UI Health

03/31/2026

When our teams learn new skills, our patients win!

Last week, UI Health care teams participated in Safe Patient Handling and Mobility trainings to reinforce skills and new technology that reduce patient discomfort during transport.

Thanks for helping us level up our patient safety and experience 💚💙

03/30/2026

It’s at UI Health, and we took some time this afternoon to celebrate our amazing physicians.

Does your UI Health doctor go above and beyond? Drop a comment to thank them for their hard work 🩺💚💙

03/27/2026

There were tears and cheers as fourth-year medical students at our learned which residency programs they had been accepted to during last week’s Match Day ceremony at the Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum.

Ripping open the white envelope containing the name of their residency program was more than a defining moment for these students; it was an opportunity to celebrate their journey with family, friends and mentors.

“This is a win for everyone. For me. For my family. For my mentors,” said Israel Makinde, who matched for an internal medicine residency at his first choice, the University of California, Los Angeles. “It was a long story and journey to get here, but I’m here, and I’m very happy with the results.”

This year, 281 medical students from our three College of Medicine campuses in Rockford, Peoria, and Chicago, were matched with programs nationwide. For our students, the top-matched specialty of 2026 was internal medicine, followed by family medicine, and pediatrics, and the top hospital placement was right here at UI Health!

We can wait to see these future physicians continue advance the health of our community through outstanding clinical care, research, and education 💚💙

Check out all the photos from an unforgettable day: https://bit.ly/41rCbpS

03/25/2026

03/24/2026

UI Health researchers recently made a breakthrough that successfully repurposes an FDA-approved cancer drug, doxorubicin, to treat drug-resistant strains of herpes.

“This opens up an unexpected, potentially fast-moving path toward treating drug-resistant herpes infections,” said study leader Deepak Shukla, a virologist in our University of Illinois College of Medicine. “HSV-1 infections have serious, sometimes life-threatening consequences, and this drug may help save lives.”

Immunocompromised patients, including cancer patients, are especially vulnerable to HSV-1 infection, which can cause brain inflammation and organ failure when left untreated. Drug-resistant strains are especially difficult to eradicate.

But in 2024, Shukla’s team created HerpDock, a digital tool that combs through chemical compounds and flags those that may be effective against herpes infections. Earlier this year, the program flagged doxorubicin, a known anticancer drug.

Learn how this new treatment works and how we’re working to expand access for patients: https://bit.ly/3PGgjEC

03/24/2026

03/20/2026

Spring has officially sprung on our hospital campus 🌷🌤️

03/19/2026

Last week, our staff and community partners ‘braved the shave’ to raise more than $4,000 for childhood cancer research with St. Baldrick's Foundation!

Our hospital's annual head-shaving fundraiser supports St. Baldrick's Foundation's work as America’s largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants. If you missed the event, it’s not too late to make a difference! Learn how you can donate or get involved: https://www.stbaldricks.org/events/uih26

03/18/2026

Time and time again, studies have shown that proximity to nature benefits your health. Now, new UI Health research finds that nature can positively affect you even before you’re born.

The Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, a research, education and outreach program led by UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda, found that women living in greener neighborhoods gave birth to babies with higher birth weights, a positive indicator of a baby’s health.

“This is a rare good-news story,” said Melissa Fiffer, senior research scientist and first author of the study. “Pregnancy and early childhood are critical times in our lives, so we think about maternal and child health as more sensitive to exposures. In this study, we have evidence for a potentially beneficial exposure in the neighborhood environment: how green the area around your home is.”

The positive effect was evident even when Fiffer and her colleagues factored in negative environmental factors, such as air pollutants and temperature. Despite these variables that are known to be negatively associated with birth weight, greenness still was beneficial.

“Greenness near your home and in your neighborhood had a protective effect or a positive association with the birth weight of the baby, regardless of all those things that might contribute negatively,” Fiffer said.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4uuaeLp

03/17/2026

Have you scheduled your colonoscopy this ?

If the answer was yes, UI Health and gastroenterologist Dr. Keith Naylor has some important day-of considerations for before and after your appointment.

If not, it’s not too late to schedule a screening at Colon.UIHealth.Care and talk to your doctor about their recommendations for a successful colonoscopy.

03/16/2026

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and worldwide, and when patients undergo lung cancer treatment, the microorganisms inside their lungs communicate with the immune system to process the treatment. But little is known about how our microbiomes interact with cancer itself.

When scientists at our University of Illinois College of Medicine and University of Illinois Cancer Center looked at lung cells and fluids from 20 cancer patients, they noticed they shared a unique combination of molecules. That combination, they realized, is a telltale warning sign that can help them detect, treat and, perhaps, even prevent lung cancer in its earliest stages.

“We don’t have any preventative therapies for lung cancer. We want to detect cancer early, and we want to prevent it from happening. This pathway we’ve detected may do both,” said UI Health oncologist and cancer researcher Dr. Frank Weinberg.

Learn how their findings may change our understanding of lung cancer prevention and detection: https://bit.ly/4bBXHhD

03/15/2026

The second phase of our major construction project to calm traffic flow and improve pedestrian safety on our hospital campus will begin tomorrow, Monday, March 16.

Phase 2 construction is anticipated to take eight weeks, and during this phase, Taylor Street will be closed from Paulina Street to Wood Street.

A temporary patient drop-off zone will be established on the east side of the Hospital, UIC shuttle buses will be rerouted and indicated in the UIC Ride app, and traffic personnel and signage will continue to help motorists and pedestrian move around our campus.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4aeyEPV