Closing Gaps in Health and Care

Student cconduct a simulated exam involving a manikin and a standardized patient played by Bridget Brown in the UIC Nursing Schwartz Lab. Brown’s mom, Nancy (far right), acts as the patient’s health coach.

Actors help UIC students learn about serving patients with disabilities

Jan 6, 2023 10:45 am

As part of the new program, UIC pharmacy, dental and nursing students do a series of online modules about caring for people with disabilities. Then they get assigned to work together on simulation cases in-person or via telehealth.

red, yellow and green flourescence microscopy image of lung

A dynamic duo of cells identified in lung blood vessels

Jun 15, 2022 10:30 am

Findings from a UIC study identifying two subtypes of blood vessel cells could lead to better treatments for lung infections, which can be dangerously exacerbated by unchecked inflammation.

Alternate-day fasting a good option for patients with fatty liver disease

Feb 27, 2023 10:15 am

Nutrition researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago studied 80 people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and found that those who followed an alternate-day fasting diet and exercised were able to improve their health.

App developed to detect perinatal depression in mothers of color

Feb 23, 2022 9:30 am

An innovative app from UIC combines cutting edge technology, enhanced mental health outreach efforts and new opportunities to identify blood biomarkers for depression in an effort to help mothers of color from low-income communities identify, manage and treat perinatal depression at no cost.

Are older women being over-screened for cervical cancer?

Dec 2, 2022 2:45 pm

A new UIC study suggests that women over the age of 65 may be undergoing unnecessary cervical cancer screenings and that more public health data is needed on the utilization of cervical cancer screening-associated services among older women to prevent potential harm and unnecessary costs.

Assisting military-dependent communities

Aug 19, 2019 2:30 pm

UIC has received a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment to support economic research and resiliency in Illinois’ military-connected communities. More...

Awards recognize UIUC excellence in public engagement

Jul 10, 2020 8:45 am

The Campus Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement spotlight faculty members and staff at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who have consistently applied their knowledge and expertise to issues for the public good.

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.”

Behavioral intervention reduces depression, anxiety in adults with obesity

Aug 4, 2022 1:00 pm

Results from a UIC pilot clinical trial show that among a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of adults who were obese and depressed, an integrated behavioral intervention was more effective than usual care at reducing depression and associated anxiety symptoms than it was at promoting weight loss.

Better outcomes for Black and Latinx asthma patients

Mar 23, 2022 9:30 am

UIC was part of a study which found that when Black or Latinx asthma patients were instructed to use inhaled corticosteroids, their risk of severe exacerbation was reduced by 15%.

Bringing more healthcare services to Southwest Side

Sep 28, 2021 3:45 pm

With approval from the Board of Trustees to purchase a recently closed clinical building at 5525 S. Pulaski Road, the UIC and UI Health will move forward with plans to increase access to comprehensive health care in Chicago’s Gage Park and West Elsdon communities.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Carle Illinois-led research unlocks clues to healing damaged hearts

Oct 14, 2022 10:00 am

Research led by a Carle Illinois College of Medicine faculty member could give scientists new tools to prevent further damage and promote healing after a heart attack.

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.

Carle Illinois professor awarded prize to advance vaccine research

Feb 9, 2022 8:00 am

UIUC biochemistry professor Nicholas Wu has been recognized with a Michelson Prize: Next Generation Grant. He will be awarded $150,000 to enable his high-impact ideas to advance human immunology, vaccine discovery, and immunotherapy.

Second-year medical students Nicholas Nguyen (Co-Director of Avicenna Lifestyle) and Claire Lee (Co-Director of Avicenna Lifestyle), senior Haihley Connors (Co-Director of Avicenna Outreach), second-year medical student Anisha Mittal (Co-Director of Avicenna Outreach) and sophomore Isela Villaseñor (Avicenna Interpretations volunteer) from the Lifestyle, Outreach, and Interpretations team volunteer at the Campana de Salud Health Fair, promoting Avicenna, educating about healthy nutrition, and offering blood pressure screenings.

Carle Illinois students earn grant to improve local healthcare access

Dec 12, 2022 8:15 am

Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CI MED) students received the Family Medicine Cares USA existing clinic award grant from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

Center dedicated to improving worker health awarded $7 million

Jan 10, 2022 3:30 pm

Public health experts at UIC will continue efforts to improve the health of low-wage workers, thanks to a five-year, $7 million grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Child Development Laboratory cares for children of essential, critical personnel

May 5, 2020 10:00 am

Since mid-March, the staff at the CDL has stepped up to provide emergency childcare for a limited number of essential and critical personnel during the pandemic, under the state’s emergency childcare license.

Child Protection Training Academy

Aug 19, 2019 2:00 pm

The Child Protection Training Academy at the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) trains case workers and investigators to better spot and report kids who might be in danger. More...

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.

Collaboration brings innovative healthcare to the South Side

Feb 14, 2022 3:15 pm

Faculty and students at the UIC College of Nursing have partnered with the Southside Health Advocacy Resource Partnership to improve the health of South Side Chicago communities.

physicians and administrators posed in front of banner

Collaboration to better serve pediatric patients

Nov 3, 2021 8:30 am

Cook County Health and UI Health — the leading public health care providers in Cook County and Illinois — will collaborate on specialty pediatric services under the Partnership for Pediatric Care, a new clinical affiliation for shared services.

close up of covid test processing in lab

Community colleges in Illinois now have option to provide free covidSHIELD tests to state residents

Apr 19, 2021 1:00 pm

Community colleges across the state now have the ability to provide the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s (UIUC) innovative, saliva-based COVID-19 test at no cost to any state resident who wants one.

