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Alcohol harm reduction can also reduce other substance use

Quitting alcohol or drugs was not a top priority for people experiencing homelessness in a harm reduction treatment study, yet participants still reduced their use of both.

A different approach than traditional abstinence-based programs, harm reduction treatment for alcohol use disorder, also called HaRT-A, has patients set their own goals. In a study of 308 people experiencing homelessness, the participants receiving harm reduction treatment set goals of meeting basic needs and improving quality of life well above quitting alcohol and other substances.

Yet harm reduction treatment still led to more reduced use compared to a control group who received regular services. The findings are detailed in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.

Susan Collins.
Collins

“It’s a good reminder that all people have the same basic goals: we all want to be safer, healthier and happier, and when we help people experiencing homelessness achieve those goals, they might end up doing the things that treatment providers want them to do anyway,” said Susan Collins, a Washington State University psychology professor and the study’s senior author. “They might end up cutting down their use; they might end up quitting, but it’s on their own terms and their own timeline, so it’s more sustainable.”

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Medical Express

Mom and daughter accomplish college goals at WSU

Gaby Hernandez thought college wasn’t possible for her. She immigrated to the United States at 17, and though she graduated from high school in Bridgeport, Washington, her path led to motherhood and family life.

As her three kids grew, she and her husband encouraged their oldest child, daughter Sinai Espinoza Hernandez, to consider college. To that end, the family visited a community college. Something clicked, Gaby said. Her kids were older and she had been thinking about getting a job outside the home. Instead, she wondered, “maybe there’s something of college for me?”

Both mother and daughter found what they needed at Washington State University, with transfer options and online education. The result: They graduated together in the commencement ceremony in Spokane on May 5.

Gaby, a registered nurse, received her bachelor of science in nursing. Sinai graduated with a bachelor of arts in political science.

Both credit each other and their family for helping them reach their goals.

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Faculty artists gain valuable support for their work

A large ceramic wall installation; new music by female and Native American composers; multimedia artworks exploring identity, memory, and home—all are among WSU faculty-led projects supported by recent awards from the Washington state-based Artist Trust program.

Jacqueline Wilson.
Wilson
Io Palmer.
Palmer
Sarah Barnett.
Barnett

Faculty members Sarah Barnett and Io Palmer in fine arts, and Jacqueline Wilson in music, are among 16 artists statewide to each receive an unrestricted $10,000 Artist Trust Fellowship award for 2023 in recognition of their artistic excellence and dedication to their practice.

Chris Dickey.
Dickey
Mana Mehrabian.
Mehrabian
Dennis Dehart.
Dehart

In addition, faculty members Dennis DeHart and Mana Mehrabian in fine arts, and Chris Dickey in music, are among 65 artists statewide who each received an unrestricted $1,500, project-based award through the trust’s Grants for Artists’ Progress (GAP) program.

The nonprofit organization’s merit-based fellowship awards are conferred annually to practicing professional artists in any discipline who reside in Washington and demonstrate exceptional talent and ability.

GAP awards are based on artist excellence; clarity of the project and vision; potential impact of the award on the artist’s life; and the artist’s geographic location in Washington state.

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Ask Dr. Universe: How does snake venom in the antidote makes sense?

One of my roommates is a corn snake named Buddy. He’s not venomous. But he’s a very private individual and really likes his space.

Blair Perry.
Perry

Buddy and I talked about your question with my friend Blair Perry. He’s a biologist at Washington State University. He’s an expert on snakes and venom.

Perry told me antivenom doesn’t contain actual snake venom. It’s made with antibodies to snake venom.

Antibodies are proteins. They’re part of your immune system. They travel in your blood to fight germs or dangerous molecules—like those in venom—that could hurt you. Sometimes we get vaccines to boost our antibodies so they’re ready when something harmful shows up.

But that’s not enough for snake venom.

“With a snake bite, we get so many venom molecules injected all at once,” Perry said. “Plus, they act really, really fast. There’s not enough time for the body to produce those antibodies. Even if we had antibodies from a vaccine, it probably wouldn’t be enough to respond quickly and to a large enough degree.”

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Cowlitz Indian Tribe invests in STEM education and research at WSU Vancouver

Washington State University announced a $1 million philanthropic investment by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to advance life sciences and STEM education at WSU Vancouver, benefitting students, research and outreach in southwest Washington. The commitment made by the Cowlitz Tribal Foundation will be used in the construction of a $5.4 million state-of-the-art greenhouse as part of the campus’ Life Sciences Building project, now under construction.

“The WSU Vancouver community is grateful for the generous investment and partnership from the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and looks forward to the completion of our campus’ new Life Sciences Building in 2024,” said Mel Netzhammer, chancellor of WSU Vancouver. “This commitment will open doors for our talented faculty and students to make discoveries and share valuable knowledge of the world around us, thereby improving the quality of life across the region and beyond.”

“The Cowlitz Indian Tribe invests in education because we understand the value that it brings to individuals and the community,” said Timi Marie Russin, Cowlitz Tribal Foundation manager. “We are honored to be a part of the mission and grateful for the partnership with WSU Vancouver.”

The 3,300-square-foot greenhouse will be home for lab-based experiments, lectures, and independent research projects that will benefit biology and environmental science education and research programs at WSU Vancouver. The greenhouse is part of the new and innovative 60,000-square-foot Life Sciences Building, which broke ground in November 2021. Slated to open in 2024, the Life Sciences Building will house laboratory space for programming in biology and chemistry, serving general educational needs for all students and foundational courses for an array of STEM degrees. Largely funded by $52.6 million from the state of Washington’s 2021–23 capital budget, the Life Sciences Building will also house basic, translational, applied, and clinical health programs — including nursing, neuroscience, psychology, molecular biology, and medicine.

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