Closing Gaps in Health and Care

a man and a woman posing for a picture next to a piece of exercise equipment

Urbana-Champaign study find craved foods in moderation help in weight loss

Jun 30, 2025 10:00 am

Researchers in food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign say in a new study that eating dessert may be the optimal strategy for losing weight, keeping it off, and keeping cravings at bay.

Graduate student Jonathan Cerna monitors heart data from a “smart shirt” that tracks electrical activity as graduate student Laila Shaaban exercises and rests. Researchers are working to develop the technology to make heart-related predictions more widely accessible through the use of wearables. Photo by Fred Zwicky

Urbana-Champaign team monitors heart rate using ‘smart shirt’ tech

May 5, 2025 2:45 pm

Inside the "smart shirt" is gold, elastic fabric that detects the stretching and collapsing of your lungs while breathing. Other sensors monitor heart rate and activity. The shirt allows researchers to see the connections between markers that they sense from cardiac signals while walking.

A patient receives a health examination at Humboldt Park's Mile Square Health Center. Photo courtesy of UI Health.

UIC researchers, health care providers partner with communities to address health disparities

Apr 10, 2025 12:30 pm

The life expectancy for Black people is nearly five years shorter than for white people, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago and UI Health, the university’s academic health enterprise, want to better understand the correlations and to intervene with services that can bridge the divide.

Dr. Sam Wainwright, assistant professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at UIC, talks with a patient and her mother. (Photo: Hossein Fatemi/UI Health)

UI Health Two-Generation Clinic connects more mothers with postpartum care

Mar 10, 2025 12:00 pm

An innovative clinical model to provide new moms with primary care during their baby’s first pediatric visits successfully connected more moms with the medical care they needed, according to research from the University of Illinois Chicago.

two small children receiving dental care from a dentist

UIC College of Dentistry hosts annual Give Kids a Smile Day

Feb 19, 2025 10:15 am

The UIC College of Dentistry hosted its annual Give Kids a Smile Day as part of a national initiative aimed at ensuring access to quality oral health care for all children. This year’s event welcomed more than 100 children for a day of free oral health screenings, oral health care education and face painting.

A nurse holds an open folder for a mother and daughter to read

UIC using five-year federal grant to support underserved caregivers

Jan 27, 2025 4:45 pm

A team at the University of Illinois Chicago will utilize a five-year, $4.3M grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to find new ways to support underserved caregivers, especially those who have language or cultural barriers.

The Midwest AIDS Training + Education Center central office staff. (Photo: Monica Kass Rogers)

UIC training next generation of HIV/AIDS caregivers to end epidemic

Jan 6, 2025 3:30 pm

Since 1988, UIC's Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center has trained thousands of health care workers to treat people with HIV and AIDS and reduce new diagnoses. Renewed federal funding will help the center continue its critical work beyond its upcoming 40th anniversary.

Carle Illinois medical student Annie Tigranyan

Carle College of Medicine team creates radiation-blocking infant onesie

Dec 9, 2024 5:30 pm

Some babies in the NICU are exposed to dozens of chest X-rays—necessary, but potentially harmful in the long run. A Carle Illinois College of Medicine team is applying to use NASA-developed anti-radiation coating to create a onesie that shields most of a baby's body from extra radiation.

A research grad student uses a transmission electron microscope to study nanoparticle crystallization pathways, which led to the finding of a three dimensional honeycomb lattice structure. The work was done at the Illinois Materials Research Laboratory.

UIUC medicine, engineering researchers meld expertise to fight cancer

Nov 11, 2024 3:45 pm

Through collaboration of medicine and engineering expertise, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is making strides in cancer research. That includes new methods of production of uniform 3-D tumor models for testing research, and improved optical imaging technologies to improve surgical precision in the removal of cancer cells.

a hand points to images of cancer cells on a computer screen

Urbana-Champaign receives $33M federal grant to revolutionize cancer surgery

Oct 21, 2024 1:00 pm

The grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) will support the development of technology that aims to reduce or eliminate the risk of missing some cancer cells after surgical removal, require more surgery and treatments.

Patient in wheelchair receiving treatment from ICC team

UIC's Inclusive Care Clinic an ‘oasis’ for patients with special needs

Sep 23, 2024 2:15 pm

The Inclusive Care Clinic solves a problem not many dentist offices are thinking about - being a place that anybody can access. The clinic has design and additional features that aren't found in the average dental office, making it an accessible option for patients with disabilities or other special needs.

Saliva samples are being tested in a lab

Study from UIC: COVID virus evolves more rapidly in central nervous system

Sep 10, 2024 3:15 pm

The coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic evolves more rapidly in the brain than in the lungs, according to new research from University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University. New variants created in the brain and other parts of the nervous system could also travel back to the lungs, where they could become transmissible and spread new, dangerous variants of the virus.

Dr. Erin Hickey, center, talks with patient Isaiah Menchaca and his mom, Josephine Alvarez, during a visit to the UI Health Lifespan Disability Clinic. (Photo: Jenny Fontaine/UIC)

New UIC clinic, training program aim to improve care for people with disabilities

Aug 19, 2024 1:15 pm

A new UI Health clinic and physician training program are designed to create welcoming spaces and lead to better health outcomes for patients with disabilities. At UI Health’s Lifespan Disability Clinic, patients with disabilities can access a wide range of practitioners — from physicians to occupational therapists to physical therapists — under one roof.

UIC’s Yury Polikanov, Nora Vázquez-Laslop and Alexander Mankin collaborated on testing the new antibiotic. (Photo: Dmitrii Travin)

UIC researchers find nearly resistance-impossible dual-action antibiotic

Aug 5, 2024 4:00 pm

University of Illinois Chicago researchers working with a class of drugs called macrolones found they can fight bacteria in two ways: by interfering with protein production or by corrupting DNA structure.

A woman feeding a small child | Photo by Tanaphong Toochinda on Unsplash

UIUC study shows soy isoflavones support children's cognitive abilities, attention spans

Jul 19, 2024 2:30 pm

Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have investigated the relationship between soy isoflavones and children's attentional abilities using an EEG scanner to record electrical activity in the brain.

CI MED physician-innovator Mahima Goel holding her New Venture Challenge prize

Carle Illinois med student leads team helping chemo patients keep their hair

Jul 1, 2024 11:00 am

Scalp cooling is a relatively new treatment that helps patients undergoing less potent chemotherapy to retain their hair. A Carle Illinois College of Medicine team has innovated this technology to bring both the helmet's size and price down by half.

UIUC-developed antibiotic targets only gram-negative bacteria, sparing the gut

Jun 17, 2024 2:15 pm

A team led by Paul Hergenrother at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has discovered a new antibiotic that exclusively targets gram-negative bacteria and avoids wiping out the ecosystem of other microbes that flourishes in the gut.

A person wearing athletic shoes walking up stone stairs. (Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash)

UIUC team finds link between regular exercise, neuron connectivity maintenance

Jun 3, 2024 2:15 pm

A UIUC study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that when muscles contain more nerve cells, and when those muscle-stimulating nerve cells are active, muscle tissue produces a bevy of brain-boosting compounds.

A stack of licorice and licorice root. (Susanne Hillmer on Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/images/id-2243175/)

Clinical trial testing licorice root as prostate cancer therapy begins at UIC

Jun 3, 2024 1:45 pm

A new clinical trial studying whether a compound derived from licorice root will affect prostate cancer in patients is now open at the University of Illinois Chicago. The study will be the first to assess whether the natural product has anti-cancer effects that could benefit patients as they await surgical treatment.

UIUC's Alma Mater wearing a doctor's labcoat and stethoscope

Carle Illinois College of Med students win top prize for ‘MenoPatch’ at Founders Forge

May 13, 2024 10:15 am

Physicians at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine earned top honors at the Midwest’s largest student-run startup conference for the “MenoPatch” — a skin patch that can personalize hormone replacement therapy for women experiencing menopause.

Illinois State University associate professor of creative technologies Roy Magnuson using a VR device, with light trails added to show motion

Real Impact: Grants fund life-saving training with an innovative tech twist

Apr 29, 2024 12:30 pm

Stopping an overdose using naloxone requires quick action in tough situations. “With VENT, we’re creating training that mimics hectic moments so people can feel prepared,” said Scott Barrows, University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria clinical assistant professor.

Blood vessel endothelial cells (green) and basement membrane (red) in the brain. (Image: Sarah Lutz)

UIC researchers targeting blood vessels in brain to combat post-COVID 'fog'

Apr 15, 2024 10:00 am

In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have identified a mechanism that causes neurological problems in mice infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19. The researchers also found a treatment that helped prevent these changes.

a computer model of protein PSD-95, an early biomarker of Alzheimer's disease

UIUC team identifies earliest biomarker yet of Alzheimer's disease

Apr 1, 2024 1:00 pm

A team at UIUC's School of Molecular and Cellular Biology has identified a specific protein, PSD-95, that is linked to seizures seen in the early phases of Alzheimer’s disease. PSD-95 is the earliest biomarker yet discovered that's associated with the onset of Alzheimer's.

