Investigators in the UI College of Public Health and Carver College of Medicine have been selected to receive $1 million over five years to establish, enhance, and maintain information-gathering systems to detect microcephaly—a serious birth defect—and other adverse outcomes caused by Zika virus infection.

The gut may play a key role in preventing the onset of Parkinson's disease. UI biologists found that in roundworms, an immune response from intestinal cells sparks a series of chemical signals that ultimately preserves neurons whose death is associated with Parkinson's. The results appear in the journal "Cell Reports."

UI researcher Terry Wahls has been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) to compare the ability of two popular diets to treat multiple sclerosis–related fatigue.

The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine is part of a trend among U.S. medical schools that are recruiting students from rural communities who want to practice in a small town. Iowa pays for the training of doctors who actually do.

UI biomedical engineering students will soon be able to use a new campus lab to design and test state-of-the-art medical device prototypes, thanks in part to a grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust.

When the flood of 2008 took out many of the roads to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, a team of UIHC employees ensured that physicians and patients could still access the hospitals.

Rural patients with heart disease often have limited access to specialized care because most cardiologists practice in cities, but a new study from the University of Iowa finds that the use of visiting consultant clinics (VCCs) in rural hospitals staffed by traveling cardiologists greatly increases access to care.

Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the UI has received its third renewal as a comprehensive cancer center from the National Cancer Institute. The five-year renewal includes $12.2 million to support research. There are fewer than 50 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation. Holden is the only one in Iowa.

Greg Nelson, assistant dean of the University of Iowa Carver College Of Medicine, comments on the national shortage of doctors and how the UI is persuading more students to study medicine.

For more than 20 years, the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the UI College of Dentistry has partnered with the nonprofit organization Proteus Inc. to provide on-site dental services to the children of migrant farmworkers. Parents were invited to bring children ages 18 and younger for a free exam.

Researchers at University of Iowa Children's Hospital and the UI College of Nursing have developed an application that can be accessed from parents' smart phones, tablets, or computers and used to distract children during painful procedures.

In his new role at the UI, Ted Abel will build a collaborative community of scientists and clinicians to foster interdisciplinary research and training in neuroscience and to support translational research in disorders of the brain and nervous system.