Asian American cancer research; Anteater Academy open house

July 29, 2024

A hungry squirrel munches on dandelions near Ring Road. (Photo: Steve Zylius/UC Irvine)

UC IRVINE NEWS

UC Irvine joins national network to address cancer among Asian Americans

Pictured on right: Sora Park Tanjasiri, a professor of health, society & behavior

Asian Americans have become the first racial/ethnic group for whom cancer is the leading cause of death. Yet, Asian Americans are often underrepresented in clinical trials and cancer research. This is why the National Cancer Institute has awarded $12.45 million to create a national cohort called ASPIRE, or ASian American ProspectIve REsearch, that will conduct a longitudinal study on cancer risks among Asian American. Sora Park Tanjasiri, a professor of health, society & behavior, is joining the UC Irvine team as a community engagement expert. “To be part of the first national cohort to study cancer risks in our diverse Asian American community is so exciting,” Tanjasiri said. “I not only look forward to harnessing my expertise and experience as a community-based participatory researcher to help recruit eligible Asian American participants, but also on a personal note as an Asian American person to see an investment in reducing the burden of cancer on my community.”

Anteater Academy hosts open house on sustainable energy research

School of Physical Sciences Dean James Bullock addressed a group of nearly 40 business, community and government representatives who came to UC Irvine recently to learn about sustainable energy research happening on campus.

Various elected officials, community leaders and business representatives recently visited the Susan & Henry Samueli Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Building to learn about sustainable energy research at UC Irvine. The event was part of the quarterly Anteater Academy series organized by the Community and Government Relations office. Each meeting focuses on a specific field of research on campus, encompassing health and medicine, climate and environment and more. Among other highlights, James Bullock, dean of the School of Physical Sciences (above, at podium), explained the looming climate crisis in a cosmological context, and David Kisailus, a professor of materials science and engineering, showed guests his laboratory, where graduate students discussed their ongoing biomimetic investigations and experiments.

UCI Health first in region to use new CT imaging technology

The advanced photon-counting computed tomography scanner at the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building at UCI Health — Irvine.

UCI Health is the first health system in Southern California to offer advanced photon-counting computed tomography scanning, which is faster and provides a higher resolution than traditional CT imaging. The first patients were scanned on July 16 at the new Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building at the UCI Health ― Irvine complex on campus. Advanced imaging is a key component of cancer diagnosis, treatment and active surveillance for those recovering from the disease.

#IamUCI

ICTV interviews UC Irvine’s chief architect

In an episode of “Irvine Influencers,” which recently aired on ICTV, the City of Irvine’s television station, reporter Valeria Stern accompanied Brian Pratt, associate vice chancellor of design & construction services and campus architect, for a tour of campus. Pratt is responsible for a $2 billion construction budget and projects as sprawling as the still-underway Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building and as modest as the $10 million Center for Complex and Active Materials at UC Irvine Materials Research Institute. Despite the latter’s smaller budget, the center will allow scientists to utilize record-breaking, super high resolution microscopes that have the potential to transform medicine. Said Pratt: “I tell my team if we can be that little margin between somebody curing cancer and not curing cancer because of what we did, that’s a pretty gratifying place to be.”

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