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2020 COVID-19 coverage

December 15, 2020
UCSC expands COVID-19 testing during surge to support community needs
A gift from Bud and Rebecca Colligan will expand testing capacity and help fund a new, dedicated laboratory space to house the diagnostic lab in the Genomics Institute’s facilities at the Westside Research Park.
December 11, 2020
UCSC arts professor documents spread of COVID-19 inside prisons, jails, and detention centers
A new Interactive web project by film and digital media professor Sharon Daniel creates a cumulative public record and evolving history of the pandemic’s impact on those incarcerated
December 10, 2020
New serological assay provides rapid, accurate testing for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
Using optical biosensor technology, the test provides quantitative measurements of antibodies in blood plasma in less than 20 minutes.
December 09, 2020
Surge in online grocery shopping brings a quantity-over-quality jobs shift
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated emerging labor market trends associated with e-commerce in the grocery industry, creating mixed implications for jobs, according to a new report led by UCSC professor Chris Benner.
December 03, 2020
Marine mammals’ adaptations to low oxygen offer new perspective on COVID-19
Humans are poorly adapted for oxygen deprivation, making us vulnerable to long-term effects from a disease that disrupts the body’s oxygen supply pathway.
October 19, 2020
‘Be the Difference’ Award honors UCSC Molecular Diagnostic Lab
The award recognizes UCSC’s efforts to provide local testing for coronavirus infections.
August 31, 2020
History professor Eric Porter examines musical improvisation as a response to crisis
"Playing for Keeps: Improvisation in the Aftermath" is an exploration of the various ways that musical improvisation can be used as a method for responding to crisis and dealing with trauma and stress.
August 11, 2020
Economist's research cited in bill to strengthen federal minority business agency
When the COVID–19 pandemic hit, Professor Rob Fairlie knew he needed to shift his research to the economic impact of the crisis.
August 07, 2020
County, UCSC partner to expand local testing capacity
UC Santa Cruz has received CARES Act funds from Santa Cruz County to enable the purchase of new equipment for the UCSC Molecular Diagnostic Lab.
July 28, 2020
UC Santa Cruz, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County partner to expand access to COVID-19 testing
The campus is testing 200-400 samples every week collected by Salud Para la Gente and Santa Cruz Community Health. UCSC is providing the tests on a cost recovery basis and Community Foundation Santa Cruz County will be paying for the cost of the tests.
July 17, 2020
Is COVID-related reduction in marine traffic reducing stress in whales?
Whale researchers are taking advantage of changes in boat traffic in Monterey Bay during the pandemic to collect data on stress hormones in humpback whales.
July 14, 2020
CITRIS UCSC funds new pandemic-related research projects
The campus seed funding program is providing $40K grants for three new projects to address the challenges of COVID-19.
July 02, 2020
A call for caution, personal responsibility
If people simply wait around for federal, state, and local governments to save them from the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than take precautions to keep themselves and their communities safe, “we will lose the economy and our lives,’’ said infectious disease expert A. Marm Kilpatrick this week.
June 05, 2020
Royal Geographical Society publishes special COVID-19 issue
A virtual special issue of Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers features Politics Professor Matt Sparke's article, "Contextualizing Coronavirus Geographically," and provides free access to additional articles that provide perspective on the pandemic.
June 05, 2020
UC COVID-19 seed funding supports UCSC coronavirus genome browser
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute’s Genome Browser Team has received UC seed funding for its work on the UCSC Genome Browser for SARS-CoV-2.
June 04, 2020
Campus, Santa Cruz Community Health unite to test underserved community members
As news outlets published stories about celebrities and athletes unnecessarily getting tested for COVID-19, UC Santa Cruz scientists and staff saw an opportunity to provide fast testing for the community's most vulnerable residents who too often do not have access to the same medical services.
May 27, 2020
Protecting vulnerable children and families during the pandemic
In addition to experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 infection and death, the most vulnerable among us are losing ground in schooling, learning, and development, according to the authors of a new policy brief aimed at lawmakers.
May 19, 2020
With a focus on public safety, Lick staff member turns to making masks
As a quilter with more than 40 years experience, Michele Redel decided to start making masks for the close-knit community at Lick Observatory.
May 19, 2020
Infectious disease expert Marm Kilpatrick to discuss COVID-19 on Friday, May 22
Marm Kilpatrick, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, will present “COVID19: The scientific basis for what we know and the exit strategy it provides” on Friday, May 22.
May 18, 2020
Taking care of business
UC Santa Cruz students are helping to keep area businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. They're part of a program called GetVirtual, which doubles as an online entrepreneurship course and nonprofit consulting firm pairing students with local businesses hoping to transition to online orders and sales.
May 18, 2020
Outbreak inquiry
Faculty have developed two undergraduate classes that are focusing on the effects and experiences of the coronavirus pandemic, even while the pandemic is under way.
May 14, 2020
COVID Catalyst Fund supports work on rapid serology test at UC Santa Cruz
Biomolecular engineer Nader Pourmand is evaluating the use of a novel nanosensor to provide rapid, low-cost, and accurate serology tests for coronavirus antibodies.
