2023 in review: Case Western Reserve University in the news (2024)

Whether the subject is polarized politics or growing global conflicts, biomedical breakthroughs or emerging applications for AI, journalists know to turn to Case Western Reserve faculty for insight—and new ideas.

The past year saw 60 Minutes feature our biomedical engineers restoring feeling and movement. It also witnessed NBC Nightly News showcasing students using Sears think[box] to help a photographer take pictures again. Plus, The New York Times highlighted a doctoral student’s discovery that an ancient fish wasn’t nearly as long as previously thought.

Read on to see some of the many ways campus experts helped explain the news—and, in some instances, helped shape it—over the past year.

Winter

• The Navy Is About to Shoot a Projectile at 9,000 MPH. No One Knows What Will Happen.
  Popular Mechanics: BryanSchmidt, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering
• What is postpartum psychosis? Rare condition is in the spotlight after the killing of three children in Massachusetts
  NBC News: Phillip Resnick, professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine
• Why Newport News replaced nonprofit tasked with helping its poorest residents
  CBS News: Amy Khare, research assistant professor and the research director at the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities
• The ADHD medication shortage is getting worse. What went wrong?
  NBC News: Max Wiznitzer, professor at the School of Medicine
• It’s Still Worth Funding a Better Covid Vaccine
  Washington Post:Stephanie Langel,assistant professor attheSchool of Medicine
• This Tool Could Protect Artists From A.I.-Generated Art That Steals Their Style
  The New York Times: Raymond Ku, the Laura B. Chisolm Distinguished Research Scholar and professor at the School of Law
• Iowa now has its own version of a ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, requiring parental consent for nicknames that don’t match a kid’s ‘biological sex’
  Business Insider: Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, a visiting instructor in the Department of History
• Narcan, The Lifesaving Drug That Can Reverse An Opioid Overdose, Can Be Bought Over The Counter Soon
  Buzzfeed: Ryan Marino, assistant professor at the School of Medicine
• What Is Going On in East Palestine, Ohio?
  New York Magazine: Kurt Rhoads, assistant professor of civil engineering
• Junk Fee Prevention Act: Price Transparency Might Benefit Small Businesses
  Inc. Magazine: Cathy Mansfield, senior instructor in law
• Did the train derailment in East Palestine affect its water supply? Experts say more testing is needed.
  ABC News: Miranda Leppla, director of the Environmental Law Clinic at the School of Law
• Ohio Abortion-Rights Coalition Begins Push for Constitutional Amendment
  The Wall Street Journal: Jessie Hill, the Judge Ben C. Green Professor of Law
• Cleveland Looks to an Unlikely Savior: a Long-Neglected River
  Bloomberg: John Grabowski, the Krieger-Mueller Joint Professor in History
• Ukrainian children taken to Russia brings back fear, memories of a similar Nazi effort
  USA Today: Michael Scharf, co-dean of the School of Law

