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Perspective is important. It is very easy to get caught up in our day-to-day work, however, we should all step back from time to time and lift our heads to survey and review what you and your colleagues at UVA Health have accomplished.

Below is a minute sampling of UVA Health's medical research and scientific discoveries made in the past year. One of those stories is about the world’s first focused ultrasound cancer immunotherapy center. Richard Price, PhD, Lawrence R. Quarles Professor of Biomedical Engineering, is co-director of that center, which could revolutionize 21st-century cancer care.

When asked how his research positively impacts UVA Health, Price said, "One line of research in my lab entails using focused ultrasound to augment immune responses against cancer. Recently, this has grown into the central theme on an institution-wide, multi-investigator, effort to make UVA the world-leader in this emerging field. In addition to our new Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center, which will fund both pre-clinical research and new clinical trials, we are seeking Program Project level support from the NIH to fortify these lines of investigation. We hope this will soon lead to better, minimally-invasive, treatments for cancer patients”. 

It's been a challenging year for all at UVA Health and for those within our community. When reflecting on the past year, Price said, “While I take pride in playing a role in getting the new Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center up and running this year, I take far more pride in my graduate students and how they’ve handled the challenges they’ve faced due to COVID. We have an inside joke about what it means to maintain a positive 'lab culture.' Despite the ambiguity inherent in that phrase, they’ve embraced a philosophy of mutual support. From my office, I overhear them raising each other up through new challenges on a daily basis. It's inspiring.”

Thank you for sharing that perspective, Dr. Price. Your students are a model for us all.

In the coming months, UVA Health will launch its annual employee engagement survey. Take a moment to reflect on the past year. What are YOU most proud of?

In the meantime, read more about UVA Health's recent medical research and scientific accomplishments.

July 2022 | Loss of Male Sex Chromosome With Age Leads to Earlier Death for Men

The loss of the male sex chromosome as many men age causes the heart muscle to scar and can lead to deadly heart failure, new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine shows. The finding may help explain why men die, on average, several years younger than women. UVA researcher Kenneth Walsh, PhD, says the new discovery suggests that men who suffer Y chromosome loss — estimated to include 40% of 70-year-olds — may particularly benefit from an existing drug that targets dangerous tissue scarring. The drug, he suspects, may help counteract the harmful effects of the chromosome loss – effects that may manifest not just in the heart but in other parts of the body as well. On average, women live five years longer than men in the United States. The new finding, Walsh estimates, may explain nearly four of the five-year difference.

June 2022 | New Safe-Sleep Guidelines Aim to Reduce Infant Deaths

The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its safe-sleep guidelines for infants for the first time in more than five years, emphasizing that babies should sleep on their backs on flat, level surfaces to reduce their risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). It’s estimated that there are 3,500 sleep-related infant deaths in the United States each year. Many of those deaths are preventable, and the authors of the new guidelines are urging parents to take simple steps to help keep their children safe. 

May 2022 | World’s 1st Focused Ultrasound  Cancer Immunotherapy Center Launched

UVA Health and the Charlottesville-based Focused Ultrasound Center today announced the launch of the Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center, the world’s first center dedicated specifically to advancing a focused ultrasound and cancer immunotherapy treatment approach that could revolutionize 21st-century cancer care.  Immunotherapy, which harnesses the immune system to battle cancer, is the most important breakthrough in cancer treatment in decades. So far, however, it has proven effective for only 20% to 40% of patients. But combining immunotherapy with focused ultrasound – a game-changing soundwave technology — has been found to overcome existing limitations of immunotherapy and may open new fronts in the war against many different forms of cancer, from breast cancer to brain tumors. 

March 2022 | Ketogenic Diet Shows Major Benefits for MS

Patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) who adopted a high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet saw significant improvements in their MS – including reductions in neurologic disability, fatigue and depression and heightened overall quality of life, a new study finds. The ketogenic diet – popular for weight loss and among the fitness community – was put to the test among 65 volunteers with relapsing-remitting MS, an inflammatory disorder in which the immune system attacks the natural insulation that protects the body’s nerves in the brain and spinal cord. MS symptoms vary widely, but patients often struggle with cognition, dexterity and mobility.

Feb. 2022 | UVA Health Joins National Trial Testing Medications for Mild-to-Moderate COVID-19

UVA Health has joined a nationwide study evaluating two repurposed medications in the search for effective, safe treatments for mild-to-moderate COVID-19. Repurposed medications are already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of other diseases or conditions. ACTIV-6, “The Randomized Trial to Evaluate Efficacy of Repurposed Medications,” is a nationwide double-blind study expected to enroll nearly 15,000 participants from across the U.S. A double-blind study means that both study participants and researchers do not know which medication participants are receiving as part of the trial. Details on the trial can be found here.

Sept. 2021 | Scientist Honored With $9 Million From Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Jochen Zimmer, PhD, professor of molecular physiology and biomedical physics at the School of Medicine, has been named an Investigator by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the largest private biomedical research institution in the nation. Researchers who achieve this honor — considered among the highest a biomedical scientist can achieve — have the potential to radically change how we think about biology, human health and diseases. For example, 32 current or former HHMI Investigators have won the Nobel Prize. Zimmer is one of 33 scientists from across the country selected for the honor from more than 800 applicants. He is only the second HHMI investigator from UVA and the first in more than two decades.

More amazing advances and discoveries in medicine can be found in the UVA Health newsroom and on the Making of Medicine blog.