun 28, 2022 10:45 am

  The gym closures, social distancing mandates and other COVID-19 mitigation policies in the U.S. negatively affected the mental health and well-being of some people with disabilities by significantly curtailing their ability to remain active, researchers found.

  In a survey of more than 950 people with diverse types of disabilities, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign identified four groups of people – heavily impacted, resilient, adapted and radically changed – who were differently affected by the pandemic.

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  Study: Domestic control of COVID-19 takes priority over international travel bans

  Aug 13, 2021 11:00 am

  According to a new paper co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign urban and environmental economics expert, taming domestic transmission of the novel coronavirus ought to be prioritized over international travel bans

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  Study: COVID-19 policies harmed minority women's perinatal experiences, magnified inequities

  Nov 17, 2022 8:30 am

  Black, Indigenous and other women of color who were pregnant or gave birth during the pandemic said these experiences were overshadowed by isolation, confusion and fear, much of it caused by unclear or frequently changing institutional policies, according to a new UIUC study.

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  Study: Black girls’ health ‘heavily impacted’ by COVID

  May 2, 2022 1:15 pm

  The physical, psychological and sexual development of Black adolescent girls has been “heavily impacted” by the COVID-19 pandemic, said UIC College of Nursing assistant professor Natasha Crooks, PhD, RN.

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  Study: 2% of asymptomatic pediatric dental patients test positive for COVID-19

  Apr 26, 2021 1:00 pm

  A study by a University of Illinois Chicago pediatric dentist has shown a novel way to track potential COVID-19 cases — testing children who visit the dentist. The study also showed an over 2% positivity rate for the asymptomatic children tested. 

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  Student-run contract tracing effective in curbing COVID-19 transmission

  Nov 21, 2022 1:00 pm

  The UIC COVID-19 Contact Tracing and Epidemiology Program helped reduce COVID-19 exposures and infections on campus during the 2020-21 academic year, according to results published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

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  State invests big in COVID tests for schools

  May 12, 2021 2:00 pm

  P{ublic health officials announced a $225 million plan to subsidize the use of University of Illinois COVID-19 saliva tests at public middle schools and high schools.

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  Social media messaging was effective in mitigating COVID-19, researchers say

  Apr 12, 2023 11:30 am

  Researchers discovered that employing social media posts as a means of visual nudging to encourage safe behaviors significantly impacts COVID-19 positivity rates. This effect remains evident even after accounting for various organizational characteristics and disease dynamics at multiple levels. 

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  Shield T3 launches a vending machine for COVID-19 tests

  Sep 16, 2022 10:15 am

  Shield T3, a spin out of the U of I System’s Discovery Partners Institute, is now providing vending machines stocked with more than 300 of its saliva-based, PCR tests for COVID-19. 

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  Shield T3 & DPI announce commercialization of COVID-19 wastewater monitoring

  Feb 2, 2022 9:45 am

  Shield T3 and the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) today announced a new service to state and local governments outside of Illinois: Testing COVID-19 and its variants in sewage.

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  SHIELD program a model for effective pandemic management, data show

  Jun 9, 2022 9:00 am

  A new paper in the journal Nature Communications details the innovations in modeling, saliva testing and results reporting of the SHIELD program that helped mitigate the spread of the virus at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the surrounding community.

  SHIELD has been deployed in schools and communities across the state through the U of I System's SHIELD Illinois unit, and around the world through the university-related organization Shield T3.

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  SHIELD Illinois opens two free COVID testing sites in Chicago

  May 19, 2022 4:00 pm

  SHIELD Illinois opened two additional free community testing sites in Chicago this month, bringing its total number of locations statewide to 44. The newly opened community sites increase access to COVID testing in underserved communities. 

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  SHIELD Illinois launches free testing site at DePaul's Loop Campus

  Jan 18, 2022 4:30 pm

  SHIELD Illinois, the University of Illinois System’s in-state, non-profit COVID-testing unit, is partnering with DePaul University and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) to launch a free community testing site at DePaul’s Loop Campus.

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  SHIELD CU helping raise vaccination rates among people of color

  Jun 16, 2021 8:30 am

  The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's SHIELD CU team is partnering with local organizations to help boost the COVID-19 vaccination rate in Champaign County's community of color.

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  Second year of pandemic deadlier for middle aged than the first

  Nov 21, 2022 2:00 pm

  The first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic saw an increase in mortality rates, both from COVID-19 and other causes, but the groups hardest hit shifted between the first and second years, according to an analysis of publicly available data.

