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Renowned supportive oncology expert to lead IU center

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — An internationally recognized supportive oncology expert has joined the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Christian "Chris" Nelson, PhD, a clinical psychologist, has been named the director of the Walther Center for Supportive Oncology at the cancer center, effective April 1. He will also be the Walther Senior Professor in Supportive Oncology and professor of psychiatry and medicine at IU School of Medicine. In addition, he’ll serve as chief resilience officer at the cancer center.

As Walther Center director, Nelson plans to build a national example of compassionate, research-based supportive care for people with cancer. He explained that the Walther Center’s focus areas, which will work together and often overlap, are:

Palliative care: Managing symptoms like pain, fatigue, nausea and helping with advanced care planning
Psycho-oncology: Supporting emotional and mental health, including depression and anxiety, and developing coping strategies
Integrative medicine/rehabilitation: Helping with symptoms and wellness through treatments like acupuncture, exercise, meditation, nutrition and music therapy

"Supportive oncology is anything that’s not direct cancer treatment," Nelson said. "It's essentially organizing those three buckets — palliative care, psycho-oncology, and integrative medicine — to help patients."

He pointed out that palliative care, which is often thought of as end-of-life care, is about helping treat symptoms such as pain, fatigue, and sleep disorders. Research shows that the sooner palliative care is introduced, the better the outcome for the patient, according to Nelson.

During his career, Nelson has specialized in improving the quality of life of patients treated for genitourinary malignancies and older adults with cancer. His research focuses on the impact of cancer on quality of life in prostate and geriatric cancer patients, and the development of new talk therapies for these patients. His research also includes sexual dysfunction after treatments, cognitive effects of hormonal therapy in prostate cancer patients, and emotional well-being in Black men with prostate cancer.

Nelson was most recently the chief of the psychiatry service and attending psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He was also a professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine.

As a researcher, his work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, and he has launched independent research programs in male sexual medicine in prostate cancer and in the psycho-oncology of aging and cancer. He has published more than 180 research articles.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in speech communication from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He earned a master’s and doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Long Island University.

"Dr. Nelson brings tremendous supportive oncology experience to IU," Kelvin Lee, MD, director of the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, said. "Under his leadership, the Walther Center will help patients and their families and transform how we approach supportive oncology by uniting research and clinical care."

The Walther Center for Supportive Oncology stems from a transformative $14 million gift from the Walther Cancer Foundation to IU in 2018. It encompasses both research and clinical care. Cancer center investigators Shelley Johns, PsyD, ABPP, and Sheri Robb, PhD, previously named Walther Scholar in Psycho-Oncology and Walther Professor of Supportive Oncology, respectively, bring research expertise that includes improving the physical health and psychological well-being of adults with cancer as well as the impact of music therapy on children and adolescents with cancer. Tarah Ballinger, MD, the Vera Bradley Foundation Scholar in Breast Cancer Research at IU School of Medicine and a cancer center physician-scientist, is the medical director of the Walther Center. The clinical component was developed in partnership with IU Health. As such, Dr. Nelson’s recruitment was additionally supported in 2025 by a $2.25 million gift from Walther Cancer Foundation to the IU Health Foundation that was matched by IU Health.

"We are excited to welcome Dr. Nelson to his new leadership role at the Walther Center," said Thomas W. Grein, president and CEO of the Walther Cancer Foundation, Inc. "He brings a clear and compelling vision for the center — one that we share and fully support."

About the Walther Cancer Foundation

The Walther Cancer Foundation is named for the late Joseph E. Walther, MD, a 1936 graduate of IU School of Medicine and the founder of the former not-for-profit Winona Memorial Hospital. After the death of his beloved wife, Mary Margaret, from colon cancer, Dr. Walther devoted his life and work to funding cancer research. In 1985, Dr. Walther sold Winona Memorial Hospital and established the Walther Cancer Institute, a medical research organization. In 2007, the institute merged into the Walther Cancer Foundation, an independent, private grant-making institution. In addition to investing in basic research, the foundation supports research programs that test new therapies and focus on human behaviors as well as ways patients and their families respond to a diagnosis of cancer.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 15 in 2025 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU School of Medicine celebrates Match Day 2026

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana University School of Medicine congratulates the 343 fourth-year medical students who successfully paired with residency programs as part of Match Day 2026.

Match Day assembles soon-to-be graduates from IU School of Medicine’s nine campuses as they take the next step on their medical training journey. It occurs simultaneously at medical schools across the country. IU students learn their match by opening large red envelopes.

"Each of you represents a success story. No matter the specialty you've chosen or where you're headed, you're becoming a doctor — and a great one," said Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA, executive vice president for university clinical affairs at IU and dean of the IU School of Medicine.

The IU School of Medicine’s class of 2026 matched with training programs across 37 states. Of the 343 matched, 98 will enter IU School of Medicine residency programs. In all, 115 of the recent graduates will be staying in Indiana to complete their training.

IU’s match rate of 97% is well above the nationwide average for medical schools.

Recent medical school graduates have learned the basic skills necessary to become a physician, but residency programs provide the specialized training in both clinical and research settings necessary to independently practice medicine. These programs typically last between three and nine years, depending on the specialty.

Students from the Indiana University School of Medicine celebrated matching into residency programs across the country on March 20, 2026. | Photo by Tim Yates, IU School of Medicine

IU School of Medicine offers 38 residency programs, including internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, anesthesiology and surgery. In addition to the 98 students staying at IU for their residency, 333 more will be joining IU residency programs from 134 different medical schools.

Almost 37% of this year's graduates will enter primary care residency programs, which fulfill a crucial healthcare need across Indiana and beyond. About 41% will join hospital residency programs, while 21% matched into surgery residencies.

IU School of Medicine leaders addressed the forthcoming graduates during a special ceremony held on the Indianapolis campus Friday.

"I am so proud of each one of you for the hard work and determination that you showed in your studies since joining us in your journey to becoming a physician," said Bradley L. Allen, MD, PhD, Executive Associate Dean for Educational Affairs. "More importantly, thank you for the kindness and compassion that you offered to each patient you met, fellow members of the care team, and for one another as you traveled this road together."

Ana Danner and Carson Dougherty, who will soon graduate from the Fort Wayne campus, matched as a couple into separate residency programs at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Danner will train in neurology, and Dougherty matched into the pathology program.

"I remember being nervous at med school orientation, but I blinked and it was Match Day," Danner said. "It's a surreal feeling. It all went by so fast. Everyone was so supportive along the way."

"We loved Fort Wayne, but we're excited for this new adventure in Pittsburgh," Dougherty said.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU researchers identify clotting protein as potential target in pancreatic cancer

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:43:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that depleting a clotting protein made by the liver could slow down pancreatic cancer.

The research, recently published in Gastroenterology and led by Melissa L. Fishel, PhD, shows that reducing fibrinogen in mouse models shrinks primary pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumors and reduces their ability to metastasize to the liver. Fibrinogen is cleaved to fibrin following injury and is a primary structural component of blood clots. Fibrinogen is deposited on pancreatic tumors and contributes to their growth and environment in which the tumor grows.

"It's well known that pancreatic cancer patients have some of the highest rates of blood clots or deep-vein thrombosis, or DVTs," said Fishel, an associate professor of pediatrics and the Myles Brand Scholar in Cancer Research at the IU School of Medicine. "We wanted to understand whether the proteins involved in blood coagulation and clotting are driving the disease or are a byproduct of the disease." Fishel is also a researcher at the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research and co-leader of the Cancer Biology and Microenvironment research program at the cancer center.

Pancreatic cancer is known to have a dense, fibrotic microenvironment rich in cancer-associated fibroblasts and a matrix of proteins including fibrin. These fibroblasts are recruited and build a matrix that supports tumor cells. In healthy pancreas tissue, researchers found very little evidence of fibrin deposition, but on pancreatic tumor samples, fibrin was abundantly deposited.

Using two different methods to deplete fibrinogen in mouse models, the researchers demonstrated that tumors grew smaller and produced far fewer liver metastases.

"When fibrin was not there, we saw a dramatic reduction in primary tumor size as well as liver lesions," Fishel said. "When pancreatic cancer spreads to the liver the patient prognosis is grim, so we were very excited by the possibility of reducing that tumor burden and metastasis."

The study used multiple tumor cell models, including two derived from IU patient samples and developed by the cancer center's Pancreatic Cancer Working Group.

To determine whether fibrin in the bloodstream contributed to cancer spreading, researchers also used tumor models that resulted in sites of metastasis in the liver or lung, similar to what is observed in human patients. They found no difference in metastatic growth with or without fibrinogen, suggesting the protein impacts the tumor cells in the pancreas to alter tumor behavior and aggressiveness.

"Something about not having fibrin in the primary pancreatic tumor site really changes those tumor cells, so they are either less likely to leave the pancreas or are somehow unable to make a liver lesion," Fishel said.

Since the body needs fibrinogen to prevent excessive bleeding, Fishel said the goal is not to eliminate the protein entirely in patients.

"Since levels of fibrinogen are elevated in pancreatic cancer, the idea would be to return it to baseline — not to zero," Fishel said. "We believe that could be clinically manageable."

Next steps for this research include combining fibrinogen-targeted approaches with chemotherapy or emerging pancreatic cancer therapies, since reducing fibrinogen led to delayed disease progression — not a cure — in the mouse models.

"Now we want to understand what fibrin is turning on or off in the tumor so we can combine treatments to make them more effective," Fishel said.

The research was conducted as part of the Pancreatic Cancer Stromal Reprogramming Consortium, a multi-site national collaboration aimed at accelerating discoveries in pancreatic cancer.

IU School of Medicine postdoctoral fellow Nayela N. Chowdhury is the first author of the study. Additional IU authors include Dana K. Mitchell, Silpa Gampala, Kylee Brewster, Wade Clapp and Jia Wang.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

Writer: Candace Gwaltney, cmgwaltn@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Hidden blood mutations may be driving severe IBD — IU team uncovers new treatment target

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have uncovered new evidence that an age-related blood condition may contribute to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Their findings suggest that a new drug strategy targeting the blood condition may reduce IBD severity and offers a new path for treating chronic diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

The blood condition, known as clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), occurs when blood stem cells develop genetic mutations. The condition is common among older adults and is correlated with an increased risk of blood cancers, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. In the study recently published in Blood, the researchers identified a definitive link between CHIP and the severity of gut inflammation.

"Our research identifies a new therapeutic target that sits at the intersection of aging, blood biology and chronic inflammation," said Reuben Kapur, PhD, director of the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research and co-author on the study. "We found that these mutant blood cells in CHIP 'supercharge' inflammation in the gut, but more importantly, we discovered that targeting this pathway dramatically reduced damage and normalized how the immune system behaves."

According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 2.4 to 3.1 million people have IBD in the United States, with prevalence highest in adults 45 and older. By analyzing data from the UK Biobank and the National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program, the IU team found that people with CHIP, specifically women and those with DNMT3A gene mutations, face a significantly higher risk of developing Crohn’s disease. They also noted that younger individuals with large TET2 gene mutations had an increased risk of ulcerative colitis.

Using mouse models, the researchers observed that blood stem cells carrying CHIP mutations led to more severe tissue damage and immune-cell buildup in the colon. They identified the APE1/Ref-1 inflammation pathway as a primary driver of this result. By using a drug called APX3330 to block that pathway, the scientists successfully reduced inflammation and restored colon health in their models.

"Our most exciting discovery was that a single, oral drug that’s already known to be safe in humans could reverse nearly all of the harmful effects of CHIP-driven inflammation," said Ramesh Kumar, PhD, assistant research professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "This also suggests that even though CHIP mutations are age-related and previously thought to be untreatable, their harmful effects on inflammation may actually be reversible."

The use of APX3330, which was developed by IU scientist Mark Kelley, PhD, could become a non-immunosuppressive treatment option for IBD, which is a major development from current treatments that can weaken the immune system. Additionally, because CHIP contributes to inflammation in many conditions, this strategy may help improve other chronic diseases linked to aging.

The research team is now preparing for a Phase Ib clinical trial to test APX3330 in human IBD patients. They also plan to explore whether the drug could help reduce inflammation in other age-related conditions such as heart and kidney disease.

Kumar and Kapur are also researchers in the Wells Center's Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Biology Program and the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

IU School of Medicine’s Rahul Kanumuri, Baskar Ramdas, Santhosh Kumar Pasupuleti, Lakshmi Reddy Palam, Xuepeng Wang, Kanaka Sai Ram Padam and Mark Kelley are co-authors on the study. Additional authors include Linke Li, Sarah Urbut, Mesbah Uddin, Abhishek Niroula, Pradeep Natarajan and Zhi Yu from the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU School of Medicine joins national nutrition education initiative

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine, the largest MD program in the United States, has joined a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiative to strengthen nutrition education in medical training.

The voluntary initiative, introduced by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., encourages medical schools to enhance nutrition instruction in response to the growing burden of diet-related chronic disease. IU joins more than 50 respected medical schools in this effort, which is also supported by the American Association of Medical Colleges. Participating institutions may implement either a minimum of 40 hours of required nutrition education across four years of medical school, or a competency-based equivalent aligned with the HHS Medical Education Nutrition Competency Framework.

At the IU School of Medicine, nutrition has been a focus in curriculum for more than 10 years and is currently woven throughout competency-based training delivered across nine campuses statewide. Instruction spans foundational science courses, organ-system modules and clinical training, emphasizing the physiological impact of diet, prevention strategies and the social determinants of health. Students examine the role of nutrition in conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, as well as micronutrient deficiencies and malnutrition.

"Our responsibility is to prepare physicians who understand the full spectrum of factors that influence health, including nutrition," said Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA, dean of IU School of Medicine and executive vice president for university clinical affairs at Indiana University. "Ensuring our graduates are equipped to address diet-related disease prevention and lifestyle-related drivers of disease is central to our mission."

Through small-group learning and team-based discussions, students develop practical counseling skills and learn to assess dietary habits and create patient-centered care plans. During clinical rotations, they apply nutrition principles in primary specialty care settings and collaborate with dietitians and other health professionals to support lifestyle modification and longer-term disease management.

"We are focused on equipping students with the ability to evaluate nutritional risk, integrate evidence-based guidance into clinical care and address broader issues such as food insecurity and health disparities that shape patient outcomes," said Bradley Allen, MD, PhD, executive associate dean for education at IU School of Medicine. "We are eager for the opportunity to share the success of our nutrition-based curriculum with the other schools that are joining in this initiative."

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU School of Medicine’s 2025 NIH funding ranked No. 15 among public universities

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — The National Institutes of Health invested more than $230 million into Indiana University School of Medicine research in fiscal year 2025, fueling the determined pursuit of new treatments, therapies and cures for diseases and conditions such as diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. IU finished the year as the 15th highest-funded public medical school in the country.

According to data from a report by United for Medical Research, every $1 million in NIH funding awarded to Indiana researchers in 2024 created nearly 10 jobs. This income and other associated expenses generated $2.69 million in economic activity in the state. Estimating for 2025 based on that data, the IU School of Medicine's 2025 NIH funding is responsible for creating about 2,287 jobs and an estimated $627 million in annual economic activity in Indiana — more than half of the estimated total $1.09 billion in economic activity generated in Indiana from all NIH funding in the state.

"These NIH funding results reflect the deep commitment of our faculty, staff and trainees to discovery and innovation," said Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA, dean of the IU School of Medicine and executive vice president for university clinical affairs at IU. "We will continue our work to advance knowledge, improve health and serve our communities through research excellence, funded by the NIH, other federal agencies, private foundations and industry."

The rankings were compiled by the Blue Ridge Institute, a nonprofit organization that measures NIH funding.

In addition to IU School of Medicine’s strong overall showing, eight of its departments ranked in the top 25 for NIH funding:

The Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics ranked No. 4.
The Department of Biostatistics and Health Data Science ranked No. 5.
The Department of Pediatrics ranked No. 6.
The Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery ranked No. 12.
The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation ranked No. 18.
The Department of Dermatology ranked No. 22.
The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology ranked No. 24.
The Department of Urology ranked No. 25.

"Our success with NIH funding is a direct result of a collaborative culture that prioritizes team science and interdisciplinary partnership," said Tatiana Foroud, PhD, Executive Associate Dean for Research Affairs at IU School of Medicine. "Investigators across departments and centers are working together to tackle complex health challenges, and this collective approach allows us to accelerate discovery and translate research into meaningful outcomes for patients and families."

