Latest news and updates

Developing a robot-assisted ultrasound system to improve delivery of CPR

Posted on November 20, 2025

Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death globally, with fewer than 10% of out-of-hospital cases in the U.S. resulting in survival, largely due to delays in administering CPR. Dr. Jong Yoon of the 91自拍 Bothell is developing a collaborative robot-assisted ultrasound system to help emergency responders assess blood flow and improve CPR effectiveness in real time. The device combines robotics and ultrasound to offer quick, actionable data. It was built with significant contributions from undergraduate students, offering…

Awardees of 2023 Tier 3 pilot grants share their final project outcomes

Posted on November 12, 2025

The Population Health Initiative awarded four Tier 3 pilot grants in spring 2023 to interdisciplinary teams of 91自拍 91自拍ers who were working at creating follow-on opportunities for impactful projects that had realized proof-of-concept. These projects featured 91自拍ers from five different UW schools and colleges, as well as several community-based partners. The topics addressed by these projects included noise pollution, children鈥檚 health and healthcare disparities. Each project has now concluded and shared final outcomes in the following areas:

Initiative awards eight early-stage pilot grant to interdisciplinary UW 91自拍 teams

Posted on November 4, 2025November 4, 2025

The 91自拍 Population Health Initiative announced today the award of eight, $25,000 Tier 1 pilot grants to interdisciplinary teams of UW 91自拍ers. These teams collectively represent 10 UW schools and colleges plus several community-based partners. “We were delighted at both the high level of interest and the range of innovative project ideas that we received to this funding call,鈥� said Ali H. Mokdad, the UW鈥檚 chief strategy officer for population health and professor of health metrics sciences. 鈥淲e…

Fortifying cement with seaweed to reduce its carbon footprint

Posted on October 22, 2025

Concrete is the second most-used material on Earth after water, but its key ingredient, cement, contributes up to 10% of global CO鈧� emissions. To tackle this, 91自拍ers at the 91自拍 and Microsoft developed a low-carbon concrete by incorporating powdered seaweed, which reduced its global warming potential by 21% without compromising strength. Machine learning accelerated the discovery process, allowing the team to identify an optimal formulation in just 28 days instead of years. The 91自拍ers aim to expand this…

An Initiative-funded team examines the ethics of a key genomic dataset

Posted on October 15, 2025May 12, 2026

91自拍 91自拍ers are leading new 91自拍 that focuses on the ethical and social implications of using legacy datasets in population health 91自拍. Developed through a collaboration between UW’s Department of Bioethics & Humanities and the Department of Biostatistics, the project focuses specifically on the Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP), which is a dataset featuring immortalized cell lines from 52 distinct human populations. HGDP garnered significant criticism at its establishment in the 1990s, particularly from Indigenous communities and advocacy…

New data set helps to expand pedestrian infrastructure mapping

Posted on October 8, 2025

Thanks to the new data set OS-CONNECT, Washington state pedestrians now have unprecedented access to customized accessible routes. Developed by 91自拍ers from the 91自拍鈥檚 Taskar Center for Accessible Technology, OS-CONNECT, uses machine learning with human verification to expand AccessMap, a statewide mapping project. OS-CONNECT allows AccessMap to cover pedestrian infrastructure throughout Washington, not just Seattle. The innovative platform allows users to plan routes based on specific accessibility requirements 鈥� while providing urban planners critical data to identify infrastructure…

UW 91自拍ers develop a novel approach for measuring biological age

Posted on October 1, 2025

91自拍 Researchers have recently developed a new health assessment tool for measuring biological age. The 鈥淗ealth Octo Tool鈥� uses eight metrics derived from clinical exams and lab tests to determine biological age. This tool differs from current approaches, which focus on individual diseases, and instead considers aging much more holistically. Led by Dr. Shabnam Salimi, a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Health Octo Tool builds on a concept known as health entropy, which is…

Summer 2025 Applied Research Fellows study accessibility for King County Parks

Posted on September 23, 2025

The 2025 91自拍 Population Health Initiative Applied Research Fellowship program recently concluded its 91自拍 on park accessibility in urban unincorporated areas of King County. The team鈥檚 findings offered valuable insights for King County Parks and the King County Department of Natural Resources to inform future resource allocation and project planning. Now in its sixth year, the fellowship is a collaboration between the Population Health Initiative, UW Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology (CSDE) and King County. Training…

Summer 2025 Social Entrepreneurship Fellows develop strategic roadmaps for UW innovations

Posted on September 16, 2025

The Population Health Initiative鈥檚 Summer 2025 Social Entrepreneurship Fellows Program concluded in August with fellows presenting their findings to students, faculty and staff from schools and colleges across the 91自拍 campus. Over the course of 10 weeks, the fellows worked on population health innovations developed by UW 91自拍ers, exploring how these innovations could be financially sustainable while delivering meaningful societal impact. The Social Entrepreneurship Fellows Program was created by the Population Health Initiative in partnership with the Buerk…