The Noddle, a device invented by UI-spinout company Voxello, is a technology that helps patients communicate with their health care providers, even though they are unable to speak.

University of Iowa researchers have documented for the first time how melanoma cells form tumors. The team reports the process is similar to that of breast cancer cells, and they have successfully screened for two antibodies that stopped tumor formation in both cancers. Results published in the journal “PLOS One.”

Evidence is growing that adding high-dose, intravenous vitamin C to standard chemotherapy and radiation treatment may improve outcomes for patients with a wide range of cancers. Researchers with Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa report promising results from a phase 1 clinical trial.

Researchers at the UI’s Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building are working to eradicate diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s—and they rely on undergraduates for help. As early as their first year, UI undergrads get hands-on research experience and make important contributions to their fields.

University of Iowa researchers have found that by stimulating the cerebellum of rats with schizophrenia-like cognitive problems, they can normalize brain activity in the frontal cortex and correct the rats’ ability to estimate the passage of time. Difficulty accurately measuring time is common issue experienced by people with schizophrenia.

Jill Hauer, a doctoral student in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics at the University of Iowa, earned a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship for 2017 to study a kidney disease.

Siblings Empowered, a business co-founded at UI by student Caleigh Bemont, uses online platforms to provide emotional support to children of siblings who are in traumatic life situations.

This year's annual Cancer in Iowa study conducted by the UI College of Public Health finds that 17,400 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in Iowa in 2017, and 6,200 Iowans will die from the disease.

Four University of Iowa faculty members have won the 2017 President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence in recognition of their years of outstanding teaching. The recipients are Meenakshi Gigi Durham, Julie Jessop, Russell Larsen, and Thomas Oetting.

The UI College of Dentistry’s Geriatric and Special Needs Certificate Program trains dental students to attend to the unique needs of elderly patients. The college has also partnered with the College of Nursing to improve care for seniors by adding a social worker and nurse practitioner to its geriatric team.

The annual report also projects an estimated 17,400 new cancers will be diagnosed among Iowa residents this year. Breast cancer will remain the most common type of cancer diagnosed among females, while prostate cancer remains the most common type among males.

Julie Reynolds and Peter Damiano, with the UI Public Policy Center’s Health Policy Program, were awarded a grant renewal from the DentaQuest Foundation to continue developing the Patient-Centered Dental Home (PCDH) model.