Spotlights

Chagas disease is often associated with Latin America, but new research from Augusta University is raising questions about how frequently the potentially serious infection may be going undiagnosed in the United States. Jose Vazquez, MD, division chief and professor of medicine in infectious diseases at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, and his team recently tested farmworkers for antibodies associated with Chagas disease as part of a seroprevalence study. Of 155 blood specimens collected, 15 tested positive, a positivity rate of nearly 10%. The finding was particularly notable because Vazquez points to a recent study from Columbia and Greenville, South Carolina, that found a positivity rate of 2% to 3%. Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and is found predominantly in Latin America. An estimated 240,000 to 350,000 people are infected in the United States. The disease can be especially difficult to identify because approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic. When complications do develop, they can include serious cardiac and gastrointestinal problems. Dr. Jose Vazquez studies and treats infectious diseases, including COVID-19, antibiotic-resistant superbugs and fungal infections. View his profile Vazquez's interest in the disease became personal after someone he knew, originally from El Salvador, suffered cardiac arrest and was subsequently diagnosed with Chagas disease and severe cardiomyopathy. That experience helped prompt Vazquez to look more closely at the disease and its potential prevalence among populations in the region. “The reason why I’m doing it is twofold: One is if they’re positive, so we can treat them and maybe prevent these complications.” Jose Vazquez, MD For journalists covering Chagas disease, infectious diseases, health disparities, migrant and farmworker health, disease screening or emerging public health concerns in the United States, Vazquez can provide expert insight into what these findings mean and why greater awareness and screening may be important. Simply click on his profile now to arrange an interview today.

Science depends on a simple but critical principle: Research findings should be reliable enough that other researchers can reproduce them. But what happens when they can't? Biomedical research is confronting what has become known as the “reproducibility crisis,” with major scientific journals estimating that more than 80% of published biomedical research is negatively affected by defects that can make findings non-reproducible or unusable. Now, researchers at Augusta University are taking a closer look at why research goes wrong – and, more importantly, whether those problems can be prevented before findings are published. Backed by a new $2.5 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health, researchers in Augusta University's School of Public Health will identify common research defects and develop strategies to help scientists avoid them. The project is led by E. Andrew Balas, MD, PhD, a professor in the Department of Health Management, Economics, and Policy who has spent more than a decade studying the research process itself. “Research quality is not only a matter of detecting errors after they occur. The critical question is, how can we understand the conditions that produce research defects and develop effective ways to prevent them before they compromise scientific results?”  E. Andrew Balas, MD, PhD The consequences extend well beyond the laboratory. Unreliable findings can influence patient care, waste research funding and send other scientists down paths built on results that were never dependable. They can also contribute to something increasingly important for the scientific community: declining public trust. The Augusta University team plans to create a database of common research defects and examine which stages of the research process are particularly vulnerable. Researchers also envision a tool that could eventually allow scientists to enter information about their methodology and identify potential problems before completing and publishing their work. Wendy Burnett, PhD, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health and co-investigator on the study, summed up the stakes: “Years of work and substantial funding may be invested in studies based on results that were never dependable.”  Wendy Burnett, PhD The interdisciplinary project will also examine the human side of the problem, gathering perspectives from researchers, peer reviewers and journal editors to better understand why research defects happen and what may prevent people from recognizing or addressing them. Ultimately, the research asks a question that goes to the heart of modern science: How can we make research more trustworthy before mistakes become part of the scientific record? After the project is complete, Balas and his team hope the results will ultimately impact science and society in many significant ways. “Research has made wonders in our lives – we have life-saving drugs, we have a lifestyle that is healthier than ever before and so forth. If research could produce more valuable, useful, trustworthy, reproducible results, then we will all be better, and it should also increase public trust in research.” For media covering scientific integrity, biomedical research, public trust in science, research funding, peer review or the reproducibility crisis, this work offers a timely look at how the scientific community can improve not only what it discovers, but how those discoveries are made.

