Closing Gaps in Health and Care

Technique helps bring cell powerhouses back into balance

Aug 4, 2022 1:00 pm

Researchers at UIUC developed a technique using light to regulate mitochondria. The technique could be used as a treatment for cancer and other diseases.

Team identifies compound with potent antiseizure effects

Mar 23, 2022 9:45 am

UIUC researchers studying epileptic seizures of the temporal lobe – the most common type of epilepsy – discovered a compound that reduces seizures in the hippocampus, a brain region where many such seizures originate.

Allen Barton posing leaning on a railing

Study links insulin resistance, advanced cell aging with childhood poverty

Jul 28, 2022 1:45 pm

Black adolescents who lived in poverty as children and were pessimistic about their future had accelerated immune cell aging and greater levels of insulin resistance in their mid- to late twenties, according to a study by Allen W. Barton, a UIUC professor of human development and family studies.

Studying access to early childhood education in Illinois

Feb 10, 2020 2:45 pm

UIC researchers, supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will examine feedback from families who are living with the effects of their child’s expulsion. More...

Professor Keith Jaronsinski in front of block I banner

Study explores unusual interaction between viruses, live vaccines

Jul 15, 2022 10:45 am

A study of a herpes virus that infects chickens offers new insights into potentially problematic interactions between vaccines made from live viruses and the viruses they are meant to thwart.

Professor Brian Monson in a soundproof room

Study compares third-trimester sound exposures in fetuses, premature infants

Mar 13, 2023 2:30 pm

The study is the first to compare sound exposures of fetuses in the last 16 weeks of pregnancy with their age-matched premature peers. The analysis reveals profound differences in their exposures to noise, language, and the biological sounds of the mother, with implications for the infants’ development.

State invests big in COVID tests for schools

May 12, 2021 6:00 pm

In an effort to ensure in-person learning can fully resume as quickly and safely as possible, the Illinois Department of Public Health today announced a $225 million investment to expand access to covidSHIELD saliva-based testing, developed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to middle and high schools across the state at low or no cost.

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.

exterior of the UI Health Specialty Care Building

Specialty Care Building at UI Health opening up access to care, jobs

Sep 20, 2022 1:00 pm

The newest clinical building on the University of Illinois Chicago’s health sciences campus will open to patients Sept. 26. Leadership from UIC and its health system, UI Health, marked the occasion with a ribbon-cutting event outside the $194 million building Sept. 14.

South Shore clinic expands COVID-19 testing

May 5, 2020 10:15 am

UI Health Mile Square Health Center — a network of federally qualified health centers, or FQHCs, in Chicago — is now providing COVID-19 testing to community members on the South Side who meet testing criteria at its South Shore clinic, located at 7037 S. Stony Island Ave.

SMS intervention for Type 2 diabetes in underserved communities

Apr 7, 2022 10:00 am

A team of UIC experts in Rockford, Illinois, will launch and study a text message-based intervention for Type 2 diabetes in underserved communities, thanks to a $30,000 grant award from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois’ Dr. Louis and Violet Rubin Fund. 

Martin Burke and Stella Ekaputri in office

Small molecule transports iron in mice, human cells to treat some forms of anemia

Jul 22, 2022 9:45 am

UIUC researchers were part of a team that found a small molecule, hinokitiol, ferries iron out of liver cells lacking the protein that normally does the job and restores hemoglobin and red blood cell production.

Silica exposure is a driving force behind rising rates of black lung disease

Apr 18, 2022 3:30 pm

Silica exposure is a driving force behind rising rates of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, according to a new study published by occupational health experts at the University of Illinois Chicago and their collaborators.

SHIELD Illinois opens two additional free COVID testing sites in Chicago

May 26, 2022 8:00 am

SHIELD Illinois opened two additional free community testing sites in Chicago this month, bringing its total number of locations statewide to 44. These newly opened community sites increase access to COVID testing in underserved communities.

woman assisting another in a vaccine clinic

SHIELD CU helping raise vaccination rates among people of color

Jun 16, 2021 9:00 am

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's SHIELD CU team is partnering with local organizations to help boost COVID-19 vaccine rates in Champaign County's community of color.

red spiky ball rendering of COVID molecule

Sampling sewer water for COVID-19 in the C-U community

Aug 9, 2021 11:45 am

Illinois State Water Survey researchers have been sampling sewer water to look for traces of SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, at the neighborhood level in Champaign-Urbana to help monitor the spread of the disease.

