Read article—Highlights the Geisel School of Medicine’s leadership of ASCEND, a national initiative funded by Genentech to strengthen biomedical research, expand representation in medical education, and foster collaboration among medical schools serving historically underrepresented communities. Lisa McBride, associate dean at Geisel, said the partnerships will help ensure research and medical education better reflect the communities most affected by cancer, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.

Read article – Features Felicia Goodrum, a professor of microbiology and immunology, discussing Anthony Fauci’s pandemic-era notes and the scientific debate over COVID-19’s origins. “We are less safe. We are less prepared for a pandemic right now than we were in 2019,” Goodrum said, warning that funding cuts and ongoing disputes over the pandemic’s origins are hindering research to prevent future outbreaks.

Read article—Features comments by Felicia Goodrum, a professor of microbiology and immunology, on scientific evidence supporting an animal-to-human origin for COVID-19 and warning that ongoing debates over the pandemic’s origins may undermine preparedness for future outbreaks. “We are less safe. We are less prepared for a pandemic right now than we were in 2019,” Goodrum said. (Similar coverage in KDKA)

Listen to Story – A radio segment features research by Elijah Stommel, a professor of neurology, linking chronic exposure to cyanobacterial blooms with an increased risk of ALS. The program examines new research on airborne blue-green algae toxins and how aerosolized cyanobacterial toxins may contribute to chronic exposure.

Read article—Features Felicia Goodrum, a professor of microbiology and immunology, discussing newly released pandemic-era notes from Anthony Fauci showing early uncertainty about the origin of COVID-19. “We make the best conclusions we have with the data we have at the time… then you’re going to ultimately revise the original conclusions that you made,” Goodrum said. (Similar coverage in International Business Times.)

Read article—Features Steven Woloshin, a professor of medicine, expressing concern about the Trump administration’s proposal to broaden access to testosterone replacement therapy. “The idea of changing the label and opening up the floodgates, I don’t think that’s in anyone’s interest,” Woloshin said.

Listen—A podcast interview with Nicholas Jacobson, an associate professor of biomedical data science and psychiatry, discusses his leading of the first clinical trial of a fully generative AI therapy chatbot, thoughtful regulation of AI in mental health, and closing the gap between the need for mental health care and the shortage of providers.

Read article—Nicholas Jacobson, an associate professor of biomedical data science and psychiatry, writes about the potential of Therabot, a generative AI therapy chatbot developed in his lab, and clinically developed AI-assisted therapy in general, to expand access to psychotherapy with personalized, evidence-based care at scale. “We expect that this intervention could lead to a regime change in the field,” Jacobson writes.

Read article—A Dartmouth study found that physicians may spend more time editing AI-drafted responses to patients than it would take to write them because of errors, irrelevant information, and a lack of key follow-up questions. The team created a training method that improved AI’s accuracy by 33% and reduced editing by 26%. “I don’t foresee a time when the portal can respond to a patient without a clinician editing it first,” said Tim Burdick, an associate professor of community and family medicine. (Similar coverage in Noah Intelligence. )