The NIH is the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research. The federal fiscal year ran from Oct. 1, 2024 until Sept. 30, 2025.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Leading muscular dystrophy researcher named 2026 Watanabe Prize winner

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 15:26:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS – Kevin P. Campbell, PhD, an internationally recognized researcher in the field of muscular dystrophy, has been named the 2026 winner of the August M. Watanabe Prize in Translational Research.

The Watanabe Prize, awarded by the Indiana University School of Medicine, is one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious awards recognizing individuals focused on shepherding scientific discoveries into new therapies for patients. Awarded to a senior investigator, the prize is given to researchers who have made a significant contribution to the field of translational science.

Campbell is the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver Biomedical Research Chair in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. He is also director of the Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Specialized Research Center at the University of Iowa.

A faculty member at the University of Iowa since 1981, Campbell is well known for his work elucidating cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying various forms of muscular dystrophy. Providing a scientific foundation for novel treatment strategies, his research has led to seminal discoveries advancing the understanding of skeletal muscle biology and offering critical insight into the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy.

A primary focus of Campbell's research involves the alterations in the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex that cause several forms of muscular dystrophy, including those with abnormal central nervous system development and function. His lab is investigating the structure and function of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex in skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle, as well as non-muscle tissues, including brain and peripheral nerve.

A highly active and accomplished scientist, Campbell has published 488 original papers that have received more than 83,000 citations, with an average citation rate of 1,697 citations per year from 1975 to 2025.

"I am deeply honored to receive the Watanabe Prize in Translational Research," Campbell said. "This award has special meaning to me as I had the privilege of knowing Gus Watanabe and have long admired both the contributions he made to the field of cardiovascular research and the visionary leadership he provided at Indiana University School of Medicine."

As the 2026 Watanabe Prize winner, Campbell will receive $100,000 and be honored on Sept. 18 at the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute’s Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, where he will deliver the keynote address. The Indiana CTSI, housed at the IU School of Medicine, is a statewide partnership among IU, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame and the Regenstrief Institute.

"We look forward to welcoming Dr. Campbell to the IU School of Medicine and the Indiana CTSI this fall and learning more about how the insights from his research are contributing to the improved diagnosis and treatment of muscular dystrophy," said Tatiana Foroud, PhD, the August M. Watanabe Professor of Medical Research and executive associate dean for research affairs at the IU School of Medicine. "His body of work and commitment to translational science and the field of muscular dystrophy are inspiring and represent the spirit of the Watanabe Prize."

Campbell was nominated by Denise Jamieson, MD, MPH, vice president of medical affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa.

The Watanabe Prize is eponymously named in honor of the late August M. Watanabe, a titan in the field of translational research in both academia and industry who impacted the health of people around the world as a leader at the IU School of Medicine and Eli Lilly and Company.

Previous Watanabe Prize recipients include Kevan Herold, MD, (2025); Craig B. Thompson, MD (2024); Huda Zoghbi, MD (2023); Adrian R. Krainer, PhD (2022); Nancy J. Brown, MD (2021); Brian Druker, MD (2020); David Holtzman, MD (2019); Jean Bennett, MD, PhD (2018); Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD (2016); Carl H. June, MD (2015); and Tadataka Yamada, MD (2013).

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Researchers identify promising Alzheimer’s disease drug target

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have identified a promising drug target for Alzheimer's disease. The team found that removing an enzyme from neurons in the brain substantially reduces amyloid plaques — a hallmark characteristic of the disease — and may provide further resilience against disease progression.

Over the past few years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two disease-modifying drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The drugs, lecanemab and donanemab, remove the buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain and can "freeze" a person in their current functional state.

The team of researchers at the IU School of Medicine, led by Hande Karahan, PhD, and Jungsu Kim, PhD, say targeting this enzyme, called IDOL, in neurons can be a new way to remove amyloid plaques and improve communication between neurons and lipid metabolism in the brain.

"What makes this exciting is that we now have a specific target that could lead to a new type of treatment," said Kim, the P. Michael Conneally Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics. "We believe that IDOL will provide us with an alternative strategy to treat Alzheimer's disease. Targeting enzymes in drug development offers key advantages due to their well-defined active sites or ‘pockets’ where drugs can attach and block their activity. This precision means we can design molecules that hit the right target with minimal side effects."

In the study, published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, the researchers generated two different animal models of Alzheimer's disease by deleting the IDOL gene in the brain from either within neurons or microglia, the brain’s immune cells.

Karahan, assistant research professor of medical and molecular genetics, said they expected microglia to be the major driver of removing amyloid plaques because immune cells are key players in clearing amyloid and are the main cell type that produces IDOL in the brain.

Deletion of IDOL neurons not only reduced plaques, Karahan said, but it also reduced levels of a protein called apolipoprotein E, or APOE, that is associated with Alzheimer's disease; one of the protein's variants, APOE4, is the strongest risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease. APOE also plays a critical role in lipid metabolism, Karahan said.

The team also discovered that levels of receptors that can regulate APOE and amyloid plaques in the brain increased when the enzyme was removed from neurons. These receptors have a critical role in lipid metabolism and healthy neuronal communication. Karahan said a recent study shows that activating a pathway, which is also regulated by these receptors, provides resilience to cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients who have high amounts of plaques.

“This is especially important from a clinical perspective because patients are usually diagnosed with the disease after accumulating substantial amyloid plaque load in the brain. Not only decreasing amyloid levels but also increasing resilience to these pathological changes could maximize clinical benefits,” Karahan said. “Targeting neuronal IDOL may offer multiple therapeutic benefits in Alzheimer’s disease by simultaneously reducing amyloid burden while enhancing neuroprotective effects.”

Kim said the team will next work on a few strategies targeting the enzyme to develop drugs for treating Alzheimer’s disease, adding it’s important to assess the safety of compounds and their functional effects in preclinical models. Kim said they’ll also determine whether IDOL inhibition preserves synaptic connections and mitigates tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Ben Middelkamp bmiddel@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU researchers uncover targetable weakness in hard-to-treat blood cancer

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — New research co-led by Indiana University School of Medicine scientists has exposed a vulnerability in acute myeloid leukemia by identifying the blood cancer's reliance on a specific signaling pathway involved in the body's inflammation response. Their preclinical evidence suggests that blocking this pathway with a new drug compound can weaken acute myeloid leukemia during critical stages, paving the way for more effective and targeted treatments for this hard-to-treat disease.

According to the National Cancer Institute, the five-year survival rate for AML is only 32.9%, and about 22,000 new cases were reported in 2025. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is known for being treatment-resistant and having a high relapse rate.

"AML is a challenging blood cancer because a small population of cells, known as leukemia stem cells, can survive chemotherapy and later regenerate the disease," said Tzu-Chieh (Kate) Ho, PhD, assistant research professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and a lead author of the study. "Our research goal was to understand the critical mechanisms these leukemia stem cells rely on at both diagnosis and relapse, and to identify potential therapeutic targets."

In the study published in Leukemia, the researchers examined leukemia stem cells from AML patients during their diagnosis and relapse. They discovered that an inflammatory signaling pathway involved in the body’s immune system response — known as Interleukin-1 (IL-1) signaling — is significantly elevated at both stages. When the team used genetic approaches to reduce this signal in human AML cells, the cells formed fewer colonies and showed a diminished ability to reestablish leukemia.

The researchers also developed a new drug-like compound, UR241-2, designed to block the key proteins found in the IL-1 signaling pathway. In preclinical models, the compound impaired leukemia stem cells while largely sparing healthy blood-forming cells and significantly reduced leukemia levels in the mice. Their findings suggest that targeting this pathway could strengthen current AML treatments like chemotherapy and reduce the risk of relapse.

"Our studies indicate that IL-1 signaling is not a random feature, but rather a fundamental survival mechanism that persists across different stages of AML and can be targeted," said Reuben Kapur, PhD, director of the IU School of Medicine Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research and co-author of the study. "This opens up exciting possibilities for developing therapies that are more effective and more precise."

UR241-2 is still in early preclinical development, but similar drugs are already being tested in clinical trials for other cancers and immune-related diseases, suggesting a promising path toward eventually evaluating this compound for AML.

"Future AML treatments may incorporate our strategy alongside standard chemotherapy as an approach to reduce relapse risk," Ho said. "We hope these approaches will ultimately help improve treatment outcomes and long-term prognosis for patients with AML."

Ho and Kapur are also researchers in the Wells Center’s Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Biology Program and the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

IU School of Medicine’s Baskar Ramdas, PhD, is a co-author on the study. Other authors include Mark W. LaMere, Hiroki Kawano, Daniel K. Byun, Elizabeth A. LaMere, Chunmo Chen, Laura M. Calvi, Jane L. Liesveld, Rakesh K. Singh and Michael W. Becker from the University of Rochester Medical Center; Yu-Chiao Chiu and Li-Ju Wang from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Jian Wang and Nikolay V. Dokholyan from Penn State College of Medicine; and Craig T. Jordan from the University of Colorado, Denver.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Differences revealed in how multiple myeloma develops in men and women

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center have uncovered biological differences in how multiple myeloma develops and progresses in men and in women. The rare blood cancer occurs more often in men than in women, making these biological differences important for understanding why multiple myeloma affects the sexes differently.

Their findings, recently published in Blood Cancer Journal and led by Reza Shahbazi, PhD, provide new knowledge that could lead to earlier detection and more targeted, sex-specific treatment strategies. Shahbazi is an assistant professor of medicine at the IU School of Medicine and a researcher at the cancer center and its Brown Center for Immunotherapy.

"The same therapies are provided for men and women facing multiple myeloma, but we know men develop the disease more often," Shahbazi said. "In our research, we found there are key non-coding RNAs that differ between men and women. Those specific targets could help us develop personalized therapies or choose the best therapies for individual patients."

The study was done in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic using multiple myeloma cells from bone marrow aspirates from 24 Mayo patients. Researchers also used multiple myeloma cell lines developed by researchers at IU and Mayo.

Shahbazi's lab used these cells to examine differences between the sexes at the molecular level. The researchers found that the non-coding RNA inside exosomes — small particles released by cells that carry messages between cells — varied between male and female patients. By analyzing exosomes, which circulate throughout the body and therefore provide a more sensitive readout of disease biology, rather than whole bone marrow tissue, the team was able to detect molecular differences often missed by standard approaches.

"Non-coding RNAs end up packaged inside the exosomes to be sent out for a cellular response — so they get packaged inside the cells, and in this case, multiple myeloma cells," Shahbazi said. "We identified that the exosomes from the male and female patients are totally different, despite commonalities. They carry specific messages that could help us with the diagnosis of the disease. Many of these non-coding RNAs regulate genes involved in immune response, cell growth and drug resistance, making them potential biomarkers."

Early detection is critical for successful treatment of multiple myeloma, and Shahbazi believes these markers could eventually help clinicians diagnose the disease sooner and better predict disease severity and responses to therapy.

The next step for the research team is to validate the findings in a larger patient cohort using IU resources.

Other IU authors on the study include co-first authors Samaneh Maleknia, PhD, and Sanam Rezaei Benam, both of whom are researchers in the Shahbazi lab.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Candace Gwaltney, cmgwaltn@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Pediatric oncology researcher elected to National Academy of Inventors

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Mark R. Kelley, PhD, Betty and Earl Herr Chair of Pediatric Oncology Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine, has been named a 2025 fellow of the prestigious National Academy of Inventors for his many contributions in pediatrics and cancer research.

The fellowship is the highest professional distinction awarded to academic inventors. Kelley will receive his recognition at the academy’s annual conference in June. The fellowship recognizes cutting-edge thinkers across all fields of scientific development, from medical research to artificial intelligence, quantum computing and beyond.

Kelley's research focuses on developing new drug treatments for cancer and a variety of other ailments.

"Being recognized by the National Academy of Inventors affirms that my team’s decades-long dedication to turning basic science into tangible therapies is making an impact," Kelley said. "It's not just about the patents; it's about the patients. Every discovery, every compound we create and every clinical trial we conduct offers hope to those fighting aggressive cancers, vision-threatening retinal diseases and severe inflammatory conditions."

In addition to several professorships, he co-manages the Cancer Drug Discovery & Development Accelerator at the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center and directs the Molecular Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics program for the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research.

He holds 19 U.S. and 35 foreign patents. His distinguished academic career at IU, which also includes more than 200 peer-reviewed journal article publications, stretches back to the early '90s.

Much of Kelley's work revolves around APX3330, a drug compound that has demonstrated effectiveness in targeting aggressive solid tumors in cancer patients during clinical trials. Kelley’s invention is also in the early testing phases for treating other ailments.

"The development of APX3330 represents the culmination of decades of work," Kelley said. "Taking a compound from our academic lab all the way through phase I clinical trials in cancer patients, seeing it licensed first to Apexian Pharmaceuticals, a company I am a founder of, to Opus Genetics for diabetic retinopathy, and now watching it advance toward phase III trials, that's the kind of translational impact every researcher dreams of achieving."

Some of Kelley's accomplishments include:

Discovering the dual function of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox effector factor 1, an enzyme that can be targeted with drugs to block cancer-promoting pathways.
Discovering the above enzyme was more prevalent in cancer cells and contributes to treatment resistance.
Developing APX3330, a first-of-its-kind drug that targeted part of the enzyme in clinical trials as a way to stop cancer growth.
In addition to cancer treatment, the drug has also shown potential in preventing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, a side effect of current cancer treatments.
Developing APX2009 and APX2014, stronger versions of APX3330.
Discovering the enzyme’s role in creating new blood cells, which will allow Kelley’s drug to target other ailments including macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
Preclinical demonstration of APX3330 reducing inflammation, leading to its potential as a treatment for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Kelley’s drugs have shown in preclinical data to be effective against necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease that affects premature infants that currently has no known treatment.

"This recognition highlights the collaborative spirit of innovation at Indiana University," Kelley said. "I've been fortunate to collaborate with talented colleagues, mentor dedicated students and postdocs and partner with industry leaders. The NAI fellowship celebrates not just my achievements but the entire ecosystem of innovation we've cultivated here at the Wells Center for Pediatric Research, IU School of Medicine and the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center."

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

New cell isolation technology could offer benefits for cancer research and cell therapies

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center are testing new technology for isolating stem cells, a process that could simplify research processes and potentially improve clinical applications for life-saving blood cancer treatments.

The study, published today in Stem Cell Translation Medicine, found that the new technology isolates CD34+ stem cells — a particularly potent type of blood-forming stem cell — in a semi-automated device that is less technically challenging and potentially quicker and less disruptive to the cells. James Ropa, PhD, an assistant professor at the IU School of Medicine and cancer center researcher, partnered with 42Bio, a Florida-based biotechnology company specializing in magnetic cell isolation technologies, to test the new device — called FerroBio — recently developed by the company. This is the first study in a peer-reviewed journal to assess the device and directly compare it to long-established isolation technologies.

Ropa studies hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells function to improve cell therapies and stem cell transplantations. For this study, Ropa used donated cord blood, which is enriched with these cells and used in hematopoietic stem cell transplantations — a life-saving treatment for blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.

Traditional methods for isolating these cells have been in use for more than 20 years. Most standard protocols require that the cells are spun at high speeds in a centrifuge and then marked by magnetic beads, which typically remain attached to the cells after isolation.

"The question I had was: 'Are the cells separated with the FerroBio functional and equivalent to traditional cell separation methods?'" Ropa said. "If we are going to change our standard process, we need to know that."

Ropa and his lab conducted experiments using cord blood samples that were divided by volume into two groups: one portion isolated with the traditional method and the other with the new technology.

"This study was designed to determine if the technology was as effective and equivalent to traditional cell separation methods and if the cells would engraft in mouse models of human cell transplantation, which was the case," Ropa said. "But to my surprise, what we actually found was that there were some metrics by which these cells appear to be healthier and more functional when isolated with the new technology."

Ropa found that cells separated with the new FerroBio device were functional, healthy and able to perform all the same functions as those separated with the original technology. The slight improvements included higher cell numbers engrafting at one to three months in the mouse models, though at later time periods the engraftment was similar.

One notable difference was that the original technology retains the small marking beads on the cells even after isolation, and these beads were found particularly on unhealthy cells.

"What it suggests to us is that those beads do affect the cell, maybe by affecting the cell membrane integrity," Ropa said. "That might be why we see a little bit of an advantage with the new technology, because those beads are gone with the new technology."

Ropa said this study is just the beginning for testing the new technology. Because the instrument is technically less challenging and potentially quicker, it could eventually improve both research and clinical applications. He noted that collaborations between industry and academic centers benefits research.

"Working with companies who are driving technical innovation gives us a new perspective and helps push the field forward," he said.