Amy Estes, MD, a cornea specialist, educator and long‑time faculty leader, has been named chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, effective July 1. Pending approval of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, she will also hold the Knights Templar Educational Foundation of Georgia/Fleetwood Maddox Chair in Ophthalmology. Estes joined MCG in 2013 and currently serves as director of the Cornea Service. She is a highly respected clinician who cares for patients from across Georgia who require advanced medical and surgical management of complex corneal disease. A dedicated educator, Estes has played a central role in training the next generation. She has advised numerous medical students pursuing careers in ophthalmology, served on multiple PhD committees and contributed extensively to resident education. She previously served as associate director of the Ophthalmology Residency Program and has led the residency program as director since 2020. Her leadership has strengthened the visibility and reputation of the department’s educational programs across the state. She also brings significant leadership experience at both the state and national levels. She has served on the council of the Georgia Society of Ophthalmology, ultimately becoming its president, and as the Georgia representative at the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Her research collaborations with the James and Jean Culver Vision Discovery Institute have contributed to six R01 grants and 19 peer-reviewed publications, advancing both basic science and translational vision research at MCG. “Dr. Estes has demonstrated exceptional commitment to patient care, education, and research throughout her career at MCG,” said MCG Dean David C. Hess, MD. “Her vision for the department, combined with her deep understanding of our institution and the needs of patients across Georgia, makes her an outstanding choice to lead the department into its next chapter. “I also want to express my sincere appreciation to Steve Brooks, MD, who has served as chair of the department since 2020 and will return to his faculty role as a pediatric ophthalmologist. Dr. Brooks has guided the department through significant transitions with steadiness, compassion, and a deep commitment to learners and patients. I’m thankful that he will continue to share his expertise with our students, residents, and the children and families he serves, and that he will continue his important work in patient care, research, and education.” As chair, Estes plans to prioritize faculty recruitment and retention, support continued growth in research and education, and pursue opportunities to expand clinical services, including exploring satellite locations to improve patient access and accommodate increasing demand for eye care across the state. She completed her undergraduate education at Davidson College before earning her medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. She completed both her ophthalmology residency and a fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. See more experts at Augusta University → Click here

It’s often said that “teamwork makes the dream work,” and scientists from different disciplines at Augusta University are a perfect example of that. Manuela Bartoli, PhD, research director and professor of ophthalmology at AU’s Medical College of Georgia, has joined forces with Eric Belin de Chantemèle, PhD, a physiologist in MCG’s Vascular Biology Center, to explore the link between HIV and retinopathy. The pair was recently awarded a two-year $275,000 grant from the National Eye Institute that will allow them to test different variables on a transgenic mouse model and assess how they impact the development of retinopathy. The project began with Bartoli and Belin de Chantemèle examining transgenic mice that expressed viral proteins linked to HIV. They found that the blood vessels supplying oxygen and nutrients to the mice’s retinas were not functioning properly. “So, we developed the idea that people living with HIV may be more prone to or progress more rapidly when they get one of the ischemic retinopathies that are very common, particularly diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration,” Bartoli said. “I think this is important because we’ll basically define a chronic HIV infection as a risk factor for the development of the most severe ocular disease.” Bartoli’s work focuses on ischemic retinopathies, which are conditions that reduce blood flow, oxygen and nutrients to the retina – the part of the eye responsible for vision. These disorders are the leading cause of blindness around the world. Different types include retinopathy of prematurity, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. Several factors contribute to ischemic retinopathies, such as oxidative stress and inflammatory processes. Bartoli infers HIV might be another risk factor, but it’s tough to confirm as antiretroviral therapies make the virus nearly undetectable. “The number of people living with HIV is growing in terms of age, so most likely they will develop, at some point, a disease like age-related macular degeneration, which is really common in the elderly population,” Bartoli said. “We knew the individual has the acute infection, and because of the immunosuppression, they develop a number of infections that lead to retinal dysfunction. There was also reported what is called retinitis due to HIV. But with medication, these acute events disappear, and we don’t know, when you get older and develop one of these diseases, how is it going to progress?” While cART therapies can manage HIV, Bartoli noted they don’t fix the defective blood vessels in the retina. And it’s not just the retina. The big picture is that HIV alters blood vessels throughout the human body, therefore elevating blood pressure and causing cardiovascular disease. “We have blood vessels in every single organ, whether this is the heart, the lungs, the kidneys, the brain, the eyes, they are everywhere,” Belin de Chantemèle said. “As HIV is damaging the vessel, that would lead to dysfunctions in all those different organs.” “On top of that, people who have HIV usually have additional comorbidities. Very often people become obese, have diabetes,” he continued. The researchers plan to eventually move beyond mouse models and include human subjects in their study. “I’m already working with people around to try to get information,” Bartoli said. “For example, in the VA system.” The ultimate goal is to establish how HIV contributes to the progression of eye diseases, which will hopefully lead to a better understanding of why it happens and how to treat it. “If this individual who progresses more rapidly goes to the doctor when they are blind already or semi-blind, it’s too late for anything,” Bartoli said. “Blindness is the primary fear in people, so we’re going to combat the cause to prevent this side effect.” Discoveries at Augusta University are changing and improving the lives of people in Georgia and beyond. Your partnership and support are invaluable as we work to expand our impact. See more experts at Augusta University → Click here

