MONDAY, MAY 11 – SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015
BEST BETS
NEW DISPLAY SET TO OPEN IN GORGAS HOUSE – Media are invited to watch and photograph/video Gorgas House Museum staff May 13 as they begin setting up a new display in one of UA’s oldest structures. Beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday, staff will begin converting a Gorgas House bedroom to a post office, much like the one Amelia Gorgas ran from the structure in the late 1800s and early 1900s. If interested, contact Kim Eaton, UA media relations, at 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu, or, for broadcast media, Shane Dorrill at 205/348-8319 or sdorrill@ur.ua.edu.
BEHIND THE TORCH: UA STUDENTS GET EXTENSIVE LOOK AT OLYMPIC COMMITTEE – Fifteen prospective sport management professionals from UA are interacting with the nation’s sport managers during a graduate-level, interim travel course at the United States Olympic Committee headquarters. Three of these students are blogging over the next several days. Follow along as they document their experience, http://uanews.ua.edu/2015/05/behind-the-torch-ua-students-get-extensive-look-at-olympic-committee/. For more information, contact Kim Eaton at 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
ENGINEERING TEAM READY FOR NASA CONTESTS – A team of students from the UA College of Engineering leaves later this week for a NASA-sponsored competition. Alabama Astrobotics built a robot that can dig and collect simulated Martian soil and will compete early next week in Florida. For more information, contact Adam Jones, engineering media relations, 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu.
CAN YOU IMAGINE SHARING A BYLINE WITH 1,013 OTHERS? Me neither. But four former UA students and their faculty mentor, Dr. Laura Reed, are among the 1,014 co-authors of a paper published in the journal G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. Of the authors, 940 are students at various universities around the country. The paper represents a huge coordinated effort called the Genome Education Partnership (http://gep.wustl.edu). It uses undergraduate students doing individual bioinformatics research projects as a part of their course work, but information from those individual projects is fed into a larger scientific data set. Bioinformatics is a relatively new science that uses the latest computational techniques to store, organize and analyze information about biology and, in this case, specifically genetics. Reed, a UA assistant professor of biological sciences, has been involved in the effort since 2011 when she first used the partnership in class. For more information, contact Chris Bryant in media relations, cbryant@ur.ua.edu or 205/348-8323. Contact Reed directly at 205/348-1345 or lreed1@bama.ua.edu.
PROFESSOR, STUDENTS TO LEAD FREE MEMORY SCREENINGS – Over 50? Feel forgetful? Feel healthy? You may be as sharp and focused as ever or experiencing increased forgetfulness. If you have concerns about your memory or just want to see how you are doing, the Memory Screening event may be for you. UA is hosting an open-enrollment period for a free memory screening to be conducted over the next few months. The screening will last about 45 minutes and will take place at Gordon Palmer Hall on the UA campus. Interested community members must be over the age of 50. If interested, phone 205/348-9973. The project is led by Dr. Forrest Scogin, professor of psychology at UA. Scogin led similar studies in 2013 and 2005. For more information, contact David Miller, UA Media Relations, 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
SCHOLARS SEEK TO BRIDGE GAP BETWEEN COMMUNITIES, RESEARCHERS – A team of UA scholars aims to strengthen the relationships between researchers and the communities they study via a new grant. Without a well-established relationship, researchers may miss opportunities to improve surveys and gain accurate data. Ideally, community-based research projects, particularly those of an ongoing nature, should have partners who work with researchers and community members to achieve the best results. The UA research team seeks to bridge that gap in a pair of in-state communities through a Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. The approximate $250,000 contract will support development of community stakeholder groups and allow UA team members to learn their advice on research and experiential learning opportunities in their communities. The project will be based in Sumter County and Holt and will last for two years. For more information, contact David Miller, UA Media Relations, 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
CURRENT COMMENT
GEOLOGIST AVAILABLE REMOTELY FROM INDIA TO COMMENT ON NEPAL QUAKE — Dr. Delores Robinson, UA associate professor of geological sciences, has walked hundreds of kilometers in the Nepal region in her research on Himalayan mountain building. She is presently in northwest India, about 400 miles from the quake’s epicenter, and is available, via e-mail, to discuss the April 25 earthquake in Nepal, which killed more than 7,000 people. The biggest risks from potentially devastating aftershocks in the region have now passed, Robinson says. “Aftershocks decrease dramatically linearly with each passing day from the quake. There is no guarantee, but some schools of thought are that the chances of a big quake this far out is unlikely.” Scientists knew the region was ripe for an extensive earthquake, but they are not generally able to predict precise timings or locations. “Geologists expected the earthquake. We didn’t know when and the exact location. Nepal has known for years that they are in a hazardous region and has been doing what it could with their meager resources to prepare.” Read more about Robinson’s research in the region at www.research.ua.edu/2014/05/reaching-for-rocks/. E-mail Robinson at dmr@ua.edu. For assistance, contact Chris Bryant in media relations, 205/348-8323 or cbryant@ur.ua.edu.
UA EXPERT TIPS
UA MATTERS: REDUCING ALLERGY SYMPTOMS WITHOUT MEDICATION — Spring buds and blooms are a sure sign that winter is over and seasonal allergies are on their way. Dr. Richard Friend, a family physician and UA associate professor and interim chair of the department of family medicine, says it’s possible to reduce some allergy symptoms without medication. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA Media Relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu