Researchers at Shepherd University are using light therapy to treat symptoms of substance use disorder and depression, and say they have found early signs of success.
Scientists have long recognized the impact of sunlight on vitamin intake, sleep patterns and mood.
But researchers at Shepherd University are taking things a step further with a form of light therapy known as photobiomodulation (PBM). Their goal is to use light to address symptoms of substance use disorder and depression.
The study involves placing a non-invasive helmet over a participant’s head and transmitting near-infrared light for three minutes. Participants regularly attended these sessions, receiving the treatment twice a week for eight consecutive weeks.
This helps stimulate energy production in cells, reduce inflammation and aid the healing of nerves, according to Jennifer Flora, director of the Shepherd University Wellness Center and a co-author on the study.
So far, Flora said the results have been promising. “I was like, ‘You need to run these numbers again,’ because it was so shocking,” she said.
“After eight weeks, those in the PBM treatment group reported significantly fewer cravings and less severe symptoms of depression compared to the control group,” Flora said. “The results were so compelling.”
Flora is working on the project alongside Kelly Watson Huffer, co-author and coordinator for Shepherd’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
The results of Flora and Watson Huffer’s study were discussed on Shepherd’s campus Monday, with a presentation on the second phase of the study.
West Virginia officials and Shepherd University staff gathered for a Monday morning presentation on photobiomodulation therapy and substance use disorder.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
This will be conducted at the Berkeley Day Report Center in Martinsburg, which serves as an alternative to incarceration for individuals who have gone through legal troubles tied to substance use disorder.
The second phase of the program will continue its phase-one light therapy interventions and compare their results for a second group of participants.
Several state officials attended Monday’s event and expressed their hopes that the study could soon benefit West Virginians.
“The work that’s going on in Shepherd is a critical part of the future of how we tackle the drug epidemic,” said Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. “There [is] a need for additional approaches, creative approaches, to help really make a big difference at some of these cravings, [to] go after the science of addiction.”
“West Virginia has been sort of the most hard-hit place in the country with the opioid epidemic,” said West Virginia State Auditor J.B. McCuskey. “The work that our universities are doing locally to find non-pharmacological solutions to this [is] incredible.”
Flora said her team is currently developing a more portable version of the helmet, which could help people access PBM from the comfort of their homes.
In the meantime, she encouraged state and local officials to consider expanding access to PBM and emerging therapeutic treatments.
“As we continue our research we invite the community — health care professionals and policymakers — to consider the potential of innovative therapies like photobiomodulation to make a real difference,” Flora said.
GATC West Virginia, a health tech hub, was awarded $5 million to hire new staff. The company uses artificial intelligence to test the efficacy of new medications.
As overdose rates continue to rise nationally, a health company with West Virginia ties will soon receive $5 million in state funds to further research on substance use disorders.
GATC West Virginia — an in-state hub of the health technology company GATC Health — will use the new investment to develop medical treatments through artificial intelligence.
The company uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict how effective and safe new medicines will be, and to preemptively identify side effects.
New treatments must still be tested using clinical trials. But GATC claims using simulations can increase the likelihood of a medication’s success and expedite the development process.
Provided by the West Virginia Economic Development Authority and West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust, the new funding will allow GATC to hire tens of new employees at their location in Morgantown.
In a Friday press release, Gov. Jim Justice said the collaboration would put West Virginia at the forefront of developing health technology.
“West Virginia is leading the way in revolutionizing the pharmaceutical industry and making a huge difference in medicine discovery,” Justice said. “This initiative places West Virginia on the map as a leader of innovation as we bring cutting-edge technology right to our backyard to find effective medicines.”
The start-up was built on the idea of using cutting-edge technology and local workers to produce vegetables on an industrial scale. And this was all set to happen in eastern Kentucky, where the company’s founder said this new version of agriculture could help replace the fading coal industry. AppHarvest got a lot of attention — from national media, politicians and investors. But then, last year, the company filed for bankruptcy.
This conversation originally aired in the Feb. 11, 2024 episode of Inside Appalachia.
When AppHarvest built its first greenhouse in 2020, it was touted as no less than the future of farming — and maybe Appalachia itself.
The start-up was built on the idea of using cutting-edge technology and local workers to produce vegetables on an industrial scale. And this was all set to happen in eastern Kentucky, where the company’s founder said this new version of agriculture could help replace the fading coal industry.
AppHarvest got a lot of attention — from national media, politicians and investors. But then, last year, the company filed for bankruptcy. Austyn Gaffney recently reported on AppHarvest’s downfall in a story for Grist and Louisville Public Media.
Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams spoke with Gaffney to learn more.
The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Adams: AppHarvest has received a lot of media attention from the time it was founded. But for folks who haven’t heard of AppHarvest, can you tell us about the company?