Quantum computing is often framed as a hardware race with attention fixed on machines that promise amazing speed. But a foundational mathematical problem remains unresolved. No complete framework yet exists for converting massive amounts of data generated by fields such as healthcare, disease surveillance, financial transactions and climate monitoring into units a quantum machine can process. “What exactly we are proposing is this: data is continuous,” said Arni S.R. Srinivasa Rao, PhD, professor and director of the Laboratory for Theory and Mathematical Modeling, Division of Infectious Diseases, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. “That means the generation of the data is continuously happening. And how to slice it down into pieces, that is what it is about. The slicing down of the data into smaller pieces, not too small pieces, but smaller enough for the computers to handle them in a meaningful way.” Rao and Steven G. Krantz, a professor of mathematics at Washington University in St. Louis, published their findings on “The Role of Quantization in Quantum Computing” in the July/August 2026 issue of SIAM News, published by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. “Quantization is a mathematical method, nothing to do with quantum computing,” Rao said. “But these two we are trying to mix together.” The problem with just chopping it up Classical computers store information as bits, switches that are either off or on, zero or one. Quantum computers use qubits, which can hold combinations of both states simultaneously, which is why they can theoretically process vastly more information at once. But qubits operate at the atomic level. Getting that data into a quantum machine requires breaking it down into atomic-scale pieces first. The math for doing that well, Rao and Krantz argue, does not yet exist in any complete form. The hard part is “slicing” it right. “Not slicing in a random, arbitrary way,” Rao said. “If you slice it in a way which is arbitrary, then you might miss, you might necessarily slice it where no information is required. Information is broken into pieces rather than combining the information. That’s what the mathematics is playing a role here.” Their research proposes using an ensemble of quantization techniques rather than a single method, with different mathematical tools matched to the different layers inside a dataset. A disease surveillance file might bundle together demographic data, income levels, infection status and housing type, for example. Each layer has its own structure. The partitioning, they argue, should flex to fit the problem rather than forcing every dataset through the same process. Mixing two worlds that don’t quite line up The second major contribution is a formally defined measure the authors call “atomic uncertainty.” It quantifies the mismatch between quantized data and the atomic structure that data is supposed to travel through inside a quantum processor. The mismatch exists because atomic models, the diagrams of electrons and nuclei that physics students study, are approximations. The actual behavior of electrons inside an atom follows probability distributions. There is inherent randomness in there that scientists have not resolved. Planets are called spheres, and textbooks draw them as smooth perfect balls, Rao explained, but their surfaces are cratered and irregular. The sphere is a useful model, not an accurate description. Atomic structure works the same way. When quantized data does not fit cleanly into that imperfectly understood atomic structure, the gap becomes computational error. At small scale, manageable. At the scale of real-world data inputs, those errors can compound into results that are simply wrong. “We are not trying to fix the error. We are trying to see how big the error is,” Rao said. This study illustrates the concept with a disease-modeling example, building a dataset that layers population age, income bracket, infection status and housing type. When the data is quantized and compared against a model atomic structure, the spaces do not fully align. That leftover mismatch is the atomic uncertainty. In a real quantum system processing actual disease data, it does not disappear but shows up as wrong answers about how a disease spreads. The next step, Rao said, requires industry partners to take the framework and build hardware around it. “Designing a computer is different from the actual making a computer,” Rao said. “We designed the method of slicing the larger, huge continuous data into smaller digestible computer bits, that’s called qubits. The industrialists have to build it. Like designing a mobile phone is different from actually making a mobile phone.”

