The UI College of Pharmacy announced a new initiative — supported by Eli Lilly Co. — to boost Iowa’s low lung cancer screening rates by embedding screenings in community pharmacies across the state. Led by Jill Kolesar, dean and Jean M. Schmidt chair in drug discovery, the program expands access, especially for rural and underserved Iowans, through innovative, community-based care.

Grace Lidgett breathes easier while running and at rest, thanks to a revolutionary cystic fibrosis treatment that evolved from decades of UI Health Care research led by Michael Welsh. Learn how the remarkable research allowed her to chase her dreams.

From fun at Iowa football games, to cutting-edge research, to students in their residence hall rooms — and everything in between — check out the fall 2025 semester in these 16 frames.

University of Iowa biologists discovered that a New Zealand freshwater snail duplicated its entire genome, capturing a rare evolutionary transitory state. The finding shows how large-scale genetic events can generate the raw material needed to fuel significant new adaptations and innovations in animals.

Fruit fly mating is reminiscent of a medieval romance. Male fruit flies vibrate their wings to produce a unique courtship song that attracts females, who promptly choose whether they want to mate with the male. The antennae of fruit flies are always vibrating, even when there is no sound present. “These vibrations are at the courtship song frequency, which makes the antenna ten times more sensitive to sounds in that frequency,” said Daniel Eberl, professor of biology at the University of Iowa. This specific tuning helps female fruit flies process the courtship songs performed by males.

Ed Stone, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and director of the Institute for Vision Research at the UI, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Michael J. Welsh, MD, University of Iowa professor of internal medicine, has won the 2025 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for his fundamental research on cystic fibrosis (CF), which paved the way to new therapies that have transformed the health and life expectancy of people with CF.

The Lasker Awards, which honor fundamental discoveries and clinical advances that improve human health, were given on Thursday to scientists for discovering hidden complexity in cells, new states of biological matter, and a potent treatment for cystic fibrosis.

Kevin Campbell, professor and chair of molecular physiology and biophysics at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, will receive the 2025 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University. Campbell will share the prize, which is awarded annually for groundbreaking work in medical science, with fellow researchers Louis Kunkel and Eric Olson for discoveries that revealed the biological causes of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and provide the foundation for breakthrough treatments for this and related muscular diseases.

University of Iowa engineers have refined the design for an underwater vehicle to move more freely and with more maneuverability. The design changes mimic the octopus’ papillae muscles, which can be uncoiled on a moment’s notice for camouflage and to aid movement when flow conditions change in the water.

University of Iowa researchers have successfully tested a gene-treatment technique to prevent craniosynostosis, a condition that causes infants’ skulls to close prematurely. The experiments, conducted in mice, may lead to clinical human trials in the next one to two years.

University of Iowa scholars secured support for more than 2,300 projects in fiscal year 2025, pursuing research aimed at developing cancer treatments and patient care, advancing brain science and mental health, and building healthier and more resilient Iowa communities.

A study in which participants completed an overnight drive in a driving simulator indicates that drivers who feel drowsy benefit from taking breaks, though the gains in driving performance seem to be temporary.

A University of Iowa assistant professor led a study of older adults and what affect limited access to healthy food has on their cognitive decline.