University of Utah Health Research

Visionary: Utah Researcher Dares to Stop a Leading Cause of Blindness Research at the University of Utah has led to a promising gene therapy for age-related macular degeneration. U of U scientists envision a brighter world—and make it reality.

Research at the University of Utah has led to a promising gene therapy for age-related macular degeneration. U of U scientists envision a brighter world—and make it reality.
https://uofuhealth.utah.edu/newsroom/news/2025/10/visionary-utah-researcher-dares-stop-leading-cause-of-blindness

Metabolism as the next biomedical frontier From harnessing early-life microbes to protect against diabetes, to targeting cardiac metabolism in heart failure, a new hub is proving that metabolism is a common thread across diseases, and the next frontier in biomedical discovery.

The Center for Metabolic Health brings together researchers to tackle major diseases like diabetes and heart failure by focusing on a central factor: metabolism.

Discover more about this interdisciplinary hub at University of Utah Health: https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-025-00227-2

$21.6M Grant Powers Research to Understand Link Between High Blood Pressure, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Dementia The new research will leverage nearly 40,000 blood samples to learn how blood pressure control could change the course of aging.

University of Utah Health researcher Adam Bress, PharmD, will lead a study analyzing nearly 40,000 blood samples from the SPRINT trial to investigate how hypertension treatment may influence Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
healthcare.utah.edu/newsroom/new...

How to Communicate Medical Numbers-a @jama.com Insight from @angiefagerlin.bsky.social @athorpe8.bsky.social @uuhsresearch.bsky.social, @bzikmund.bsky.social @umich.edu

Read and listen to the podcast for useful tips and tools that could improve patient health+lives. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Visionary: U ophthalmologist dares to stop leading cause of blindness - @theU Vision research at the University of Utah has led to a promising gene therapy for one of the most common causes of blindness.

Research at the University of Utah has resulted in a promising gene therapy targeting one of the prevalent causes of blindness.
Learn more: https://attheu.utah.edu/health-medicine/visionary-u-ophthalmologist-dares-to-stop-leading-cause-of-blindness/

Jamie Dwyer, MD, led one of two large clinical trials for baxdrostat, which have been widely recognized as a breakthrough in hypertension care. Nearly half of U.S. adults are affected.https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2507109

When Getting a Job Makes You Go Hungry A new research study reveals when food insecurity spikes for new Utah residents.

A new study published in PLOS One identifies unexpected “danger zones” when the risk of going hungry is highest and proposes solutions to help new residents thrive.
healthcare.utah.edu/newsroom/new...

Research Uncovers Why IBD Causes Blood Clots—and How to Prevent Them Drugs currently in clinical trials for other conditions could help reduce risk of heart attack and stroke for IBD patients. "This could be lifesaving," senior author says.

New research has uncovered why blood clotting malfunctions in IBD—and identified drugs that normalize blood clotting in human cells and animal models of IBD. #research @uofuhealth.bsky.social healthcare.utah.edu/newsroom/new...

Mary Jo Pugh Earns National Outstanding Research Accomplishment Award for Uncovering Long-Term Consequences of TBI Pugh is one of only two investigators nationwide to receive this honor, presented at the 2025 Military Health System Research Symposium.

Congratulations to Mary Jo Pugh, PhD, RN, recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Research Accomplishment Award for revealing long-term health risks of traumatic brain injury, including dementia, substance use disorder, and cardiovascular disease. uofuhealth.utah.edu/newsroom/new...

Industrial pollution's imprint lasts generations - @theU According to new analysis using Utah Population Database, a woman's prenatal exposures can increase risk of intellectual disabilities in daughter's children.

University of Utah researchers find strong evidence that industrial pollution exposure during pregnancy can shape a grandchild’s neurodevelopment.
Learn more: https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/industrial-pollutions-imprint-lasts-generations/

Neurobiologist Jessica Osterhout Selected as Pew Scholar Jessica Osterhout, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurobiology at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, has been selected as a 2025 Pew Scholar by the Pew Charitable Trus...

Congratulations to Jessica Osterhout, PhD, assistant professor of neurobiology at @utah.edu, on joining the 2025 class of Pew Scholars and Fellows. She’ll investigate how the immune system communicates with the brain during sickness.
healthcare.utah.edu/publicaffair...

“At a very fundamental level, we don’t know what we don’t know.”

For his role in ensuring that lenacapavir, first HIV drug to offer long-lasting protection, came to life, Wes Sundquist is one of this year’s recipients of the AAAS Mani L. Bhaumik Breakthrough of the Year Award.

New Study Raises Questions About How Ozempic Affects Muscle Size and Strength Ozempic can cause loss of body weight that isn’t fat, raising concerns that the drug lowers muscle mass and strength. New research in mice suggests that muscle mass changes less than expected, but mus...

A recent study from @utah.edu raises critical questions about how Ozempic may impact muscle size and strength.

Learn more: healthcare.utah.edu/newsroom/new...

Hibernator “Superpowers” May Lie Hidden in Human DNA Animals that hibernate are incredibly resilient. Now, new genetic research suggests that hibernators' metabolic flexibility could lie hidden in our own DNA—and provides clues on how to unlock it, open...