Spring

• Supreme Court weighs Biden’s student debt cancellation plan
  CBS News:Jonathan Adler, the Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law
• How strong is Dominion’s defamation case against Fox News? Legal experts weigh in
  Los Angeles Times: Andrew Geronimo, director of the First Amendment Clinic at the School of Law
• Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Coming Soon To An HR Department Near You
  Forbes: Pamela Davis, the Arline H. and Curtis F. Garvin Research Professor, Rong Xu, professor of biomedical informatics at the School of Medicine
• Salesforce CEO asks if tech execs should ‘unleash’ their inner Elon Musk. Experts say that’s an awful idea.
  Business Insider: Anat Alon-Beck, assistant professor of law
• Could ‘The Last of Us’ Fungus Happen in Real Life? Here’s What a Biotech Expert Says About the Possibility
  Parade: Mahmoud Ghannoum, professor at the School of Medicine
• Five women sue Texas over the emergency medical exemption in the state’s six weeks abortion ban
  CNN, The Lead With Jake Tapper: Jessie Hill, the Judge Ben C. Green Professor of Law
• Fathers Gained Family Time in the Pandemic. Many Don’t Want to Give It Back.
  The New York Times: Timothy Black, professor of sociology at the College of Arts and Sciences
• Aggressive Medical Care Remains Common at Life’s End
  The New York Times: Siran Koroukian, associate professor intheDepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, and Sara Douglas, the Gertrude Perkins Oliva Professor in Oncology Nursing at Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
• Regional banks under scrutiny: What makes them different?
  NPR: Lakshmi Balasubramanyan, an associate professor of banking and finance at Weatherhead School of Management
• What Really Happens When You Fail a Postpartum Depression Screening
  Parents Magazine: Susan Hatters-Friedman, the Phillip Resnick Professor of Forensic Psychiatry and an adjunct professor at the School of Law
• An HBCU alumna has become Vanderbilt’s first Black woman neurosurgery resident
  CNN: Tamia Potter, graduating School of Medicine student
• Feel again: Advancements in prosthetics limb technology allow feeling, control
  CBS, 60 Minutes: Dustin Tyler, the Kent H. Smith II Professor of Bioengineering and founder of the Human Fusions Institute, and Bolu Ajiboye, the Elmer Lincoln Lindseth Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and bioengineer at the Functional Electrical Stimulation Center
• Black widows are vanishing. Here’s their new enemy.
  Mashable: Mark Willis, professor of biology
• ChatGPT Is Pretty Bad At Poetry, According To Poets
  Vice News: Walt Hunter, chair of the Department of English
• Postponing Bedtime By Just 34 Minutes Could Increase Your Risk of High Blood Pressure
  Health: Sadeer Al-Kindi, an assistant professor at the School of Medicine
• Why decriminalizing drugs is a bad idea
• The Washington Post: Michael Clune, the Samuel B. and Virginia C. Knight Professor of Humanities in the Department of English
• ‘It just didn’t enter my mind to initiate sex;’ Low sex drive in men linked to chemical mbalance
  CNN: SherylKingsberg, professor at the School of Medicine, andStanleyAlthof, professor emeritus at the School of Medicine

Summer

• Almost 70 infections linked to recalled eyedrops in 16 states, CDC says
  NBC News: Robert Bonomo, professor of pharmacology, molecular biology and microbiology at the School of Medicine
• NRA shows gun rights power but pushback grows from shootings
  Associated Press: Matthew Lacombe, the Alexander P. LamisAssociateProfessor in American Politics in the Department of Political Science
• California jury finds Tesla Autopilot did not fail in crash case
  NBC News: Cassandra Burke Robertson, the John Deaver Drinko-Baker Hostetler Professor of Law and director of the Center for Professional Ethics
• Earth’s core is wilder than you can imagine
  Mashable: James Van Orman, professor of geochemistry and mineral physics at the College of Arts and Sciences
• Only One Drug Can Treat Their Rare Disease. But It’s Hard to Get
  Bloomberg: Mark Aulisio, the Susan E. Watson Professor and chair of the Department of Bioethics
• At Its Height In The ’90s, ‘Jerry Springer’ Exploited Black, Trans And Poor Experiences
  HuffPost: Bryan Adamson,the David L. Brennan Professor of Law
• Coastal Cities Priced Out Low-Wage Workers. Now College Graduates Are Leaving, Too.
  The New York Times: Daniel Shoag, associate professor of economics at Weatherhead School of Management
• Biden Says He’s Not Concerned About the Debt Ceiling. Why He Should Be.
  Barron’s: Joseph White, the Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy in the College of Arts and Sciences
• With DNC coming to Chicago, experts say economic boost might be overhyped
  Chicago Tribune: Karen Beckwith, the Flora Stone Mather Professor in the Department of Political Science at the College of Arts and Sciences
• 12 Health Benefits of Zinc for Women, According to Nutrition Experts
  Good Housekeeping: Abigail Basson, instructor at the School of Medicine
• Drug cuts risk of breast cancer recurrence for some early-stage patients, trial shows
  CNN: Alberto Montero, professor at the School of Medicine
• Hunter Biden’s Questionable Case of ‘Special Treatment’
  U.S. News & World Report: Eric Chaffee, the Peter M. Gerhart Distinguished Research Scholar and associate director of the Center for Business Law
• Meet the animals that can handle extreme heat
  National Georgraphic: Sarah Diamond, associate professor of biology
• 16 Montana kids are suing the state over climate change. Here’s what to know about the trial
  Time Magazine: Jonathan Adler, the Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law
• 5 people contract malaria within U.S. borders — first such cases in two decades
  The Washington Post: Brian Grimberg, associate professor of pathology and international health at the School of Medicine
• What can be done to help teens?
  NBC News: Lisa Damour, senior advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies and a clinical instructor in the Department of Psychological Sciences
• The Summer of ‘Barbie’ Has Only Just Begun
  The Wall Street Journal: Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, a visiting instructor in the Department of History
• How religious liberty became the Roberts court’s North Star
  Christian Science Monitor: Deepak Sarma, a professor at the Department of Religious Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences
• Election disinformation campaigns targeted voters of color in 2020. Experts expect 2024 to be worse
  Associated Press: Atiba Ellis, the Laura B. Chisholm Distinguished Research Scholar and professor of law
• How to build the backyard frog pond you didn’t know you needed
  The Washington Post: Mike Bernard, associate professor and the chair of the Department of Biology
• Alzheimer’s drug trials target older Californians. Do they understand what they’re signing up for?
  Los Angeles Times: Peter Whitehouse, professor at the College of Arts and Sciences
• The next wave of abortion rights ballot measures looks different from the last
  Vox: Jonathan Entin, the David L. Brennan Professor Emeritus of Law and adjunct professor of political science
• Redlining was outlawed 55 years ago, but it’s still hurting heart health today
  MarketWatch: Salil Deo, associate professor of surgery at the School of Medicine
• HBCU, Diverse Medical Students On NFL Teams’ Training Camp Staffs
  Sports Illustrated: Penelope Halkiadakis, a third-year student at the School of Medicine