Community map locates food assistance sites

Sep 29, 2020 3:00 pm

To help Illinois residents meet their basic food needs, University of Illinois Extension launched a new Illinois community food map that allows individuals to search by Illinois zip code for all food resources in that area.

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.

University of Illinois Chicago’s Community Outreach Intervention Projects’ mobile narcotics treatment center parked on a vacant lot

Converted RV helps fight against opioid deaths in hardest-hit areas

Aug 24, 2022 9:30 am

Suboxone is an important tool to help those addicted to opioids, but only if they can get it. A new outreach effort is a part of the University of Illinois System mission of filling gaps in health and care.

CRISPR-Cas13 targets proteins causing ALS, Huntington's disease in mice

Jan 21, 2022 2:00 pm

A new study by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers used a targeted CRISPR technique in the central nervous systems of mice to turn off production of mutant proteins that can cause ALS and Huntington’s disease.

Dance may be a step toward better working memory for older Latinos

Jun 15, 2022 10:30 am

New research from UIUC suggests that older Latinos who regularly participate in Latin dance can help their brains stay healthy.

‘Decoy’ protein works against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants

Jan 21, 2022 3:00 pm

Researchers from UIC and UIUC have collaborated to develop a new drug treatment to prevent death and lung damage in COVID-19 patients. Early model studies show it may be very effective.

Developing antivirals for pandemic-level viruses

Aug 11, 2022 10:15 am

UIC researchers are working with the National Institutes of Health and researchers from across the country to establish a center for antiviral drug development for pandemic-level viruses, including Ebola and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Donation to help DPI develop more inclusive tech talent

Dec 15, 2020 1:15 pm

A $10 million gift will establish the Pritzker Tech Talent Labs at DPI, which will help Illinois workers better adapt to a challenging and quickly changing economy, and help thousands of women and people of color secure high-paying tech jobs.

DPI launches new education and workforce research center

May 31, 2020 8:30 am

The Discovery Partners Institute has launched a new education and workforce research center, IWERC, with $3.9 million from some of the city’s most influential philanthropists and foundations.

female researchers in t-shirts and hats with bucket of litter by lake

Evaluating plastic litter prevention strategies on Lake Springfield

Jul 27, 2021 9:30 am

Researchers at University of Illinois Springfield are examining pollution in and around Lake Springfield and devising strategies to reduce the litter and its impact on the environment.

Experts boost activity of potential therapeutic target in triple-negative breast cancer

Dec 2, 2022 2:45 pm

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers found that stimulating estrogen receptor beta in triple-negative breast cancers alters the activity of cancer-related genes and reduces the growth and metastasis of these breast cancers.

Extension efforts add 64,000 pounds of fresh produce to central Illinois tables

Jan 10, 2022 3:15 pm

With the enthusiastic support of the growers and buyers at the Arthur Produce Auction, University of Illinois Extension has provided more than 116,000 pounds of fresh produce to central Illinois food pantries in three years.

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.

Researcher and father/daughter farming team take a break from harvesting sweet corn

Farm family delivers produce to food bank, with a little help

Aug 24, 2022 2:30 pm

A young Woodford County farm family is feeling grateful after an influx of volunteers helped them harvest a two-acre food plot, with the fresh produce destined for area food banks.

Federal center for farmworker health and safety to open in Chicago

Sep 13, 2022 10:30 am

UIC will receive $6 million from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to establish the newest Agricultural Safety and Health Center in the U.S. The new center, called the Great Lakes Center for Farmworker Health and Wellbeing, will be housed at the UIC School of Public Health.

Program coordinator, dean, and trustee pose at law school with check

Fund to aid family advocacy initiative at law school clinic

Jul 20, 2020 2:45 pm

A new fund will help support those in need of representation in family law matters through UIC John Marshall Law School's Pro Bono Litigation Clinic.

Gov. Pritzker commits $500 million to IIN and DPI

Feb 12, 2020 2:45 pm

The State of Illinois is moving forward with $500 million in capital funding for the University of Illinois System’s Illinois Innovation Network and Discovery Partners Institute – a network of research and innovation hubs that will serve as a magnet for technology and talent. More...

Grant to foster health equity among Chicago youth

Aug 25, 2021 9:45 am

A new grant will help reduce disparities in healthcare through a unique new training program led by Carle Illinois College of Medicine’s Ruby Mendenhall.

Stockton Mayer, department of medicine, infectious diseases

Healthcare leaders protect homeless during pandemic

Sep 9, 2020 3:15 pm

Chicago nonprofits, shelters, city and healthcare leaders, including UI Health, have come together to address the problems those experiencing homelessness are facing while protecting public health.

Health equity initiatives receive funding from the American Cancer Society

Mar 23, 2022 9:30 am

UIC has received a $4 million, four-year grant from the American Cancer Society to establish a solutions-oriented consortium of health care researchers and clinicians charged with improving outcomes in communities disproportionately affected by cancer.

Animated sad Black woman with briefcase walks into kitchen where sad Black man is sitting looking at a job site on computer

Helping prevent postpartum depression in Black women

Jun 2, 2021 12:45 pm

The Sunnyside for Moms app created by researchers at University of Illinois Chicago aims to help pregnant women of color who are shoing signs of depression but haven't reached the point of clinical depression.

HIV, AIDS training center at UIC goes national with help of $3M grant

Oct 26, 2022 2:15 pm

The Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center at the University of Illinois Chicago will expand its services nationwide with the help of a new $3 million grant.

female researcher performing testing in lab

IDPH & DPI announce statewide system to monitor COVID-19 in wastewater

May 25, 2021 8:30 am

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) today announced a statewide system to monitor the virus that causes COVID-19 and its variants in wastewater, providing public health officials with early warnings of a potential outbreak on a county-by-county basis.

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