Carver College of Medicine Events
Biochemistry Seminar: "Illuminating the Biochemical Activity Architecture of the Cell"
Thursday, October 1, 2026 10:30am to 11:20am
"Illuminating the Biochemical Activity Architecture of the Cell"
Presented by
Jin Zhang, Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmacology
University of California San Diego
DeGowin Blood Drive @ Stead Family Children's Hospital
Thursday, October 1, 2026 11:00am to 3:00pm
The DeGowin Blood Center is hosting a blood drive from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, October 1st 2026, at the Stead Family Children's Hospital. Help the University of Iowa climb the Abbott & Big Ten We Give Blood Drive leaderboard and received a special-edition t-shirt from Abbott, while supplies last!
Internal Medicine Grand Rounds 10/1/2026
Thursday, October 1, 2026 12:00pm to 1:00pm
McLennan Lecture: Primary Graft Dysfunction Following Lung Transplantation
Jason D. Christie, MD, MSCE, University of Pennsylvania
Progress 2026: Learning Together in the 21st Century
Thursday, October 1 to Friday, October 2, 2026 (all day)
Overview:
Emphasizing the interprofessional team approach to patient care, the annual Progress conference combines internal medicine and pharmacy continuing education programs into a single multi-track program offering plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and hot topics in a combined interprofessional format. This conference will discuss practice changing diagnostic and therapeutic changes in a wide range of clinical medicine.
Topics include:
Cancer in Iowa
AI and Medicine
Alzheimer's Updates
De...
Skills for Educators: Learning Under Pressure: Shaping Learner Performance with Evidence-Based Teaching Methods
Friday, October 2, 2026 8:30am to 11:30am
This interactive workshop takes the science of learning and translates it into practical teaching strategies that create environments to enhance engagement and optimize learning conditions.
Recent Articles from the University of Iowa
The Virtual Eye: An Integrative Multiscale Framework for Mechanistic Modelling of Ocular Physiology and Disease
Monday, September 21, 2026
The Virtual Eye initiative described here seeks to build a versatile and integrative in silico platform, 'The Virtual Eye' that can capture and simulate the biology, physiology and function of the human eye, from molecular interactions to organ-level behaviour, in both healthy and diseased states. This effort has the potential to substantially deepen our understanding of the visual process, clarify the mechanistic basis of ocular diseases across multiple spatial and temporal scales, and support...
A Zur-dependent regulatory RNA involved in maintaining zinc homeostasis in Staphylococcus aureus
Friday, September 18, 2026
Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) are key drivers of bacterial adaptation to environmental fluctuations, including iron and manganese restriction imposed by the host. This study explored the repertoire of sRNAs produced by the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus in response to metal limitation. Two sRNAs were identified, S1077 and ZinS, that were regulated by zinc (Zn) availability. Further investigations revealed that, similar to the cnt operon from which it derives, S1077 synthesis is controlled...
Effect of IL-4RαR576 polymorphism on response to dupilumab in asthma, a genotype-stratified, randomized, placebo- controlled trial (IDEA Trial): Design, Rationale, Methods, Strategies, and Lessons Learned
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
BACKGROUND: Asthma is a heterogeneous chronic disease, disproportionately affecting racial and ethnic minorities, with persistence and severity influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. The IL-4RαR576 variant occurs more commonly in racially minoritized, and the genotype, independent of race, is associated with severe, exacerbation-prone asthma. IDEA (Investigating Dupilumab's Effect in Asthma by genotype) NCT02570984 is a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial designed to...
Virus-specific memory CD4 T cells sustain long-term numerical and functional impairment following whole-body irradiation
Thursday, September 10, 2026
The increasing demand for nuclear power and radiotherapy has expanded potential avenues for human exposure to whole-body irradiation (WBI), underscoring the need to understand its impact on immune cells. While prior studies have explored radiation-induced disruptions in immune homeostasis, the direct effect of WBI on pre-existing memory CD4 T cells remains elusive. Using T cell receptor transgenic CD4 T cell chimeric mice infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-Armstrong, we demonstrate...
Global, regional, and national prevalence of second-hand smoke and attributable disease burden in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023
Monday, September 7, 2026
BACKGROUND: Second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure remains a major source of morbidity and mortality among non-smokers. This study presents the first dedicated Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) publication to systematically quantify SHS prevalence and evaluate its effect as a global risk factor across a broader range of outcomes.
Whole-exome sequencing in individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder and chronic tic disorders identifies 36 large-effect risk genes
Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and chronic tic disorders (CTDs) are highly heritable. Rare mutations confer large risks for OCD and CTDs but only four high-confidence (hc) genes have been identified. Here we analyzed whole-exome sequencing data from 3,964 individuals with OCD, CTDs or both, including 2,418 trios. We found an excess in cases of de novo and rare protein-damaging mutations and identified 36 hc genes (false discovery rate < 0.1), including four previously identified hc genes...
B. burgdorferi infection alters synovial macrophage responses in a human ex vivo model of Lyme Arthritis
Wednesday, September 2, 2026
INTRODUCTION: Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) infection can persist in protected sites like articular joints, presenting as migratory oligoarthritis characteristic of Lyme Arthritis (LA). LA is characterized by intermittent synovitis and joint swelling, but why acute infection is relapsing-remitting and not persistent remains unknown. We hypothesize that the immune response is unique to the joint space, particularly the response of Resident Synovial Macrophages (RSMs), and may be important in...
CD97/ADGRE5 attenuates the induction of adaptive type 2 immune responses in allergic asthma
Thursday, August 27, 2026
Allergic asthma results from an uncontrolled type 2 immune response to inhaled allergens. Here, we investigate the function of CD97/ADGRE5, expressed in mouse and human immune and lung epithelial cells, in this disease. Female Cd97^(-/-) mice exhibit an exacerbated asthmatic phenotype across multiple models, primarily due to CD97 loss on immune cells. A single CD97 antibody treatment before allergen sensitization worsens allergic responses, highlighting a role for CD97 in early immune...
Secreted nuclease effector neutralization by active site mimicry in Bacillota
Monday, August 17, 2026
Polymorphic toxins mediate interbacterial antagonism among competitors in the gut microbiome. Nuclease effectors, distantly related to the type VI-secreted Bacteroidales Tde, are enriched in human gut Bacillota. Tde mediates antagonism among Bacillota, and expression of the cognate immunity, Tdi, in recipients is protective. Crystal structures of Tde/Tdi complexes from two Bacillus spp. and Enterococcus quebecensis highlight a conserved mechanism of immunity. Tdi engages Tde with high-affinity,...
Distinct immunomodulatory effects of synthetic progestins compared with natural progesterone in human immune cells
Monday, August 17, 2026
Progesterone exerts important immunomodulatory functions, yet the immune effects of structurally diverse synthetic progestins remain incompletely defined. Given their variable receptor-binding profiles and links to altered inflammatory outcomes, we examined how commonly used progestins regulate immune signaling in primary human cells. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy female donors were exposed to physiologically relevant concentrations of natural progesterone (P4) and...