Shabnam Namin, PhD, president of 42Bio, said the company’s goal in developing FerroBio was to create a gentler and more consistent way to isolate hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.

"We are thrilled to see independent academic data showing that reducing mechanical stress and removing beads can meaningfully impact cell quality," Namin said.

Ropa's research builds on IU's expertise in hematopoietic stem cell transplantations. Cord blood transplantation method was developed at IU by the late Hal Broxmeyer, PhD, the groundbreaking researcher widely considered "the father" of cord blood transplantation and therapies.

"Cord blood processing is not a super easy thing to do. It's technically difficult and it takes some expertise," Ropa said. "If we can make processes like that simpler, then maybe we can make it more universally available both at the bench and in the clinical."

Additional IU School of Medicine authors of the study include Jimin Park, PhD; Jessica Newton; So Jeong Kim; and Yangshin Park, PhD.

This research was supported by grant funding from the National Institutes of Health. Ropa also thanks the parents who donated umbilical cord blood for research purposes.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Candace Gwaltney, cmgwaltn@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

New program to support healthier pregnancies, safer homes for Indianapolis families

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana University School of Medicine has launched the Healthy Homes for Maternal and Infant Health program, a new initiative designed to support healthier pregnancies and safer home environments for low-income families in Indianapolis.

Led by Jack Turman, PhD, a professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine, the new program will aim to address unsafe housing conditions, such as environments with mold, pests, inadequate ventilation and structural hazards, which are closely linked to negative maternal and infant health outcomes.

"Among families we serve in another healthy housing initiative called the Healthy Beginnings at Home program, 52% have experienced poor habitability issues that needed resolution to ensure the health and safety of the mother and infant," said Turman, who is also director of IU’s Grassroots Maternal and Child Health Initiative. "These experiences mirror national trends and underscore why this work is so urgent."

The Healthy Homes for Maternal and Infant Health program is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through a grant awarded to Turman. It will serve 175 families through a comprehensive, home-based approach that includes:

Environmental home assessments conducted before and after the intervention.
Remediation supplies to support healthier housing conditions.
Education on the Eight Principles of a Healthy Home, delivered by community health workers and case managers.
Legal education on tenants’ rights, provided by legal aid partners.

Jack Turman will lead a new project geared toward providing healthy living spaces for young families. | Photo by Tim Yates, IU School of Medicine

Turman said the program is built on collaboration with trusted local partners. Indianapolis Healthy Start community health workers and Healthy Beginnings at Home case managers will provide education and skills building for program participants. This instruction will take place over four monthly visits and help build participants' capacity to maintain a healthy home environment. Each participant will also receive tenant's rights education through partners at the Indiana Justice Project.

In addition to the educational instruction, each participant will receive a full home inspection by either the program manager or a RDOOR Housing Corporation home inspector. Small remediations will be addressed by the program's grant funding, while large remediation needs will be addressed through funds provided to partners at the Indiana Housing and Community Development Agency.

The program reflects a growing national recognition that stable, safe housing is a key driver of maternal and infant health. Turman hopes the model will inform Healthy Start programs and other home-visiting initiatives across the nation.

"All my research lives in the community and is shaped by the experiences of the families we serve," Turman said. "We will continue learning from participants and adapting our approach based on their feedback. Our work has the potential to strengthen family stability and promote better long-term health outcomes well beyond the postpartum period."

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Salem Lucas, slucas2@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Drug candidate shows promise in stopping the spread of deadly breast cancer

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A study co-led by an Indiana University School of Medicine researcher could form the basis of a new way to contain triple-negative breast cancer, a fast-spreading, deadly disease known for its treatment difficulties.

The research, recently published in Experimental Hematology and Oncology, found the drug candidate Ifetroban blocked triple-negative breast cancer cells from physically binding with platelets in mouse and zebrafish models, thus stopping the cancer’s spread to other organs. A drug candidate is a molecule that has shown potential for treating specific diseases and has been selected for further development in the drug discovery process.

"This compound does not destroy the main tumor in the breast — chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery is still needed for that, but it will stop any remaining breast cancer cells from spreading away from the breast tissue," said Yann Gibert, PhD, a professor of medical and molecular genetics at the IU School of Medicine and a researcher with the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Triple-negative breast cancer is difficult to treat, Gibert said, because it does not contain the three common breast cancer biomarkers: estrogen, progesterone or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. This gives doctors less treatment options, with chemotherapy being the most common choice made.

"Triple-negative breast cancer also grows and spreads faster than many other breast cancers, and it has a higher chance of coming back in the first few years after treatment," Gibert said. "It is also more common in younger women, Black women and people with BRCA1 genetic mutations. This makes it more aggressive and dangerous than other forms of breast cancer."

Ifetroban is currently being studied in humans as a treatment for a variety of diseases. Because of this, researchers already know what a safe dose is, and thus moving the research into human clinical trials would be easier, Gibert said.

"Ifetroban could be used as an adjuvant therapy, a treatment given after the main treatment to reduce the risk of cancer re-occurrence — after the first round of chemotherapy or after surgery removes the main breast tumor," Gibert said. "Its purpose would be to help prevent any remaining cancer cells from spreading to other parts of the body."

Because Ifetroban does not kill any cells, its side effects are milder than other cancer treatments.

The research was conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the University of Mississippi, led by Gibert and Thomas A. Werfel. Gibert performed most of his work on the project at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, prior to joining the IU School of Medicine.

The project received grant funding from the American Cancer Society, National Institutes of Health and other sources.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

State honors three IU School of Medicine professors for service to Hoosiers

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana University School of Medicine professor has been awarded the Sagamore of the Wabash — one of the state's highest honors — for his exemplary service to Hoosiers as a liver transplant surgeon and expert. Two additional faculty members also received Distinguished Hoosier awards, which are likewise conveyed by the governor for stellar community impact.

Surgery professor Shekhar Kubal, MD, received the Sagamore, while Marco A. Lacerda, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine, and Jonathan A. Fridell, MD, professor of surgery and division chief of abdominal transplant surgery, were honored as Distinguished Hoosiers.

IU Health President and CEO Dennis Murphy presented the awards to the trio at the IU Health Leadership Development Institute, held Nov. 11 at the Indiana Convention Center. In addition to their educational appointments, each recipient is also a provider with IU Health.

These awards are given by the governor of Indiana to Hoosiers who have displayed exemplary community service. Past Sagamore recipients include former President George H. W. Bush, late night host David Letterman, country music legend Willie Nelson and IU President Pamela Whitten.

"I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from Governor Braun," Kubal said. "It is truly humbling to be counted among so many outstanding leaders."

Kubal has performed nearly 1,000 liver transplants over more than a decade as leader of IU Health’s liver transplant team, the only such unit in the state.

"This award reflects the dedication of our entire liver transplant team at IU Health — the hepatologists, the surgeons, nurses, coordinators and staff who work tirelessly to give patients a second chance at life," Kubal said.

Fridell called the award presentation “one of the most joyous moments of his life.”

"This award represents recognition for a career's worth of contributions to Hoosiers," Fridell said. "For me, it reflects my dedication to the transplant program, specifically pancreas transplantation.

"It's more than just one little thing — it represents our collective work and impact on patients, the transplant community, and organ donation, both locally and internationally."

Lacerda pledged to share the honor with his team.

"It is not a state recognition of my work but the work of an entire team of people that includes each one of my colleagues in transplant hepatology and the support group that we have to give the people of Indiana the care they deserve," Lacerda said. "I am proud of what we do as a group."

He encouraged younger physicians in transplant sciences.

"Just dedicate the best in you and devote your entire attention to each patient one at a time," Lacerda said.

IU School of Medicine's Naga P. Chalasani, MD, the David W. Crabb Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and professor of medicine, nominated his three colleagues for the state awards.

On Kubal, Chalasani wrote: "Dr. Kubal has served the state of Indiana over the past 17 years through his clinical practice, innovation and leadership. He has brought national and international recognition to the transplant program at Indiana University."

On Fridell: "He is extremely dedicated to his patients. He has helped countless Hoosiers in need of organ donation, and he has served our donor heroes well."

On Lacerda: "Through his clinical skill, leadership, public health advocacy, educational commitment and dedication to expanding access to hepatology and transplant care, he has improved — and in many cases saved — the lives of thousands of Hoosiers."

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Gut bacteria associated with life-threatening complications in African children with severe malaria

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have uncovered new evidence that changes in the gut bacteria of African children with severe malaria are linked to life-threatening complications. The latest findings, published in Nature Communications, may lead to treatments that can reduce harmful bacteria and improve outcomes for children affected by the deadly disease.

The mosquito-transmitted parasite known as Plasmodium causes malaria in humans. While some cases are mild, severe malaria can cause critical symptoms like high fevers, seizures and organ failure. According to the World Health Organization's latest World malaria report, there were about 263 million cases of malaria in 2023 and nearly 600,000 deaths. Most malaria-related fatalities occur in African children younger than 5 years old.

"Our previous research in mice and in a cohort of Malian children showed that gut microbiota can influence how the body’s immune system responds to Plasmodium, subsequently determining the outcome of infection," said Nathan Schmidt, PhD, professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and the study's lead author. "Our latest study builds on those observations by analyzing new cohorts of African children and identifying the specific bacteria associated with clinical complications."

The research team studied samples from large cohorts of children in Uganda and Malawi. They found that in cases of severe malaria, the children's gut microbiota — the collection of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in the digestive tract — underwent substantial changes with notable increases in bacteria belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family, which contains known pathogenic bacteria. The bacteria were linked to severe complications, hospitalizations and higher mortality risk.

"An underappreciated but significant complication of severe malaria is the increased risk of hospital readmission and death in the ensuing 6 to 12 months after the initial illness," said Chandy C. John, MD, Distinguished Professor and Ryan White Professor of Pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and co-author of the study. "The reasons for these risks are poorly understood, but our analysis identified an increased abundance of specific pathogenic bacteria, including E. coli, in the cohort of Ugandan children who were later readmitted to the hospital or died."

The next phase of this research is already underway through collaborations between researchers from the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research and the Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Global Health, including Schmidt, John and Andrea Conroy, PhD. Their ongoing work will follow two large cohorts of Ugandan children with severe malaria to confirm whether an increased abundance of these disease-causing bacteria are directly associated with life-threatening outcomes.

"If our results are substantiated in future studies of African children, they could guide the pursuit of treatments that reduce harmful gut bacteria during severe malaria and ultimately decrease the risk of hospital readmission and death among affected children," said Conroy, associate professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and co-author of the study.

Additional study authors from IU include Olivia J. Bednarski, Sawyer B. Lehman, Jie Ren and Tuan M. Tran. Other authors include David Mzinza of Malawi University of Science and Technology; Caroline Kazinga, Ruth Namazzi and Robert O. Opoka of Makerere University; and Terrie E. Taylor and Karl B. Seydel of Kamuzu University of Health Sciences.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU’s Komen Tissue Bank expands support for world-class breast cancer research team

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center’s unique healthy breast tissue repository, the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank, has been awarded a two-year, $750,000 grant from Susan G. Komen®, the world's leading breast cancer organization.

"We are so grateful for Susan G. Komen’s ongoing support of the Komen Tissue Bank," said Michele Coté, PhD, director of the tissue bank. "This grant allows us to continue to maintain the only source of healthy breast tissue available to researchers around the world."

The Komen Tissue Bank is a resource within the cancer center's Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research, which includes physicians and scientists who are focused on preventing, treating and curing breast cancer.

Since its founding in 2007, the tissue bank has collected healthy breast tissue from more than 5,600 women. In all, more than 11,000 women have donated DNA and blood to the tissue bank. In 2023, the tissue bank began collecting tissue donations from men.

"Komen's support helps to ensure researchers have access to normal breast tissue from diverse populations, enabling them with a resource to better understand how cells in disease-free breast tissue differ across ethnicities, age, menopausal status and reproductive history," said Glendon Zinser, PhD, senior director of scientific strategy and programs at Susan G. Komen. "This understanding of normal breast cells, combined with follow-up survey data from participants, can serve as a critical reference point for studying the biological mechanisms underlying the onset of breast cancer."

Researchers at IU and elsewhere have already made new discoveries about breast cancer using samples donated to the Komen Tissue Bank, including the most extensive mapping of healthy breast cells to date. These findings offer an important tool to understand how breast cancer develops and the differences in breast tissue among genetic ancestries.

To date, the tissue bank's donors are represented across 45 states and the District of Columbia. There have been more than 30 breast tissue collection events in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, California, Arizona, New York and Texas. Most recently, in July, 400 women donated healthy breast tissue during All-Star Cure, a partnership between the WNBA All-Star 2025 Host Committee and the tissue bank. The two-day event was held the weekend before the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game was held in Indianapolis.

According to Komen, the grant was one of 25 cutting-edge projects at 17 prestigious institutions that it supported to help propel innovative science and deliver hope to those facing breast cancer. Komen has awarded nearly $14 million to IU’s tissue bank since 2007.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2023 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Michael Schug, maschug@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Zero-cost, AI-driven digital detection identifies Alzheimer’s and related dementias without additional clinician time

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Few primary care practices are designed for the timely detection of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The limited time that primary care clinicians are able to spend with patients, the need to focus on the health problems which brought the patient to the clinic, as well as the stigma of Alzheimer's disease and dementia are major reasons for lack of recognition of the condition.

A collaborative team of researchers have demonstrated that a fully digital artificial intelligence zero-cost method for detecting dementia can be scaled across primary care clinics without additional time for physicians. Their findings were recently published in JAMA Network Open.

In a pragmatic real world randomized clinical trial of more than 5,000 patients from primary care practices, researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine, Regenstrief Institute, Eskenazi Health, University of Miami School of Medicine and Lamar University tested a dual approach combining the Quick Dementia Rating System (QDRS) — a 10-question patient-reported tool — and an artificial intelligence (AI) tool, called a passive digital marker. The method of combining these tools increased the rate of new Alzheimer's and related dementias diagnoses by 31% compared with usual care, all without requiring additional clinician time or costly testing.

The AI tool, which has been in development for more than 10 years at Regenstrief by Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, and his team, is a machine learning algorithm that uses natural language processing to analyze data from electronic health records (EHRs). It identifies information such as memory issues, vascular concerns and other factors linked to dementia.

"Building on more than 50 years of innovation in digital health data science and machine learning, this passive digital marker developed at the Regenstrief Institute is now open source," said Boustani, the Richard M. Fairbanks Professor of Aging Research at IU School of Medicine and a research scientist at Regenstrief. "In keeping with Regenstrief’s tradition of open medical record methodology, there’s no licensing fee — just the basic cost of deploying it, similar to how you would deploy any app. Any healthcare system with an electronic health record and the right personnel can implement it. It is zero cost and requires no clinician time."

Beyond increasing detection, the combined digital approach also led to a 41% increase in follow-up diagnostic assessments, such as neuroimaging and cognitive testing, suggesting earlier and more accessible dementia care for populations traditionally underserved by the healthcare system.

"This is the most scalable approach to early detection that I know of," said Boustani, who is the lead author of the Digital Detection of Dementia in Primary Care clinical trial. "Most early detection methods require at least five minutes of a doctor’s time and often come with licensing fees. Our dual approach, by contrast, requires zero clinician time or money."

The trial, conducted at nine Eskenazi Health Center federally qualified health centers in Indianapolis, embedded the QDRS and passive digital marker directly into the Epic electronic health record. The system automatically invited patients aged 65 and older to complete the short QDRS survey through their patient portal, while the passive digital marker algorithm continuously analyzed existing clinical data to flag patients at risk. Results appeared automatically in the clinician’s EHR inbox, prompting further evaluation only when necessary — requiring no extra time, staff or manual screening.

"What's powerful about this approach is that it helps level the playing field," said Zina Ben Miled, PhD, a Regenstrief affiliate scientist and Lamar University professor, who developed the passive digital marker tool alongside Boustani. "By embedding these tools directly into the electronic health record, we can reach patients who might otherwise be overlooked — ensuring that everyone, regardless of background or resources, has the same opportunity for early detection and care."

"The Quick Dementia Rating System was designed to empower patients and families to report cognitive changes easily and quickly," said James E. Galvin, MD, MPH, a professor of neurology and director of the Comprehensive Center for Brain Health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "When used with digital tools like the Regenstrief passive digital marker, we can bring early detection to scale — efficiently and effectively."

This breakthrough represents a major step forward in translating AI and patient-reported outcomes into everyday clinical care. By integrating scalable digital tools that operate seamlessly within existing health systems, the research team demonstrated how technology can strengthen early detection, reduce burdens on primary care teams and improve outcomes for older adults.

