Using recent advances in DNA sequencing, UI medical student Eliot Shearer, who earned his doctorate in molecular physiology and biophysics in 2012, helped create a single test that screens for all 70 known deafness-causing genes, making diagnostic testing more cost-effective for patients.

In recommending new guidelines for blood pressure medication, doctors focused on people age 60 because they “are a unique population and we are concerned about the number of medications that may be required,” says Paul James, head of family medicine at the University of Iowa.

Eliot Shearer used advances in DNA sequencing to develop a single test to screen for all known deafness-causing genes, making diagnostic testing more cost-effective. Shearer is the 2013 Montgomery Dissertation Prize winner in biomedical and health sciences.

A nationally recognized expert panel on which a University of Iowa physician and researcher serves as co-chairman is releasing new guidelines for the management of high blood pressure that would raise the threshold for what is considered dangerous levels for people age 60 and older and could reduce the number of drugs some patients may have to take.

New guidelines, developed by a national committee co-chaired by the UI's Paul James, suggest that people over 60 can have a higher blood pressure than previously recommended before starting treatment to lower it.

The University of Iowa’s Environmental Health Sciences Research Center is accepting pilot grant proposals from UI investigators for innovative environmental health research.

A small fire was reported in a urology testing lab at the University of Iowa Medical Education and Research Facility Tuesday, Dec. 17.

By evaluating working muscles in mice, University of Iowa researchers have uncovered physiological mechanisms that could lead to new strategies for combating metabolism-related disorders like muscle wasting and obesity.

Daniel Collier has discovered a feedback mechanism in cells that affects blood pressure. He has gone on to define the molecular interactions that can be used to control the problem. Collier is the 2013 Spriestersbach Prize winner in the biological and life sciences who earned his doctorate from the UI.

A gene-therapy company created in part from research at the University of Iowa has obtained a $50 million capital commitment to move forward with its gene-therapy research. Spark Therapeutics, LLC was created in part from research by UI internal medicine professor Beverly Davidson.

The odds for extremely premature infants, as early as 22 weeks gestation, are improving every day—especially at top-level facilities such as the UI Children’s Hospital.

The National Institutes of Health chose the University of Iowa, along with 24 other regional stroke centers, to participate in a national research network that aims to improve care for people affected by stroke in Iowa and across the country.