UC Recognized for Research Leadership

The impact of the University of Cincinnati’s applied research is repeatedly recognized by news and medical outlets worldwide.  

The recognized impact of the university’s research stems from UC’s rank as 28th in the nation among public research-intensive universities based on National Science Foundation data on federal research expenditures. In addition, UC is designated a “very high research activity” university by the Carnegie Commission.

In April 2009 alone, UC’s research enterprise earned headlines from the following international and national outlets:

• American Chronicle
• Guardian newspaper (U.K.)
  
• HealthDay
• HealthNewsDigest.com
• Los Angeles Times
• Modern Medicine
• New England Journal of Medicine
• Reuters
• Scientific American
• ScienceDaily
• ScienceNews
• MIT’s Technology Review
• United Press International
  

• International media like Cancerfacts.com, HealthNewsDigest.com, MedIndia, The Money Times, ScienceDaily, United Press International and others carried news of UC research that appeared in the April 15, 2009, issue of Clinical Cancer Research. UC cancer cell biologists have identified a gene that may help indicate whether a person has a greater risk of developing lung cancer.

• The New England Journal of Medicine published a study co-authored by a UC physician regarding how anti-epilepsy drugs may be linked to impaired cognitive development.

• The Los Angeles Times, PhysOrg.com and Science Centric featured UC research that seems to indicate why herpes reoccurs. Basically, after an initial infection, the virus enters neurons and hides. It seems that a viral protein, VP 16, is the key to the dormancy and reactivation of herpes. This protein must be produced, for example by a high fever, before the virus can leave the neuron and reactivate.

• Reuters news service reported on research results of a cholesterol study that UC contributed to showing that two specific drugs working in combination were seemingly more effective in combating heart risks than if the drugs were taken individually.

• Modern Medicine and HealthDay covered UC research that appeared in the April issue of American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The study warned clinicians and caregivers to be alert for telltale signs of two rare but potentially lethal blood disorders that strike pregnant women. That’s because the UC analysis of care provided to pregnant women showed that the rare blood disorders were often initially mistaken for more common conditions.

• Scientific American featured a UC study regarding the long-term, damaging effects of lead exposure on children. The UC research showed a connection between childhood lead exposure and adult criminal behavior.

• Technology Review, published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, featured UC research resulting in a new technology that promises greater brightness and color contrast for e-readers and other display devices.

• A UC researcher co-authored a study that appeared in the April 9 journal, Stem Cells, and also featured in the American Chronicle and ScienceDaily regarding a promising therapy for corneal defects. The study suggests that cell-based therapies (vs. surgical interventions) might be effective in treating human corneal blindness and vision impairment due to scarring that occurs after infection, trauma and other common eye problems. Ultimately, this potential means of treatment could be useful in countries that have limited medical and surgical resources but a high level of eye disease due to infections and trauma.

• ScienceNews provided coverage of a new UC study that is focusing on the Callery pear tree and how it became an invasive threat in the United States after cross-pollination with other varieties of imported pear trees. That UC research is also found in the May issue of the journal, Biological Invasions.

• Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported on a new study that UC participated in showing a link between levels of agricultural chemicals in water and numbers of birth defects, though it is still too early to say whether the chemicals are the direct cause of the defects. The study was huge, looking at records of more than 30 million births to see if the levels of agricultural chemicals in the water supply of the United States were linked to the numbers of babies born with birth defects. It found that babies conceived in spring and summer (when levels of agricultural chemicals in water were highest) were more likely to have a birth defect. However, while the study suggests correlation, it does not prove causation.

• View headlines earned by UC research in March 2009. 
  
• View UC’s research funding report released in November 2008, when the university announced an all-time high in terms of research funding at $353 million. 
• Visit UC’s research page and news page.