"This work represents the next phase of our half-century legacy at Regenstrief — using data, innovation and compassion to transform healthcare delivery," Boustani said. "We’ve shown that it’s possible to bring the power of AI and patient-reported outcomes directly into the clinic — seamlessly, affordably and at scale."

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging.

Other IU authors on the study include Arthur H. Owora, Nicole R. Fowler, Paul Dexter, Eric M. Puster, Randall W. Grout, Diana P. Summanwar, Saura Fortin Erazo and Katrina Coppedge.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: John Erickson, jorerick@regenstrief.org

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU research links poor sleep to higher risk of severe asthma in children

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have identified a strong connection between poor sleep patterns and the severity of asthma in children with the lung disease. Their findings, recently published in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, could help pediatricians and caregivers identify children at higher risk for severe asthma complications and intervene earlier to improve long-term health outcomes.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, five million children are estimated to have asthma in the United States, making it the most common childhood chronic disease. The condition causes inflammation in the airways and results in symptoms such as coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. While asthma has no cure, it can be effectively managed with proper monitoring and treatment.

“We utilized readily available electronic health record and sleep study data to create a predictive algorithm for a child's risk of severe asthma attacks rather than relying on a history of symptoms alone,” said Anuja Bandyopadhyay, MD, associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and first author of the study. “This allows us to identify the population at risk and take early, aggressive measures to prevent exacerbations.”

The research team analyzed data from a cohort of 161 children with moderate or severe asthma who had undergone sleep studies at Riley Children’s Health. Their results showed that male patients with asthma who slept poorly had fragmented sleep and were at increased risk for severe asthma attacks, regardless of how well their asthma was otherwise controlled — a pattern not observed in female patients. Additionally, the researchers found that children who were prescribed medications to improve their sleep had a lower risk of severe asthma exacerbation. The team plans to explore their initial discoveries further in future studies.

“Our goal is to continue combining electronic health record data, sleep parameters and sleep microstructure data to refine a predictive algorithm for asthma exacerbation,” said Arthur Owora, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine, research scientist at Regenstrief Institute and co-author of the study.

Because adequate sleep is known to improve heart, brain and metabolic functions, the study further highlights the importance of including sleep assessments in pediatric asthma care. A child’s detailed sleep history, including notes about difficulty falling or staying asleep, snoring or nighttime coughing, can offer valuable insight into a child’s health.

Bandyopadhyay, who is also a pediatric pulmonologist and sleep physician at Riley Children’s, said that if a child with asthma is also having trouble sleeping, it may be a sign the child needs medical attention.

“Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or snoring can be signs of other sleep disorders, while nighttime coughing can suggest suboptimal asthma control,” she said. “It’s important for parents and guardians to ask their children about these symptoms so they can get the medical help that they need.”

Additional IU study authors from the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergy and Sleep Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics include Bowen Jiang and Yash Shah.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Researchers develop tool to track progression of Alzheimer’s, dementias based on metabolic, vascular brain changes

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine have developed a highly sensitive diagnostic that predicts a person’s stage of dementia based on neurovascular and metabolic changes. They recently published their findings in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.

Years before a person experiences the earliest symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, scientists say there’s an imbalance in energy metabolism and blood flow in the brain — specifically within regions connected to memory, cognition and learning.

The IU research team — led by Paul Territo, PhD, professor of medicine, and Juan Antonio K. Chong Chie, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow — studied how cerebral perfusion, which is the flow of blood to the brain, and glucose metabolism, which is how the body breaks down and stores glucose for energy, change across dozens of brain regions in more than 400 human patients. They discovered that metabolism and perfusion in the brain may become dysregulated as early as 20 years prior to a clinical diagnosis of dementia or cognitive impairment changes.

The researchers previously developed this novel method to analyze perfusion and metabolism brain scans of animal models developed by the Model Organism Development and Evaluation for Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease (MODEL-AD) center. They found that metabolism and perfusion were some of the first biological processes that become dysregulated in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia — potentially long before the accumulation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, two major hallmarks of the neurodegenerative disorder.

In the recent study, the team investigated brain metabolism using PET scans and blood flow using MRI scans of 403 humans from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database and tracked the neurovascular and metabolic changes over the disease course. They confirmed these findings through gene signatures and clinical cognitive tests.

“Our data indicate that inflammation plays a major role early, which leads to metabolic and vascular damage,” Territo said. "This work confirmed that what we hypothesized in the mice occurs in humans as well. We’re able to see from the earliest phases of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia through to advanced disease.

“This approach permits assessment of disease progression and can be used for patient stratification and to monitor therapeutic response. If you analyze brain regions that have neuro-metabolic and vascular disruptions and then give a drug that mitigates those disruptions, we should see a regression of those processes along with fewer inflammatory signatures and improvements in cognition."

The group of patients the team studied was clinically diagnosed across the disease spectrum for dementia and memory conditions, which include cognitively normal, early mild cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, late mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.

The lab developed a framework to assess the neuro-metabolic and vascular dysregulation in the brains of the patients — the same approach they used in animal models. This approach divides the process into four different phases of metabolism and perfusion changes that closely align with disease progression, Territo said. These range from decreased metabolism and increased blood flow at the earliest stage to decreases in metabolism and blood flow at the final stage of Alzheimer’s disease.

"What we observe in both animal models and humans is, as you progress across the entire spectrum of disease,” Territo said, “you fall into one of the four different neuro-metabolic and vascular states, and these states and their trajectories are specific for each region.”

Territo said the team discovered that among the 59 regions of the brain they evaluated in patients, some regions were more susceptible and progressed faster toward disease, while others were more resilient and progressed slower. Regions associated with memory, learning and cognition, he added, were impacted first and least tolerant of the neuro-metabolic and vascular dysregulation. They also found that disease progression varies by sex; females progress faster in disease compared to males.

Additionally, these changes aligned with gene signatures — specific sets of genes gathered through blood samples that classify diseases — and clinical cognitive tests of the patients, said Chong Chie, who also verified similarities with their animal model studies.

Researchers will next study how different regions of the brain communicate and connect after undergoing metabolic and vascular changes.

"Our analysis tells you that the brain undergoes these deficits, but what it doesn't tell you is how the brain is structured and how those structures change with disease," Territo said. "We'll next aim to answer those questions, and that will also allow us to help stratify the patient population. It's just a matter of looking at it in a unique way that others have not to date."

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Ben Middelkamp, bmiddel@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

AI could help provide cheaper, quicker, more equitable brain cancer diagnoses

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A team of Indiana University School of Medicine researchers has developed a new way to diagnose an elusive, deadly group of brain cancers using artificial intelligence models in place of costly, time-consuming molecular testing.

The group’s findings, published in Oxford Academic's Neuro-Oncology, lay the groundwork for technology's further use in diagnosing and treating adult-type diffuse gliomas. These types of brain cancer randomly spread into healthy brain tissue, making them exceedingly difficult to diagnose.

Conclusive diagnosis of gliomas currently requires complicated molecular testing.

"Molecular profiling is expensive, takes two to three weeks and may not be available in community hospitals," said Spyridon Bakas, PhD, senior corresponding author of the study, an associate professor and director of the Division of Computational Pathology at the IU School of Medicine and a researcher within the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"We developed an accurate and generalizable AI tool to classify such brain tumors using only histology images, offering a faster and more cost-effective alternative — even in limited resource environments, where molecular analysis is out of reach," Bakas said.

The team's AI model training and validation incorporated patient datasets from the United States, Italy, France, Australia, Austria and India. It met the latest World Health Organization (WHO) standards for conclusive diagnoses, and neuropathologists also verified the results.

Expediting diagnosis of these aggressive cancers is key, as it allows healthcare providers to more quickly begin treatment. The most aggressive form of diffuse glioma, glioblastoma, is the most common adult brain tumor. With a high recurrence rate, the average glioblastoma survival rate is about 15 months.

"If adopted widely, our AI model could make brain tumor diagnosis faster, more affordable and accessible, especially in regions where molecular testing is limited," Bakas said.

Shubham Innani, the first author of the study, a senior research analyst in the School of Medicine's Division of Computational Pathology and member of the Simon Cancer Center, said the new approach can complement existing pathology workflows and help deliver timely, equitable cancer care.

Bhakti Baheti, PhD, who was an assistant professor at the IU School of Medicine at the time of the study and is now faculty at Emory University School of Medicine, joined Bakas as a senior author on the study.

"By leveraging information across multiple magnifications, mimicking a pathologist’s workflow, AI can capture both microscopic details and broader context for more precise performance," Baheti said.

Neuropathologists W. Robert Bell, of the IU School of Medicine, and MacLean P. Nasrallah, of the University of Pennsylvania, rounded out the team.

This research was supported by funding from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health and Lilly Endowment Inc. through its support for the IU Pervasive Technology Institute.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Infectious disease physician-scientist elected to National Academy of Medicine

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine’s Chandy C. John, MD, MS, has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine.

The group announced its new class of members during its annual meeting on Oct. 20. Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine, recognizing individuals who have made distinguished contributions to science, healthcare and public health.

John is the Ryan White Professor of Pediatrics and director of the Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease and Global Health at IU School of Medicine. John’s research centers on pediatric infectious disease, global health, malaria pathogenesis and neurodevelopment, and translational research — particularly through collaborative partnerships in Africa.

“Dr. John’s work bridges laboratory discovery, field epidemiology and patient care,” said Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA, dean of the IU School of Medicine and executive vice president for university clinical affairs at IU. “This election honors not just his scientific achievements, but his leadership and global impact in child health. We are very proud to see him join the National Academy of Medicine.”

John’s research examines how severe malaria impacts children’s long-term cognitive development, mechanisms of malaria pathogenesis and immunity, and interactions between infection and sickle cell disease. He has led clinical and translational studies in Uganda, Kenya and other global settings, collaborating with local institutions to strengthen research capacity and address pressing public health challenges. He was named an IU Distinguished Professor in early 2024, the highest academic rank at the university, in recognition of his scholarly leadership and impact.

“To be elected to the National Academy of Medicine is both humbling and energizing,” John said. “I accept this honor on behalf of all the collaborators — in Indiana, Africa and beyond — whose collective efforts make such work possible.”

With his election, John becomes one of three IU School of Medicine faculty in the Academy, joining D. Wade Clapp, MD, chair of the Department of Pediatrics, and Richard Miyamoto, MD, emeritus chair of the Department of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Katie Duffey, kaduffey@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

New ‘smart insulin’ shows promise in reducing low blood sugar emergencies

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have discovered a new way to regulate blood glucose levels using a lab-designed protein, possibly opening the door to a new treatment avenue for people with Type 1 diabetes.

The findings, published in ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science, showed improvement in rats treated with the substance, which combines insulin and glucagon into one molecule.

Insulin is a hormone that lowers blood sugar levels, while another hormone, glucagon, does the opposite. People with Type 1 diabetes struggle to create enough insulin because their immune systems attack the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, requiring them to inject a synthetic version of the hormone to manage blood sugar levels.

Patients must constantly balance blood sugar levels in this way, as too much glucose (hyperglycemia) or too little (hypoglycemia) can each lead to significant health risks including death.

The research team’s new protein works by mimicking the two hormones and in turn signaling the liver, which naturally responds to insulin and glucagon depending on the body's needs.

The effort was spearheaded by IU School of Medicine Distinguished Professor Michael A. Weiss, MD, PhD, and compliments his previous research on similar "smart insulins." Previously, Weiss created a synthetic hinge that could react to such a substance and more accurately regulate body blood sugar levels.

"For the past century, coping with hypoglycemia (the lows) has been an ever-present challenge in Type 1 diabetes," Weiss said. "This has made creating glucose-responsive insulins (smart insulins) a major goal. Our approach simplifies such design by exploiting an endogenous 'smart' switch in the liver, how the body naturally adjusts relative hormonal responses based on whether the blood glucose level is high or low: Too high, insulin wins; too low, glucagon wins."

Many Type 1 diabetes patients must currently inject insulin and glucagon separately. Stress, diet, hormonal fluctuations and physical activity levels further complicate the balancing act.

In addition to the treatment results, the new form of insulin remained stable for weeks without refrigeration prior to being opened. This would make it easier to produce and store than currently available insulin, which typically requires refrigeration.

Though the results are promising, Weiss cautioned the research is still early in development. Many steps remain before the hybrid medication is cleared for public use.

The researchers hope to develop two types of a "smart insulin": One meant for injection once per week, and the other a short-acting variety for use in insulin pumps.

This research was funded by a variety of grants, including the IU Precision Health Initiative, the IU School of Medicine INCITE Fund of the Lilly Foundation, the Type 1 Diabetes "Grand Challenge" program of Breakthrough T1D UK and Steve Morgan Foundation UK.

Other IU School of Medicine contributors to this researcher were: former graduate student Nicolas Varas; research faculty members Mark A. Jarosinski, Yen-Shan Chen and Yanwu Yang; and post-doctoral fellow Chun-Lun Ni.

Rat studies were formed in collaboration with Dr. Raimund Herzog of the Yale School of Medicine.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU clinical trial aims to improve quality of life for prostate cancer survivors

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 14:24:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A clinical trial at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center could improve quality of life for men with prostate cancer. IU is among the first cancer centers to enroll patients in the study, which is evaluating an implantable device designed to help men regain urinary control following prostate removal surgery.

The ARID II national study is led locally by Michael Koch, MD, the John P. Donohue Professor of Urology at the IU School of Medicine and a clinical researcher at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Developed by Levee Medical, the implantable device — called the Voro Urologic Scaffold — is placed during prostatectomy, which issurgery to remove the prostate. Made from resorbable material similar to surgical sutures, the device promotes healing and structural support for up to nine months before dissolving, with the goal of supporting long-term urinary function without the need for a permanent implant.

"Incontinence is a common and impactful side effect following prostatectomy, affecting many men's quality of life,” said Koch, who is the study’s principal investigator. “The ARID II trial is evaluating an investigational device intended to address this complication and may provide important insights for men recovering from prostate cancer treatment."

Urinary incontinence is common following prostate removal, with up to 50% of men reporting ongoing issues at six months and about 20% still affected one year after surgery. The Voro Urologic Scaffold aims to address this challenge during the critical early recovery phase.

The ARID II study will enroll 266 participants across up to 30 centers in the United States. Participants are randomly assigned to either receive the investigational device or not and are followed for up to two years to assess safety and efficacy.

Visit the cancer center’s clinical trial page for more information about the ARID II study at IU.

Indiana residents have access to the latest cancer treatments through clinical research offered at the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. Last year, more than 2,500 people participated in cancer clinical trials at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Writer: Candace Gwaltney, cmgwaltn@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Cancer-fighting gene plays unexpected role in pancreatic cancer tumor growth

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 13:35:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — New research from Indiana University School of Medicine scientists revealed that a well-known cancer-fighting gene also plays an unexpected role in regulating how certain immune cells can support tumor growth. This insight into pancreatic cancer progression could lead to more effective treatments against one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

The study, recently published in Science Advances, focused on M2-like macrophages, a subtype of immune cells found in the tumor environment that are known to weaken the body’s ability to fight cancer. The researchers examined how a gene called serine/threonine kinase 11 (STK11) influences these cells. They found that when STK11 is missing in macrophages, those cells switch into a tumor-supporting state.

“STK11 was originally identified as a tumor suppressor and extensive studies have examined the gene’s functions and mechanisms in regulating cancer cell growth,” said Kai Yang, PhD, corresponding author of the study, an associate professor of pediatrics and microbiology and immunology at the IU School of Medicine and a researcher with the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research and the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. “What surprised us in our screening was seeing its role in coupling M2-like macrophage metabolism and function. Instead of acting directly on tumors, STK11 helps keep macrophages from protecting cancer. When the gene is missing, those cells actually make it easier for cancer to grow.”

In a pancreatic cancer mouse model, the researchers noticed the loss of STK11 in macrophages accelerated tumor progression. The findings reveal a previously unknown role for STK11 in shaping how M2-like macrophages behave inside tumors.

“Our findings suggest that enhancing STK11 activity or blocking the ways that help them grow may counteract their tumor-protecting power and make treatments for pancreatic cancer and other cancers more effective,” Yang said.

The next phase of research will further investigate how STK11 in M2-like macrophages shapes the tumor immune microenvironment as cancer advances.

Additional IU co-authors of the study include Jing Yang, Naresh Singh, Chengxian Xu, Samantha Sharma, Sheng Liu, Joseph Lechner, Martin J. Richer, Yong Zang, Xiumei Huang, Reuben Kapur, Jun Wan and Xinna Zhang.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU School of Medicine names cancer researcher as inaugural chair of Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Pharmacology

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 16:05:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine has appointed John J. Turchi, PhD, as chair of the newly merged Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Pharmacology. He will assume the role effective Oct. 1.

