{"id":130110,"date":"2021-02-12T09:37:52","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T16:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=130110"},"modified":"2022-04-21T11:19:39","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T17:19:39","slug":"covid-19-research-forum-presents-new-findings-questions-for-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=130110","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 Research Forum presents new findings, questions for the future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/rzb_a933ZTs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/covid19-research-forum.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-130220\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Four University of Colorado Colorado Springs faculty members presented new findings at the UCCS COVID-19 Research Forum, which took place Feb. 10 in a virtual format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The research findings span disciplines and present new questions for future exploration. Read more about each researcher\u2019s work and watch their full presentations below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cMental Health and Resilience During the Coronavirus Pandemic\u201d <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kristi Samuelson, associate professor of psychology, associate director of clinical training<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Samuelson&#8217;s research specialty is in the field of trauma psychology. Upon the onset of COVID-19, Samuelson and a team of graduate researchers launched a nationwide study of the effect of the pandemic on mental health. Research findings revealed that psychiatric distress related to the pandemic is prevalent, with about 44 percent of Americans experiencing depression and significant numbers experiencing anxiety and PTSD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study also revealed predictors of healthy adaptation to the stressors of the pandemic. The strongest predictor is an individual\u2019s belief that they are capable of coping with the pandemic and accompanying stressors. This finding points to potential for effective public health guidelines focused on personal coping strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Watch Samuelson&#8217;s full presentation:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"740\" height=\"417\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rzb_a933ZTs?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;start=785&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cOld Friends Meet a New Foe: A potential role for immune-priming parasites in mitigating COVID-19 morbidity and mortality\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tara Cepon-Robins, assistant professor of anthropology<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cepon-Robins\u2019 research on parasitic infection is&nbsp;centered around&nbsp;the&nbsp;hypothesis&nbsp;that reduced exposure to parasites in the modern day can lead humans to be more likely to develop inflammatory&nbsp;immune&nbsp;responses,&nbsp;including allergy and autoimmunity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The similarity of these&nbsp;inflammatory&nbsp;responses to those in patients experiencing the most severe COVID-19 cases led Cepon-Robins to examine whether or not a parasitic worm infection could decrease inflammatory response and viral load \u2013 in turn, reducing the severity of a COVID-19 infection.&nbsp;Results from preliminary analyses looking at the effects of parasite infection on inflammation in pre-COVID-19 samples&nbsp;are positive and invite future research, though Cepon-Robins notes that individuals should not intentionally seek out a parasitic infection to reduce the virus&#8217;s severity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Watch Cepon-Robins&#8217; full presentation:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"740\" height=\"417\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rzb_a933ZTs?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;start=1439&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cThe Uncertainty of Death: The Case of COVID-19\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mary Ann Cutter, professor of philosophy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Current work by Cutter, who researches on the philosophies of death, dying and bioethics, has brought to light new and unusual death practices that have taken shape during the COVID-19 pandemic. These practices are visually striking and include widespread images of individuals dying away from family and friends, refrigerated trucks carrying the bodies of those who have passed away from the virus and mass graves in Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cutter hypothesizes that these practices \u2013 as well as the uncertainty of the possibility of contracting COVID-19 \u2013 might lead individuals to think more about death and dying than they might have before the pandemic. Cutter suggests that reflecting on the ethics of these practices could inspire more ethical practices in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Watch Cutter&#8217;s full presentation:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"740\" height=\"417\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rzb_a933ZTs?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;start=2063&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cRethinking community approaches to identifying and preventing family violence during a public health crisis\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gia Barboza, assistant professor of criminal justice, with co-researchers Philip Brown, assistant professor of computer science and Lisa Hines, associate professor of biology<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barboza, Brown and Hines&#8217; research was sparked by the understanding that stressors commonly associated with the pandemic \u2013&nbsp;including housing and food insecurity, unemployment, loss of income, lack of childcare and mental health issues \u2013&nbsp;are correlated with increased domestic violence and child victimization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The researchers constructed a mathematical model to describe the impact of COVID-19 public health guidelines on potentially life-threatening situations for those exposed to violence in the home. The findings reinforce the importance of policies that protect families from housing instability and other stressors. They also demonstrate how cities can minimize harm to families by targeting resources based on the challenges faced by individual areas and neighborhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Watch Barboza&#8217;s full presentation:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"740\" height=\"417\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rzb_a933ZTs?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;start=3149&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">View the full research forum <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/rzb_a933ZTs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Four UCCS faculty members presented new findings at the UCCS COVID-19 Research Forum, with research spanning disciplines and presenting new questions for future exploration.  <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=130110\" title=\"COVID-19 Research Forum presents new findings, questions for the future\">(More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":130226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,47,12,50,48,417],"tags":[86,39,110,123,130,383,302,329,358],"class_list":["post-130110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-education-and-public-affairs","category-events","category-health-and-wellness","category-science-and-tech","category-strategic-plan","tag-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences","tag-college-of-public-service","tag-department-of-anthropology","tag-department-of-philosophy","tag-department-of-psychology","tag-lyda-hill-institute-for-human-resilience","tag-office-of-research","tag-research","tag-research-creative-excellence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/680px-Communique-Images-41.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-xQy","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=130110"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139101,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130110\/revisions\/139101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/130226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=130110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=130110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=130110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}