UI research advances discoveries that improve lives in Iowa and beyond

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Every day, researchers at the University of Iowa are seeking answers to questions that will change the lives of people who live in our state and beyond. Why are cancer rates on the rise? Can gene editing treat a rare disease? How can children born prematurely succeed in school? How can we help rural Veterans manage chronic pain?

"Research changes lives," says David Schwebel, UI vice president for research. "Whether we're developing new therapies for devastating diseases, helping children reach their full potential, or addressing challenges facing rural communities, our faculty are committed to solving problems that matter. External funding allows them to translate ideas into discoveries that improve the health and well-being of people in Iowa and around the world."

Those efforts received strong support in fiscal year 2026, with the university securing $771.7 million in external funding, including $536 million for research, scholarship, and creative activities across more than 2,100 projects. The federal government remained the university's largest source of research support during FY 2026, providing $295.8 million for projects spanning medicine, public health, engineering, education, the social sciences, the arts, and the humanities.

These investments reflect confidence in UI researchers, but they do more than support scholarly efforts - they make possible discoveries that improve health and strengthen communities in Iowa and beyond.

Collaborative research tackles some of medicine's toughest challenges

Joseph Dillon, left, is the director of the Neuroendocrine Tumor Center of Excellence. Yusuf Menda, center left, Dawn Quelle, center right, and James Howe, right, are the co-leads on the Neuroendocrine Tumor Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Human Cancer grants. Dillon also co-leads one of the grant's projects.

Some of the year's most significant awards support teams of researchers working together to solve complex problems that no single investigator could address alone.

For the first time in more than two decades, two UI research teams received new, prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) P-series grants in the same year. These highly competitive awards bring together experts from multiple disciplines to work on complex health and scientific problems.

One of those teams, led by David Stoltz, professor of internal medicine, received nearly $12 million over five years to develop new treatments for primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), an inherited disease that causes chronic respiratory infections and progressive lung damage.

Many people with PCD are not diagnosed until childhood or adulthood because newborns are not routinely screened for the condition. By then, years of recurring infections may already have caused lasting damage. The lung and sinus disease worsens over time, affecting quality of life, and, in some cases, leading to early respiratory failure.

Building on Iowa's internationally recognized work in cystic fibrosis, Stoltz and his collaborators are first working to better understand how PCD develops, then will test whether gene editing can treat the underlying causes of the disease, not just its symptoms. The long-term goal is to create new treatments that help people with PCD live longer, healthier lives.

Another multidisciplinary team, from the UI's Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, received an NIH P-series grant for $10.7 million to develop new treatments for neuroendocrine tumors, cancers that most commonly occur in the digestive tract, lungs, and pancreas. NET diagnoses are increasing in all age groups, especially among adults age 50 and older.

Led by Dawn Quelle, professor of neuroscience and pharmacology; James Howe, professor of surgery-surgical oncology and endocrine surgery; and Yusuf Menda, professor of radiology-nuclear medicine, the research program combines laboratory science, advanced imaging, surgery, and early-stage clinical trials to bring new treatments to patients.

The team will explore several promising approaches to improve care for patients, including helping the immune system fight cancer more effectively, combining targeted radiation with medicines that slow tumor growth, and studying whether medications commonly used to treat diabetes and obesity affect how these cancers develop or grow.

The work is especially meaningful as Iowa continues to face one of the nation's highest rates of new cancer diagnoses, making research on cancer prevention and treatment a critical priority for the state.

Expanding understanding of the brain

UI researchers also continue to make advancements in one of the university's long-standing areas of excellence: brain science.

New funding awarded during FY 2026 supports research exploring how the brain develops, learns, adapts, and ages - knowledge that could improve care for people throughout their lives.

Kai Hwang, associate professor of psychological and brain sciences, is studying the mediodorsal thalamus, a region of the brain that helps people adapt their thinking and behavior when circumstances change. Better understanding how this brain circuit functions could improve treatments for conditions such as schizophrenia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

A separate study, led by Ece Demir-Lira, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences, is investigating why children born preterm are more likely to have trouble learning mathematics. By identifying the underlying causes early in development, Demir-Lira's research could help educators, clinicians, and families get involved sooner, improving academic success for thousands of children.

Research that strengthens Iowa communities

Many UI research projects begin with questions raised by rural Iowans themselves.

In FY 2026, researchers secured funding to address issues affecting communities across the state, particularly in rural areas.

John Warren, professor of preventive and community dentistry, received funding to improve access to dental care for low-income Iowans by placing UI dental public health trainees in organizations across Iowa, overcoming health literacy challenges and helping them better understand and address the unique challenges facing low-income populations, especially those in rural communities.

Cara Hamann, professor of epidemiology, is leading a project to better understand the effects of impaired driving and identify where prevention efforts can save the most lives. Impaired driving contributes to 37% of traffic fatalities in Iowa, but the burden of alcohol- and drug-related crashes varies across communities. The findings will help state and local officials with prevention efforts - including sobriety checkpoints, high-visibility enforcement campaigns, and increased public awareness - to the populations, locations, and times at greatest risk.

Katherine Hadlandsmyth, associate professor in the College of Nursing, is developing resources to better support rural Veterans living with chronic pain conditions and nociplastic pain, a type of pain caused by the nervous system rather than tissue damage.