Gaffney: AppHarvest was founded by a Kentuckian named Jonathan Webb in January of 2018, basically saying that, in order to revitalize the economy of central Appalachia, we needed to bring in more blue collar jobs. His vision for these blue collar jobs was a spattering of 12 giant greenhouses, which grew produce like tomatoes and berries and lettuce indoors. He built the first of those greenhouses in Morehead, Kentucky, in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then he added four more greenhouses over the next couple of years.
Jonathan Webb, founder and former CEO of AppHarvest.
Credit: Jon Cherry/Grist
Adams: AppHarvest checked off so many boxes that people talk about it when they talk about economic development and Appalachia. They touted decent paying blue collar jobs with benefits for locals, building out the local food system, diversifying the economy in a coal producing region — even leaning in on private investment, as opposed to just grants and public funding. Where did AppHarvest go wrong?
Gaffney: Based on my reporting, the biggest problem at AppHarvest seems to have was that it grew too big too fast. It went through 12 rounds of funding, raised over $800 million in seed and venture capital funding, along with loans from banks and national organizations like the USDA. That was before they built their first greenhouse. They also started planning on going public.
You mentioned private investment. They partnered with basically what is a blank-check company for the purpose of joining the stock market. So on top of lenders, they also now have stockholders to contend with, to pay back all this money on sort of a low value product, which was tomatoes, lettuce and berries. By the summer of 2021, before they’re open even a year, AppHarvest leadership admitted on an investor call that the company was staring down a $32 million net loss. That same day, stocks dropped 29 percent and in the following months, the company was facing five different lawsuits alleging securities fraud.
Basically, stockholders were saying that leadership had lied about the productivity in the greenhouses and the success of the company. So through these suits at AppHarvest, leadership was repeatedly cited as blaming employee training, turnover and “a poor work ethic” as the root causes of the company’s failures to achieve profitability. Basically, rather than working out the kinks in its first year of operation, AppHarvest built five greenhouses while selling a low value product and blamed its failures in some ways on the laborers that kept the company going.
Adams: AppHarvest isn’t the only indoor agriculture project in the U.S., or even here in Appalachia. Multiple companies have closed or filed for bankruptcy in the last few years. Why is this particular industry so challenging?
Gaffney: Traditional farming relies on labor but also sun, rain and soil. In controlled environment agriculture (CEA), this type of industry relies on a reproduction of at least one of those, which is largely energy. In the example of AppHarvest, the greenhouses rely on a hydroponic system, the reproduction of heat and light, and pulling in water from retention ponds.
In Kentucky, we rely on coal for nearly 70 percent of our electricity. So the production of this produce is also tied to increased greenhouse gas emissions. The cost of those lights and the robotics that power parts of these facilities, especially when tied to commodified fossil fuels, can make this industry prohibitively expensive.
Over the last decade, there’s been an influx of venture capital funding into this industry, and the CEA market is predicted to be worth $3 billion by next year. So while the high costs of these facilities have accumulated quickly, they’ve also led to a domino of bankruptcies and closures, especially over the last couple of years.
Adams: There’s a lot in the story about how AppHarvest tried to cut labor costs. What was that experience like for workers?
Gaffney: The biggest complaints I learned from employees were how the big promises that AppHarvest made in its initial couple years failed to match their actual working environment.
When people were hired, especially at the inaugural Morehead greenhouse, they were deeply excited to join this new company which had this big mission, which they felt like was contributing to a sustainable future. Some of the employees told me that they would skip down the aisles during their first couple of weeks or months of work because they were so excited to be there.
But in October 2020, workers said they were told they needed to work overtime, including weekends, and one employee said when she complained, her supervisor told her she needed to “learn to sacrifice.” By the spring and the summer, extreme heat descended into the greenhouse. Former workers reported heat indexes that could reach into the 140s and the 150s, and often hovered in the territory of what the National Weather Service calls “extreme danger,” which is anything above 126 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s what these employees called “a grueling hell on earth.” They complained of heat exhaustion, rashes, dehydration and also dangerous working conditions where glass panels could fall from the greenhouse ceiling or tomato wires could snap.
This kind of mismanagement or dissatisfaction also bled into the corporate office that was based in Lexington. Former workers told me the leadership team was disorganized, and the goals of their positions were not clearly stated. One corporate worker told me they felt like they’d been sold a beautiful pipe dream, something that felt sustainable and new, and that could make it in Kentucky. But they said it turned out just to be a nightmare.
AppHarvest was touted as no less than the future of farming, but they filed for bankruptcy last year.
Credit: Jon Cherry/Grist
Adams: The story goes over a lot of ways that AppHarvest got things wrong. Is there a different version of AppHarvest, and that business model, that could potentially work in Appalachia?
