These experts from the UW–Madison faculty and staff have agreed to comment on breaking news, ongoing developments and trends in their areas of expertise. If you need help arranging interviews, email the Office of Strategic Communication.
Experts on the news
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Mayra Oyola on: Boundary Waters Wildfires
Wildfires continue to burn in Minnesota's Boundary Waters, with hot, dry conditions contributing to ongoing fire activity and smoke affecting parts of the Upper Midwest. Researchers are monitoring how weather patterns will influence fire behavior, smoke transport, and air quality in the days ahead.
Mayra Oyola Merced, Assistant Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Wisconsin Madison, studies wildfire smoke, atmospheric transport, and air quality using satellite observations and atmospheric models.
She can speak to:
• The weather conditions driving continued wildfire activity and how they may influence fire behavior.
• Where wildfire smoke is expected to travel and what it could mean for air quality across Minnesota and Wisconsin.
• How wildfire smoke affects visibility, sunsets, and conditions both at the surface and higher in the atmosphere. -
Andrea Gilmore Bykovskyi on: Lucidity in Dementia
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin Madison and Mayo Clinic are leading the nation's first research network dedicated to studying unexpected moments of lucidity in people with advanced Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The NIH funded initiative brings together researchers across the country to better understand these episodes and their implications for patient care and brain science.
Andrea Gilmore Bykovskyi, Associate Professor in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and co director of the Lucidity in Alzheimer's and Dementia Network, researches dementia care, late stage Alzheimer's disease, and episodes of unexpected lucidity.
She can speak to:
• What episodes of lucidity may reveal about brain function in advanced dementia.
• How the new national research network will advance the scientific understanding of these rare events.
• What this research could mean for patients, caregivers, and future dementia care.
