Long after the lungs clear and coughs subside, there is a subgroup people who were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) who manifest lingering sequelae (LongC), with neurological symptoms (nLongC).

 

Drs. Lynn Pulliam and Judith M. Ford coauthored a study that examined the neurological effects of the cognitive dysfunction of nLongC, known has “brain fog”.

The Northern California Institute for Research and Education, Inc. (NCIRE) is excited to welcome new Board member: Dr. Heather E. Nye!

 

Dr. Nye Chief of Medicine at SFVAHCS.  She is Professor and Vice Chair, and the Marvin H. Sleisenger Endowed Chair in the Department of Medicine at UCSF.  She received her MD PhD from Yale School of Medicine & the Department of Pharmacology then completed a combined residency program in medicine and pediatrics at the Harvard Combined Med-Peds Program.  She has practiced as a clinician educator within UCSF and SFVAHCS hospital medicine groups since 2003.

Learn more about Dr. Heather E. Nye, and our full Board of Directors:

Workers in high-stakes occupations, such as first responders, are at risk of exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) and moral injury, yet research with first responders has been scarce.

 

Dr. Shira Maguen’s study, titled “Prevalence of Exposures and Moral Injury in First Responders” aimed to assess the frequency of exposure to PMIEs, the prevalence of moral injury, and the correlation between moral injury and other mental health symptoms.

 

The study was published in the Journal of the American College or Emergency Physicians Open.

Dr. Renuka Nayak had the honor of presenting her research during the annual American College of Rheumatology (ACR) conference “ACR Convergence 2025”, October 24-29 in Chicago, Illinois.

 

In the October 26th session, titled, “Immune-Metabolite Axis: How Microbial and Host Byproducts Drive Inflammation”, Dr. Nayak discussed therapeutic approaches to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using short-chain fatty acids (SCFA).

 

Along with her colleagues Dr. Nayak’s research on identical twins who are discordant for RA found that the twin with RA had significantly lower concentrations of fecal butyrate and propionate. SCFA-producing bacteria were also decreased in the RA twin. This suggests that low levels of SCFAs may contribute to the development or progression of RA.

Dementia significantly impacts rural communities in the U.S., presenting unique challenges for family caregivers due to limited access to essential support services.

 

Dr. Kenneth Covinsky co-published a study that examines the influence of area-level factors on the utilization of home- and community-based services among rural caregivers.

 

The study, titled "Utilization of home- and community-based services among rural family caregivers of persons with dementia: the role of the area deprivation index”, was published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.