The U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce held its first artificial intelligence field hearing of the year, titled "Building an AI-Ready America: How AI Is Creating Opportunities Across America's Workforce," at the Georgia Cyber Center at Augusta University on July 24. U.S. Rep. Rick W. Allen, who represents Georgia's 12th District and chairs the committee's Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, chaired the hearing. He was joined by U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina and U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia. Jeffery Talbert, PhD, chair of Augusta University's Department of Artificial Intelligence and Health at the Medical College of Georgia and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, served as one of four witnesses at the hearing. "Today, we examine how artificial intelligence, AI, is creating economic opportunities for American workers, job creators and our communities," Allen told the committee. "There's no better place to hold this hearing than right here in Augusta." Allen said the combination of the Georgia Cyber Center and Fort Gordon provides the expertise needed to discuss AI. "Fort Gordon is just a short 30-minute drive from where we currently sit," he said. "It hosts the Army Cyber Center of Excellence and is home to Army Cyber School, which trains, educates and develops the Army's Cyberspace and Electronic Warfare workforce. Every year, thousands of people leave Fort Gordon looking for work." He added that the Georgia Cyber Center "was created to meet this growing demand and drive collaboration between academia, government and industry stakeholders to equip a superior cybersecurity workforce with the skills they need." Augusta University President Russell T. Keen told the committee it was an honor for AU's Georgia Cyber Center to host the hearing. "Congressman Allen has long recognized the important role that education, innovation and workforce development play in strengthening our state and our nation," Keen said. He added that AI "will continue to change how we live, how we learn, how we work and how we solve problems," and that Augusta University "intends to lead in that transformation in ways that strengthen our workforce, advance discovery, improve lives, change lives and save lives." Talbert, who has more than 30 years of experience in biomedical informatics, has published approximately 260 times and has led more than 100 funded research projects totaling more than $130 million. He told the committee that in health care, AI is demonstrating its greatest value through augmentation, helping professionals "work more effectively, reducing administrative burdens, improving patient outcomes and expanding workforce capacity." He pointed to ambient documentation technology, which converts clinical conversations into draft notes clinicians review and approve, as one of the industry's most successful AI applications. "Multiple studies show these tools reduce documentation burden, after-hours work and burnout," Talbert said. "One multisystem implementation found clinician burnout fell from approximately 52 percent to 39 percent." He also cited studies showing AI-assisted breast cancer screening detecting approximately 29 percent higher cancer rates, "helping more patients benefit from earlier diagnosis and treatment." America's opportunity, Talbert said, "is not simply to adopt AI, but to lead its responsible development, education and implementation." He pointed to Augusta University's Department of AI and Health, the first of its kind in Georgia, as an example of that approach. Allen closed the hearing by cautioning against a one-size-fits-all approach to AI policy. "The needs of a family farm are not the same as those of a hospital, a manufacturing plant or a small business," he said. "Congress must pursue flexible policies that allow businesses to adopt AI in ways that best suit their industry and workforce." JagWire has the full recap of the hearing and the Augusta Chronicle, Innovation & Entrepreneurs News and Traders Union also covered the field hearing. Augusta University experts in artificial intelligence, healthcare innovation and workforce development are available for interviews. If you're covering similar stories, reach out to schedule time.