Fall

• EPA smog plan takes hold — with a big asterisk
  Politico: Victor Flatt, the Coleman P. Burke Chair in Environmental Law and associate director of the Burke Center for Environmental Law
• Should teens get their wisdom teeth pulled before troubles start?
  The Washington Post: Faisal Quereshy, professor at the School of Dental Medicine
• Cleveland-based nonprofit uses hip-hop as mental health tool
  Good Morning America, ABC News: Ivan Conard, research associate in the Center on Trauma and Adversity at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
• Changing a nation and the cost of progress
  PBS News: Ayesha Bell Hardaway, professor of law and co-director of the Social Justice Institute
• California Facing Tropical Storm Watch; Hawaii Fire Investigation
  CNN: Edward Dabkowski, research associate at the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
• The Most Popular Digital Abortion Clinics, Ranked by Data Privacy
  Wired: Sharona Hoffman, the Edgar A. Hahn Professor of Law and co-director of the Law-Medicine Center
• Kangaroo Care: The Benefits of Skin-to-Skin Contact
  Parents Magazine: Gene Cranston Anderson, professor emeritus of nursing
• The Mediterranean diet has stood the test of time for a reason: It works
  National Geographic: Nathan Berger, the Hanna-Payne Professor of Experimental Medicine at the School of Medicine
• New Developments in Engineering and Technology
  PBS News: JohannaNagyandLydiaKisley, assistant professors of physics at the College of Arts and Sciences
• Why are some Republicans opposing more aid for Ukraine?
  BBC News: Justin Buchler, associate professor of political science at the College of Arts and Sciences
• Fury as Woman Compares Sister Grieving Her Teen Daughter to Her Cat’s Death
  Newsweek: EileenAnderson,associate professor at the School of Medicine
• Meet the Black students who were instrumental in developing the first Covid-19 shots
  CNN: Cynthia Ziwawo, student in the School of Medicine
• High Blood Pressure Is the World’s Biggest Killer. Now There’s a Plan to Tackle It
  Wired: Sanjay Rajagopalan, professor of medicine and the director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute
• Can a Shot to Prevent HIV Make a Dent in America’s Epidemic?
  U.S. News & World Report: Laura Mintz, assistant professor at the School of Medicine
• Could Planet 9 Actually Just Be Controversial Physics?
  Popular Mechanics: Harsh Mathur, professor of physics at the College of Arts and Sciences
• Private Equity’s Bet on Fertility Focuses on Sector’s Staffing Shortages
  The Wall Street Journal: Rachel Weinerman, clinical assistant professor at the School of Medicine
• What to Know About Seasonal Affective Disorder in Kids
  Parents Magazine: Jennifer King, assistant professor and the co-director of the Center on Trauma and Adversity at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
• The truth about Napoleon and Josephine’s marriage, divorce, and lasting legacy
  Vox: Gillian Weiss, professor in the Department of History at the College of Arts and Sciences
• What ISIS can teach us about drone warfare in Ukraine
  World Affairs, NPR: Shannon French, the Inamori Professor in Ethics, director of the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence and an associate professor of philosophy at the College of Arts and Sciences

For more information, contact Colin McEwen at colin.mcewen@case.edu.