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  Sampling sewer water for COVID-19 in the C-U community

  Aug 9, 2021 11:45 am

  Illinois State Water Survey researchers have been sampling sewer water to look for traces of SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, at the neighborhood level in Champaign-Urbana to help monitor the spread of infection.

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  Saliva test being expanded in Champaign-Urbana community

  Mar 24, 2021 10:15 am

  OSF HealthCare announced a new partnership with the University of Illinois Tuesday that will expand the U of I’s saliva-based COVID-19 test into the broader Champaign-Urbana community.

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  Safer Community app has roots in U of I testing program

  Feb 10, 2021 12:30 pm

  William Sullivan, a professor of landscape architecture at UIUC, led the team that developed the Safer Illinois app. Since 1992, he said his focus at the university has been on how to create healthier cities. 

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  Rivian donates $500,000 to support SHIELD Illinois testing

  Mar 25, 2021 10:30 am

  The University of Illinois System received a $500,000 donation from Rivian to support the recently opened SHIELD Illinois COVID-19 testing lab at Illinois State University (ISU), which is located within five miles of the electric automaker’s factory in Normal.

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  Retrained generic antibodies can recognize SARS-CoV-2

  Feb 3, 2021 8:30 am

  Researchers at UIC and California State University at Sacramento have developed a novel strategy to train the immunity response to COVID-19.

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  Research funding led to COVID breakthroughs

  Apr 7, 2021 8:00 am

  Jay Walsh, U of I System interim VP of economic development and innovation, and Peter Schiffer, Frederick W. Beinecke professor of applied physics at Yale University, write about the value of America's government-university research partnership in an op-ed in The Hill.

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  Researchers scour Twitter to analyze public attitudes about COVID-19 vaccinations

  May 2, 2022 1:15 pm

  A new study from the University of Illinois Chicago examines key themes and topics from almost three million COVID-19 vaccine-related tweets posted by individuals and explores the trends and variations in public opinions and sentiments about vaccines and vaccination programs

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  Report explores how public policies failed Black, Latino Chicagoans during COVID-19

  Dec 2, 2021 1:00 pm

  A new report issued today from the UIC Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy analyzes how national and local policies related to health care, mental health care, housing, child care and education, and social assistance failed to meet the needs of Chicago’s Black and Latino residents and contributed to the health disparities in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths.

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  Public perception of essential workers in the pandemic

  Dec 8, 2021 1:15 pm

  The pandemic has infiltrated lives across the world for almost two years and a new study from the UIC College of Business Administration evaluates public perceptions of essential workers. 

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  Protein region on COVID's viral spike senses temperature, drives seasonal mutation patterns

  Dec 13, 2021 12:30 pm

  A new study led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign finds evidence that COVID-19 has been cycling seasonally across the globe for nearly two years and identifies a molecular culprit.

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  Protective role sex steroids play

  Nov 24, 2020 1:30 pm

  A new paper from a UIC researcher shows evidence that suggests sex steroids may play a role in protecting against COVID-19 symptoms.

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  Project pairs COVID-19 outreach with job creation

  Nov 3, 2021 8:15 am

  A project at the UIC School of Public Health not only provides COVID-19 outreach to underserved areas, but also creates jobs for those whose employment was affected by the pandemic. 

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  Program innovates to help prisoners continue to learn during COVID

  Apr 13, 2021 10:15 am

  UIUC's Education Justice Project was able to keep some of its prison courses going through paper correspondence and video instruction during the pandemic, when online learning was not an option.

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  Professor wins grant to fund flu, COVID-19 antibody research

  Feb 9, 2022 8:30 am

  UIUC biochemistry professor Nicholas Wu was recently chosen to receive a $150,000 next generation grant to fund his flu and COVID-19 antibody research.

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  President honors leaders of COVID-19 lab development

  Aug 27, 2021 10:30 am

  University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen on Friday honored two people who are among the primary leadership behind the system’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, presenting them with the Presidential Medallion.

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  Precarious employment on the rise long before COVID-19

  Jan 27, 2021 9:00 am

  A study led by a University of Illinois Chicago researcher uses a new approach to measure precarious, or low-quality, employment in the United States. And, according to those findings, precarious employment has increased 9% between 1988 and 2016. 

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  Portable, point-of-care COVID-19 test discerns alpha variant from earlier strains

  Apr 27, 2022 8:30 am

  A point-of-care COVID-19 test developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign can now detect and differentiate the alpha variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from earlier strains in saliva samples.