May 13, 2020
Innovative technologies to address COVID-19 funded by UC’s CITRIS
Three projects led by UC Santa Cruz researchers are among the 25 awards in the initial round of funding from CITRIS and the Banatao Institute.
May 08, 2020
Focus on patients led alumna to nursing
Even in the midst of COVID-19, Hannah Miller said she continues to do the same job—caring for patients when they are at their most vulnerable.
May 08, 2020
CITRIS Seed Funding program invites proposals for pandemic and disaster preparedness projects
CITRIS and the Banatao Institute at UC Santa Cruz is inviting UCSC researchers to apply for research support for projects focused on providing solutions to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and disaster preparedness.
May 05, 2020
Already vulnerable, gig economy workers in San Francisco suffer during coronavirus pandemic, survey reveals
A new survey of app-based ride-hailing and food and grocery-delivery workers in San Francisco underscores the financial vulnerability of workers in the gig economy—and the coronavirus has made their plight much worse.
May 04, 2020
Alumnus leads massive effort to ramp up COVID-19 testing
UC Santa Cruz alumnus Joe DeRisi is one of the leading scientists in the fight against the novel coronavirus, helming a massive effort to ramp up state-of-the-art clinical laboratory testing for COVID-19 throughout California, while pioneering large-scale testing in Bay Area communities.
May 01, 2020
Slug Support provides a lifeline in the COVID-19 crisis
Emergency student assistance program rapidly shifts to remote work while fielding increased caseload and providing crucial help to some of campus's most vulnerable students
April 27, 2020
Economist Nirvikar Singh joins panel of experts
Professor of economics Nirvikar Singh has joined a panel of experts convened by the government of Punjab to oversee the revival of the state in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 27, 2020
UC Santa Cruz diagnostic lab to begin coronavirus testing May 1
The UCSC Molecular Diagnostic Lab will be conducting tests for coronavirus infections for the Student Health Center and local medical providers.
April 21, 2020
UC Santa Cruz theater arts costume shop steps up to combat COVID-19
Just a couple of weeks ago, Brent Foland never imagined he'd be building face masks for his fellow UC Santa Cruz employees.
April 21, 2020
Art in the time of COVID
UC Santa Cruz’s Institute of the Arts and Sciences offers shelter-in-place relief with a new, virtual museum called Art Without Distance, featuring sights, sounds, words, curricula, and even a quirky campus tour.
April 21, 2020
Delivery and ridehailing workers lack critical protections from coronavirus
Chris Benner led an online survey of app-based workers in San Francisco, and preliminary results reveal significant financial hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
April 20, 2020
New high-throughput approach yields libraries of probes for immunological assays
Technical innovation enables rapid assessment of T cell repertoires for research and diagnostics, with potential applications in studying COVID-19 immune responses.
April 07, 2020
On a mission for masks
Catherine Sonquist Forest is on an urgent mission to crowdsource, manufacture, and deliver cloth masks to those who need them the most in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties during the COVID-19 crisis.
April 07, 2020
New program advances global and community health
As countries across the globe fight the coronavirus pandemic, UC Santa Cruz is creating a new program that will prepare students and provide research to solve current and future global health problems.
April 06, 2020
COVID-19: Economist helps build "contact tracing" app for Peru
In an effort to protect people from COVID-19, economist Kristian López Vargas helped lead the development of an app the Peruvian government has launched to improve "contact tracing" .
April 02, 2020
Discrimination, governance, and trust in the age of COVID-19
The coronavirus pandemic has upended daily life around the world, and is simultaneously triggering challenging questions of discrimination, governance, and trust, says sociologist Jenny Reardon.
April 02, 2020
Grow your own veggies? Orin Martin offers tips for novice gardeners
Orin Martin is delighted that people are responding to the coronavirus pandemic with a desire to grow their own veggies, and he has lots of knowledge to share—as well as one plea: Be sure to plant some flowers, too.
April 01, 2020
UCSC researchers are taking on the coronavirus challenge on multiple fronts
From developing diagnostic tests to conducting surveys of infection prevalence, campus researchers are doing what they can in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
March 31, 2020
Fighting on the front lines of COVID-19
UC Santa Cruz alumnus Jon Mark Hirshon is an emergency doctor in Baltimore, fighting COVID-19 in a large metropolitan area that is just starting to feel the brunt of coronavirus.
March 24, 2020
Thousands move out as campus transitions to remote learning
As finals week wrapped up, more than 6,800 students had notified UC Santa Cruz that they planned to move off-campus for spring quarter. Another 1,300 told housing officials they planned to remain in campus housing. About 500 students have not yet shared their plans.
March 17, 2020
How to #keepteaching and #keeplearning during a pandemic
Jody Greene is eager—almost desperate—to help her colleagues who are facing the unprecedented challenge of shifting to remote instruction for the entire spring quarter.
March 09, 2020
Pandemics expert: We need leadership, creative thinking, and government accountability as coronavirus spreads
Pulitzer Prize-winning science reporter Laurie Garrett calls for communities to work together to cope with the coronavirus, caring for the most vulnerable and fighting back against misinformation.
February 07, 2020
Coronavirus genome posted on the UCSC Genome Browser
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute is facilitating research into the novel coronavirus that has infected thousands of people since an outbreak began in Wuhan, China, last year.