Rhea Bhalla

Featured in: Favicon

themanitoban.com

Articles

The unseen aftermath of the pandemic

Jan 22, 2025 | themanitoban.com | Rhea Bhalla |Teegan Gillich

Long COVID is a condition where symptoms persist for weeks, months or even years after recovering from COVID-19. The symptoms, including chronic pain, brain fog, shortness of breath, chest pain and severe fatigue, can be overwhelming and disabling. Post-secondary students are especially at risk for repeated COVID-19 infections due to shared living environments (such as dorms and student housing) and frontline jobs (like waiting tables and working in retail).
The lifelong burdens of child maltreatment

Jan 15, 2025 | themanitoban.com | Rhea Bhalla |Teegan Gillich

Child maltreatment is a widespread issue with severe and lasting consequences. According to the World Health Organization, six in 10 children under the age of five regularly suffer physical and psychological violence from parents and caregivers. Twenty per cent of women and 14 per cent of men report childhood sexual abuse. Tracie Afifi, professor in the U of M’s Max Rady college of medicine, conducts research in the areas of child maltreatment and mental health.
The price of reproductive healthcare for immigrants

Jan 8, 2025 | themanitoban.com | Rhea Bhalla |Teegan Gillich

Certain immigrant populations in Manitoba are facing growing challenges in accessing reproductive healthcare, as shifting policies push them into a system of fragmented private insurance coverage. Lindsay Larios, an assistant professor in the U of M’s faculty of social work, examines how these policies disproportionately affect international students and migrant workers, forcing them to navigate a patchwork of private insurance plans that often fail to provide essential reproductive care.
The intersection of Indigenous knowledge and AI

Dec 5, 2024 | themanitoban.com | Rhea Bhalla |Teegan Gillich

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a machine’s ability to perform tasks associated with the intelligence characteristic of humans, such as reasoning, finding meaning, generalizing and learning from past experience. Today, AI completes diverse tasks from medical diagnosis to voice recognition to chatbots. Michael Yellow Bird is a professor in the U of M’s faculty of social work and member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota, USA.
Helping older adults meet their nutritional needs

Nov 27, 2024 | themanitoban.com | Rhea Bhalla |Teegan Gillich

According to the American Geriatrics Society, more than half of older adults in hospitals or long-term care (LTC) homes experience malnutrition. Malnutrition includes both under- and over-nutrition and can result in health issues, functional disability, impaired immune function, poor quality of life, hospitalization and increased risk for morbidity and mortality. Christina Lengyel is a professor in the U of M’s department of food and human nutritional sciences.
Battling blood cancer

Nov 21, 2024 | themanitoban.com | Rhea Bhalla |Teegan Gillich

Over one million people worldwide are diagnosed with blood cancer every year, causing 720,000 deaths annually. Blood cancers begin when cells in the bloodstream or bone marrow mutate, allowing them to multiply excessively and have abnormally long lifespans. When cancerous cells rise in number and monopolize space and nutrients, there may not be enough normal cells to carry out essential tasks such as carrying oxygen through the bloodstream, fighting infection and controlling bleeding.
Advancing maternal and infant health globally

Nov 6, 2024 | themanitoban.com | Rhea Bhalla |Teegan Gillich

Epidemiology is a branch of medicine that deals with the causes, frequency and pattern of diseases in a population. It examines how diseases can be tracked, predicted and prevented. Epidemiology is considered the foundation of public health. James Blanchard is an epidemiologist and director of the U of M’s Institute for Global and Public Health. He was first trained as a physician, practicing for two years in the U of M’s northern medical unit with rural and Indigenous populations.
When babies can't breathe

Oct 30, 2024 | themanitoban.com | Rhea Bhalla |Teegan Gillich

One in every 5,000 babies experience persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN), a lethal condition that occurs when they are unable to get enough oxygen after being born. It is one of the leading causes of death among babies. Shyamala Dakshinamurti, a professor in the U of M’s Max Rady college of medicine, began her career as a neonatologist, a doctor for newborn babies who need medical attention after birth.
Supporting the Deaf community

Oct 23, 2024 | themanitoban.com | Rhea Bhalla |Teegan Gillich

Sixty per cent of Canadian adults have hearing problems and many are unaware of it. Approximately 382,700 are deaf, with another 3,827,000 being hard of hearing. Others have high-frequency hearing loss and/or tinnitus, a persistent ringing sound in the ears that may worsen over time. Tracey Bone is an associate professor in the U of M’s faculty of social work who conducts research in mental health and deaf studies. Bone’s connection to the Deaf community is personal.
The brain, the placenta and cells that birth other cells

Oct 17, 2024 | themanitoban.com | Rhea Bhalla |Teegan Gillich

Lei Xing had always been fascinated by the human brain. Initially, his desire to understand the inner workings of the brain led him to medical school to become a medical doctor. When he ultimately changed his career path and went into research, Xing knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life uncovering the secrets of developmental neuroscience.