News Releases

Capsaicin, the active ingredient in chili peppers, generally is viewed as an irritant that produces a burning sensation when applied to a sensitive area of the body, such as the cornea. Paradoxically, the same compound also may reduce pain. Scientists at University at Buffalo now link the analgesic effects of capsaicin to a lipid.

The University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences has received a $16,169 grant from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo (CFGB) to support materials acquisition and personnel costs needed for the UB Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic to continue and expand its services with two Buffalo Head Start programs.

The University at Buffalo will offer the first UB Coast to Coast Entertainment and Media Conference June 27-28 in Los Angeles. Created specifically for UB alumni, students and friends of UB, but open to the public, UBC2C will feature workshops in acting, writing, directing, music production, independent film production and marketing, as well as entertainment business marketing, taught by UB industry alumni.

Research carried out at the University at Buffalo has shown for the first time that a recently identified type of Th cell, known as Th-17, is the principle defense component required for immunity to oral thrush.

Statins, used widely to treat elevated cholesterol, have been shown to prevent progression of coronary narrowing and to have other beneficial effects on the heart, such as reducing inflammation, that are independent of cholesterol. Now, adding to this list of multiple effects, researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown that the drug pravastatin, one of the oldest statins, may be able to prevent the development of heart disease by regenerating diseased heart muscle.

The namesake of Fay's Drugs, Faye Panasci, has given $1 million to the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, where her husband and father-in-law began their quest to build the highly successful chain of pharmacies that catered to their customers' every need.

In 2007, University at Buffalo computer scientist Sargur Srihari, Ph.D., one of the world's experts on pattern recognition and its application to fingerprints and handwriting, was selected by the National Academy of Sciences to serve with other national experts on its Committee on Identifying the Needs of the Forensic Science Community. The NAS released the panel's findings in a report called "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward"

The Corporation for National and Community Service has named the University at Buffalo to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to America's communities.

Professional theater in Buffalo has not been marked by an experimental bent. So it is refreshing that next month, area theater lovers will have an opportunity to meet and speak with Richard Foreman, the influential and enthusiastic pioneer of the American avant-garde theater; a man whom New York Times critic Vincent Canby called an ebullient dramatizer of anarchic states of mind.

A nasal spray shown to numb the upper jaw is set to be tested in an FDA Phase 3 trial, which will assess the spray's effectiveness compared to the current "gold standard" treatment -- painful anesthesia injections. The Phase 3 trial will be carried out later in 2009 at the UB dental school and other clinical sites.