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Health
“We’re doing something that nobody was doing before, so we’re able to learn new ways of doing things and understand the unique needs of the Asian-American population and how we can help them.” – Quan Lu, associate professor in UH’s Department of Psychology and director of the Culture and Health Research Center, on how expressive writing can improve health outcomes for Asian-American breast cancer survivors
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Cancer Therapy
“There is a huge need to develop tools and techniques to unravel the interactions between the immune cells and the tumor cells. For example, you don’t want the immune cells to kill other cells.” – Badri Roysam, chairman of the UH Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, on a new method for screening cells used in immunotherapy cancer treatments
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Gas Prices
“These predictions were wrong. There is no direct tie between low gas prices and Gross Domestic Product.” – Ed Hirs, UH energy economist in the Department of Economics, on falling gas prices
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Transforming Cell Phones into Microscopes
“I had a few dollar bills in front of me, and I could count the number of hairs on Abraham Lincoln’s beard, on the $5 bill. I can see the tiny writing around the edges of the White House on the back of a $20 bill. So, I think this is just a very fun project with a lot of creative uses. Maybe they can use it to spot counterfeit bills.” – Wei-Chaun Shih, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in UH’s Cullen College of Engineering, on a new magnifying lens for smartphones
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Social Media
“In making a public commitment to the relationship, an individual is highlighting to themselves and to others that the relationship is an integral part of his or her self.” – Mai-Ly Steers, graduate student in UH’s Department of Psychology, on the perceptions created by social media posts
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Ph.D. Stipends
The support the university provided, says Wyman H. Herendeen, chair of the English Department, “was impressive and decisive, and has made an enormous difference in the morale of graduate students.” – Herendeen quoted on UH raising Ph.D. stipends since 2013
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Performance-Based Funding in Higher Education
“If you are resource-dependent on state appropriations, what is one of the most efficient ways to increase the funding that you get from the state? You begin to restrict admissions among students who are less likely to achieve the outcomes in the funding model and you recruit more students who have a greater likelihood of being successful.” – Lyle McKinney, assistant professor in the UH College of Education, on performance-based funding and its impact on community college tudents
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Stress and Obesity in Families
“We really need to think about how we are teaching our adolescents how to deal with stress, and trying not to use food as a way to deal with stress.” – Daphne Hernandez, associate professor in the UH Department of Health and Human Performance, on how family stress impacts childhood obesity
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Cellular Computer Technology’s Impact on Health
“Our goal is to find the worst chemical compounds and then replace them with safer alternatives.” – Maria Bondesson, clinical assistant professor of pharmacology in UH’s College of Pharmacy, on the link between flame retardants and obesity
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Diversity
“Diversity is more than our demographics at the University of Houston — it’s our commitment to expression, varied viewpoints and the belief that challenging the status quo produces the strongest innovation.” – UH System Chancellor Renu Khator in a statement to the Houston Chronicle on the prospect of hosting a nationally televised presidential debate
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Methane Emissions
“A lot of it is human error. Somebody will leave a hatch open, and nobody goes back to the facility for more than a month, so it’s leaking this huge amount of methane out of the top.” – Robert Talbot, UH professor of atmospheric chemistry, on drilling in Texas’ Barrett Shale fields
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Fast Food Safety
“People in the food safety community have been talking about this for years.” – Jay Neal, professor in the UH Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, on why he isn’t surprised so many food service workers are showing up sick
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Recruiting Transfer Students
“A lot of us are really seeing the value of these students and what they add to the campus. They’ve got a proven history.” – Jeff Fuller, UH director of student recruitment, on why many schools are increasing efforts to recruit transfer students
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Nutrition
“It is important to understand how people develop knowledge about nutrition, including examining nutritional messages found within the media.” – Temple Northup, associate professor in UH’s Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, on the relationship between watching television and nutrition
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Cancer Treatment
“Our research on the role of Liver X receptors, or LXRs, in pancreatic cancer cells points to a promising target and strategy in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.” – Chin Yo-Lin, assistant professor with UH’s Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling, on targeting proteins to develop drugs to prolong patient survival and eradicate cancer
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World War I Relics
“They’re that much more remarkable that they survived two World Wars, not just one. I think that after looking at these postcards people will feel differently about war.” – Irene Guenther, professor of history in UH’s Honors College, on a collection of postcards that offer insight into the horrors of WWI
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Student Involvement
“We know that it’s not just the classroom that makes a difference. Their involvement on campus is, in my opinion, the biggest part of keeping them on campus and toward graduation. Students that get involved have higher GPAs and are more likely to get jobs.” – Tina Powellson, director of the Center for Student Involvement, on getting more students involved in campus activities
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The Death Penalty
“The Breyer dissent was a dissent that two justices signed. I don’t get too excited about two justices. The Breyer dissent means so little in terms of the imminent demise of the death penalty that I wouldn’t spend any time on it.” – David R. Dow, a law professor at the University of Houston and the founder of the Texas Innocence Network, on the legal struggle to strike down the death penalty