Turchi is a professor in the departments of medicine and biochemistry and molecular biology and currently serves as the executive director of the Tom and Julie Wood Center for Lung Cancer Research. He also holds the Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Lung Cancer Research and is a member of the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

An internationally recognized investigator in DNA damage response and therapeutic drug development, he has led pioneering research on replication protein A and DNA-PK inhibitors, resulting in new directions for targeted cancer therapy. His work has been consistently funded by the National Cancer Institute and foundations, and his more than 100 publications reflect his impact in biochemistry, cancer biology and pharmacology.

"Dr. Turchi is an accomplished researcher, educator and leader who brings a strong vision for how this new department can shape the future of biomedical science at IU School of Medicine," said Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA, dean of the school and executive vice president for university clinical affairs. "I am looking forward to seeing this new department excel in both fundamental research as well as an increased focus on translation and clinical and industry partnerships."

The Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Pharmacology was created in 2025 through the merger of two historically strong academic units. The unified department is positioned to advance IU School of Medicine’s mission by building on strengths in cancer biology, diabetes and metabolism, neurodegenerative disease, structural biology and drug discovery. Faculty also lead key core facilities in proteomics, chemical genomics and electron microscopy, including cryo-EM.

"The newly formed department represents an extraordinary opportunity," Turchi said. "By building on existing strengths and recruiting into key areas such as chemistry and pharmacology, we can create a nationally recognized program at the forefront of scientific discovery. I am especially excited about how this department can foster collaborations that lead to new therapies and improve patient outcomes."

Turchi earned his bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Clemson University and his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Missouri. He completed postdoctoral training at the University of Rochester before joining the faculty at Wright State University. In 2005, he was recruited to IU School of Medicine, where he has since advanced to professor, center director and research leader.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

‘Engineering in Medicine’ pilot funding awarded to collaborative IU, Purdue research teams

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 14:37:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Three Indiana University School of Medicine researchers and their collaborators at Purdue University have been awarded pilot grants through the Engineering in Medicine program, a joint effort between the IU School of Medicine and the Purdue College of Engineering.

The Engineering in Medicine program is designed to support innovative and collaborative research between the two institutions with the goal of developing novel technologies that improve patient care.

“I take great pride in the effort our research faculty dedicates to these innovative projects,” said Tatiana Foroud, PhD, executive associate dean for research affairs at the IU School of Medicine.

All pilot projects must have at least one principal investigator from each of the institutions. They will each receive a one-year, $50,000 grant, which will be administered as two $25,000 grants (direct cost) — one each to the IU and Purdue principal investigators — with the opportunity to obtain a second year of support. Funded projects were reviewed by a committee of IU and Purdue faculty.

Harnessing AI to address infertility

Principal investigators:

Shannon M. Hawkins, MD, PhD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, IU School of Medicine
Wenzhou Wu, PhD, professor of industrial engineering, Purdue College of Engineering

Project title: “VITAL: Proactive fertility management through AI-empowered multimodal monitoring”

The project’s focus is on addressing infertility through the development of an AI-powered multimodal fertility monitoring system called VITAL, which measures fertility-related biomarkers in patients. Data will be available through a physics-informed smartphone app, which will generate a Fertile-Window Index every 30 minutes, delivering predictive fertility alerts before ovulation and providing actionable guidance to patients and clinicians.

Exploring musculoskeletal effects of rapid weight loss

Principal investigators:

Brian J. DeBosch, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics, IU School of Medicine
Rachel Surowiec, PhD, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, Purdue College of Engineering

Project title: “Engineering Predictive Imaging Biomarkers of Musculoskeletal Risk and Resilience in Adolescent Females Undergoing Semaglutide Therapy for Weight Loss”

Seeking to address obesity in adolescent females, the project focuses on identifying imaging biomarkers of musculoskeletal risk and resilience through AI-driven radiomics in patients undergoing semaglutide drug treatment for obesity. The team will utilize machine learning to assess short-term musculoskeletal changes and identify features associated with risk or resilience in baseline bone density and structure scans of patients, providing valuable insight into the musculoskeletal consequences of rapid weight loss.

Improving treatment for kids with ACL injuries

Principal investigators:

Christopher Newman, MD, PhD, assistant professor of radiology and imaging sciences, IU School of Medicine
Deva Chan, PhD, assistant professor of biomedical and mechanical engineering, Purdue College of Engineering

Project title: “Quantitative MRI and Biomechanical Modeling of Juvenile Anterior Cruciate Tears”

In recent decades, tears to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), commonly resulting from high-impact and pivoting injuries, have increased in children. Patients who suffer ACL tears tend to have issues with joint stability and are at risk of developing osteoarthritis, which is the most common type of arthritis. Current clinical imaging methods fail to predict the initiation and progression of osteoarthritis, and studies looking into quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) — basically, a more in-depth version of standard MRI — as a predictor have failed to include pediatric patients.

The team will evaluate the relationship between qMRI metrics and clinical outcomes after ACL injuries to see if qMRI metrics can guide surgical decision-making better than standard MRI measures. Additionally, the team will evaluate the differences in predicted cartilage stress and strain in simulated ACL reconstruction to determine whether ACL reconstruction will normalize cartilage stress and strain. The project will involve subjects less than 19 years old to account for the lack of pediatric studies.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Luke Norton, lcnorton@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU scientists identify dual protein targets to weaken pancreatic cancer defenses

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 14:08:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have identified a new way to weaken pancreatic cancer’s defenses by targeting two key proteins that help the deadly disease resist treatment. The study, recently published in Redox Biology, revealed that a drug combination blocking the proteins together may offer a more effective strategy against pancreatic cancer and potentially other aggressive cancers.

With a five-year survival rate of just 13%, pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest and most treatment-resistant cancers. In the study, researchers focused on redox effector factor-1 (Ref-1), a protein known to help tumor cells survive, and discovered that another protein — peroxiredoxin-1 (PRDX1) — reinforces its protective properties.

The scientists used a drug they developed called APX2014 to block Ref-1 in addition to removing PRDX1. Without the function of both proteins, tumors significantly shrank and more cancer cells died.

“What really surprised us was how specific PRDX1 was in driving this effect. Among the entire family of related proteins, only loss of PRDX1 made tumors so much more sensitive to our Ref-1 drug,” said Mark Kelley, PhD, corresponding author of the study and the Betty and Earl Herr Professor of Pediatric Oncology Research at the IU School of Medicine. “The combination worked better than either treatment alone, and in animal models, it resulted in smaller tumors and longer survival.”

The findings also revealed that their approach affected tumor cells and their surrounding environment, highlighting the effectiveness of disrupting the tumor’s support system as well as the cancer cells themselves.

The team of researchers from the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research and IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center will continue to build on this discovery by testing new drugs that can target PRDX1 alongside Ref-1 inhibitors already in development. They also want to explore how this approach works in other cancers and move closer to designing clinical trials.

“This research shows us a brand new vulnerability in pancreatic cancer. By targeting both Ref-1 and PRDX1 together, we may be able to shut down the survival systems that make these tumors so hard to treat,” said Melissa L. Fishel, PhD, co-author of the study, an associate professor of pediatrics and pharmacology and toxicology, and the Myles Brand Scholar in Cancer Research at the IU School of Medicine. “That opens the door to developing combination therapies that could work better than anything currently available, not just for pancreatic cancer but potentially for other aggressive cancers too.”

Additional IU co-authors included Sonia Kiran, Randall S. Wireman, Jacqueline Peil, Dana K. Mitchell, Elizabeth Sierra Potchanant, Ratan Rai, Jonah Z. Vilseck, Sanya Haiaty and Millie M. Georgiadis.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Riley Children's Foundation.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Informing patients of personal colorectal cancer risks does not increase screening rate

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A new Indiana University School of Medicine clinical trial — the largest of its kind to date — found that providing personalized colorectal cancer risk information to patients and their health care providers did not improve screening rates for the deadly ailment.

The study, recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, discussed the results of the trial, which enrolled 214 providers and 1,084 average-risk patients due for colorectal cancer screening in the Eskenazi Health and IU Health systems in Indianapolis. All patients were given a basic screening guide before their doctor's appointments, and half of the participants also received personalized messages about their risk of colorectal cancer. Providers were randomly assigned to receive notifications that the patient was due for screening, with or without a personalized message about the patient’s individual risk.

All patient participants in the study signed up for screening within six months of their doctor appointments at about the same rate, suggesting the personalized messages had little to no effect on decision making during this timeframe.

"Colorectal cancer screening is important, as it saves lives and is not used enough," said Peter Schwartz, MD, PhD, lead author of the study, director of the IU Center for Bioethics and a professor of medicine. "Only about 60% of eligible adults get screened, leading to a lot of unnecessary disease and death every year."

Colorectal cancer is the second-most common cause of death from cancer in the United States, the study notes, claiming nearly 55,000 lives annually.

"Many people talk about the importance of 'personalized prevention,' or giving patients specific information about their risk level to guide decisions like cancer screening," Schwartz said. "There have been theories that screening should be directed based on individual risk, not just age, since it would result in more precise targeting and possibly be more cost-effective."

Currently, adults are recommended to screen for colorectal cancer regularly once they turn 45 years old. This is most frequently done through colonoscopy, a medical procedure done at a hospital, but at-home stool tests can provide excellent screening, though slightly less-comprehensive results.

Patients in this study were counseled on both options.

"Few studies have been done that tried to give patients this sort of information and see if it has any effect on their being screened," Schwartz said. "The studies that have been done have mostly found no effect."

The trial incorporated a risk projection tool created by Thomas F. Imperiale, MD, senior author of the article and Lawrence Lumeng Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the IU School of Medicine. According to his research, people eligible for screening have between a 2% and 22% chance of currently having either the cancer or an advanced, precancerous polyp.

"The trial was designed to measure the effect of providing patient-specific risk information to patients, their providers or both on top of general information about colorectal cancer screening," Imperiale said. "Had we tested the risk prediction model without the general information on screening or by providing it to the providers alone, the results may have been different."

The personalized information sent to patients and their doctors did have an effect at one health system: At Eskenazi, though not at IU Health, personalized information increased uptake of stool testing, a less-invasive option for screening.

The Center for Bioethics has made its generalized colorectal cancer screening decision aid — a 10-minute video — available online and to physicians from both health groups going forward in hopes of informing more patients. The same site also provides examples of the personalized risk information that was provided to patients.

"One of the most important steps in all of this research is helping people realize that screening is important and saves lives, as well as to help people and their providers realize that screening can be done with more than just colonoscopy," Schwartz said.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU School of Medicine Cardiovascular Institute names two new co-directors

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — The Cardiovascular Institute at Indiana University School of Medicine and IU Health has named two respected and accomplished physicians to serve as its co-directors. Together, the duo will spearhead the enterprise's cutting-edge heart health research and patient care.

Sara J. Pereira, MD, FACS, began her work as co-director in August, while Matthew J. Feinstein, MD, MSc, FACC, FAHA, will start Jan. 12.

Pereira previously served as a professor of surgery, program director for the Thoracic Surgery Residency Programs and surgical director of the Structural Heart Program at the University of Utah. Prior to that, she served as vice chair in the Department of Surgery at the University of Alabama Birmingham.

She earned her biology degree from the University of California, Berkeley and medical degree from the University of California, Irvine. She completed her residency at the University of Cincinnati and her fellowship at the University of Alabama Birmingham.

In addition to her role with the institute, Pereira also serves as division chief of cardiothoracic surgery and a professor of surgery with IU School of Medicine.

"It is an exciting time at IU School of Medicine and IU Health, and I am honored to represent our surgical teams in the Cardiovascular Institute," Pereira said. "We are dedicated to expanding cardiovascular surgery programs and driving excellence in quality, research and innovation — delivering compassionate care and outstanding outcomes for patients across Indiana and beyond."

Feinstein comes to IU from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where he served as the Thomas D. Spies professor of cardiometabolic inflammation, a tenured associate professor of medicine-cardiovascular diseases, preventive medicine and pathology, director of the Clinical and Translational Immunocardiology Program and director of student research.

He earned a sociology degree from Princeton University, as well as a medical degree and Master of Science from Northwestern. He completed his residency and several fellowships at Northwestern. He was also a practicing cardiologist at Northwestern Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.

In addition to serving as co-director of the Cardiovascular Institute, Feinstein will be chief of the division of cardiovascular medicine at the IU School of Medicine, as well as a professor of medicine and the Medtronic Zipes Professor of Cardiology.

"My family and I are thrilled to join the IU School of Medicine and IU Health communities, and I am deeply honored and excited by the opportunity to serve as co-director of the Cardiovascular Institute," Feinstein said. "I look forward to working with the outstanding, forward-thinking team and collaborators to drive meaningful impact and innovation in cardiovascular care throughout the state of Indiana and beyond."

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU study finds possible treatment route for common type of genetic hearing loss

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 13:24:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A research team co-led by an Indiana University School of Medicine physician scientist has pinpointed how electrical charges within the ear contribute to a common type of genetic hearing loss, opening up possibilities for intervention before deafness occurs.

These findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, centered around the gene TMPRSS3, which is the most common gene identified in young adults undergoing cochlear implantation — a surgical procedure in which an electronic hearing device is installed above the ear. The new study found that endocochlear potential, a normal process which essentially switches on hearing, damages critical hair cells in mice with the gene.

"Think of endocochlear potential as the 'battery charge' of the inner ear," said Rick Nelson, PhD, MD, co-lead author of the study and professor of neurosurgery and otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the IU School of Medicine. "The potential is generated prior to a person's ability to hear. If there is no endocochlear potential, then there is no hearing."

Researchers were able to protect the hair cells by administering Lasix, a diuretic known to decrease endocochlear potential. They hope to stop TMPRSS3 hearing loss before it starts, as patients currently rely on hearing aids and cochlear implants to treat damage after the fact.

"The goal is to understand the mechanism of TMPRSS3 hearing loss and then generate treatments to prevent hearing loss," Nelson said. "It is important to treat patients prior to hearing loss because if the hair cells die, then we currently cannot regenerate hair cells to restore hearing."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1 in 1,000 infants are born with a hearing deficiency due to genetics, with the TMPRSS3 gene among the top five most common.

Some people with the TMPRSS3 gene are born deaf, while others begin to experience high-frequency hearing loss as a child or teenager.

Inner ear hair cell regeneration after hair cell damage does not occur in humans or mice. Studies are ongoing to regenerate hair cells, Nelson said, but currently it is not possible to regain hearing through regeneration.

Endocochlear potential, when it occurs at a normal voltage, is an essential part of the ear's function. So, one challenge is not to limit it entirely.

Nelson said he hopes to continue studying how endocochlear potential affects ear hair loss, the treatment angle discovered in the study and possible gene therapies to combat TMPRSS3 hearing loss.

The study was a collaboration between IU School of Medicine and Harvard University researchers, as well as researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

Other IU School of Medicine co-authors included Yuan-Siao Chen, Kevin T.A. Booth, Jinan Li, Jing-Yu Lei, Ernesto Cabrera, Douglas J. Totten, Bo Zhao, Jasmine Moawad and Nicole Bianca Libiran.

The research was supported by a variety of grants, including several from the National institutes of Health and a biomedical research grant from IU.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Using AI to identify personalized heart, blood pressure rates could help reduce ICU deaths

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A new study co-led by two Indiana University School of Medicine scientists used machine learning to create vital sign benchmarks in intensive care unit patients that, when reached, coincided with better survival rates.

The report, recently published in npj Digital Medicine, focuses on Dynamic Cohort Ensemble Learning, or DynaCEL, a generic framework supporting a wide range of artificial intelligence, machine learning and statistical models. The published model was trained on ICU data from IU Health and other sources.

The framework scanned through medical records to create unique heart rate and systolic blood pressure goals for each patient. Conventional medical wisdom standardizes these benchmarks at 80 beats per minute and 120 mmHg, but the DynaCEL system generated more accurate and personalized estimates for ideal heart and blood pressure rates.

"The ultimate goal is to reduce deaths in the ICU," said LZ Meng, MD, vice chair for clinical and outcomes research in the Department of Anesthesia and a co-leader of the study.

"Right now, doctors often use general thresholds for heart rate and blood pressure that may not be ideal for every patient," Meng said. "Our work shows that personalized targets, estimated using artificial intelligence, are associated with lower risk of dying within 24 hours compared with fixed, one-size-fits-all targets."

