What kinds of text messages work best to help smokers quit?
What motivates us the most? Rewards? Threats? Being part of a positive trend? These questions are central to a modern approach to help people kick their smoking habit. A Wilmot Cancer Institute team is launching a two-year research project to develop different types of text messages for smoking cessation—and then study them in clinical trials to find out what works best.
In today’s issue:
Attend a discussion on Akira Kurosawa’s film Ikiru
The next four-week mindfulness workshop begins next week
A webinar on tuition benefits for qualifying faculty, staff, residents, and fellows
Since Monday’s notice in @Rochester, there is one new case of COVID-19 to report: a River Campus employee. Please note that the University’s COVID-19 Dashboard is updated daily. Whenever a new case is known, the contact-tracing process begins immediately with confirmed exposures being contacted and required to quarantine.
It’s extremely important for the health of the University community that individuals continue to adhere to the face masking and social distancing protocols. Even as some individuals are now receiving their first or second dose of the vaccine, these practices to prevent the transmission of the virus cannot be relaxed.
If you think you’re experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, it’s important to report them through Dr. Chat Bot—for non–Medical Center faculty, staff, and all students and for Medical Center employees—immediately. Even if you think your symptoms might be something else—like a cold, seasonal congestion, or allergies—it’s still important to tell University health professionals and contact tracers what you’re experiencing.
Launched in 2016, Open Sessions is a unique program that gives University audio and music engineering undergraduates a chance to apply the skills they’ve learned in the classroom by recording a live performance by regional professional musicians. The program, which had lapsed in 2017, has since been resurrected.
Flags will be lowered for Rodney Perry
University flags will be lowered Tuesday, April 13, for Rodney Perry, a materials processing specialist in the Sterile Processing Department, who died on March 16. Perry joined the University’s staff in 2007.
There is no spreadsheet at Pfizer headquarters saying that 21 days is the optimum, experiment-tested gap to maximize the effectiveness of their vaccine. “I know this sounds crazy, but it’s arbitrary. If you look for literature that documents why that’s the best time point, there isn’t any,” says David Topham, the Marie Curran Wilson and Joseph Chamberlain Wilson Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the founding director of the Translational Immunology and Infectious Disease Institute.
'Publish, Don’t Perish: Traversing the Publishing Landscape'
Unsure of where to publish your research? Graduate students and postdocs are invited to join this workshop to learn some tips and tricks to finding the best outlet for your work. There is also an asynchronous activity to help you set up your ORCID profile. This session, taking place Friday, April 9, at noon EDT, will give you the tools to navigate the publication process with confidence.
The Simon Executive Experience provides you with the opportunity to virtually attend class and participate in a roundtable discussion with current students. This session will begin with a presentation that gives an in-depth look at the executive MBA program. Register to attend on Friday, April 9, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT.
Financial Health Bite: Tuition benefits overview
The Office of Total Rewards invites you to a webinar on Wednesday, April 14, at noon EDT on tuition benefits offered at the University for benefits-eligible faculty, staff, residents, and fellows. The presentation will review eligibility, processes for tuition waivers for University classes and tuition reimbursement at outside colleges or universities, and more. There will be time for your questions at the end of the presentation. Register to attend.
Supervisor Series: Recognizing stress, depression, and anxiety
Learn about the prevalence of stress, depression, and anxiety in the workplace. Join UR Medicine EAP and Well-U on Thursday, April 15, from noon to 1 p.m. EDT and gain tools to assist you in recognizing signs of stress, depression, and anxiety among your employees. This series is for all managers and supervisors. Register here to attend.
Howard Lu, the Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry, Emeritus, at the University of California, Davis will present “Personal Transformations Through an Encounter with Death: A Study of Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru” on Tuesday, April 6, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. EDT. Lu will discuss the four existential issues presented in the film of death, meaninglessness, isolation, and freedom in healthcare patients and responding compassionately to a patient who is confronting these issues. Register here for this virtual lecture.
Mindfulness for stress resilience
Explore a path to a happy life through the practice of mindful meditation during the next Koru mindfulness four-week workshop. Participants will learn two new meditation techniques each week, engage in a short daily-ish practice, and bring more mindfulness and gratitude to their lives. The next session begins April 14 at noon EDT and is open to all students, faculty, and staff. Â Registration is required. Brought to you by the Mindful University Project.
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