Vanessa Meade, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work and a U.S. Army veteran, was recently appointed as a member of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee (VRHAC) on a three-year term.⁠

While most know Mary Louise Rasmuson for her extraordinary philanthropy and the many structures, organizations and foundations that hold her and her husband's namesake, what many don’t know about Mary Louise was her incredible contribution to pioneering women’s work and rights in the U.S. military. She is an inspiration to many, but for Vanessa Meade, assistant professor in UAA’s School of Social Work and Army veteran, Rasmuson holds an extra special place in her heart. Meade is the coordinator for a new community-based project Operation Mary Louise (OML), named after Rasmuson, a woman she greatly admires for her military and leadership service. She hopes the project will shed light on Rasmuson's military contributions and all the women in Alaska who have served.

As misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic seemingly spills into almost every nook and cranny of the internet, some public health professionals in Alaska are countering false claims and myths in an embattled space: Facebook comment threads.

In December and January, UAA’s Alaska Airlines Center (AAC) became a focal point for two critical COVID-19 mitigation efforts. In the same time frame, several UAA faculty, staff and students contributed to a report on the effects of Anchorage’s COVID-19 emergency orders. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) announced on Dec. 9 that the AAC had been established as the state-run infusion center for two new monoclonal antibody therapies that can reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections.

DPHS Assistant Professor Kristin Bogue and Gloria Burnett, director of the AK Center for Rural Health and Health Workforce, spoke with Alaska Business Magazine about ramping up contact tracing efforts when COVID hit Alaska.

Contact tracing is an essential part of combating the spread of Covid-19. Not only do contact tracers work to discover where a person infected with the coronavirus may have contracted it, they also attempt to inform others about possible infection. But there is a lot more to the complicated work that they do. In this episode we’ll be hearing from Annie Thomas. She’s been a nurse for about fifteen years, and currently she is the project manager for the UAA Surge Contact Tracing team. She is also the owner of Managing Me Enterprises which does retreats for teens to help them build community cohesion and resilience.

Public health is a noble calling, largely unappreciated until recent events (namely, a global pandemic) shone new light on its importance. We need public health workers and leaders now more than ever.

Contact tracing is important. There are documented cases of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 and were asymptomatic, which means people may spread the virus without any idea that they have it. Contact tracing can inform individuals who may feel healthy—or who have mild symptoms they attribute to allergies or other causes—of their risk to others, allowing them to get tested or quarantine as appropriate, hopefully reducing the spread of the virus.

Proper evidence collection and documentation after domestic violence or sexual assault is an important step to help women who have been traumatized. A unique forensic training academy at UAA is teaching nurses how to conduct these exams and is helping grow the network of forensic nurses across the state.

While Alaska’s skilled hunters may be very aware of ticks on wildlife, news of newly arriving ticks is important to learn. In addition, dog owners and walkers may need to come up to speed. Alaska’s warming winters and the broader habitat for ticks in the Lower 48 and Canada may provide a channel for rarer types to get to Alaska and survive here. Join us to find out how the research is progressing, what the findings reveal, how you can participate, and how UAA faculty and graduate students are supporting the work.