Winter 2026

https://touroscholar.touro.edu/pmi_newsletter/1004/thumbnail.jp

The Synapse, April 2026

https://touroscholar.touro.edu/nymc_synapse/1044/thumbnail.jp

InTouch Week of March 9, 2026

Children’s Cancer Fund Research Laboratory Naming Ceremony Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology Hosts Fourth Annual Research Symposium Rethinking the Brain’s Response to Opioids Medical Students Bring Creativity and Connection to Behavioral Health Care Center for Disaster Medicine Hosts First K9 Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Training  TCDM Celebrates Tenth Anniversary at Annual Galahttps://touroscholar.touro.edu/in_touch/1394/thumbnail.jp

Toward the Achievement of Universal Health Coverage: Analysis of the 2022 Wave of Demographic and Health Survey Data on Health Insurance Coverage in Ghana

Ghana has operated a social health insurance scheme known as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) since 2003. The scheme has been the primary tool for Ghana to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030. The NHIS has been viewed as a model for other African countries due to its progress in reaching a large population in a short period since its implementation. However, despite these successes, Ghana is still several steps behind in achieving UHC, as confirmed by various studies, including findings from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). While mass media platforms, such as radio, newspapers, television, and the internet, have the potential to increase awareness and encourage enrollment, their actual impact on NHIS uptake has not been adequately explored by previous studies. Also, the impact of other sociodemographic or geographical factors, like educational levels, household wealth, and place of residence, on the relationship between mass media platforms and NHIS enrollment levels remains largely unexplored. The study aims to determine whether increased educational opportunities, increased household wealth levels, and greater access to media (newspapers, radio, television, or the internet) will increase Ghana\u27s health insurance enrollment, using a highly comprehensive, up-to-date, and nationally representative dataset (2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS)). This study relies on two complementary theoretical frameworks, Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use and the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Framework, to clarify the factors influencing individual and household decisions about enrolling in health insurance, particularly related to the NHIS. This is a quantitative, cross-sectional study that includes 22,058 participants, comprising 15014 women aged 15-45 years and 7044 men aged 15-52 years from the 2022 wave of the GDHS dataset. The outcome variable was health insurance status. The explanatory variables included demographic and socioeconomic factors such as sex, the highest educational level, wealth index combined, and frequencies of reading newspapers, listening to the radio, watching television, or using the internet. A survey-weighted chi-square test was used for bivariate analysis, and survey-weighted logistic regression models were employed to assess the effect of selected explanatory variables on health insurance enrollment levels, while controlling for each explanatory variable. In the 2022 GDHS dataset, the NHIS enrollment rate is 84%, with a higher rate among women (89.8%) than among men (72.5%). Female and male participants with higher education had 1.31 times and 1.94 times higher likelihood for NHIS enrollment, respectively, compared with those with no education. Compared with poorer households, female and male participants in richer households had 1.48 times and 1.38 times higher likelihood for NHIS enrollment, respectively. Male participants who read newspapers or magazines at least once a day had 1.70 times higher likelihood for NHIS enrollment than those who did not read at all. Male participants who used the internet almost every day had 1.39 times higher likelihood for NHIS enrollment than those who did not use the internet at all. Female participants who listened to the radio at least once a week had 1.25 times higher likelihood for NHIS enrollment than those who did not listen to the radio at all. Female and male participants who watched television at least once a week had 1.25 times and 1.30 times higher likelihood for NHIS enrollment, respectively, than those who did not watch television at all. These findings emphasize the importance of increasing education and household wealth to improve NHIS enrollment in Ghana. Furthermore, using various forms of media access to help improve NHIS enrollment in Ghana has to be gendered

Bearing

“Bearing” reflects on a moment of moral conflict in a combat environment, where training, survival and duty to care collide. In high-risk settings, medical service members are taught repeatedly that even in chaos, they must remain grounded; the instinct to run toward danger is tempered by the responsibility to preserve life, including their own, as a vital part of the team’s ability to continue care. The poem explores the tension between action and restraint, and the enduring weight carried when outcomes are uncertain and choices are final. In medicine, these moments become part of the cross we carry—quiet, often unseen, yet shaping how we return to care, again and again, guided by compassion even when resolution may seem out of reach

True North: Full Issue Download

Silence is embedded into the life of medical students. Silence pierces the air when you are standing in the back of a patient room observing the conversation, feet aching, wondering if your presence is unnecessary and overwhelming for the patient. We are transient members of the healthcare team. We contribute to patient medical records with out notes and bedside conversations, yet we lack power in the system---the authority to sign orders, be responsible to true coordination of care, the autonomy that residents wield to make healthcare decisions. It is easy to lose your sense of self in this silence. We are constantly watching our moves to make sure we don’t derail the efficiency of the team, waiting for a sign of approval that our differential diagnosis or plan is on the right track, or grasping at the educational moment we’ve been waiting for all morning during rounds. This waiting is not passive though. It is in these silent moments of observation that we have been forging out True North, our guiding star. Residents may be handling all the logistics, but we are able to be present in the moment for our patients without the pressure of a pager or overflowing to-do list. This is how we decide what type of physicians we want to become. We are building our internal compass--the moral and ethical framework--that will guide our thought processes for years to come. We often obsess over finding our purpose. Hoping that a lightning bolt will hit us and the answer will justify the struggles and uncertainty we’ve been wading through for years. The truth is, that answer may not be revealed in one single moment, but rather a series of experiences that keep our compass needle moving. It could be in the 10 extra minutes we spent listening to a grandmother’s love story at bedside, or appreciating how a mentor handled delivering news of a difficult diagnosis with grace. This Quill & Scope issue is dedicated to that search. Don’t wait for the destination, rather enjoy the journey

Effect of Dietary Salt Excess on DNA Methylation and Transcriptional Regulation of Human Angiotensinogen Gene Expression

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Angiotensinogen (AGT) is a component of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, which regulates blood pressure. Genome-wide association studies have shown that two A/G polymorphisms (rs2493134 and rs2004776), located at +507 and +1164 in intron I of the human AGT (hAGT) gene, are linked to hypertension. AGT polymorphisms result in two haplotypes, Hap-I a pro-hypertensive, whereas Hap-II is normotensive. Previous studies support the role of epigenetics in blood pressure regulation. In this study, we generated transgenic mice (TG) with hAGT containing Hap-I and Hap-II variants to investigate the effect of high salt diet (HSD) on epigenetics and transcriptional regulation. METHODS: We treated Hap-I and Hap-II TG mice with 4% HSD and identified DNA methylation patterns. We measured hAGT mRNA and protein by qPCR and immunoblot, respectively. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay and RNA sequencing were performed. RESULTS: hAGT gene expression is increased by HSD in both Hap-I and Hap-II TG mice. In the liver and kidney, we observed significantly higher DNA demethylation (less CpG\u27s) and stronger binding of transcription factors in the promoter of Hap-I TG mice as compared to Hap-II post HSD. RNA-Seq identified differentially expressed genes, novel target genes, canonical pathways, and upstream regulators associated with hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings identified a novel high salt-sensitive risk haplotype, novel CpG sites and DNA methylation patterns, potential gene targets, and pathways implicated in hypertension. Combining epigenetic and transcriptional analysis allows for a more holistic understanding of the regulatory mechanisms that govern the hAGT gene