Berkeley

UC Berkeley’s Public Health Offers Volunteer Opportunity for Covid-19 Research Study

Published

6 years ago

June 3, 2020

A team of investigators and researchers at the University of California Berkeley’s School of Public Health have launched a new study to better understand the current spread of SARS-CoV-2 (the Novel Coronavirus) in the Bay Area, and the effects of social and physical distancing strategies. SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that causes COVID-19.

Lisa F. Barcellos, a professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at BSPH is leading the team with Eva Harris, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at BSPH, and chair of the Infectious Diseases and Immunity Graduate Group at UC Berkeley. Barcellos noted that the study “is designed to understand the prevalence of undetected coronavirus infections among adults in the Bay Area without symptoms.”

“Our goal is to determine how many people may have been previously infected with the virus without knowing it because they had a mild illness or did not have access to testing while they were sick,” said Barcellos.

“The results will help demonstrate the extent to which the novel coronavirus has spread undetected in the Bay Area and provide insights into which communities and populations are most affected,” she said. “This critical data will help us measure the impact of the current public health efforts such as shelter-in-place and will help guide the COVID-19 response moving forward.”

In the initial phase of this study, all households in the East Bay communities of Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville, Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo, El Sobrante, Pinole, Kensington and Hercules are invited to participate. Recently, every home address within the study sampling region was mailed a postcard inviting one volunteer per household of 18 years or older to participate in the study.

Volunteers are asked to consent to enrollment for initial screening, which only takes 10 minutes. After enrollment, study participants will be emailed a link to complete a health assessment questionnaire and provide contact information, basic demographic information (including age, race, ethnicity, sex, occupation), and other information about their immediate household members.

The investigators will randomly select 5,000 to 6,000 individuals from the study participants who provided screening information to participate in the study for an at-home swab, saliva, and finger-prick blood sample collection and completion of further questionnaires.

Each study participant will receive an at-home sample collection test kit with detailed instructions on collecting samples (including an instructional video link) and returning the kit to UC Berkeley for further analysis in the laboratory.

Barcellos noted that the at-home sample collection kits are safe and easy-to-use. “By providing these samples, study participants can help researchers fight COVID-19 from the privacy of their homes,” said Barcellos.

“Investigators will test oral and nasal swab and saliva samples for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (active infection) and blood samples for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, which are proteins produced by the immune system in response to a specific infectious agent and indicate a previous infection.”

Barcellos added that privacy is very important to the study. “Any personal contact information you provide for the screening questionnaire will be stored securely, used only for secure research-related communication with you, and not shared with anyone outside of the study investigators at UC Berkeley,” said Barcellos.

For more information on this study, visit covic19survey.berkeley.edu. To learn more about the U.S. government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, visit www.coronavirus.gov.

Clifford Williams

Posts by Clifford Williams

Bay Area

UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Published

3 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Photo by Keegan Houser/UC Berkeley.

The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries

By Lila Thulin

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.

Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.

Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.

“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.

This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.

In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.

That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

Farwest Region Deltas Celebrate Centennial With “September Breakfast” Honoring Vivian Osborne Marsh

The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.

Published

10 months ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Farwest Regional Director, Kimberly Usher, Mayor Barbara Lee, US Representative Lateefah Simon, and Farwest Regional Representative, Radiya Ajibade. Photo courtesy of Farwest Regional Photographer Vicki P. Love.

By Antoinette Porter

Hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and their guests gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley, to mark the 100th anniversary of the sorority’s Farwest Region.

Marsh went on to serve as Delta Sigma Theta’s 7th National President, where she launched the sorority’s National Library Project to expand access to books in underserved Black communities in the South. During her presidency, the organization also became a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, lobbying Congress to pass anti-lynching legislation.

Bak in the Bay Area, Marsh devoted her career to advancing educational opportunities, mentoring young people, and strengthening community life. That commitment continues to shape the region, which supports initiatives in education, social justice, and economic development. Current projects include raising scholarship funds for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, voter education campaigns, and health and wellness programs.

A century after its founding, the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta remains active across California and other western states, carrying forward Marsh’s vision of service and advocacy.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

Cal Performances Presents Angélique Kidjo & Yo-Yo Ma in Sarabande Africaine at UC Berkeley Greek Theatre on Aug. 30

On Saturday, Aug. 30, the pair will debut the Bay Area premiere of Sarabande Africaine, joined by pianist Thierry Vaton, percussionist David Donatien, and special guest Sinkane. The program illuminates centuries of musical interplay between African traditions and Western classical forms, using the Baroque sarabande dance, and its African ancestor, the Congolese spirit dance Zarabanda, as a gateway to exploring the deep, interconnected roots of global music.

Published

10 months ago

August 25, 2025

Oakland Post

Angelique Kidjo and Yo-Yo Ma. Wikimedia photos.

By Carla Thomas

On Labor Day weekend two of the world’s most celebrated musicians and cultural ambassadors, Grammy Award–winning vocalist Angélique Kidjo and legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma join forces for an evening of music, history, and cultural dialogue at UC Berkeley’s historic Hearst Greek Theatre.

Both Kidjo and Ma have built careers not only as great performers but as passionate advocates for cultural understanding. Sarabande Africaine is as much a conversation about shared heritage as it is a musical performance, blending genres, geographies, and histories.

“Every day there are moments when all of us can feel we are on the inside of something and also when we feel we are on the outside of something,” said Yo-Yo Ma. “To be able to understand both at the same time and oscillate between the two gives us a larger perspective on the world.”

“If your mind is open, and there is no fear, it’s easier to listen, and to question yourself,” said Kidjo.

The upcoming performance is presented within Cal Performances’ Illuminations: “Exile & Sanctuary” series for the 2025–26 season. The production explores exile as more than just physical displacement, but a disruption in identity and belonging, while sanctuary represents both refuge and the creative space where new connections and communities can take shape.

Cal Performances’ Illuminations bridges performances with UC Berkeley’s academic research, pairing the arts with conversations about urgent global issues.

Kidjo’s continued partnership with Cal Performances includes her 2021–22 artist-in-residence, premiering her music-theater work Yemandja, set in 19th-century West Africa during the transatlantic slave trade.

She also participated in the Bias in Our Algorithms and Society panel alongside campus leaders like Jennifer Chayes, and joined the Black Studies Collaboratory for a dialogue on music, diaspora, and the world.

She has since returned to Berkeley for multiple performances, most recently in 2024 at Zellerbach Hall.

Yo-Yo Ma’s history with Cal Performances spans decades, beginning in 1997. One notable project includes the 2018 performance of Bach’s complete cello suites at the Greek Theatre, a testament to his devotion to creating “transformative concert experiences in iconic spaces.”

For tickets and more information, visit calperformances.org.