A federal judge issues a nationwide preliminary injunction the new administration from reducing grant payments from the National Institutes of Health that fund research at OHSU and research centers across the country. Peter Barr-Gillespie, Ph.D., says, “This is welcome news for scientists at OHSU and across the country who have dedicated their careers to innovative biomedical science. OHSU’s research mission is under threat from the actions of the administration, and we must do all we can to protect it.”

"We’re getting hit from two different fronts,” said Andrew McHill, Ph.D., assistant professor in the OHSU School of Nursing, the OHSU School of Medicine and the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at OHSU.

A new OHSU study finds that consuming cannabis while pregnant could affect fetal lung development and function, potentially leading to the development of chronic respiratory health conditions, such as asthma, in adolescence and adulthood. Jamie Lo, M.D., says, “These findings add to the growing evidence that prenatal cannabis exposure may adversely affect offspring development. As the prevalence of prenatal cannabis use is rising, there is an urgent need for evidence-driven recommendations on the safety of use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding."

OHSU researchers caution that switching to daylight savings time raises health and performance issues for students and workers — and it’s worth taking steps ahead of time to reduce the risks. Andrew McHill, Ph.D., says, “We’re getting hit from two different fronts: First, we’re artificially shifting our clock so that we effectively lose an hour of sleep,” he said. “Second, we’re waking up an hour earlier than our internal body clock’s circadian time. That means we’re groggier while driving in the morning, we’re at heightened risk for a cardiovascular event, and it can lead to some detriments in performance at school or at work”

Medscape asks physicians what they wish they had known about the profession when they were medical students. Helmi Lutsep, M.D., says, “A challenge of the field that was not covered in medical school is that you are a physician 24/7, whether it is to others in the medical field, your family, or community. You will be called upon for advice or help at unexpected times, such as on a flight during a medical emergency or on vacation. Knowing this would not have deterred me from the field but the demands took a little while to sink in.”

Steve Stadum, J.D., is interim president of Oregon Health & Science University. Dr. George Brown, is president and chief executive officer of Legacy Health. They share their opinion.

"These cuts will cripple biomedical research and drug development in the U.S. We should be investing more in science, not less."

Continued media coverage on a team of OHSU researchers led by Jared Fischer, Ph.D., and Jose Montoya Mira, Ph.D., who developed a new blood test that identifies hard-to-detect pancreatic cancer with 85% accuracy. In an interview with KGW-TV, Fischer says, “We hope that we can help to deliver them a test and that this is just one small step in ending cancer as we know it.”

In an article about the potential health benefits of fish oil supplements, BestLife cites an OHSU study led by Lynne Shinto, N.D., that found a subset of older adults with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease may benefit from fish oil supplements. Shinto says, "Our findings showed that over three years, there was not a statistically significant difference between placebo and the group that took fish oil. I don’t think it would be harmful, but I wouldn’t say you need to take fish oil to prevent dementia.”

Claymore Kills First, Pharm.D., is interviewed on the KWSO Radio podcast to discuss the impact of pancreatic cancer on American Indian communities.