Although the results are promising, Meng said, they are based on past medical records. Clinical trials that assess the benchmarks in real time are needed to determine if meeting the AI-generated benchmarks definitively led to better survival outcomes.

AI has its limits, though. It relies on medical history forms, which can sometimes be inaccurate or incomplete.

Meng hopes to continue studying possible applications of machine learning, AI and statistical models in precision medicine.

"By precision medicine, we mean identifying optimal physiological targets for individual patients, not only heart rate and blood pressure, but also any physiological variables that clinicians monitor and manage," Meng said. "We are also interested in precision interventions, including personalized drug choices, ventilator settings and other treatment strategies, with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes through more individualized care."

Jing Su, PhD, who co-led the study with Meng, is an associate professor of biostatistics and health data science at the IU School of Medicine and an expert in medical informatics and artificial intelligence.

"This work is one of many examples of the successful strategic collaboration of two IU School of Medicine departments — anesthesia and biostatistics and health data science — established since 2023," Su said. "As an engine of research, innovation and training, this strategic collaboration attracted researchers from IU Bloomington and Purdue University, provided training opportunities to MD, PhD and master’s degree graduate students, as well as high school interns, and demonstrated regional influence in clinical research."

Other IU School of Medicine authors include Jiangqiong Li, Xiang Liu, Yanhua Sun, Zuotian Li, Jinjin Cai, George Lu, David C. Adams and Ziyue Liu.

The research team also included researchers from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering at IU Bloomington and Purdue’s Polytechnic Institute.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU scientists reprogram cancer-protecting regulatory T cells to fight tumors

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have developed a new method that shifts the behavior of immunosuppressive cells in tumors, turning them from cancer protectors into tumor fighters. The study, recently published in Science Immunolog y, could lead to enhanced treatments for aggressive cancers like triple-negative breast cancer, colorectal cancer and melanoma.

The immunosuppressive cells are called regulatory T cells, a type of white blood cell that is known for keeping the immune system in balance, thus preventing the development of autoimmune diseases and allergies. However, within the tumor, these cells can block the immune system from detecting and attacking cancer cells.

“Regulatory T cells are very important in keeping our immune system in check, but trying to eliminate them with drugs can cause dangerous autoimmune diseases in patients, which isn’t a practical approach,” said Baohua Zhou, PhD, co-corresponding author of the study, a professor of pediatrics and microbiology and immunology at the IU School of Medicine and a researcher with the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center . “Our goal is to modify how regulatory T cells function, so they fight against tumors instead of protecting them.”

The researchers focused on a gene called FOXP3, which controls the development and function of regulatory T cells. Humans naturally make two versions of the FOXP3 protein, a full-length version and a short one. In their study, the scientists developed a novel candidate drug, known as a morpholino, which specifically targets FOXP3 and forces regulatory T cells to predominantly produce the short version.

“By switching which FOXP3 version the cells express, our drug reprograms the tumor-protective regulatory T cells into helper-like cells that help other immune cells to destroy the tumor from the inside,” said Naresh Singh, PhD, co-first author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in medical and molecular genetics at the IU School of Medicine. “This breakthrough offers a new approach towards boosting cancer immunotherapy and ultimately improving treatment outcomes for breast cancer patients.”

The authors found that mice producing only the short version of FOXP3 completely cleared triple-negative breast cancer tumors. The specificity and efficacy of their morpholino drug in triple-negative cancer treatment were confirmed using a newly developed mouse model that mimics how FOPX3 is expressed in humans. The morpholino treatment also showed promising results in the laboratory using tumor tissue samples from human breast and colorectal cancer patients.

“Our preclinical tests showed incredible results in triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of the disease,” Zhou said. “We also have data showing encouraging results in other tumor types, suggesting this approach could have a broad impact by boosting anti-tumor immune responses in a wide range of patients.”

Future efforts will focus on advancing this patent-pending morpholino technology into clinical trials to evaluate its safety and effectiveness in cancer patients.

Additional IU co-authors of the study include Yujing Li, Chuanpeng Dong, Samantha Sharma, Zhuolong Zhou, Jianguang Du, Maya Haouili, Emily Hopewell, Yunlong Liu, Mateusz Opyrchal, Xinna Zhang and Xiongbin Lu.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Rapid blood test can detect heart attack patients at highest risk of in-hospital death

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A new multicenter study led by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers shows heart attack patients who experience bleeding into the heart muscle — also known as hemorrhagic myocardial infarction (MI) — after a stent is placed, carry the highest risk of death while they are hospitalized. Results of the study were recently published in NEJM Evidence and will be presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s ESC Congress 2025 on Aug. 31 in Madrid.

These results open the door for rapid identification of hemorrhagic MI. Prior to this study, identification of hemorrhagic MI was only possible with cardiac MRI days after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a minimally invasive procedure used to treat narrowing of the coronary arteries that is often used to restore blood flow from a blocked artery but can also cause injury to the heart muscle.

Currently, PCI is the standard of care for treating ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a more severe type of heart attack that occurs when there is a total blockage to the heart's blood supply in the arteries that needs to be quickly restored. The sooner blood flow is restored, the greater the chance to prevent permanent heart muscle damage and minimize injury.

A bleeding heart muscle poses the highest risk

Bleeding within the heart muscle is a complication associated with PCI in approximately 40% STEMI patients and is known to carry the highest risk for adverse outcomes in the months and years after the heart attack. However, whether hemorrhagic MI patients are at greater risk for in-hospital mortality was not known, mainly because of the lack of a diagnostic test to broadly identify bleeding within the heart muscle in acute care settings, such as hospitals. While cardiac MRI is currently the only method capable of diagnosing hemorrhagic MI, it is challenging to perform in every STEMI patient given the limitations in patient stability and access to MRI, particularly in community hospitals.

The study examined whether a cardiac-specific protein — high-sensitivity cardiac troponin concentration (hs-cTn-I) — found in the blood can be used post-PCI as a diagnostic tool to rapidly identify hemorrhagic MI. The results were validated using cardiac MRI. Researchers then used the post-PCI troponin test to identify hemorrhagic MI patients and investigated whether hemorrhagic MI patients are at greater risk for in-hospital mortality compared to those without hemorrhagic MI using STEMI registries across seven United States hospitals in a large health system.

"Our results indicate post-PCI troponin levels can be used to identify hemorrhagic transformation of the MI zone within the first hour after PCI and that the extent of intramyocardial hemorrhage based on peak post-PCI troponin levels within the first six hours," said senior author Rohan Dharmakumar, PhD, vice chair of research for the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, executive director of the Medical Imaging Research Institute and director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center at the IU School of Medicine. "These findings demonstrate it is feasible to rapidly diagnose hemorrhagic MI among patients in coronary care units following PCI for STEMI and that hemorrhagic MI patients carry a multi-fold higher risk of in-hospital mortality over non-hemorrhagic patients."

Troponin tests across seven Indiana hospitals provide data

Researchers enrolled 207 consecutive STEMI patients who underwent primary PCI between June 2022 and November 2023 in the study. They used high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I levels to derive a threshold to split patients with and without bleeding within the heart muscle.

The STEMI registry comprised of 6,180 patients enrolled between 2015 to 2024 with post PCI cardiac troponin I. In-hospital mortality of STEMI was captured using electronic health record data across seven hospitals within the IU Health system where uniform standards of care, including troponin tests, were provided. Among the registry patients, 1,323 patients were deemed to have hemorrhagic MI, and 4,857 patients were non-hemorrhagic based on post-PCI troponin thresholds. Records indicate that hemorrhagic MI was more common among men in the registry.

"Findings from this study should be used to better inform the cardiac care team on which heart attack patients post PCI are hemorrhagic," said co-author, Ankur Kalra, MD, an interventional cardiologist and the division chief of cardiology at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University Hospital. "While PCI is widely considered a safe procedure to restore blood flood flow, complications can occur, so methods that could stratify risk of patients for hemorrhagic MI prior to PCI could be beneficial, but that would require further investigations."

Results show that more expedient post-PCI troponin diagnostics can help overcome limitations associated with cardiac MRI based diagnosis of hemorrhagic MI.

"Ability to assess microvascular tissue injury in acute myocardial infarction based on a broadly available blood biomarker has significant implications in STEMI critical care and future of acute MI clinical trials," said co-author Richard Kovacs, MD, chief medical officer of the American College of Cardiology and interim division chief of cardiovascular medicine at IU School of Medicine and IU Health.

Advances in cardiac MRI over the last two decades have led to a deeper understanding of reperfused myocardial injury, where compositional, structural and functional changes are recognized within the heart muscle. Therefore, triaging STEMI patients with bleeding within the heart muscle is expected to enhance the utility of cardiac MRI.

Keyur P. Vora, MD, director of clinical imaging research at the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center within the Medical Imaging Research Institute and Radiology & Imaging Sciences at IU School of Medicine and lead author of the study, said cardiac MRI provides a critical tool in assessing the extent of heart damage among heart attack patients post-PCI.

"Cardiac MRI should be utilized in tandem with cardiac troponin hs-cTn-I diagnostic of hemorrhagic MI, one of the primary factors behind adverse remodeling of the heart, even after successful PCI," said Vora, a noninvasive cardiologist and lead author of the study. "Hemorrhagic MI patients are the ones with the most severe form of tissue injury as per the classifications outlined by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS-AMI Stages I-IV); hence, the ability to diagnose these high-risk patients on the basis of a circulating blood marker is a major advance in medicine with the capacity to propel development of novel therapies."

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Angie Antonopoulos, eantonop@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

New equipment will advance IU’s neuroimaging research capabilities

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 15:14:00 Z

An IU School of Medicine professor was awarded a grant for the purchase of a new research-dedicated 3T MRI scanner that will benefit the school's overall neuroimaging research work.

Yu-Chien Wu, MD, PhD, a professor of radiology & imaging sciences, the scientific director of the research imaging core, leader of the neuroimaging core of the Indiana Alzheimer Disease Research Center (IADRC), and the associate director of the Center for Neuroimaging, has been awarded a $1.67 million S10 Instrumentation Grant, High Performance Gradient System for Advanced MRI Neuroimaging.

The S10 Instrumentation Grant Program, available through the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) supports the purchase of state-of-the-art, commercially available instruments to enhance the research efforts of NIH-funded investigators.

Instruments awarded to grant recipients are typically too expensive to be obtained by an individual investigator through a project grant. As such, the equipment awarded through the S10 grant is to be used on a shared basis by IU School of Medicine researchers.

Wu’s project requested funding for a Siemens MAGNETOM Cima.X Fit 3T MRI scanner to replace the current scanner, the Siemens MAGNETOM Prisma 3T MRI scanner, which was installed in 2014.

"We have really strong neuroimaging programs here at the IU School of Medicine," Wu said. "The new scanner will boost our ability to conduct clinical research imaging and address emerging topics in neuroscience."

The new Cima.X Fit scanner will allow IU School of Medicine researchers to generate higher-quality neuroimaging results, generate results in a shorter amount of time and run multiple MRI sequences, Wu said. Additionally, the Cima.X Fit scanner incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) technology that can enhance image quality to ease workflow for researchers. These functions weren’t available for researchers with the older scanner.

"We're working with SD video and now we will have 4K video resolution," Wu said.

Wu and others are currently outlining a timeline for the scanner's installation, with expectations that it will be available for use in Summer 2026. The research imaging core of the Medical Imaging Research Institute (MIRI) will host the new scanner, which will be available for researchers to use through scheduled appointments.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Luke Norton, lcnorton@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU researchers classify kidney cell types that may lead to better disease treatment

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 13:54:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A research team led by Indiana University School of Medicine physician scientists has made significant progress in mapping kidney cells that may one day allow for more accurate disease diagnosis.

This work, recently published in Science Advances, is part of a greater IU School of Medicine-led collaborative effort to identify and characterize the many diverse cell types in the human kidney.

"Understanding of the spatial organization of the kidney cell populations and their interaction within molecular neighborhoods will allow us to define a better timeline of kidney disease based on molecular staging," said Tarek M. Ashkar (El-Achkar), MD, a corresponding author and the Terence P. Kahn Professor of Nephrology at IU School of Medicine.

"This, in turn, will uncover better biomarkers and targets for therapy that reflect the correct pathology at the right stage of the disease," Ashkar added. "This will lead to treating the right patient at the right time with the right medicine."

The team identified two subpopulations of proximal tubule cells: One regenerative type plentiful in healthy kidneys, and another featuring a genetic marker that signals disease. By measuring the number of each type of cell in kidney tissue, the researchers can more accurately map the level of disease present.

Kidney diseases are a leading cause of death in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 14% of adults suffer from chronic kidney disease, and many do not know they have it.

Treatment for kidney failure is either dialysis or transplant, both of which have a major impact on patient quality of life.

Kidney cells are much more complex than previously believed, Ashkar said. One larger goal for researchers has been grouping cell types into "molecular neighborhoods" for further study, with the ultimate objective of saving more kidneys from permanent damage.

"The goal of this large effort is to better define the molecular timeline of disease and discover high value, precise therapeutic targets that achieve precision medicine for kidney disease," Ashkar said.

The Kidney Precision Medicine Project, a consortium of researchers and patient advocates from a variety of universities, including IU, Johns Hopkins University and Yale University, provided funding as well as patient clinical and biopsy tissue required for this study.

"We refer to our participants as heroes because they altruistically donate their kidney biopsy and share details about their disease so that we could understand kidney disease with the hope for finding better treatments and a cure," Ashkar said.

Pierre C. Dagher, MD, Bruce A. Molitoris Professor of Nephrology at IU School of Medicine, and Seth Winfree of Quantitative Cancer Diagnostics, LLC, joined Ashkar as corresponding authors.

Other IU School of Medicine authors included: Michael T. Eadon, MD; Timothy A. Sutton, MD, PhD; Katherine J. Kelly, MD; Carrie L. Phillips, MD; Connor Gulbronson, PhD; Debora L. Gisch, PhD; Yinghua Cheng, MD, PhD; William S. Bowen; Michael J. Ferkowicz, PhD; Ricardo Melo Ferreira, PhD; Daria Barwinska, PhD; Angela R. Sabo, PhD; and Mahla Asghari.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Privacy-preserving study measures real-world AI's effectiveness at detecting deadly brain tumors

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 13:19:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A new Indiana University School of Medicine-led study, featuring the contributions of dozens of international scientists, offers a new model to evaluate the real-world performance of artificial intelligence in international settings and examined AI's effectiveness at identifying the boundaries of the deadliest brain tumor. The team of scientists also discussed the best way to use this technology going forward, considering factors such as accuracy and patient privacy.

Their research, published recently in Nature Communications and featured by Nature in the Editors' Highlights, studied federated learning, a way of training and validating AI models across institutions without the need to share patient data.

"AI can help physicians diagnose tumors that are almost invisible to the naked eye," said Spyridon Bakas, PhD, senior corresponding author of the article, an associate professor and computational pathology division chief in the IU School of Medicine's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and a researcher within the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. "AI models trained with federated learning have seen and gained knowledge from an abundance of data that is infeasible for a single institution to acquire or individual physicians to assess."

While centralized hospital data often contains only a limited scope of past cases, AI models trained under a federated learning model can almost immediately compare scans from all over the world.

The team analyzed the Federated Tumor Segmentation challenge, the first large-scale benchmark for brain tumor segmentation.

The AI models attempted to identify the boundary of glioblastomas in radiology scans. People afflicted with these aggressive tumors have a median survival rate of about 14 months, with less than 7% of people surviving more than five years, the study noted.

Glioblastomas are particularly difficult to quantify, Bakas said. The AI algorithms used in the study focus on detecting the boundaries of each tumor in special brain scans.

In all, 41 models were trained and deployed on cases from 32 sites across six continents. Most of these tests yielded positive results in identifying tumors.

Federated learning challenges, once put into wider practice with more available data, will ultimately lead to better treatment outcomes in patients — even in rare disease cases, Bakas said.

"Our key takeaway is that large, federated, multi-site benchmarking is essential to validate AI in health care and to advance clinical readiness," said Prashant Shah, MS, chief technology officer of federated AI and confidential computing at Intel Corp. and a co-author of the study.

More than 100 authors contributed to the study. It was conceived by Bakas, Ujjwal Baid, Sarthak Pati and Akis Linardos of the IU School of Medicine, as well as Maximilian Zenk and Klaus Maier-Hein of the German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg. Bakas and Maier-Hein jointly supervised the work.