A nursing students talks with a nurse educator.

Real Impact: Robust program turns out nurses willing to answer the call

Mar 11, 2024 3:15 pm

The University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing trains healthcare experts at all three University of Illinois System universities. The program in Springfield is the newest with students gaining in-depth, hands-on experience at Springfield Memorial Hospital.

a man and a woman smiling and standing in front of a sign

UIUC med students offering free women’s healthcare to those in need

Feb 26, 2024 10:00 am

The volunteer students are working with doctors at Avicenna’s Women’s Health Clinic to help provide free obstetrics and gynecological care for women who are under-insured or uninsured.

Barbara McFarlin, professor emeritus of nursing at UIC, alongside a ultrasound monitor

UIC, UIUC collaboration shows ultrasounds can predict risk of preterm birth

Feb 12, 2024 1:15 pm

The new ultrasound method works as early as 23 weeks into a pregnancy, according to the research published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology Maternal Fetal Medicine.

A scanning electron micrograph of Salmonella typhimurium invading a human epithelial cell.

UIUC microbiology team gains new insights into Salmonella resistance

Jan 31, 2024 10:15 am

Salmonella is notorious for surviving and replicating in immune system cells called macrophages, but Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology researchers have discovered how a system of proteins called TamAB helps Salmonella survive under the harsh conditions inside those cells.

a picture of a human brain with wave patterns superimposed

Carle Illinois College of Medicine students design device for longer, better sleep

Jan 16, 2024 12:00 pm

The team of medical students recently won an award from the U.S. Academy of Medicine for their concept called "SoundAsleep" - a wearable brain wave monitor connected to an app and sound system. The device transmits specific sounds during certain sleep periods to extend and deepen quality sleep.

Dr. Alex Leow's interests in bipolar research and piano led her to build an app focused on mental illness detection.

Inspired by piano-playing, UIC professor creates phone app to track brain fitness

Jan 2, 2024 12:15 pm

Biomedical engineering professor Alex Leow developed BiAffect, an app and research study that analyzes smartphone keyboard data patterns to learn about a person’s neuropsychological state.

Doctors in an operating room using holographic technology

Carle Illinois College of Medicine makes history with hologram tech

Dec 11, 2023 11:45 am

Carle Illinois College of Medicine doctors and surgeons have a new superpower at their disposal - a holographic projection technology that allows doctors and surgeons to "look inside" patients' bodies in real-time.

The Percival Bailey Brain Collection, located in UIC’s Neuropsychiatric Institute.

UIC brain bank leads citywide effort to study epilepsy, brain cancer

Nov 27, 2023 11:15 am

A new virtual brain bank spanning five Chicago academic medical centers and led by University of Illinois Chicago will create a powerful new resource for clinical care and research on epilepsy, brain tumors and neurological disorders.

UIC study: intermittent fasting effective for people with Type 2 diabetes

Nov 13, 2023 1:15 pm

Time-restricted eating, also known as intermittent fasting, can help people with Type 2 diabetes lose weight and control their blood sugar levels, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open from University of Illinois Chicago researchers.

UI Health Mile Square Health Center at Wood and Roosevelt in Chicago, Illinois.

UIC, Mile Square join national trial of blood test for multi-cancer screening

Oct 30, 2023 9:45 am

The University of Illinois Chicago will be the first site in the state to participate in a national study of a clinical test that screens for a shared cancer signal in a sample of patient blood. The test screens for a signal shared by more than 50 types of cancers, including pancreatic and blood cancers which do not currently have recommended screening tests and often go undetected until later stages.

UIC-developed compound could replace injections with eyedrops

Oct 16, 2023 10:15 am

A new paper in Cell Reports Medicine led by UIC researcher Yulia Komarova finds that a small-molecule inhibitor can reverse damage from age-related macular degeneration and promote regenerative and healing processes.

Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda with the UIC College of Dentistry team at the Pilsen Center for Oral Health Promotion opening.

UIC College of Dentistry opens Pilsen Center for Oral Health Promotion

Oct 2, 2023 10:00 am

The new center will provide community-based oral health care and educate dental students. The space has three dental chairs, two rooms for patient education, and an area in which dental students and students from other UIC health sciences colleges will provide group health education for patients.

Women with hypertension, obesity show benefits from UIC cooking class

Sep 11, 2023 10:30 am

Women who participated in a 12-week program called “Food is Medicine: Healing Together” say the cooking classes and nutrition seminars helped turn their health around.

