As COVID-19 swept the nation in March 2020, Washington State University was forced to shut down all research activities except essentials like feeding animals and maintaining equipment. Faculty with ongoing studies were required to put them on hold or pivot to make the research relevant to the pandemic. So, step-by-step, many began charting unknown territory.

Young woman in a mask climbs stairs at Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at WSU
Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (Courtesy WSU News)

“Science and teamwork are our best hope for a way forward,” said WSU President Kirk Schulz in October 2020. “I am incredibly proud of our faculty whose persistence and innovation will help us get through this crisis and prevent a future one.”

Here are highlights from a year of extraordinary research challenges.

 

Health

Santanu Bose, Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, patented a treatment to suppress the dangerous inflammatory response, or cytokine storm, that can lead to severe pneumonia during COVID-19 infection.

Patrik Johansson, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, is investigating the impact of the pandemic on the health and well-being of cancer patients living in rural and tribal communities.

Ofer Amram, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, is evaluating the impact of deferred preventive care on cancer patients. He also led a team that developed COVID-19 tracking tools to help rural areas better respond to outbreaks.

Courtney Meehan, Anthropology, was part of a research team that found mothers infected with COVID-19 pass antibodies to their babies in breast milk without passing along the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Catherine Van Son and Deborah Eti, Nursing, suggest that a pulse oximeter is more reliable than a thermometer for diagnosing older adults with COVID-19.

Tahira Probst, Psychology, WSU Vancouver, studies whether COVID-19 economic stressors such as job insecurity and financial strain affect employees’ ability to comply with health guidelines.

Sara Waters, Human Development, WSU Vancouver, surveyed Asian Americans to discover the types of discrimination they experienced during the pandemic and how it has affected their physical and mental health.

Tracy Klein and Louise Kaplan, Nursing, WSU Vancouver, study changes in health professional policies, including licensure requirements adopted by states to promote workforce flexibility during COVID-19.

 

Surveillance

The Paul G. Allen School for Global Health is selected to establish a Center of Research for Emerging Infectious Diseases (one of eleven) by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Located in Nairobi, Kenya, the WSU center will help prevent future pandemics by studying pathogen transmission, improving pathogen detection, and conducting surveillance studies.

Dedra Buchwald, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and director of the Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health, was awarded $4.4 million to study COVID-19 testing in urban American Indian and Alaska Native populations.

Michael Letko, Paul G. Allen School for Global Health, studies coronaviruses in bats and other animals to help predict and prevent future pandemics.

The Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) , College of Veterinary Medicine, is conducting limited COVID-19 testing in animals.

 

Intervention

Eric Lofgren and Guy Palmer, Paul G. Allen School for Global Health, are tracking epidemiological factors that facilitate spread of COVID-19 to inform science-based policies for reducing transmission in health care systems, schools, and the community.

Mural in the Paul G. Allen School for Global Health building at WSU
The Paul G. Allen School for Global Health
(Courtesy ZGF)

Bala Krishnamoorthy, Mathematics and Statistics, WSU Vancouver, and Ananth Kalyanaraman, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, WSU Pullman, use data analysis to create interactive maps that help identify COVID outbreaks geographically. Their goal is to develop targeted intervention methods.

Kevan Moffett, Environmental Hydrology, and Deepti Singh, School of the Environment, WSU Vancouver, are analyzing weather, air quality, demographic, and socioeconomic data to determine COVID-19 risks and vulnerabilities in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Pandemic Fallout

Randy Fortenbery and Eric Jessup, School of Economic Sciences, and Karina Gallardo, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, are assessing the effect of COVID-19 on food supply, agricultural economics, and transportation.

Jen Moss, WSU Extension, and Stephanie Smith, School of Food Science and WSU Extension, provide guidance on food safety, preparation, low-cost recipes, and locally accessible ingredients. They also offer advice on staying healthy and physically active during the pandemic.

Porismita Borah, Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, and Michael Caulfield, Blended and Networked Learning, WSU Vancouver, are combatting pandemic misinformation by studying how it spreads and ways to reduce “fake news.” They developed a way to detect coronavirus misinformation in 30 seconds.

Elizabeth Howlett, Carson College of Business, is studying consumer fraud and what makes people susceptible to fraudulent cures, treatments, and tests for COVID-19.

Tim Nadreau, School of Economic Sciences, is assessing the economic impacts of COVID-19 in Washington state and beyond.

Robert Crossler, Carson College of Business, says COVID-19 social distancing measures have sparked discussion of full mail-in or online voting for upcoming elections. He studies potential concerns with vote security and voter privacy.

Elizabeth Weybright, Human Development, studies boredom in teens caused by social distancing during COVID-19, and the challenges it presents for parents.

Chun-Chu (Bamboo) Chen, Carson College of Business, WSU Vancouver, examines the financial and health impacts of COVID-19 layoffs and furloughs on the hospitality workforce.

Steve Fountain, History and Native American Affairs, and Desiree Hellegers, English, WSU Vancouver, are studying heightened food insecurity during the pandemic.

Jane Lanigan and Yoshie Sano, Human Development, and Linda Eddy, Nursing, WSU Vancouver, study impacts of COVID-19 social distancing on health behaviors, many of which cause a decline in subjective well-being. Social support was found to be key in encouraging healthy behaviors.

 

Creative Responses

Susan Finley, Education, WSU Vancouver, created digital storytelling outlets for COVID-19 and art expression including an Instagram TV series on coronavirus responses among artists.

Shelly Fritz, Nursing, WSU Vancouver, and Marian Wilson, WSU Health Sciences Spokane, study the impact and efficacy of homemade masks in a pandemic.

 

Read stories about WSU COVID-19 research.