The WSU Insider compiled a list of Washington State University studies that garnered the most attention from news media in 2023. One College of Medicine study made it into the top 10 and six others made the overall list.
WSU News staff used Meltwater media tracking software to calculate each story’s “potential reach.” This figure, which combines estimated audience of all media outlets where the story appeared, provides a rough estimate of how many times a story could have been seen rather than the number of people who saw it.
WSU liver researcher Kris Kowdley, MD, clinical faculty, put the College of Medicine in the top 10. His study, Sharp Rise in Severe, Alcohol-Related Liver Injury During Pandemic, received a potential reach of 699.93 million, placing it as the fifth highest of all WSU research in 2023.
At the time of the WSU press release, the rise in liquor sales during the pandemic had already been well publicized, but the consequences of that increase much less so. Kowdley’s study helped provide an important warning shared by news outlets across the U.S. like Gizmodo, Good Men Project, New York Post, and Spokesman Review.
Six additional 2023 studies by College of Medicine researchers are ranked below in order of potential reach.
- #13: Abortion Facility Access Means Long Drives for 41.8% of Women
Dawn Kopp, MD, Vice Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology - #37: Lesser-Known Brain Cells May Be Key to Staying Awake Without Cost to Cognition, Health
Marcos Frank, PhD, Professor - #48: Comparison with Canada Highlights Poor Access to U.S. Methadone Treatment
Ofer Amram, PhD, Associate Professor - #57: Epigenetic Signature for Obesity Found in Study of Twins
Glen Duncan, PhD, Chair, Nutrition and Exercise Physiology - #73: Discovery Could Hold the Key to Healthy Aging During Global Warming
Yiyong (Ben) Liu, PhD, Assistant Professor - #76: WIC Participation Helped Families Better Copy with 2022 Infant Formula Shortage
Pablo Monsivais, PhD, Associate Professor
Namrata Sanjeevi, Research Associate