In The News: Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV
As measles cases rise, more people are wondering if they're sufficiently protected against the disease. The good news, experts said, is that most Americans don't need a booster -- especially those who received two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is 97% effective against measles.

On Friday, March 21 — just a week away — more than 40,000 medical students around the country will find out where they will be serving their residencies. About 300 of those graduates are from UNLV, UNR and Touro University, but there aren’t enough residencies in the state to keep them here.

The World Health Organization characterized Covid-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Since then, scientists don’t fully understand why some people develop disabling chronic conditions after the initial viral infection, according to reporting from NBC News.
An immunotherapy produced complete remission in more than 60% of patients with advanced squamous cell skin cancer, according to a new study showing better outcomes than previously reported in clinical trials. The research, published in Cancers, followed 36 patients in a community practice setting who received Libtayo (cemiplimab), Regeneron’s checkpoint inhibitor that blocks the PD-1 pathway. Led by Tina Fung, a medical student at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the study found more than 61% of patients achieved complete remission, while about 28% experienced partial responses.
BACE1, aka β-secretase, is infamous for its fateful snip of amyloid precursor protein that leads to the production of Aβ peptides. Yet this might not be the only way BACE1 eggs on Alzheimer’s pathogenesis. According to a study published February 26 in Neuron, the enzyme also cleaves protein subunits off GABAAR, a receptor that transmits inhibitory currents responsible for reining in neuronal activity.

Your next meal at home or in a restaurant might come with an unintended ingredient that could make you sick, they're called microplastics. Joshua Khorsandi is a first-year medical student at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. He's focused on raising awareness about these tiny particles and their long-term health effects.

Dr. Marc J. Kahn, Dean: “My finest moment was watching our first class graduate. Seeing 60 students, 30 percent of whom are first generation college students, receive their MD degrees was truly an inspiration and something I’ll never forget.”

Health officials in West Texas are urging the community to remain vigilant following the death of a child from complications related to measles amid an outbreak in the area.

Mounting research over the last few years has found microplastics in nearly every organ in the body, as well as in the bloodstream and in plaque that clogs arteries.

Twenty-five years ago, Clark County had a population of 1.4 million but no medical school. The lone medical school was in Washoe County, which had four times fewer people. But today, four schools in Southern Nevada offer medical doctorates.

Doctor Jeffrey Cummings is world-renowned in the field of Alzheimer’s research and he leads UNLV’s Center for Transformative Neuroscience. He and six other scientists published research Wednesday that looked at the potential existing drugs have for the research and treatment of Alzheimer’s, for example, drugs like rasagiline for Parkinson’s or bexarotene for cancer. It’s called repurposing.

Researchers say public health warnings are essential to avoiding further harm as online searches for gambling addiction surge. It's all happening as the number of states with legalized sports betting has expanded in recent years, prompting a need for more public health awareness.