Read article – Gabriel Brooks, assistant professor of medicine and assistant professor of The Dartmouth Institute, says that pharmacogenetic testing for DPYD and UGT1A1 gene variants could be cost-effective in preventing severe chemotherapy-related toxicity based on the treatment of stage 3 colon cancer patients. Comments by Brooks are referenced in research reported at the 2021 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Read article – Barbara Jobst, chair and professor of neurology, is quoted about a new study on the use of an implanted brain stimulator to improve consciousness during epileptic seizures. She will serve as the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center’s site leader for the study, which will have multiple clinical sites. “This new trial testing brain stimulation that addresses the loss of consciousness during seizures will propel us forward in our understanding and treatment of epilepsy,” said Jobst.

Read article – David Leib, chair and professor of microbiology and immunology, is quoted on the safety of receiving two different COVID-19 vaccines. “It doesn’t seem that re-vaccination with any of the vaccines that are available has any adverse effects and only seems to have beneficial effects. So, I would probably land on the side of: Yes, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to get re-vaccinated,” said Leib.

Read article – Jose Mercado, assistant professor of medicine, is interviewed about the prospect that a booster may be needed by people who have received their COVID-19 vaccinations. Mercado said, “Before we do decide to get the boosters, we do still need to answer a couple questions. One is, does it actually boost the immune system and is it safe to do so?”

Read article – Keith Loud, chair and associate professor of pediatrics, is quoted on COVID-19 vaccination rates among children. He says, “Over a third of New Hampshire teens and more than half of Vermont teens have already had a first dose. Northern New England is showing the way.” Loud served as a panelist in a recent virtual conversation on children, COVID-19, and vaccinations.

Read article – Bryan Luikart, associate professor of molecular and systems biology, is quoted about a study with mice finding that women who are genetically predisposed to inflammation may be more likely to have children with autism traits. “These new findings point to both: a gene-environmental interaction with some sort of inflammation and a gene-gene interaction between mothers and offspring,” said Luikart.

Read article – Timothy Gardner, an associate professor of medicine, is quoted in an updated article about a 1980 study on whether chlorophyllin could help control body and fecal odors, chronic constipation, and flatulence. According to the article, Gardner thinks a large placebo effect could have explained the study’s results for which the groups had improved symptoms, including decreasing bloating, which wasn’t part of the study but is a popular claim on TikTok.

Read article -A new study by researchers from the Geisel School of Medicine, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center finds that “just 16” of 315 randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of various dietary supplements and alternative therapies for weight loss had an impact on weight-loss.

Read article – Anne Hoen, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, is cited in an article about a study finding that Cesarean-delivered newborns swabbed with a gauze soaked with their mothers’ vaginal fluids made their skin and gut microbiota similar to that of vaginally born babies. The study entailed monitoring the babies for a year, a long-term follow-up period that really stood out for Hoen, according to the article.

Read article – Brayson Pawelczyk, MED ’24, is featured in an article on how members of Bucknell’s Class of 2020 transitioned from college life to graduate programs and other endeavors. He discusses how his days are filled with lectures, anatomy labs, team-based learning classes, case-based learning classes, and problem-based learning sessions. The article mentions that Pawelczyk is a medical student at the Geisel School of Medicine.