The research was funded by a series of grants from a variety of sources and countries, including several National Institutes of Health grants awarded to Bakas.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU scientists first to reveal lung cells’ role in boosting blood stem cell health

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Scientists at the Indiana University School of Medicine have identified an unforeseen way lung cells can help keep blood stem cells healthy. The discovery, recently published in Molecular Therapy, presents opportunities for new therapies to strengthen stem cell health and improve treatments for bone marrow failure and serious blood diseases like sickle cell disease.

Hematopoietic stem cells, or blood stem cells, live primarily in the bone marrow and are responsible for producing all types of mature blood cells throughout a person's life. Blood stem cells have the ability to renew themselves, making them especially valuable in treatments like stem cell transplants for patients with weakened or damaged blood systems.

Traditionally, hematopoietic stem cells were believed to be supported only by their local bone marrow environment. The new study is the first to suggest that human lung cells can also help strengthen blood stem cell performance. This is accomplished through a unique process involving exosomes, the tiny, membrane-bound packages that carry proteins, ribonucleic acid (RNA) and other molecules between cells.

"We found that these lung-derived exosomes specifically interact with long-term hematopoietic stem cells and enhance their ability to self-renew and maintain their 'stemness,'" said Reza Shahbazi, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at the IU School of Medicine and the study’s lead author. "This is critically important because in many diseases, or after chemotherapy, hematopoietic stem cells’ performance can decline, leading to anemia and other blood-related complications."

Using a new exosome labeling and identification method, the researchers tracked exactly how these exosomes interacted with blood stem cells and identified specific microRNAs that act like "on switches" for stem cell repair. In animal models, treating injured bone marrow with these exosomes led to faster and more complete recovery of healthy blood cells.

"In conditions like bone marrow failure and sickle cell disease, blood stem cells are essential for patient recovery, but often lack the strength for successful transplants," said Reuben Kapur, PhD, director and program leader of the Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Biology Program at the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research and co-author of the study. "Our findings suggest that lung-derived exosomes, or the key molecules they carry, could be developed into a therapy to accelerate this recovery process, helping reduce complication rates and improve survival. Most importantly, this therapy could be used alongside standard transplantation methods to make the entire process safer and more effective."

Left to right: Sanam Rezaei Benam, Reza Shahbazi, Xuepeng Wang and Reuben Kapur. | Photo by Tim Yates, IU School of Medicine

This collaborative study involved scientists from the Wells Center, the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center and the cancer center's Brown Center for Immunotherapy. Future research will focus on pinpointing the most important microRNAs in these exosomes, testing their safety and validating results in larger pre-clinical models.

"We want to explore whether we can make synthetic versions of these exosomes for consistent, large-scale production," said Xuepeng Wang, PhD, assistant research professor of pediatrics and co-author of the study. "Ultimately, these studies will help determine if this strategy is ready to be tested in early-phase clinical trials for patients."

Additional IU co-authors of the study include Sanam Rezaei Benam and Samaneh Maleknia.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU School of Medicine names Schneider inaugural associate dean for clinical trials

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine has named Bryan P. Schneider, MD, the associate dean for clinical trials.

In this strategic leadership role, Schneider will collaborate closely with faculty across IU School of Medicine, IU Health and the IU Launch Accelerator for Biosciences (IU-LAB) to drive prioritization, startup and patient enrollment, with an initial focus on Eli Lilly and Co.-sponsored clinical trials.

“Dr. Schneider brings a rare combination of clinical expertise, research innovation and proven leadership to this new role,” said Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA, executive vice president for university clinical affairs at IU and dean of the IU School of Medicine. “His work has consistently advanced precision oncology and removed barriers to clinical trial participation. This new role will allow him to build on that record to strengthen and expand our clinical research enterprise.”

Schneider, the Vera Bradley Professor of Oncology and a professor of medicine and medical and molecular genetics at the IU School of Medicine, is a distinguished medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer and precision genomics. He is the founding director of the IU Health Precision Genomics Program, which has performed next-generation sequencing on more than 10,000 advanced cancer patients and serves as a model for precision medicine programs nationwide.

“Clinical trials are vehicles through which discovery becomes care,” said Schneider, who is also a member of the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. “I look forward to strengthening the infrastructure and partnerships that allow us to more swiftly and equitably translate advances into improved outcomes for patients.”

In this role, Schneider will coordinate with IU-LAB leadership to serve as the IU School of Medicine lead for Lilly-sponsored trials, function as a central liaison with the Clinical Trials Office at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, and work to monitor key performance indicators essential to enhancing the school’s clinical trial enterprise.

Tatiana Foroud, PhD, executive associate dean for research affairs at IU School of Medicine, said Schneider’s leadership will be instrumental in advancing the school’s research goals.

“Dr. Schneider’s vision and experience exemplify the translational research strengths at IU School of Medicine,” Foroud said. “His focus on equitable, precision-driven clinical innovation aligns with our mission to serve all communities through rigorous research.”

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Katie Duffey, kaduffey@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

IU School of Medicine researchers receive top awards at international Alzheimer’s disease conference

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 14:06:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Research leaders at the Indiana University School of Medicine will receive two of the top six awards given out by the Alzheimer’s Association at its annual international conference, the largest of its kind, held this year in Toronto.

The honors coincide with a strong overall showing at the conference, which runs from July 27-31, by IU scientists, who helped stage more than 150 sessions, workshops and exhibits.

Bruce Lamb, PhD, will receive the Zaven Khachaturian Award, given to “an individual whose compelling vision, selfless dedication and extraordinary achievement has significantly advanced the field of Alzheimer science.”

Donna Wilcock, PhD, will receive the Bill Thies Award for Distinguished Service to ISTAART (International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment), the Alzheimer’s Association’s inclusive global network of scientists, clinicians and dementia professionals.

Lamb, the IU School of Medicine’s Roberts Family Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease Research and executive director of the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, said it is “an incredible honor” to receive the award named after a leading figure in the history of tackling Alzheimer's disease in the United States.

“This is an incredibly momentous time for the Alzheimer's research community, and I have been delighted to play a leadership role at both the Alzheimer's Association and Indiana University School of Medicine,” Lamb said. “I also receive this award on behalf of the students, staff and trainees that I have had the pleasure of working with and who have supported me throughout the years."

Wilcock, director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders and the Barbara and Larry Sharpf Professor in Alzheimer's Disease Research at the IU School of Medicine, called her award “especially meaningful” given ISTAART’s impact on her career.

In 2016, Lamb and Wilcock established the immunity and neurodegeneration professional interest area within ISTAART. The group now has hundreds of members.

Wilcock was elected to the ISTAART Advisory Council in 2017 and served as vice-chair in 2018 and chair from 2020-2022. During that time, trainees were offered council seats for the first time, and six new professional interest areas were established.

“I remain committed to advancing the ISTAART vision and programs to ensure the next generation receives all the support and career development opportunities the field can provide,” Wilcock said.

In addition to the awards, IU School of Medicine researchers presented dozens of informative sessions at the conference, which is the largest and most influential gathering of scientists studying Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Tatiana Foroud, PhD, executive associate dean for research affairs, and Jeff Dage, PhD, senior research professor of neurology, each hosted pre-conference workshops.

Several IU-led projects are on exhibit at the event: National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD), Longitudinal Early-onset AD Study (LEADS) and Model Organism Development and Evaluation for Late-onset Alzheimer’s Disease (MODEL-AD).

“Indiana University’s exceptional Alzheimer’s disease research programs are accelerating development of new potential drug targets and less invasive testing technology,” said Maria Carrillo, PhD, chief science officer and medical affairs lead for the Alzheimer’s Association. “The Alzheimer’s Association looks forward to many more years of strengthening our partnership with the talented and dedicated team at Indiana University as we work together to provide hope for nearly 7 million Americans living with this devastating disease.”

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Ophthalmology researcher aims to prevent vision loss in people with brain injuries

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 15:09:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Experiencing a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause a wide range of health issues, including problems with thinking, movement, emotions and vision. Nearly 68% of people with TBI experience some form of vision problem, such as blurred vision, light sensitivity, trouble focusing, poor depth perception or even permanent vision loss.

A common cause of vision loss after TBI is traumatic optic neuropathy. This condition occurs when retinal ganglion cell axons, which form the optic nerve and transmit visual signals to the brain, are damaged.

Unfortunately, treatment options for traumatic optic neuropathy remain limited. It typically involves surgery to relieve pressure on the optic nerve or anti-inflammatory medications. There is still no available medication specifically designed to protect retinal ganglion cell axons from TBI damage.

Arupratan Das, PhD, an assistant professor in the IU School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology, is working to change that. He and his lab recently received a two-year, $200,000 grant from the Indiana Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Fund to investigate a promising drug therapy that may protect retinal ganglion cells and help prevent vision loss after brain injury.

"We'll use a well-established mouse model of TBI in collaboration with Xiang Gao at IU School of Medicine to test whether giving the drug systemically can help preserve vision," Das said. "We'll measure visual tracking, study which specific types of retinal ganglion cells are protected and explore how the drug activates nerve-protective pathways at the molecular level. This research will help us understand whether this therapy could prevent vision loss after TBI and lay the groundwork for future treatments."

After a traumatic brain injury, inflammation floods the optic nerve. In severe cases, retinal ganglion cells can begin to die within just 10 days, largely through programmed cell death. That's why it’s vital to develop a drug that directly protects these critical nerve cells and can be used alongside existing treatments such as surgery or anti-inflammatory drugs, Das said.

"Our goal is to advance a first-in-class neuroprotective therapy that already has human safety data and shows strong promise for safeguarding these vital cells," Das said "The results could help accelerate a new treatment toward human clinical trials, giving hope to patients facing vision loss from brain injury."

The grant funding not only empowers researchers to tackle critical vision loss challenges, but it also helps further IU School of Medicine's vision to lead health care transformation through innovation, while enriching training and collaboration within the school and across the broader biomedical community.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Annie Troutman, anntrout@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

High-tech monitoring during heart surgery doesn’t lower risk of complications

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — An international, multi-site clinical study led by an Indiana University School of Medicine researcher and anesthesiologist has found that using advanced technology to monitor tissue oxygen levels in the body during heart surgery does not lower the risk of serious complications afterward. The study was published in the BMJ, a top medical journal owned by the British Medical Association.

Problems after heart surgery — including neurocognitive changes, kidney injury, infection and irregular heartbeats — are common and can be dangerous. Previous studies suggested that poor blood flow and oxygen delivery to the tissue beds of different organs during surgery might be part of the cause; some indicated that tracking oxygen levels might help, but those studies were limited and only looked at one part of the body

“Heart surgery is a major event in a person’s life, and complications can have lasting effects,” said LZ Meng, MD, professor of clinical anesthesia and vice chair for clinical outcomes research in the IU School of Medicine Department of Anesthesia and corresponding author on the study. “By carefully testing new tools and approaches, we can learn what truly helps improve patient recovery and, just as importantly, what doesn’t. That’s how we move the field forward and improve care for every patient who comes through the operating room.

This new, larger study followed nearly 2,000 older adults who had a type of heart surgery called off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting, which helps improve blood flow to the heart. Half of the patients received standard care, while the other half were closely monitored using a special tool called near-infrared spectroscopy, along with real-time tracking of heart and blood pressure data.

Researchers say more study is needed to find new ways advanced technologies can reduce complications following heart surgery. | Photo by Tim Yates, IU School of Medicine

The researchers hoped this high-tech approach would help prevent complications such as kidney problems or heart issues after surgery. However, while the technology did help stabilize oxygen levels in the body during the operation, it didn’t lead to fewer complications overall. About 47% of patients in both groups experienced at least one major issue after surgery.

One promising finding from the study is that fewer patients in the high-tech group got pneumonia (9.1% vs. 12.4%). But researchers said this difference might have happened by chance and needs more study.

“This study gives us valuable answers,” Meng said. “Our findings show that more technology isn’t always better. We need to focus future studies on specific problems, like pneumonia, to see where this kind of monitoring might help improve patient outcomes.

Other study authors include Ziyue Liu of the IU School of Medicine; Jiange Han, Wenqian Zhai, Zhenhua Wu, Zhao Zhang, Tao Wang and Zhigang Guo of Tianjin University; Min Ren of the Tianjin Research Institute of Cardiovascular Disease; and Daniel I. Sessler of UTHealth Houston.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Unique immune cell linked to aggressive leukemia may lead to improved treatment outcomes

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A new study by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers has revealed a breakthrough in the fight against acute myeloid leukemia, one of the most aggressive and fatal blood cancers in adults. The discovery of a previously unrecognized immune cell could lead to new therapies that are less treatment-resistant than current options for patients — meaning higher survival rates for people with blood cancers.

Acute myeloid leukemia is a cancer that begins in the bone marrow and leads to impaired blood cell formation and function. Currently the sixth-leading cause of cancer-related death in adults, acute myeloid leukemia is resistant to many treatment options and relapse is common.

"Despite transformative progress in the treatment of many blood cancers, acute myeloid leukemia therapies have remained largely unchanged for over three decades," said Reuben Kapur, PhD, director and program leader of the Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Biology Program at the IU School of Medicine Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, a researcher with the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center and co-author of the study. "There’s a critical and urgent need for the development of more effective, less toxic, immune-based therapies that can truly shift the trajectory of acute myeloid leukemia treatment and improve long-term survival."

The study, recently published in Nature Communications, analyzed the roles of regulatory T cells, which are cells in the bone marrow that support the immune system. In preclinical studies using mouse models and human cells, the researchers found a specific type of regulatory T cell with a unique trait that stopped the cancer-fighting immune cells from being effective. These harmful cells build up in the bone marrow and protect the leukemia, making it more treatment resistant.

To solve this problem, the multi-institutional team led by Sophie Paczesny MD, PhD, co-leader of the Cancer Biology and Immunology Research Program at the Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer Center, developed a targeted antibody therapy that removed the harmful cells and restored the immune system’s ability to fight the cancer and significantly improved survival.

"Our approach introduces a new therapeutic strategy with the potential to offer hope for patients with limited treatment options, paving the way for more effective and durable cancer immunotherapies," said Baskar Ramdas, PhD, co-author of the study and associate research professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine. "It's designed to prevent relapse, enhance immune response and deliver lasting survival benefits for patients facing the toughest forms of cancer."

In the future, the researchers plan to advance their new antibody method toward clinical testing in acute myeloid leukemia patients. They will also explore whether the approach could offer a broader strategy for treating other cancers that suppress the immune system.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Hess to step down as dean of IU School of Medicine in 2026

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA, dean of Indiana University School of Medicine and IU's executive vice president for university clinical affairs, will be stepping down from his leadership roles in July 2026, after more than a decade of transformative service.

Appointed in 2013, Hess will become one of the longest-serving medical school deans in the country. His tenure has been marked by bold initiatives that elevated IU School of Medicine's stature in education, research and clinical care. He shared his decision in a message to colleagues, noting that with key milestones achieved — including reaccreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the launch of the IU Health Unified Medical Group, and the opening of the new 326,000-square-foot Medical Education and Research Building — this is the right time to begin a transition.

"It has been a privilege and the high point of my career to serve this institution and to work alongside so many talented, dedicated and inspiring people," said Hess. "I am proud of what we've accomplished and am deeply grateful for the community who made that possible."

During his tenure, Hess has helped drive progress and made meaningful contributions including:

Recruited 26 new department chairs and a number of center and institute directors
Significantly increased alignment and collaboration with IU Health
Increased School of Medicine total research funding by $300 million to over $500 million annually
Raised NIH funding from $97 million to over $250 million, moving national rank from 42 to 29
Expanded medical school class by 30% and increased number of residency positions 25% statewide
Launched the Precision Health Initiative
Secured National Cancer Institute "comprehensive" status for the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center in 2019
Established the Brown Center for Immunotherapy, the Vera Bradley Center for Breast Cancer Research and the Indiana Center for Musculoskeletal Health
Launched the Engineering in Medicine Initiative with Purdue University
Raised more than $1.7 billion for the IU Bicentennial Campaign (including $548 million in gifts and $1.2 billion in foundation grants)
Upgraded School of Medicine facilities statewide, including new education buildings in West Lafayette, Evansville, and Bloomington and new research and education buildings in Indianapolis

"Jay Hess has been a visionary leader whose dedication to academic excellence and collaboration with IU Health has created a legacy that will benefit Indiana for generations," said Pamela Whitten, president of Indiana University. "We are deeply grateful for his service and commitment."

Hess also helped steer the institution through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Appointed by former IU President Michael McRobbie to lead the university's COVID response committee, he led efforts to develop and coordinate policies across campuses. When vaccines became available, Hess joined a small group of IU medical students administering the shots across the state — demonstrating his belief in leading from the front lines. In 2021, he was awarded the IU President's Medal by McRobbie, the highest honor the university’s president can bestow.