Scientists in the lab in white coats processing samples

Saliva test being expanded in Champaign-Urbana community

Mar 24, 2021 10:15 am

OSF HealthCare announced a new partnership with the University of Illinois Tuesday that will expand the U of I’s saliva-based COVID-19 test into the broader Champaign-Urbana community.

The front of a UICOMP building in Peoria

Rural Student Physician Program aims to attract doctors to underserved areas

Feb 6, 2023 11:30 am

The decline of professionals practicing medicine in rural America isn't a new one, and rural hospitals around Illinois and the nation are eliminating services or closing altogether amid staffing and financial difficulties. The Rural Student Physician Program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria is working to solve this problem.

Portrait of Hana Hinkle, College of Medicine Rockford director, on rural background

Rural health education center in Illinois gains $6.5M

Oct 10, 2022 8:00 am

The National Center for Rural Health Professions at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine Rockford will receive nearly $6.5 million over the next five years to fund the Illinois Area Health Education Centers Network program.

Rockford professors on cutting edge with Parkinson's research

Mar 8, 2022 9:45 am

Researchers at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford have discovered what they describe as promising results in their search for a treatment to stop nerve cell degeneration that occurs in disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and hereditary spastic paraplegia.

masked diverse students sitting around table with fliers

Researchers to combat systemic racism in access to nature

Nov 19, 2021 10:00 am

Researchers from the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism in the College of Applied Health Sciences at UIUC plan to give a formal evaluation of efforts by the Urbana Park District to increase acceess to nature and recreation opportunites among diverse residents.

Man with handlebar mustache in office with test tubes

Researchers identify biomarker for depression

Jan 5, 2022 1:30 pm

Researchers led by Mark Rasenick, University of Illinois Chicago distinguished professor of physiology and biophysics and psychiatry, have identified a biomarker in human platelets that tracks the extent of depression.

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.

Four young women practice CPR on female and Black and brown mannequins

Real Impact: Heart-focused agency advances neighbor helping neighbor

Mar 21, 2023 10:00 am

When the five-year grant that launched Illinois Heart Rescue in 2012 expired, the State of Illinois recognized the results-driven program’s impact and took over funding. The University of Illinois System again is advocating for the program’s funding as part of its annual state budget request.

Liliane Windsor in coat and scarf outdoors

Project helps East St. Louis residents overcome barriers to COVID-19 testing, vaccination

Mar 23, 2022 9:30 am

A project co-led by UIUC that is underway in East St. Louis, Illinois, is investigating strategies for overcoming barriers to COVID-19 testing and vaccination among more than 548 medically and socially vulnerable residents of St. Clair County.

Male medical student with Peoria in backdrop

Program helps fill need for rural doctors

Sep 1, 2022 3:30 pm

Programs at University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford and University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria are part of the Rural Illinois Medical Student Assistance Program, to help fill the need for rural doctors in Illinois.

UIS child protection training academy simulation house

Preventing child fatalities and training the workforce

Feb 10, 2021 1:45 pm

The UIS Child Protection Training Academy has trained close to 1,000 DCFS child protection investigators over the last five years. The model has been expanded to Chicago and will soon be replicated at Southern Illinois University.

smiling adult male with arm around smiling adult female

Preparing youth with disabilities for adulthood

Nov 30, 2021 12:15 pm

The UIC Division of Specialized Care for Children sponsors an annual conference to help prepare Illinois families for the transition of their children with special health needs to adulthood.

female student in cap and gown on UIUC campus

Preparing students for medical careers through human nutrition program

Nov 17, 2021 9:15 am

Lauren Moy forged her path to the UIC College of Pharmacy by way of an undergraduate human nutrition concentration at the College of ACES at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

masked man in car rearview mirror awaiting testing

Pop-up testing clinics for Rantoul ag workers

Dec 2, 2020 1:30 pm

An interdisciplinary team of scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is working with clinicians and community researchers to expand access to COVID-19 testing by providing pop-up testing clinics for agricultural workers and others at various locations in Rantoul, Illinois.