Speech Accessibility Project aims to make voice recognition tech more useful

Aug 29, 2023 2:15 pm

Researchers at the University of Illinois are working on a critical project to help make voice recognition technology more useful for people with a wide range of speech patterns and disabilities, and they're seeking participants to assist their work.

A test tube containing golden liquid in a lab setting

UIUC team uncovers key driver of necrosis in cancer cells

Aug 14, 2023 10:30 am

Their study identifies a specific protein that plays a pivotal role in promoting cell death, which may allow the development of new immunotherapies against solid tumors and other challenging cancers.

A nurse and a doctor hand a face mask to a child, outside.

UIC medical students, doctors form Mobile Migrant Health Team

Aug 7, 2023 2:15 pm

Since the first week of May, more than 3,000 migrants have received medical attention from the UIC student-driven group, which has volunteered at nearly a dozen Chicago police stations where migrants are being sheltered.

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived heart cells (cardiomyocytes) show the cardiac proteins actinin (red) and troponin T (green) as well as the nucleus (blue).

Mitochondrial proteins protect heart cells from chemotherapy damage

Jul 24, 2023 1:45 pm

University of Illinois Chicago researchers have found that when heart cells are put under stress from certain types of chemotherapy drugs, some enzymes move from the cell's mitochondria into its nucleus, where they are able to keep the cells alive.

University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria research team members are (from left) Dr. Krishna Kumar Veeravalli, Dr. Casimir Fornal, Dr. Billy Wang, M.D. student Vinay Sama, M.D. student Claire Schaibley, and Dr. Sivareddy Challa

UICOMP team developing stroke treatment that can reduce brain damage

Jul 17, 2023 12:00 pm

The University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria researchers are studying how to control a protein called MMP-12 that increases in the brain after a stroke. They are attempting to create antibodies that specifically inhibit or suppress that protein.

Researcher Indrajit Srivastava, left, and Prof. Viktor Gruev hold vials of new imaging agents developed by their research team that help surgeons to better see cancer tumors

Urbana-Champaign researchers work to improve cancer imaging

Jul 10, 2023 1:00 pm

Doctors have used nanoparticles in cancer patients to locate tumors during imaging scans more easily. But they tend to collect in the liver, not on the tumor. A new approach developed at UIUC looked to solve this problem.

UICOM students volunteer time, effort to meet migrants' health needs

Jun 26, 2023 10:15 am

The volunteers have been making the rounds across Chicago, screening asylum-seeking migrants at temporary housing locations for public health concerns, and also providing immediate and preventative medical care.

a diagram showing the process by which the peptide exits the fruit flies

Compound found in fruit flies could lead to new antibiotics

Jun 14, 2023 11:15 am

UIC scientists have found that a peptide from fruit flies could lead to new antibiotics. The natural peptide, called drosocin, protects the insect from bacterial infections by binding to ribosomes in bacteria.

two scientists observe their prototype device

Award-winning breakthrough tech senses viruses like smoke detector

Jun 5, 2023 3:00 pm

Two University of Illinois Chicago scientists have collaborated on a device that could detect SARS-CoV-2, influenza, RSV and other pathogens. The technology, called BioAerium, could dramatically improve disease surveillance for public health as well as research on how viral particles move through the air.

Beckman researchers link regular, moderate yoga to lower stress, better memory

May 22, 2023 10:30 am

Participants who practiced medium-intensity yoga for 50 minutes, three times per week “had significantly lower stress and anxiety, and higher accuracy on working memory tasks.”

a woman and a man walking down a farm's dirt road

FarmDocs program gives med students dose of agricultural life

May 8, 2023 10:00 am

Because rural life can be foreign to many first-year medical students who hail from urban areas, the program exposes students to topics like farm safety, delivery of health care in a rural setting, and specific stresses in the farming community.

a doctor confers with a patient in her office

UI Health’s clinic aids Spanish speakers seeking kidney transplants

May 1, 2023 10:00 am

UI Health has a long history of treating Spanish-speaking patients and is the leading hospital to provide transplant services to this population. With growing numbers of Latino patients on transplant lists, UI Health officials decided that a clinic serving the population in their native language was due.

a person drawing water from a home faucet

UIUC researchers develop filter technology to combat 'forever chemicals'

Apr 24, 2023 10:15 am

PFAS, or per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, are human-made chemicals linked to a broad spectrum of health problems, including cancer and thyroid issues. They're also known as "forever chemicals" because they don't break down and accumulate in the environment and in humans.

UIC Nursing program now available in six campuses across Illinois (video)

Apr 18, 2023 12:45 pm

From its roots in Chicago, the UIC College of Nursing is now educating nurse leaders in five additional cities throughout Northern and Central Illinois, including Urbana.

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