Treatments for emotionally tolling hair loss disorders have been limited; research is driving a new era of interventions.

The Carver Rural Iowa Scholars Program is preparing doctors to serve the smaller-size communities where they are needed most, closing health care gaps in Iowa.

A student-led study highlights faculty role-modeling in building a compassionate health care workforce.

Women’s Health Tissue Repository sheds light on high-risk pregnancies.

A pediatrics researcher is probing the immune system’s role in long-term brain deficits.

Anil Sood’s pioneering contributions to basic and translational cancer research began when he showed that short fragments of RNA can be harnessed to shut down dysfunctional cell processes. This finding opened the door to a new approach to targeted therapies, some of which are now FDA-approved. He is an internationally recognized expert on ovarian cancers, and he has led MD Anderson Cancer Center’s ambitious Moon Shots Program for ovarian cancer research since its inception in 2012. With extensive funding from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense, among others, Sood has produced hundreds of peer-reviewed publications over the course of his career.

Harold Adams’ 50-year career in stroke research cemented his place as a titan of the field. He is among the originators of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, a tool to assess stroke severity that still guides patient care today. As director of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, he spearheaded the development of vascular neurology as a subspecialty. Additionally, as principal investigator of the landmark multicenter study known as TOAST, Adams and colleagues steered physicians away from a commonly used anticoagulant toward safer and more effective therapies. He has served on national committees for the American Heart Association, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and more, but his proudest accomplishments were in teaching.

Denise Martinez has worked tirelessly to address health disparities throughout Iowa during her time with UI Health Care. Alongside her creation and support of student organizations focused on inclusion and belonging in medical training, she has connected students of all backgrounds with opportunities in medicine through individual mentorship. She has also encouraged the next generation of health professionals to serve rural and disadvantaged patient populations with empathy. Martinez served as interim associate VP for health parity and associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion through July 2023.

Nicholas Mohr built the emergency care research program in the UI Department of Emergency Medicine as its first tenured professor. His main research focus is improving community and rural hospitals’ care for critically ill adults through telemedicine and other operational interventions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he distinguished himself with research related to the pandemic’s effect on health care workers through his leadership of the Project PREVENT study. As a medical educator, Mohr has been honored with teaching and mentorship awards from medical students and resident physicians.