COVID-19 widened health disparities in work, food

A deep dive by researchers at the School of Medicine and the Brown School found gaping health disparities resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The study, which looked at St. Louis County residents, shows that Black women suffered disproportionately higher rates of employment loss and food insecurity.

Training teaches users to respond to suicidal behavior

QPR training, a nationally recognized suicide prevention program, is now available to all students, faculty and staff at Washington University. Kirk Dougher, associate vice chancellor for student support and wellness, likens QPR to CPR — an emergency response that saves lives.

Graduate students learn by doing on balloon project

Graduate students working on the balloon-borne XL-Calibur mission, led by Arts & Sciences’ Henric Krawczynski, encountered numerous obstacles and gained valuable experience during the highly sensitive instrument’s first launch and flight.

Notables

The McKelvey School of Engineering’s Chenyang Lu, an internationally recognized leader in cyber-physical systems, has received recognition for a trailblazing paper. The award recognizes his 2010 paper on using wireless sensor networks in a hospital environment.

Research Wire

Rita Parai, assistant professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, won a $450,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.