Mark Vander Weg, UI professor of community and behavioral health, studies tobacco cessation interventions. He’s concerned if the state doesn’t invest enough in tobacco control, previous gains will be lost. “I worry that we’re complacent, that there’s a tendency to sort of feel like we’ve got it taken care of,” Vander Weg said. “We haven’t.”

UI postdoctoral researcher Paras Gaur was interviewed about his work unraveling the complex mechanisms of DNA damage, repair, and genome stability and its importance in guiding future translational cancer therapeutics.

UI professor of occupational and environmental health Keri Hornbuckle said interacting with PCBs can have many long-term effects on the human body. “[PCBs] are known human carcinogens, which means they can cause cancer. It doesn’t mean they always will, but they can,” Hornbuckle said.

Lisa Heineman, a UI professor of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies, was interviewed about Judaism Unbound, a digitally-savvy organization founded in part as an alternative to the mainstays of American-Jewish life.

Americans are driving for longer than ever before — in some cases, too long, according to safety advocates. But many older adults say they shouldn't be forced to give up driving solely because of age. Cara Hamann, an epidemiologist at the University of Iowa College of Public Health who studies road safety, says every state has some kind of licensing policy that affects older adults, but no good evidence exists to support those policies.

"We’re really interested in connections between downtown Iowa City, the campus and the University of Iowa," said Hancher Auditorium executive director Andre Perry.

The billion-dollar prediction markets industry began like a joke: Three economists walked into a bar. This was in Iowa City in 1988, long before anyone could bet on elections or Super Bowl halftime shows with their phone. The professors were trying to solve the sort of problem social scientists tackle over lunch. Why did polls get elections so wrong — and what could be done about it?

“As access to maternal and newborn care remains limited in many communities, we are seeing more complex pregnancies and babies who need our advanced neonatal services,” said Denise Jamieson, UI vice president for medical affairs.

Iowa leads the nation in the percentage of energy produced by wind. Scott Spak, UI associate professor in the school of planning and public affairs, was interviewed on Iowa Public Radio's "River to River", on the future of renewable energy policy.

Around a year ago, the UI Scanlan Center for School Mental Health started offering eating disorder services to Iowa school districts and their family. Taylor Ford, assistant director of Clinical Services and Crisis Response, says interest is only growing.