Guardian caps attached to football helmets
Science & Technology
February 12, 2025

Football helmet covers do not reduce concussions for high school players

A study of 2,610 Wisconsin high school football players found that wearing soft-shell helmet covers, marketed as Guardian Cap helmet devices, during practice had no effect on the rates of sports-related concussions.

Sara McCoy
Science & Technology
February 7, 2025

Experimental cell therapy trial treats first Sjögren’s disease patient

The first person in the world to receive a dose of a novel cell therapy for a symptom of the immune disorder Sjögren’s disease has been treated during a clinical trial conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Illustration by Elisabeth Balistreri
Health & Wellness
January 30, 2025

A path for safer opioid prescribing

An approach to prescribing opioids that pairs clinician education with patient-centered monitoring and feedback could help primary care doctors minimize prescribing opioid medications to manage patients’ chronic pain, according to a University of Wisconsin–Madison research team.

A technician performs and ultrasound on a patient's neck.
Science & Technology
January 6, 2025

Study launches to test effects of vaping on cardio-pulmonary health

The National Institutes of Health have awarded a five-year, $5.7 million grant to UW to study the long-term effects of vaping on heart and lung health.

imaging of variable radiation dosage and variable tissue response
Science & Technology
December 12, 2024

Mixed dose radiation enhances immune response to cancer

A new study in mice shows that delivering different doses of radiation to a tumor revs up the immune system and allows it to detect not only the treated tumor but distant tumors that were not irradiated. When mixed dose radiation is followed with immunotherapy drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors, it makes the drugs more effective at killing cancer cells throughout the body than when radiation was delivered at a single dose level.

Thomas Grist
Science & Technology
October 31, 2024

Radiology set to recruit and support top talent

Dr. Thomas (“Tom”) Grist comes from a family of engineers and inventors. His great-grandfather was a co-inventor of the pop-up toaster, patented in 1927 — which may help explain how this native of Appleton, Wisconsin ended up pushing the boundaries of knowledge in the fields of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT).

Sterling Johnson (left) and Barbara Smith Ballen
Science & Technology
October 21, 2024

Brain scans begin for nationwide Alzheimer’s disease study

Research participants have begun volunteering for brain scans at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison for a national study on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

A woman using a blood pressure monitor at home.
Health & Wellness
September 30, 2024

Maternal blood pressure program expands to help women facing health risks

A UW Health and UnityPoint Health – Meriter program designed to monitor blood pressure during pregnancy and after birth to decrease health complications and hospital readmissions is expanding outside the hospital walls.

Left to right: Jon Audhya, Robert J. Smith, Jr., Carla Vigue, Jennifer Mnookin, Leelyn VanZile, Robert VanZile Jr., Amy Kind, Rachel DeCorah Toyebo, Kurt Zimmerman, and Jomol Mathew
Health & Wellness
September 16, 2024

Trust is key to collaborating with Native community

From their home near the forested lakes of Mole Lake, Wisconsin, the Tribal Council of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community (SCC) traveled to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where they were welcomed by health sciences and biomedical researchers and staff.

Illustration of products containing PFAS and freshwater fish, illustration by Beth Atkinson
Science & Technology
August 28, 2024

‘Forever chemicals’ show up in Wisconsin residents

A large, population-based study shows that while most Wisconsin residents have some “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in their blood, those who have the highest levels are higher income, older white men who have eaten locally-caught fish.

The gloved hand of a hospital employee adjusts a patient's ventilation mask
Science & Technology
August 7, 2024

Noninvasive ventilation better for patients

Recently published results from a clinical trial showed that for critically ill adults needing tracheal intubation for emergency airway support, the method health care providers choose to use for providing supplemental oxygen before the intubation procedure affects the patient’s risk of hypoxemia, or potentially life-threatening low levels of blood oxygen.

A thermometer showing 102 degrees Fahrenheit with urban traffic and buildings in the background
Health & Wellness
July 31, 2024

Humid heat impacts dialysis patients

A large, population-based study shows that people receiving regular dialysis to treat kidney disease are vulnerable during heat waves, especially those living in cities in the humid southeastern states, resulting in higher death rates.