University of Iowa researchers in engineering, otolaryngology, and neurology are working to improve treatment planning for those struggling with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a common cause of snoring. The sleep disorder in which breathing stops because the throat muscles relax and block the airway is estimated to affect nearly a billion people worldwide and 30 million in the United States,…
Research and Education
Research and Education
Radiation therapy is an important treatment for head and neck cancers, but it can also damage adjacent structures, such as the trachea and the esophagus, causing difficult-to-treat, breathing and swallowing problems. Driven to alleviate some of the serious side effects that can occur and improve patients' quality of life, University of Iowa Health Care gastroenterologist Rami El Abiad, MD, has…
Kirkwood Community College and the University of Iowa (UI) are partnering to offer a four-year Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) Bachelor of Science degree, beginning this fall. The MLS program will help address a major workforce shortage of medical laboratory scientists. Demand for medical laboratory scientists is expected to rise by 5% over the next decade, resulting in an estimated 24,000 job…
Continuing a long tradition of innovation to advance treatment for cystic fibrosis (CF), University of Iowa researchers led by Paul McCray Jr., MD, were part of a team that developed a new gene editing approach to correct the most common CF-causing mutation. In collaboration with researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University led by David Liu, PhD, McCray and his colleagues…
A new study suggests that certain drugs commonly used to treat enlarged prostate may also decrease the risk for dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). This observational finding may seem surprising, but it mirrors previous work by the University of Iowa Health Care team that links the drugs to a protective effect in another neurodegenerative condition–Parkinson's disease. The UI researchers think that…
Researchers at University of Iowa Health Care, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, have been awarded $858,932 in collaborative grant funding from Emily’s Entourage to develop a novel approach for targeted cystic fibrosis therapies. Paul McCray, Jr., MD, professor of pediatrics-pulmonary medicine at UI Health Care, will…
Interventional psychiatry refers to a subspecialty centered on the use of new and emerging technologies to treat mental health disorders associated with dysfunctional brain circuitry. At the University of Iowa, this includes researchers and clinicians in psychiatry, neurology, and neurosurgery with expertise in procedures such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS),…
As a University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine student on her pediatric nephrology rotation, Lyndsay Harshman (11MD, 14F, 18MS) noticed something about her young patients. Many children who had undergone kidney transplant later struggled to adhere to their medications—a difficulty that could lead to devastating health outcomes. Harshman, whose interest in children’s brain development began…
An institutional member of the prestigious National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the University of Iowa has formed a new local chapter of the organization. “The University of Iowa Research Foundation created this institutional chapter with encouragement from the NAI to recognize local inventors and further foster a culture of innovation in our university community,” said Aliasger Salem, associate…
Using an incredibly large database of patient information, University of Iowa researchers discovered significant delays in ALS diagnosis for rural patients compared to urban counterparts. Quality of life could be improved for rural patients if health care professionals can find ways to address these delays. “Even without a cure, there are things we can do for these patients. We can help set up…