The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine is consistently ranked in the top ten nationally in NIH funding per faculty member, and this institutional research strength is particularly strong in areas critical to the future of neurosurgery. Departmental research interests are broad and include movement disorders, epilepsy treatments, hearing impairment, speech disorders, Alzheimer’s disease and memory, biomechanics of the spine and tumors.

Centered within the department is the Human Brain Research Laboratory, directed by department chair, Matthew A. Howard, MD. The overall research aim of the lab is to gain new knowledge on the neural mechanisms in the human brain that underlie sensory, perceptual and cognitive processes related to hearing, speech, language and emotional behavior. Achieving a more comprehensive understanding of human brain physiology will serve as a foundation for future translational research and the development of effective therapies for various neurological diseases.