Stats + Stories

Three hundred and thirty-two days, that was the international statistic of the year in 2020, as identified by the Royal Statistical Society. That was the length of time between scientists publishing the genetic sequence of COVID-19 on the 11th of January, and an effective vaccine being administered on the 8th of December. This vaccine was an integral part of the world's pandemic response. Vaccines aren't new. In a World Health Organization report describing the history of vaccines, Dr. Edward Jenner is credited with the world's first successful vaccine for smallpox in 1796. In the last 100 years, vaccines were developed for yellow fever, pertussis, polio, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, and more. Well, how do we know vaccines are safe and effective? Why do some people argue against using vaccines? That's the topic of this episode with guest Dr. Jeffery Morris.

Three hundred and thirty-two days, that was the international statistic of the year in 2020, as identified by the Royal Statistical Society. That was the length of time between scientists publishing the genetic sequence of COVID-19 on the 11th of January, and an effective vaccine being administered on the 8th of December. This vaccine was an integral part of the world's pandemic response. Vaccines aren't new. In a World Health Organization report describing the history of vaccines, Dr. Edward Jenner is credited with the world's first successful vaccine for smallpox in 1796. In the last 100 years, vaccines were developed for yellow fever, pertussis, polio, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, and more. Well, how do we know vaccines are safe and effective? Why do some people argue against using vaccines? That's the topic of this episode with guest Dr. Jeffery Morris.

About 5.4 million Americans live with some form of paralysis. Sometimes that's just a temporary loss of mobility, but for the Americans whose paralysis is caused by a spinal cord injury, that loss of movement is often permanent, as there's no biological way to heal an injured spinal cord. There are efforts to see if technology might be able to help these individuals regain use of their limbs, and that's the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Dr. David Friedenberg.

Coronaviruses, Ebola, Marburg, NEPA, SARS, what do these diseases share in common? Habitat loss resulting in closer interactions between infected bats and uninfected humans is one factor. What other factors are driving the growth of zoonotic diseases, and where is the spillover risk the greatest?

The civil war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, which lasted from November 2020 to November 2022, left as many as 600 thousand people dead. The war fought by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front on one side and Ethiopian and Eritrean forces on the other also had a devastating impact on the health-system in Tigray. That’s the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories, with guests James J. Cochran and Mulugeta Gebregziabher.

When a gene in the human body goes bad, it can cause illness and disease. Scientists have been working for decades to develop therapies to address faulty genes. In the U.S. gene therapy has been approved as a treatment for illnesses such as cancer, hemophilia, AIDS. However, as researchers explore treatment possibilities. The ethics and costs of such treatments remain a concern. A new book aims to provide an overview of the state of gene therapy development which is the focus of this episode of Stat+Stories with guests Avery McIntosh and Oleksandr Sverdlov.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hospital mortality rates in the US were on the decline in the early 2000s, even as total hospitalizations rose. This came after a 1999 U.S. Institute of Medicine report that suggested tens of thousands of individuals died in hospitals unnecessarily each year. The report focused attention on patient safety in modern hospitals. About 70 years earlier, an organization in the American South was also concerned with patient outcomes. That's the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Melissa Thomasson.

As you reach the end of a long day with an excess of stress how do you recharge? Have you found that a long stroll in the sun or through the woods can provide this renewal? Walking in nature is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guest Dr. Altea Lorenzo-Arribas.

Helaine Alessio, PhD, FACSM is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health at Miami University and is a past President of the MWACSM and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. She teaches Exercise Science-related courses and has received university commendations for her teaching. She has been funded by NIH, private foundations, and corporations to support research, teaching, and service projects. She has published 2 books, 13 book chapters, and 56 journal articles, as well as national and international peer reviewed blogs, infographics, and NPR broadcasts. She is listed in the top 2% of Exercise Scientists cited in the world by Stanford University researchers. Her work on academic integrity includes co-editing a special edition of a journal on the topic that was the most widely published for the Journal of Excellence in College Teaching.