“We can do things better going forward,” said principal investigator Athina Markopoulou, professor and chairperson of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UCI. “With COVID we’re even more aware of data collection,” she told the Business Journal on June 16.
On Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested that reopening the state's economy will require six steps, the first of which involves "tracing and tracking individuals" in order to identify those who need to remain in isolation. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a tool that could be instrumental in this effort. TrackCOVID is a free, open-source smartphone application that permits contact tracing for potential coronavirus infections while preserving privacy.
David Kisailus, UC Irvine professor, and graduate student Taifeng Wang, both in materials science and engineering, took a close look at the ultrahard teeth of the Northern Pacific Cryptochiton stelleri or gumboot chiton.
"[The program] will enable focused collaboration among biomedical engineers, public health experts, psychological and behavioral scientists, and community members in training a new cadre of professionals devoted to access and equity in cardiovascular health and healthcare," Naomi Chesler, PhD, principal investigator and UC Irvine professor of biomedical engineering, said. Read More
UCI netted $529 million in grants and contracts for research last year, which “surpasses our campus strategic plan goal of $500 million while accelerating UCI’s ascent among its Association of American Universities peers as a world-class research university,” UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman said in a press release.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, a team led by UC Irvine and Harvard Medical School researchers started discussing how to apply their ongoing work to the current climate. … “We decided to apply it to some coronavirus targets, the S-protein,” said Chang Liu, UCI assistant professor of biomedical engineering.
One solution could be a new open-source app that permits contact tracing for potential coronavirus infections while preserving the privacy of its users. Developed by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, TrackCOVID works by creating an anonymous graph of interactions. Every time a person gathers with others or goes to a public place, he or she can use the app to log contacts by either hosting or joining a checkpoint, which allows possible paths of virus transmission to be discovered.
It’s been 20 years since professor Iryna Zenyuk left Ukraine, but even as time passes all she remembers is the peaceful childhood she had. “It was very peaceful,” said the UC Irvine engineering [associate] professor. … Recently, Zenyuk, launched a $100,000 fundraising campaign to make UCI the host for at least four Ukrainian scholars and their families. … To help with the fundraiser, the university said it will match donations up to $150,000 and will accept scholars from various disciplines.