Artificial intelligence has moved from novelty to daily habit in classrooms across the country, and the debate over what that means for learning shows no sign of slowing down. Some schools have built AI into their curriculum. Others have banned it outright. Caught in the middle are students trying to figure out where the technology actually helps and where it quietly gets in the way. Trent Kays, PhD, an assistant professor and Director of Professional Writing and Rhetoric at Augusta University, has spent time researching exactly that question, and he recently sat down with FOX54 News to talk through what he's seeing firsthand. Kays, who also serves as a faculty affiliate in Women's and Gender Studies and specializes in digital rhetoric and machine writing, says students are already using AI for far more than quick homework help, from brainstorming and studying to building out entire lesson plans on their own. The bigger concern, according to Kays, isn't misuse in the obvious sense. It's what he calls cognitive offloading, students handing the thinking itself over to the machine. "Students are essentially using AI to do their thinking for them, which is not something that they should do," he said. It's part of why he keeps AI out of his first- and second-year courses entirely: those early classes are where students build the critical thinking skills they'll need before a tool can actually help. "They have to be able to think critically first before they can ask a tool to help them." Accuracy is its own problem. AI tools have gotten sharper, but Kays points out they still fabricate information regularly, including sources that were never real to begin with, something students are far less likely to catch than an instructor who actually reads the citations. None of this means Kays thinks AI belongs outside the classroom. He describes it as a potential process partner, something that can push a student's thinking further rather than replace it, as long as the structure around it is clear. As he put it, what schools need now is to "craft clear guidelines and structures for students to follow so that they know how to use it and how to use it well." Read the full interview and FOX54's coverage here: AI in the Classroom: Augusta University Professor Explains the Benefits and Risks Dr. Trent Kays is available for interviews on AI in education, digital rhetoric, and responsible AI use in academic settings. If you're covering similar stories, click on this icon to schedule time with him.

With the World Cup underway across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, Dr. Simon Medcalfe, economist at Augusta University's Hull College of Business, wrote for Augusta Business Daily about why FIFA's headline economic projections for the tournament don't hold up. His piece breaks down why most of the spending tied to hosting the event isn't new activity but rather it's money that would have been spent elsewhere regardless. As Medcalfe put it: "New spending is not created; it is just moved around." Read his full column in Augusta Business Daily :  Dr. Medcalfe is a Professor of Economics and Finance at Augusta University, with research spanning sports economics, community and economic development, and social determinants of health. He holds a PhD in Business/Managerial Economics from Lehigh University. If you're covering the economics of hosting major sporting events, public subsidies for host cities, or the gap between projected and actual tourism impact, Dr. Medcalfe is available for comment. Click on the contact button in his profile below. 

Heart disease has long been linked to familiar risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and lifestyle choices. But according to a recent Augusta University Jagwire article highlighting research published in Nature Reviews Cardiology, the immune system might also play a critical role in determining how cardiovascular disease develops and progresses. The review, led by Ishita Tandon, PhD, Hossam Abdelsamed, PhD, and Alaa M. Khalifa, PhD, examines the emerging role of CD8+ T cells, specialized immune cells best known for fighting infections, in atherosclerosis, the chronic inflammatory disease responsible for most heart attacks and strokes. By synthesizing the latest evidence, the researchers show how different populations of these immune cells can either fuel inflammation or help regulate it, revealing new opportunities to better understand, diagnose and eventually treat cardiovascular disease. The review also identifies important gaps in current knowledge and outlines promising directions for future research. As scientists continue to better understand how these immune cells behave within arterial plaques, their discoveries could lead to more precise diagnostic tools and a new generation of immune-targeted therapies for cardiovascular disease. Together, the researchers' work offers journalists valuable insight into one of the fastest-evolving areas of cardiovascular research, where immunology and heart health are converging to reshape how cardiovascular disease is understood and treated. "This study highlights the major role of CD8+ T cells in atherosclerosis and their potential impact on cardiovascular diseases."  Hossam Abdelsamed, PhD To learn more about this amazing research and connect with Ishita Tandon, Hossam Abdelsamed or Alaa M. Khalifa, contact AU's External Communications Team mediarelations@augusta.edu to arrange an interview today.