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  Pop-up Rantoul testing clinics

  Dec 2, 2020 1:45 pm

  An interdisciplinary team of scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is working with clinicians and community researchers to expand access to COVID-19 testing by providing pop-up testing clinics for agricultural workers and others at various locations in Rantoul, Illinois.

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  Phase 3 monoclonal antibody clinical trial

  Oct 29, 2020 2:00 pm

  Researchers at UIC are now enrolling people into a phase 3 clinical trial that will test if a monoclonal antibody treatment will help protect uninfected individuals from acquiring or getting sick from COVID-19 after someone in the household tests positive for COVID-19.

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  Pharmacies go on hiring sprees

  Feb 10, 2021 12:15 pm

  Maurice Shaw, pharmicist and instructor for the UIC College of Pharmacy, signed on to give out vaccines on weekends in addition to his full-time job, after receiving a flurry of pitches for help. (New York Times)

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  Paper: Sharp decline in women's labor force participation in Illinois due to COVID-19

  May 14, 2021 2:45 pm

  A new paper co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researcher who studies labor issues affecting low-wage workers finds that almost 40% of working mothers in the state of Illinois lost jobs or were working fewer hours due to the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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  Paper: Perception of COVID-19 vulnerability hurts job prospects

  Sep 15, 2021 9:30 am

  Job seekers’ perceived risk of contracting and falling seriously ill from COVID-19 may take a significant mental health toll and ultimately affect their ability to secure employment, says new research co-written by Yihao Liu, a professor of labor and employment relations and of psychology at Illinois.

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  Paper-based detection sensor

  Dec 4, 2020 3:45 pm

  An Urbana-Champaign bioengineering graduate student has co-developed a rapid, ultrasensitive test using a paper-based electrochemical sensor that can detect the presence of the virus in less than five minutes. 

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  Pandemic-stressors' impact on STIs in young Kenyan women

  Dec 6, 2021 3:15 pm

  UIC researchers have been awarded $2.6 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health to study how pandemic-related stressors influence sexual behavior and risk of sexually transmitted infections among girls and young women in Kenya.

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  Pandemic impact on waste

  Dec 3, 2020 1:45 pm

  Anne-Marie Hanson, associate professor of environmental studies at the University of Illinois Springfield takes a look at the impact of COVID-19 on waste patterns, waste workers, and waste habits.

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  Online smell, taste challenge offered as early detection tool

  Jan 26, 2021 12:45 pm

  A brief smell and taste challenge, developed by the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research, is a web-based tool people can use to easily monitor changes in these senses using their favorite morning beverage. 

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  Novel COVID-19 drug blocks viral replication

  Mar 24, 2021 12:00 pm

  Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have identified a potent new antiviral compound that can effectively block viral replication in human cells.

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  New tool providing solid clues to COVID-19's resurgence

  Jun 9, 2022 8:00 am

  University of Illinois at Chicago associate professor Rachel Poretsky is doing sewage surveillance through the University of Illinois’ Discovery Partners Institute. Poretsky is co-leading a team with computer scientist Charlie Catlett that’s using Chicago wastewater to identify viral hot spots.

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  New technique digitally counts intact SARS-CoV-2 virus particles in saliva

  Jan 28, 2022 9:30 am

  The new approach to COVID detection uses a specially designed nucleic acid molecule, called an “aptamer” attached to a biosensor that selectively recognizes one of the proteins on the virus outer surface, and captures it in a single step at room temperature, with no other reagents required. 

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  New study reports mask-wearing experiences of adults with asthma

  Jan 20, 2022 1:15 pm

  Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago conducted an online survey of 501 adults with asthma to better understand the extent of, and the problems related to, mask use in the era of COVID-19. 

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  New reports address COVID-19’s fiscal effects, policy possibilities

  Apr 26, 2021 12:45 pm

  From revenue shortfalls to meeting increased demand for public services, the challenges facing government entities require atypical policies to deal with these issues in the COVID-19 era and beyond, according to new reports from the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois Chicago.

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  New mobile COVID-19 lab prototype

  Nov 6, 2020 1:00 pm

  The Grainger College of Engineering at UIUC has completed the prototype for a mobile laboratory designed to demonstrate a way to rapidly deploy the saliva-based test for COVID-19 developed at the university.

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  Neighborhoods and death rates

  Dec 3, 2020 1:45 pm

  A new study led by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago has found that Chicago neighborhoods with barriers to social distancing, including limited access to broadband internet and low rates of health insurance, had more COVID-19 deaths in spring 2020.