Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Research News

Expert Viewpoints A woman with glasses wearing dark blue

What are the new guidelines for infant hepatitis B vaccination?

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ­— On Dec. 5, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to discontinue its decades-long recommendation for universal vaccination against hepatitis B beginning at birth. Public health expert and infectious disease physician Janet A. Jokela is the senior associate dean for engagement and a clinical […]

Health and Medicine Graduate student Hannah Heath standing outdoors.

Biomarkers found linking ER-positive breast cancer with neighborhood deprivation   

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have long known that Black women with estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer and those who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods often have more aggressive forms of the disease and poorer survival rates. However, the underlying factors that link these outcomes with women’s living environments have remained unclear. Scientists at the University of Illinois […]

Engineering Portrait of Ying Diao in her University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign lab.

Study finds that tweaked synthetic polymers boost conductivity

A new study marks a significant step forward in positioning synthetic polymers as an alternative for expensive, unsustainable minerals used in the manufacture of devices such as conductors, transistors and diodes.

Announcements Photo of the researcher in a stairwell in a campus building.

Illinoisans to explore their African roots at free event

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois residents of African descent are invited to learn more about their heritage by engaging with the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program. This community-based project uses DNA testing and genealogical research to help residents discover and reconnect with their African heritage. The IFRPP is one component of The African Kinship Reunion. The […]

Social Sciences Moses Okumu standing outside wearing a blue shirt with green trees in the background.

Many displaced girls in Uganda trapped in cycles of sexual, physical violence

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Nearly 36% of forcibly displaced adolescent girls and young women living in urban informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda, reported that their first sexual experience was nonconsensual — which, for many, marked the beginning of a cycle of sexual and physical violence perpetrated by their intimate partners or other people, a recent study […]

Humanities Photo of a painted hide robe with a thunderbird in red, yellow and black.

Historic Native American robes — the subject of an Illinois-led project — to be displayed at Versailles exhibition

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Stunning robes created more than 300 years ago by Inohka, or “Illinois people” — Native American tribes whose homelands include Illinois — will be on public display at a special exhibition at the Palace of Versailles in France that opens this month. The exhibition will include one of the most famous existing […]

Announcements Graphic says: 2025 Highly Cited Researchers. Background is orange with an image of journal articles stacked and open.

Twelve Illinois scientists rank among the world’s most influential

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Twelve scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been named to the 2025 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes researchers and social scientists who have demonstrated exceptional influence, as reflected through their publication of multiple papers frequently cited by their peers during the last decade. The highly cited […]

Engineering A tilted view of miscellaneous of multicolored used batteries.

Study shows new hope for commercially attractive lithium extraction from spent batteries

A new study shows that lithium — a critical element used in rechargeable batteries and susceptible to supply chain disruption — can be recovered from battery waste using an electrochemically driven recovery process. The method has been tested on commonly used types of lithium-containing batteries and demonstrates economic viability with the potential to simplify operations, minimize costs and increase the sustainability and attractiveness of the recovery process for commercial use.

Health and Medicine Research team in the lab.

Study: A cellular protein, FGD3, boosts breast cancer chemotherapy, immunotherapy

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A naturally occurring protein that tends to be expressed at higher levels in breast cancer cells boosts the effectiveness of some anticancer agents, including doxorubicin, one of the most widely used chemotherapies, and a preclinical drug known as ErSO, researchers report. The protein, FGD3, contributes to the rupture of cancer cells disrupted […]

Arts Photo from "Anastasia: The Musical" showing the Romanov family in period costumes.

Lyric Theatre’s production of “Anastasia: The Musical” tells story of loss, survival and reinvention

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Lyric Theatre’s production of “Anastasia: The Musical” is a story with romance and mystery, an appealing score and several big dance numbers. It also is a story of loss, survival and reinvention. The musical opened on Nov. 11 and will be performed Nov. 13-15 at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. […]

Social Sciences Recreation, sport and tourism professor Yuhei Inoue at the University of Illinois Geis Memorial Stadium on the Urbana-Champaign campus.

Social identification with a team boosts fans’ social well-being

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Sport fans all know that rosy feeling of happiness when we hang out with others who support our favorite team. A new study conducted with sport consumers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom suggests that organizations that want to enhance their supporters’ health and well-being can achieve that by bolstering their […]

Social Sciences Minkyung Kim is a professor of communication

Digital divides harmed the nonprofit sector during the COVID-19 pandemic  

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Many humanitarian organizations in the U.S. experienced multiple digital divides that disrupted routine operations and compromised their services to vulnerable refugee populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges not only elevated refugees’ health risks, they also jeopardized the nonprofit sector’s organizational resilience, researchers say in a new study. Communication professor Minkyung Kim […]

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