Liver clinic adds addiction and behavioral health staff
By Francie Williamson, Communications Coordinator, Department of Psychiatry
Addiction and behavioral health staff will soon be embedded in UI Hospitals & Clinic’s liver clinic.
Andrea...
New treatment available for refractory major depressive disorder
By Francie Williamson, Communications Coordinator, Department of Psychiatry
Heather Sloma-Weber, RN, takes a patient’s blood pressure and checks the patient’s oxygen level at the Behavioral Health Clinic at UI Hospitals & Clinics. This late summer day marks the seventh time she’s...
New autism genes discovered
A new study that used genetic data from nearly 43,000 autistic individuals and their families has identified 60 autism spectrum-associated genes with exome-wide significance, including five new genes not previously implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders.
University of Iowa scientists...
Training available to employees to recognize human trafficking
By Francie Williamson, Communications Coordinator, Department of Psychiatry
Clinical Social Worker Brittany McGraw, LISW, CCTP, is passionate about helping survivors of domestic violence and trauma.
When McGraw worked in the emergency department, a supervisor connected her with...
Addiction medicine training program to be offered to physician assistants, nurse practitioners
By Francie Williamson, Communications Coordinator, Department of Psychiatry
Thanks to a federal grant, more providers will soon be able to train in addiction medicine at the Roy A. and Lucille J. Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa.
The $2.25 million award from...
UI researchers seek better treatments for Huntington’s disease
By Francie Williamson, Communications Coordinator, Department of Psychiatry
Holly Jensen of Menlo, Iowa, knew from a young age that Huntington’s disease (HD) would play a role in her life.
When she was about six years old, her father tested positive for the mutation in a gene...
Fairfax, Iowa, man fights to raise awareness of Huntington’s disease
By Francie Williamson, Communications Coordinator, Department of Psychiatry
When Jim Hagen of Fairfax met his wife Leslie in the early 1980s, they had no idea she would later develop a terminal illness.
Leslie HagenBut in the 1990s, after her father, Norman and sister, Lisa,...
Psychologist optimizes patient health in organ transplant program
By Francie Williamson, Communications Coordinator, Department of Psychiatry
Jody Jones, PhD, says when she started her career in clinical psychology in the late 1990s, not a lot of organ transplant programs had a dedicated psychologist on staff.
“I had literally never heard of...
'Understanding how the brain works': A look at University of Iowa's new center for disability research
On any given day in Iowa City, scientists are parsing DNA samples to deduce which of the more than 20,000 human genes are most associated with autism. "SPARK for Autism" researchers, including Jacob Michaelson at the University of Iowa, are trying to figure out which genes are important in neural development and how they lead to behaviors associated with autism. SPARK is an example of the more than 70 research endeavors associated with the university's new "Hawkeye Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center." Funds will come from NIH dollars, the Carver College of Medicine, the departments of pediatrics and psychiatry, and the INI, as well as expected support from "foundations and philanthropy."
Behavioral health consultants now working on inpatient units
By Francie Williamson, Communications Coordinator, Department of Psychiatry
It’s been a year now since the Department of Psychiatry at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics began rolling out a new care model, and that model is now being introduced into more inpatient units....