Gaffney: It’s sort of speculative, so obviously, I can’t say for certain. But I think like all climate solutions, there’s a space for a renewable grid-powered version of AppHarvest. That could be one piece in a puzzle of solutions for a future food economy. That also includes small scale family farm markets that are sustainable and take care of our soil. But in order to feed our growing world, solutions like controlled environment agriculture — where we produce a high yield in a smaller facility without continuing to infringe on our forests and biodiversity — I think there is a space for that.
But AppHarvest grew so quickly that they weren’t able to trial and error a new type of economy with a totally new workforce. Maybe if AppHarvest had, had one greenhouse over three years, or five years or 10 years, and developed that workforce pipeline over time, they could have been successful. Instead, they built five greenhouses in less than three years. At that scale, it’s not that the science of CEA is wrong, but basically, it’s expensive. Plants are finicky, especially in indoor agriculture. If a disease or a pathogen takes hold, it can spread like wildfire.
I think they needed more room to make mistakes in their first few years, and maybe have less money to pay back in their first few years than they were able to do.
On this episode of The Legislature Today, we wrap up another week of the West Virginia Legislative session, and the pace is starting to pick up in both chambers. We also have a story from our student reporters and a history lookback as well.
Updated on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024 at 11:20 a.m.
On this episode of The Legislature Today, we wrap up another week of the West Virginia Legislative session, and the pace is starting to pick up in both chambers. We also have a story from our student reporters and a history lookback as well.
In the House, 10 bills passed through third reading, all with either unanimous or near unanimous votes. Some follow a trend this session of creating more legislative oversight. Others increase consumer protection on gift card fraud and phone spam. Randy Yohe has more.
In the Senate, the chamber approved five bills on things like new energy technology and left lane driving. Seventeen bills advanced. Briana Heaney has more.
Debate broke out on the House floor after amendments were proposed to the Women’s Bill of Rights. Emily Rice has more.
Our high school reporters this week bring us a look at three bills they’ve been following.
Also, the House earlier this week introduced House Bill 5006. The bill is related to the administration of the A. James Manchin Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan. Who was he? We asked Bob Brunner to give us a little more background.
Finally, we regularly invite reporters from outside news organizations into our studio to discuss what they are seeing during the legislative session. Our own Briana Heaney and Emily Rice spoke with Lori Kersey, a reporter from the independent news organization West Virginia Watch.
Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.
The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.
Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
The West Virginia Department of Education is helping schools come to terms with the new reality of artificial intelligence (AI).
The West Virginia Department of Education is helping schools come to terms with the new reality of artificial intelligence (AI).
West Virginia is the third state in the country to develop AI guidance for PK-12 education use. That’s according to Erika Klose, coordinator of academic support for the state Department of Education, who told the state Board of Education Wednesday that AI is already here in a variety of everyday technologies.
“We may not really realize it, but it’s here,” Klose said. “So if you ask Siri to set a reminder for you, Siri is using something called natural language processing to understand what you said, and then complete the task. When our phone scans our face in place of a password, your phone is using complex image processing, which is a form of AI to make certain that your face belongs to the person who should be accessing that phone.”
Klose gave a similar presentation to members of the Joint Standing Committee on Education Sunday.
She emphasized that AI will never replace educators, who instead will be taught how best to use the technology in their classroom. Nor will it solve all of the problems facing the education system. These concepts help frame the new guidance to support learning, which include clarifying the ethical uses of AI, safeguarding student well being and data privacy and facilitating open and transparent dialogue about AI with all involved parties.
She said if the department’s new guidelines are followed, AI has the potential to greatly help both students and educators create productive learning environments.
“We believe that we could have individualized learning experiences that cater to each student’s needs, improve accessibility for students with diverse learning needs and exceptionalities … and allow our students to acquire the necessary skills for the 21st century, such as the knowledge of computer science and data literacy,” Klose said.
Klose concluded by stating that the next steps in AI guidance will include significant public input.
“Within the next month, we will be launching a public stakeholder survey to look at our larger community’s perceptions around AI and how they’re using it, questions that they have,” she said. “We want the responses from our community, our parents, our students, our schools, our districts, our administrators, our teachers. We want their voice in that survey.”
On this West Virginia Morning, a Shepherd University professor is overseeing research to make aircraft communication more secure. Caroline MacGregor sat down with Assistant Professor of Business Administration George Ray to talk about his cutting-edge research.
On this West Virginia Morning, a Shepherd University professor is overseeing research to make aircraft communication more secure. His research was presented at the 63rd annual conference of the International Association for Computer Information Systems. It has also been published in several publications and is attracting the attention of the country’s defense contractors.
Assistant News Director Caroline MacGregor sat down with Assistant Professor of Business Administration George Ray to talk about his cutting-edge research.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.
Caroline MacGregor produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
