In a fact-checking story evaluating online claims about mRNA-based COVID vaccines, Louis Picker, M.D., says the vaccines aren’t gene therapy. He adds gene therapy is a “multi-step process that’s very delibartate, it’s very different than just injecting RNA in a carrier that is designed to be picked up, expressed and elicit an immune response” as vaccines do.

A study by Alexander Witkowski, M.D., Ph.D., concluded dermatologists should consider ordering a 31-gene expression profile test to evaluate metastasis risk in patients with new cutaneous malignant melanoma.

Marissa Co, Ph.D., is named one of the 40 rising young star researchers working on autism-related science who are under 40 years old.

Lina Reiss, Ph.D., provides outside expert commentary on a study that concluded stimulating the brainstem’s locus coeruleus region could improve hearing for patients with cochlear implants. Reiss says the study “might pave the way for novel treatments or even behavioral training strategies to better engage the locus coeruleus to speed up re-learning auditory processing through a cochlear implant.”

Coverage of DoveLewis Portland Area Canine Therapy Teams comforting holiday travelers at Portland International Airport notes the dogs also visit OHSU.

On the combined impact of COVID, RSV and influenza this winter, Peter Graven, Ph.D., says taking proven precautions like wearing a face mask in crowded public spaces and staying home when you’re unwell can help dull the current surge, adding: “I know people are kind of tearing of hearing some of that stuff. We’re not saying people need to change your life forever. Right now, for the next some number of weeks, we’re not in a great spot.”

Honora Englander, M.D., Ximena Levander, M.D., and Jessica Gregg, M.D., Ph.D., argue for a new approach to addiction treatment, calling for programmatic and policy changes that, they argue, could “begin to address disparities and inequities, and save lives.”

Yali Jia, Ph.D., is receiving a Research to Prevent Blindness grant to develop a new imaging platform to measure neurovascular changes associated with age-related macular degeneration.

In a story exploring how patients experiencing long COVID often feel isolated, Jordan Anderson, D.O., says even patients who live with loved ones can feel alone if their family members don’t understand the condition or take it seriously, and that patients can find comfort by participating in support groups.

Peter Graven, Ph.D., is quoted in an op-ed by ECONorthwest policy adviser John Tapogna that thanks Oregon Gov. Kate Brown for her service. While discussing the tough decisions Brown made during the pandemic, Graven says: “It was an ongoing cost-benefit analysis of everything society values the most—life, livelihoods and human connection.”