Hibernating animals recover from conditions that mimic diabetes and Alzheimer’s without lasting damage. New research from University of Utah Health suggests similar protective genes may exist in humans, offering hope for future therapies.
healthcare.utah.edu/newsroom/new...

Community Shows Their Love for Science at Summer Science Day 1,000 people attended the day of science demos, workshops and classes, and tours of working labs.

Summer Science Day was a hit! More than 1,000 people came together to explore health sciences through hands-on demos, workshops, lab tours, and classes. A great example of how much our community values science.

@learngenetics.bsky.social @utah.edu

uofuhealth.utah.edu/newsroom/new...

Meet Dr. Thomas Zangle, a University of Utah researcher. He and his team are developing new tools that could help doctors better predict how cancer will react to certain treatments, specifically in cases of melanoma.
www.research.utah.edu/people-recog...

Siemens Free.Max MRI Scanner

MRI Research Center

Utah's first FreeMax MRI Increases Research and Clinical Imaging Capabilities

Discover how the Utah MRI Research Center’s new Siemens Free.Max expands patient access and comfort while delivering high-quality images with advanced artificial intelligence.
uofuhealth.utah.edu/research/new...

Congratulations Dr. Srinivasan Beddhu!

Research led by neurosurgeon Robert Rennert, MD, links high levels of air pollution to an increased risk for bleeding in the brain, a serious but rare complication.

Researchers have linked particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Although rare, when severe, these hemorrhagic strokes can damage brain tissue enough to leave patients paralyzed or in a coma, or cause death.
Learn more: healthcare.utah.edu/newsroom/new...

Terminated NIH grants are being reinstated almost entirely in blue states Researchers in Democratic congressional districts stand to have $2.1 billion in NIH grants reinstated, compared to $62 million in Republican districts.

Yes! #scicomm

“We need to do a better job of not just thinking that if we publish in a journal, that people are going to realize how great it was, but we need to speak to Utah taxpayers, who are ultimately funders of NIH" said Rachel Hess @uuhsresearch.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/07/03/n...

Zoom In. Geek Out. Take a Backstage Pass to the Secret Life of Cells! Take a tour of the HSC Cell Imaging Core at 12, 1 or 2pm during Summer Science Day this Sat July 12th!
Find the full Summer Science Day schedule here: gslc.utah.edu/summer-scien...

Research Reflections: Transforming Lives Through Pioneering Research Since its beginnings, University of Utah Health has fostered some of the best minds in research. We created genome analysis technologies and now apply them to rapidly diagnose disease in critically il...

Read "Research Reflections: Transforming Lives Through Pioneering Research" to see how U of U Health is shaping the future of care and improving lives through innovation. uofuhealth.utah.edu/research/new...

Fred Hutch announces eight recipients of 2025 Dr. Eddie Méndez Scholar Award Fred Hutch announces eight recipients of the 2025 Dr. Eddie Méndez Scholar Award, which honors exceptional postdoctoral researchers in the areas of cancer, infectious disease and basic science.

Congrats to Luis Cedeno-Rosario of the Rutter Lab in @utah.edu Utah's Department of Biochemistry for receiving the 2025 Dr. Eddie Méndez Scholar Award from @fredhutch.bsky.social! A well-deserved honor recognizing rising leaders in research. @uofubiochem.bsky.social www.fredhutch.org/en/news/rele...

Instruments of the U: Applied Cognition Lab - @theU Team led by psychologist David Strayer uses EEG to quantify mental health benefits from time spent in nature.

Instruments of the U: Applied Cognition Lab
Team led by psychologist David Strayer uses EEG to quantify mental health benefits from time spent in nature.
attheu.utah.edu/health-medic...

Congratulations to Dr. Wes Sundquist and the entire team on this landmark FDA approval of lenacapavir, a major step forward in HIV prevention and public health. #HIVPrevention #Research

How farming theory has helped me live beyond my original cancer prognosis Christopher Gregg has lived years beyond what his oncologists originally accepted. Lessons from farming may have helped.

Read how Dr. Christopher Gregg is using drug rotation and algorithms to tackle resistance.
www.statnews.com/2025/06/17/c...

Hicks and Rutter Lab

New technology lets U of U Health scientists tap into vast networks of molecular interactions. This discovery introduces a novel strategy for drug development, based on new insights into how these interactions modulate biochemical pathways in cells. utah-health.shorthandstories.com/ptf-transfor...

A new look at the Stateville prison malaria experiments - @theU Utah scholars pull back the curtain on the untold story of Black prisoners and the science of preventing adverse drug reactions.

Utah scholars pull back the curtain on the untold story of Black prisoners and the science of preventing adverse drug reactions. attheu.utah.edu/health-medic...

Listen to the @uuhsresearch.bsky.social limerick on @npr.org Wait Wait Don't Tell Me! June 7 episode at 35:35 www.npr.org/programs/wai...

The white dust on their nose is so plain, those small pesky bugs have no brain. My party supplies got snorted by flies because fruit flies got hooked on...

New research shows that weight stigma—and not weight itself—has the biggest impact on mental health and healthy behaviors in the years after weight-loss surgery. healthcare.utah.edu/newsroom/new...