IU COVID Testing and Vaccine Clinic
IU Bloomington will coordinate with the Indiana Department of Health to host a mobile COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinic from Jan. 5 to Jan. 8, according to an IU Today article.
The clinics will run from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will offer PCR rapid COVID-19 tests along with Pfizer and Moderna booster vaccines. These clinics are open to IU students, staff, faculty and any other resident of the Bloomington area.
The clinic will be held at the IU Folklore and Ethnomusicology building at 800 N. Indiana Ave., between 11th Street and 12th Street. Parking is available behind the building or in the lot at 12th Street and Fess Avenue. An IU parking permit is not required.
Testing appointments can be made on the Indiana Coronavirus homepage. Vaccination appointments can be made on COVID-19 vaccination finder.
Cynthia Lucchese appointed to IU Board of Trustees
Governor Eric Holcomb announced the appointment of Cynthia “Cindy” Lucchese, an IU alumna and business leader, to the IU Board of Trustees according to a Dec. 20 press release.
Lucchese completed her bachelor’s degree in accounting at the IU Kelley School of Business, proceeding to obtain her MBA at Kelley shortly after. She is currently the chief strategy officer for Penske Entertainment Corp., according to the release. Penske owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and operates the yearly Indianapolis 500 mile race.
Prior to her position at Penske, Lucchese was the Chief Financial Officer for Hillenbrand Inc. and Thoratec Corp. as well as various senior financial positions in other companies. She was named the 2020 CFO of the Year by the Indianapolis Business Journal, according to the release.
Lucchese is filling a vacancy left by Melanie Walker, who passed away in July 2021. She will serve through July 1, when Walker’s term initially would have ended.
IU-led Shoebox fund invests in two new student ventures
IU Shoebox Fund selected two student-led startup businesses to receive $5,000 each according to a Dec. 20 IU news article.
Established through a gift of $60,000 from Donna and John Shoemaker in early 2021, the Shoebox fund supports high-potential new venture opportunities with strong university connections according to the article.
The first is a startup named HotDrop, a mobile app to help users discover and share new music. The business was founded by juniors Max Goldberg and Steven Segel. Both are students in the Kelley School of Business.
Hotdrop allows users to hear 30 seconds of a random song and swipe left or right to choose to “like” or “dislike” the tune. Users are also able to swipe up to share the song or swipe down to add it to the music streaming app of their choice, according to the article.
The second startup is an electric-vehicle battery part supplier called Natrion, founded by Thomas Rouffiac, a sophomore at the Kelley School of Business.
Natrion aims to provide a “plug-and-play” solution that lithium-ion battery manufacturers can quickly implement into production. The solution also aims to improve battery durability and thermal stability to allow vehicle manufacturers to effectively double their vehicle’s range, according to the release.
IU School of Medicine’s Indiana Receives $2.7 million to address mental health
The IU School of Medicine’s Indiana Behavioral Health Access Program for Youth has been awarded a total of $2.7 million in recent grants, according to a Dec. 16 news release.
The child psychiatry access program, also called Be Happy, will have five years of operational support from the funding. $2.6 million will originate from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The remaining $100,000 will come in the form of a one-year grant afforded by the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, according to the release.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, one in five children in the U.S. from ages three to 17 were recorded having a mental, emotional, developmental or behavioral disorder, according to the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
The additional grant funding will assist the Be Happy program to increase availability of statewide pediatric mental health care teams through telehealth consultations as well as referral services for primary-care providers and other youth-serving professionals.
The program will focus around rural, underserved areas to better address health inequity stemming from racial, ethnic and geographical disparities in access to healthcare, according to the release.