Hess is widely recognized for his collaborative style and for fostering a culture of innovation. He helped deepen IU's strategic alignment with IU Health and championed the creation of the Precision Health Initiative, IU's first Grand Challenge, which has led to groundbreaking discoveries in genomics and cancer therapy.

"I've worked with nine deans in my career, and Jay stands out among them for his collaborative spirit, his practical problem solving, his ability to recruit and retain the best medical talent in the country, and his unimpeachable character," said IU Health President and CEO Dennis Murphy. "IU Health and the IU School of Medicine are able to move the needle on our state's health more effectively when we work together to do hard things, and Dean Hess has been a great partner in that effort."

A national search for the School of Medicine's next dean will be launched in August.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

AI, advanced data metrics forging a new era in cancer research

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A new project by a team of researchers across the nation analyzes the ways in which digitized health data, artificial intelligence models and other recent technological advancements have changed how cancers are diagnosed, studied and treated.

Co-led by Indiana University School of Medicine's Spyridon Bakas, PhD, and University of Maryland’s Elana Fertig, PhD, the team's findings were recently published in the Cancer Research Journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"Informatics and AI are being used in every part of the clinical data extracted from cancer patients, from medical imaging to electronic health records, lab results, blood tests and molecular profiling, to expedite diagnoses," said Bakas, senior corresponding author of the article, an associate professor and division chief in the IU School of Medicine's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and a researcher within the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

AI models have been trained to identify cancerous cells in tissue that humans may not be able to perceive with the naked eye, while also scanning data repositories for relevant information at a much faster rate than any human researcher, the paper notes.

Finally, AI can identify patterns by analyzing vast quantities of data in ways previously not possible.

But oncologists and human researchers are still needed.

"AI could be used to help with faster triaging of known cases, but the human oncologist will be essential to approve and access rare cases that are not well represented in the AI models' training," Bakas said.

Developing standardized methodology for these informatics procedures will be necessary, the article says, as will growing the databases to better train the models and developing software tools that will allow researchers to access the information.

Bakas was joined by nearly two dozen co-authors from universities and institutes around the country, including the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University and Harvard University.

"Cancer Informatics is an expanding field with the rapid emergence of increasingly high-resolution, high-dimensional, multiomic datasets," said Kathleen Noller, PhD, lead author and postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Genome Sciences at the UMD School of Medicine. "This review illuminates cutting-edge methods in cancer biology, as well as their drawbacks and some areas for improvement. Ultimately these technologies will help in predictive and precision care for cancer patients."

Other authors joining Bakas and Noller on the paper include:

Sarthak Pati of the IU School of Medicine; Taxiarchis Botsis, Rachel Karchin, Jiaying Lai and Lauren Ciotti of Johns Hopkins; Pablo G. Camara of University of Pennsylvania; Lee A.D. Cooper of Northwestern University; Jeremy Goecks of the Moffitt Cancer Center; Malachi Griffith and Daniel Marcus of Washington University; Brian J. Haas of Broad Institute; Trey Ideker, Dexter Pratt, Michael Reich and Bjoern Peters of University of California San Diego; Despina Kontos of Columbia University; Clifford A. Meyer of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Kristen Naegle of the University of Virginia; Benjamin J. Raphael of Princeton University; Guergana K. Savova of Harvard Medical School; Carrie Wright of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center; and Elana J. Fertig of the University of Maryland.

This research was funded by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Cutting-edge treatment approach addresses neurobehavioral symptoms in neurofibromatosis type 1

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A new study led by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers revealed a potential strategy to address neurobehavioral challenges associated with neurofibromatosis type 1, or NF1, a genetic disease that primarily affects the skin and nervous system. The findings, recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, may also have implications for treating hundreds of other rare genetic diseases.

Approximately 1 in 3,000 people worldwide are affected by NF1. While the disease is best known for causing nerve tumors, a significant and under-addressed concern is the high rate of neurodevelopmental disorders. An estimated 50 to 70% of children with NF1 are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"Other than getting conventional medications prescribed by their doctors, there's really nothing tailored to treating kids who have NF1 that are affected by neurobehavioral disorders," said Steve Angus, PhD, the study's co-author and assistant professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine. "We want to begin to address these challenges therapeutically."

NF1 is caused by mutations in a gene that produces neurofibromin, a protein that plays a key role in regulating cell growth and processes in the brain. In people with NF1, a mutation in just one copy of the gene means their bodies only make half the normal amount of neurofibromin. This condition, known as haploinsufficiency, can disrupt brain development and function, even when tumors are not present.

"If one copy of the gene is non-functional but the other is still good, it's like having two brakes for a car and one is disabled — when you attempt to brake, the car still runs out of control," Angus said. "In our study, we asked, 'If we could block this pathway of neurofibromin degradation, could we let more of the good copy accumulate?'"

Using NF1 mouse models and genetic screening tools, the research team identified a pathway that regulates the breakdown of neurofibromin. After genetically blocking the pathway, the mice showed improvements in impulsivity, hyperactivity, social interactions and other behaviors associated with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.

Beyond NF1, the researchers believe this strategy could apply to other diseases driven by similar genetic disruptions.

"We believe our strategy could potentially be useful for up to 700 other rare disease conditions caused by haploinsufficiency," said D. Wade Clapp, MD, co-author of the study, chair of the department of pediatrics and senior associate dean for entrepreneurial research and commercialization at the IU School of Medicine. "Future steps include identifying drug candidates that will achieve this process of increasing levels of functional proteins and ultimately correcting the whole disease state."

Looking ahead, the research team will continue exploring safe delivery method strategies for potential therapies to advance future human studies.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Gilbert Family Foundation.

Additional IU authors include Su Jung Park, Jodi L. Lukkes, Ka-Kui Chan, Hayley P. Drozd, Callie B. Burgin, Shaomin Qian, Morgan McKenzie Sullivan, Cesar Gabriel Guevara, Nolen Cunningham, Stephanie Arenas, Makenna A. Collins, Jacob Zucker, JinHee Won, Abbi Smith, Li Jiang, Dana K. Mitchell and Steven D. Rhodes.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

New treatment strategy aims to target ‘seed and soil’ of aggressive blood cancer

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have discovered a potential new strategy to combat leukemia through a special approach that targets both cancer cells and their protective environment. The study, recently published in Nature Communications, focuses on an aggressive form of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia and offers insights that could help improve therapies for other difficult-to-treat cancers.

Acute myeloid leukemia is one of the most common forms of leukemia in adults and is often fatal. The disease progresses quickly and tends to relapse even after aggressive treatment attempts, largely because current therapies struggle to eliminate leukemia stem cells. These stem cells not only survive treatment but also release stress signals that weaken the immune system and support cancer growth.

“Our research was inspired by the urgent need to target these resilient cells,” said S anthosh Pasupuleti, PhD , co-author of the study and assistant research professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine. “Our approach provides a way to overcome treatment resistance by targeting the harmful leukemia stem cells and the protective environment around them, which are like the ‘seed and soil’ of leukemia.”

The researchers discovered that leukemia stem cells release a stress signal triggered by a molecule called Interleukin-33, or IL-33. This molecule activates a protein on both the leukemia cells and nearby immune cells known as Interleukin 1 receptor-like 1, or IL1RL1. The combination of this process creates a damaging loop that promotes cancer growth and suppresses the body’s natural immune system defenses.

To break this cycle, scientists from the IU School of Medicine, the Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center developed a specialized form of antibody that helps immune T cells recognize and destroy leukemia stem cells, while also blocking the IL-33 stress signals that protect the cancer.

Results from preclinical models, including models with mice and human leukemia cells, showed these specialized antibodies successfully eliminated leukemia stem cells and improved disease control.

“We hope this study opens the door to a new generation of immunotherapies for leukemia,” said Reuben Kapur, PhD, director and program leader of the Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Biology Program at the IU School of Medicine Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research and co-author of the study. “The molecular signals we identified could also be relevant in other cancers or diseases where immune suppression plays a role. Ultimately, our goal is to develop therapies that prevent relapse and improve survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and possibly other difficult-to-treat cancers.”

Kapur and Pasupuleti are also researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The team hopes to advance this therapeutic approach toward clinical trials for acute myeloid leukemia and continue exploring its potential in other diseases.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.

About Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Two new Bloomington-based IU School of Medicine residency programs gain accreditation

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 00:00:00 Z

BLOOMINGTON — Southern Indiana will soon become a hotbed for training primary care physicians, as two new Indiana University School of Medicine residency programs have gained the accreditation necessary to begin their crucial work in 2026.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education approved applications from the Department of Medicine for an internal medicine program and the Department of Emergency Medicine to train emergency medicine physicians.

These programs will provide new doctors across two areas — emergency and internal medicine — that are of need for the state, particularly in rural areas. They also represent a key next step in the ongoing partnership between the IU School of Medicine and Indiana University Health.

"These residencies are the culmination of years of hard work and dedication by an outstanding team who believe in the mission and vision, and who know that graduate medical education will make our patients healthier, our community stronger and our professions more robust," said Katherine M. Hiller, MD, MPH, associate dean of IU School of Medicine—Bloomington.

Both programs will be based out of IU Health Bloomington Hospital at the IU Regional Academic Health Center. This 700,000-square-foot complex boasts a state-of-the-art simulation center and a 365-bed hospital, which includes a Level III trauma center and cancer center. It is a few miles down the road from Indiana University’s Bloomington campus.

"This launch of our new residency programs marks a transformative moment for our hospitals and the communities we serve," said John Sparzo, MD, IU Health South Region chief medical officer. "It not only strengthens our commitment to our patients and to rural health by expanding access to high-quality care where it’s needed most but also reinforces our role as an academic health center and learning hospital. By training the next generation of physicians in a real-world, community-centered environment, we’re investing in both the future of medicine and the health of our region."

In addition to the Bloomington hospital, both residency programs will also offer training in a more rural environment at nearby IU Health Bedford Hospital and IU Health Paoli Hospital — located 30 miles and 45 miles south of Bloomington, respectively.

IU School of Medicine offers residency and fellowship programs in some of Indiana’s most livable cities as part of a unique statewide educational system that gives trainees a variety of clinical and academic environments to meet different styles, needs and interests.

The new internal medicine program will welcome eight new residents in July 2026, eventually scaling up to 24 total across three years of study. The emergency medicine program will train six students per class, later totaling 18, also beginning in July 2026.

"Our dedicated team of faculty members has worked hard to craft a curriculum that will keep learners motivated and engaged while showing off the best that Bloomington and the entire southern region has to offer," said Michael Wilson, MD, PhD, MBA, CPE, director of the Bloomington internal medicine residency program.

The Department of Medicine now offers five residency programs in four Indiana cities: Indianapolis, Evansville, Muncie and Bloomington.

"For generations, our department has been at the forefront of medical education in Indiana and beyond, particularly in the area of residency training and experiences. I am proud to now be expanding this rich educational history to the Bloomington campus," said department chair David Aronoff, MD, FIDSA, FAAM, FRCP.

The emergency medicine residency program will be just the second in the state and the first outside of Indianapolis.

"Residents will have a focus on rural and critical access medicine, which gives the program a little different flavor than others throughout the country," program director Butch Humbert, MD, said.

Both residency programs are expected to lead to increased care access and better health outcomes for patients.

"About 50% of residents choose to practice in the area where their residency took place," Humbert said.

"Given the continued need for highly skilled and highly trained emergency physicians in the state of Indiana, especially those with a heart for rural communities, this is a tremendous opportunity," department chair Peter S. Pang, MD, said. "I'm grateful to the leadership at IU Health, IU School of Medicine and the state for their support, as well as the outstanding physicians in the south-central region who will serve as teachers, mentors and role models."

In addition to several Indianapolis residency offerings, IU School of Medicine offers programs in Bloomington, Muncie, Evansville, Merrillville, Vincennes, Jasper and Lafayette.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Type 2 diabetes drug improves weight loss, blood sugar in certain Type 1 patients with obesity

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — A clinical trial led by an Indiana University School of Medicine researcher found that weekly doses of semaglutide — a medication typically prescribed to Type 2 diabetes patients — improved blood sugar levels and weight loss for adult Type 1 diabetes patients who use automated insulin delivery systems and have a body mass index of 30 or higher.

The results, published Monday in NEJM Evidence, represent the first randomized clinical trial exploring semaglutide use in people with Type 1 diabetes, for whom the drug is not currently FDA approved.

"We found that semaglutide was effective in improving time spent in the target blood sugar range and reduction in body weight compared to placebo group," said Viral Shah, MD, lead study author and IU School of Medicine professor of medicine.

Researchers in the 26-week, double-blind study found that 36% of the 36 patients taking semaglutide:

Achieved target blood glucose levels of over 70% time spent in range of 70 to 180 mg/dl.
Reduced time spent with low blood sugar (lower than 70 mg/dl) to less than 4%.
Lost at least 5% of their body weight.

None of the 36 patients taking a placebo achieved all three of these milestones.

Those patients taking semaglutide lost an average of 20 pounds without any observed severe complications.

There were two severe hypoglycemia events in each group and no diabetic ketoacidosis was reported.

Semaglutide is part of a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, receptor agonists. Although introduced as a Type 2 diabetes medication, it has recently gained prominence as a weight-loss drug.

"We hope that our trial will encourage the industry to conduct a regulatory approval trial so that this drug could be available as an adjunct to insulin therapy to optimize Type 1 diabetes management," Shah said.

This research was funded by Breakthrough T1D.

Giorgos Bakoyannis, PhD, adjunct associate professor of biostatistics and health data science, was a co-author on the study. Shah and Bakoyannis were joined by researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Henry Ford Health, Iowa Diabetes Research, University of Washington and Oregon Health & Science University.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Rory Appleton, rapplet@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

New digital marker could improve childhood asthma detection

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 Z

INDIANAPOLIS — Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have developed a more accurate and cost-effective method to predict asthma diagnoses in children by using readily available electronic health records. This scalable approach could enhance early detection rates and help reduce the risk of asthma disease progression in young patients.

In a study recently published in eClinicalMedicine, the researchers enhanced an existing tool, the Pediatric Asthma Risk Score, by adapting it to use electronic health record data to create a new passive digital marker — calculated based on a combination of routinely collected medical history data — for childhood asthma risk. The study was led by Arthur Owora, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and research scientist at Regenstrief Institute.

"Our hope is that using the childhood asthma passive digital marker in clinical practice will improve the early detection of asthma risk in high-risk children, allowing for earlier interventions that could improve asthma control and lessen the future risk of hospitalization," Owora said. "Ultimately, we plan to study whether early interventions could help prevent the disease from progressing to more severe forms, which are often associated with higher health care needs and costs. This would be a win-win scenario for at-risk children, their parents, primary care physicians, and the health care system as a whole."

For this study, Owora collaborated with IU School of Medicine’s Benjamin Gaston, MD, vice chair of translational research and the Billie Lou Wood Professor of Pediatrics, and Malaz Boustani, MD, the Richard M. Fairbanks Professor of Aging Research and director of the Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science.

"This passive digital marker is very scalable because it requires zero additional minutes from the clinical team by using the already captured data in the electronic health record," Boustani said. "Scalable innovations like this in pediatrics have unbelievable public health impact for the health of the future generation of Americans."

The findings revealed the new passive digital marker was more accurate than the traditional Pediatric Asthma Risk Score in predicting which children would later be diagnosed with asthma between the ages of 4 and 11. The researchers analyzed records of nearly 70,000 children born between 2010 and 2017 using Indiana Network of Patient Care databases.

Owora noted that while clinicians are already effective at assessing asthma risk, the process can be enhanced by efficiently summarizing a patient's medical history to generate earlier, more accurate predictions when and where patients receive medical care. Delays in diagnosis can postpone important preventive measures, such as avoidance of asthma triggers like allergens, initiation of asthma controller medications, provision of asthma education, or other personalized interventions and treatments.

Next, the research team plans to use a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the childhood asthma passive digital marker in increasing the rate of early childhood asthma diagnoses among high-risk children. The trial will also examine whether the passive digital marker reduces the time between when a child meets criteria for an asthma diagnosis and when a formal asthma diagnosis is made.

"If the trial is successful, we will explore scaling up the implementation to ensure the benefits of early detection are realized at the state and hopefully at the national level as well," Owora said.

Additional IU study authors include Bowen Jiang and Yash Shah. Owora also collaborated on related research with Robert Tepper, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics; Nadia Krupp, MD, associate professor of clinical pediatrics; and Kirsten Kloepfer, MD, associate professor of pediatrics.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 13 in 2024 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news