Category Health & Wellness
A vision for rural eye care
Eye doctors are in short supply in rural Wisconsin, sometimes requiring patients to make a long drive to a distant city for an exam. But the UW Health Teleophthalmology program has a camera that can be used in remote locations to take photos of a person’s eyes, with the exam then being read by university-level ophthalmologists.
Certificate program helps address state’s mental health care needs
The School of Nursing's Psychiatric Mental Health Care Certificate program helps health care providers throughout Wisconsin get certified to prescribe and diagnose in mental health cases.
Baggott named University Health Services executive director
Baggott said the UHS position is “a tremendous leadership opportunity in arguably one of the best programs in the country.”
A pharmacist-driven intervention to help veterans breathe easier
The service led by a UW–Madison pharmacy professor helps veterans who need it most, when they’ve recently been discharged from the hospital or emergency room with an exacerbation, he says.
Program helps address shortage of physicians in rural areas
The program was created due to the shortage of physicians in rural Wisconsin. While 29 percent of Wisconsin residents live in rural locations, only 13 percent of physicians in Wisconsin have rural practices.
Video: Stem cells, lab to clinic
David Gamm, director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute, and Forward Bio Institute director Bill Murphy explain how stem cell scientists at UW–Madison are working with industry to put scientific breakthroughs on the path to helping patients.
UW Women at 150: Computer scientist Thelma Estrin
Thelma Estrin was an early pioneer of the field of medical informatics — the now commonplace practice of applying computers to medical research and treatment. She also was something of a trailblazer for women hoping to pursue careers in the sciences.
Study: No race or gender bias seen in initial NIH grant reviews
“Absence of bias here does not mean there is no bias in the entire review process,” says psychology professor Patricia Devine.
Blue “blood” gives residents innovative microsurgery training
To train residents in microsurgery, UW physicians have developed the “blue-blood” chicken thigh simulator. Residents suture blood vessels together in chicken thighs perfused with IV fluid dyed blue.
Waisman’s stem cell research into Down syndrome gives family hope
It’s not a cure for Down syndrome that Dave Witte and Cristina Delgadillo want for their 5-year-old daughter. But they would be happy if stem cell research at the Waisman Center reduces the complications faced by Olivia, who has had two heart surgeries and a stroke.
Stem cells: How we got here, where we’re going
This is the first in a series of four videos about stem cell research at UW–Madison: how it started, what it's achieved, and where it's headed. Catch up on what's happened since James Thomson's prescient prediction that stem cells "will change medicine, period."
UW surgeon’s book reveals history, missteps, successes of organ transplants
Dr. Josh Mezrich has written a book, “When Death Becomes Life: Notes from a Transplant Surgeon,” that gives an overview of transplant history and lays bare Mezrich’s trepidations and triumphs as a kidney and liver transplant surgeon at UW Hospital.
Gene-editing tool now being used to develop better antibiotics
Jason Peters and colleagues have repurposed the gene-editing tool CRISPR to study which genes are targeted by particular antibiotics, providing clues on how to improve existing antibiotics or develop new ones.
Immune system’s front-line defense freezes bacteria in their tracks
New research suggests a previously unknown mechanism behind the function of antimicrobial peptides, which are being tested in early-stage clinical trials for treating infections resistant to classical antibiotics.
UW-Madison life-expectancy paper nabs top honor from APHA
Work published by three University of Wisconsin researchers regarding decreasing the gap in life expectancy of the United States population compared to European peers, earned top honors from the American Public Health Association.
Study: Division I college athletes outpace student peers in mental health
The finding is surprising, as previous research examining smaller groups of international, elite or college athletes had offered mixed results on athlete mental health.
Professor seeking to offer eye screenings throughout state remotely
A UW–Madison professor helped start program that offers a way for patients with diabetes to easily access eye screenings, and now she and her fellow researchers are studying how to make such programs more widely available across Wisconsin.
Are Fitbits the answer to nurse fatigue?
A UW–Madison School of Nursing professor is using activity trackers on nurses to uncover important data about what causes fatigue in the work environment and what health systems can do to minimize its impact.
Implantable device aids weight loss
New battery-free, easily implantable weight-loss devices developed by engineers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison could offer a promising new weapon for battling the bulge.
Ritalin drives greater connection between brain areas key to memory, attention
New research is a first step toward understanding the way Ritalin affects the organization of the pathways that build brain networks used in attention and learning.