Dr. Lauren Forsythe holds Duchess the cat, and Dr. Alex Gochenauer holds Loki the corgi in the Illinois Veterinary Hospital Medication Dispensary

Pawsitively Collaborative: A new partnership in veterinary pharmacy

Dec 9, 2022 3:00 pm

A new veterinary pharmacy residency program serves as an example of the collaborations that unite University of Illinois System entities around advancing health and other missions.

shadow of adults holding hands with child in the city

OSF & UIC award Community Health Advocacy grants

Feb 2, 2022 9:30 am

OSF HealthCare is partnering with UIC to award eight grants totaling more than $700,000 to support projects that remove barriers to care, particularly in low-income, under-resourced communities; enhance health and wellness education, and leverage technology to improve training and community outreach.

Three professional women sitting at table

Oncology dietitians rarely ask cancer patients about food insecurity, study finds

Feb 14, 2022 3:15 pm

Although studies suggest that many cancer patients experience food insecurity, few oncology dietitians routinely ask them if they are having problems affording or obtaining food, new UIUC research has found.

New treatment for pulmonary fibrosis using sugar-coated nanoparticles

Apr 7, 2022 10:15 am

UIC scientists have developed a treatment for pulmonary fibrosis by using nanoparticles coated in mannose — a type of sugar — to stop a population of lung cells called macrophages that contribute to lung tissue scarring.

Gloved hand of researcher holds two dark brown mice

Newsweek: How scientists successfully reversed Alzheimer's in mice

Aug 24, 2022 2:30 pm

Lead author Professor Orly Lazarov of the University of Illinois Chicago says, "Taken together, our results suggest augmenting neurogenesis may be of therapeutic value."

New position helps sharpen UI Health's focus on community health equity

Jan 28, 2022 9:45 am

Rani Morrison, chief diversity and community health equity officer at UI Health recently spoke to Healthcare Innovation about patient engagement and data gathering efforts under way.

New Peoria Innovation Hub to be part of statewide network

Nov 4, 2019 2:45 pm

The Peoria Innovation Hub will be dedicated to finding solutions to improve the wellness of underserved populations and advance systems related to food, farming, and transportation. More...

Male professor and female grad student pose in lab

New molecule targets, images and treats lung cancer tumors in mice

Nov 3, 2021 8:30 am

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers have developed a finely tuned molecular agent that can target lung and other cancer cells for imaging and treatment.

New mobile health unit for underserved teens in Illinois

Sep 20, 2022 12:00 pm

The UIC College of Nursing has secured a $3.1 million grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration to run a mobile health unit for underserved teens in Illinois.

New insight into links between Alzheimer's Disease and hearing loss

Mar 2, 2022 10:45 am

Researchers at Carle Illinois College of Medicine have uncovered new evidence about hearing loss in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The work could eventually lead to earlier intervention and new treatment strategies to delay cognitive decline.

A smiling young man with a smiling toddler on his shoulders

New Family First Act Summit gathers state agencies, helpful partners

Nov 4, 2022 10:45 am

“The Family First Act allows Illinois to invest more resources into addiction treatment, mental health services and parental skill building that will help strengthen families so children can remain safely at home,” said Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Illustration of molecule enzyme inhibitor

New enzyme inhibitor shows promise for treating cancers, autoimmune diseases

Oct 26, 2022 2:00 pm

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have found a small molecule capable of manipulating an immune process that plays an important role in cancers and autoimmune diseases.

New collaborative focuses on equity for those with chronic diseases

Jan 6, 2023 10:30 am

Chicago ARC partners "aligned on a vision to create a community of health innovation in Chicago and across Illinois and the Midwest, accelerating community-relevant innovation, technology, and partnerships, as well as positioning the region as a global destination for innovators and startups looking to transform healthcare and impact society."

A male and a female scientist pose in a laboratory

New approach enhances muscle recovery in aged mice

Apr 18, 2022 3:30 pm

Scientists have developed a promising new method to combat the age-related losses in muscle mass that often accompany immobility after injury or illness.

childrens' hands pointing at computer viewed from above

New AI institute focuses on children's speech language pathology needs

Feb 2, 2023 3:00 pm

The AI Institute for Exceptional Education will advance foundational AI technologies, human-centered AI design, and learning science that improves educational outcomes for young children. The institute will also focus on serving the millions of children nationwide who require speech and language services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

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