University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson

10/07/2026

Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine Brian S. Drummond, MD, speaks to NPR Morning Edition about why heat-related deaths are thought to be undercounted — information about heat exposure is rarely sought out.

“If I never ask a patient, ‘Were you exposed to extreme heat?’ or ‘Do you have the ability to cool the place you live?,’ I would never diagnose them with heat-related illness, unless their temperature came in at 105.”

When Arizona counts heat-related deaths, Adam Willson isn't included. His story shows how thousands of heat deaths can go uncounted every year in the United States.

10/05/2026

Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry Catalina Uribe Rini, PsyD, speaks to the Arizona Daily Star about teens using AI chatbots for mental health advice.

“In general, we have seen that with the rise of social media, more and more kids are spending more and more time on their phone rather than being in human interactions. As humans, we are very social creatures, and our mental health really relies on that connectivity, so removing that and having this artificial form instead can be pretty detrimental. It’s very likely that information keeps cycling and looping without critical thinking or multiple perspectives … so kids can get stuck in this unintentional loop without realizing it.”

Teen use of AI chatbots like ChatGPT for mental health advice is rising, offering easy, immediate support but risking relational displacement and inaccurate feedback that may harm emotional growth and social skills essential for real-world connections.

10/02/2026

Congratulations to three College of Medicine – Tucson faculty members who were honored last week at the 2026 Luminaries: Outstanding Faculty Awards ceremony at Centennial Hall. The annual ceremony celebrates faculty members whose work has made significant contributions to the university, their fields and their communities.

The awards and honorees were:

• Graduate Teaching and Mentoring Award: Michael D. L. Johnson, PhD, associate dean of basic science research and graduate studies, associate professor of immunobiology
• Early Career Scholars Award: Maya Kaelberer, PhD, assistant professor of physiology
• Margaret M. Briehl and Dennis T. Ray Five Star Faculty Award: Allyson Roof, PhD, associate director of undergraduate programs and assistant professor of physiology

Also honored were Craig Aspinwall, PhD, as Distinguished Department Head for his leadership of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, which is split between the College of Science and the College of Medicine – Tucson, and Janko Nikolich, MD, PhD, former head of immunobiology here in Tucson and now associate dean of research in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, who was recognized at this year’s ceremony as a 2025 Regents Professor. Dr. Nikolich was unable to attend last year’s ceremony.

https://news.arizona.edu/employee-news/faculty-shine-2026-luminaries?publication=20261002&utm_campaign=University+of+Arizona+College+of+Medicine+-+Tucson&utm_content=Congratulations+to+three+&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

10/01/2026

Congratulations to the winners of the inaugural Big Idea Challenge: U of A and Banner Health Joint Translational Research Accelerator! Teams based in the departments of Neurosurgery, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Surgery will receive up to $250,000 each.

A team led by principal investigator Julie Pilitsis, MD, PhD, MBA, professor and chair of neurosurgery, has proposed a non-invasive low-intensity focused ultrasound (LoFUS) platform to modulate the dorsal root ganglion and treat chronic neuropathic pain without surgery or implanted hardware. The team intends to complete computational and animal model studies and perform an FDA-ready first-in-human feasibility trial.

A team led by Geoffrey C. Gurtner, MD, professor and chair of surgery, presented a closed-loop, AI-powered “smart bandage” that continuously monitors wounds to detect early infection and deliver targeted electrical stimulation therapy. The team will collect continuous sensor data from human patient wounds, demonstrate closed-loop electrical stimulation therapy in an animal model and prepare an FDA 510(k) submission package.

A team led by Lisa M. Rimsza, MD, chair of pathology and laboratory medicine, is developing “DZsig,” a rapid digital gene expression profiling test to accurately diagnose aggressive dark zone B-cell lymphomas. The project addresses the lack of commercial diagnostic tests for these lymphomas, and the team aims to complete CAP/CLIA clinical validation of the DZsig gene expression test and deploy it across the Banner Health system.

https://research.arizona.edu/news/four-u-banner-health-teams-earn-funding-advance-patient-care-through-big-idea-challenge-joint?publication=20261001&utm_campaign=University+of+Arizona+College+of+Medicine+-+Tucson&utm_content=Congratulations+to+the+wi&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

09/30/2026

Clinical Professor of Medicine Salma Patel, MD, MPH, teases apart a study that found an association between melatonin supplements and heart failure.

“For me, one of the biggest questions is the chicken-and-egg problem: Is melatonin contributing to cardiovascular risk, or is chronic melatonin use identifying a group of patients who already have more complicated sleep or medical problems?”

If you use melatonin regularly because of chronic insomnia, you’ll want to read this.

09/30/2026

Researchers in the Department of Physiology and across the university are celebrating a $9 million award from the National Institutes of Health, which will fund Phase 1 clinical trials testing the safety and side effects of a tiny peptide called PNA5.

They are rooting for it to become the first FDA-approved treatment for vascular dementia, the second-most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer’s.

More than a decade of lab tests suggest that PNA5 can work in the blood vessels and the brain to improve blood flow and reduce inflammation — which they hope will treat not just vascular dementia, but also other conditions caused by inflammation, such as Parkinson’s-related cognitive decline, postoperative cognitive impairment and chronic pain.

“These are different conditions, but they share aspects of vascular dysfunction and maladaptive inflammation,” said co-principal investigator and PNA5 co-inventor Meredith Hay, PhD, professor of physiology. “PNA5 may provide a way to address that common biology.”

Dr. Hay has been following PNA5 along its journey from its birth in a University of Arizona lab through a battery of tests in laboratories across campus, and is excited to bring it to humans later this year.

“The most rewarding part is seeing a basic scientific observation move toward something that could eventually help patients and families — that’s what gets me up every day. It’s exciting, but also very humbling. When you have worked on something for this long, reaching a clinical trial is not a victory lap — it’s the beginning of a new and much more demanding test.”

https://news.arizona.edu/news/vascular-dementia-has-no-approved-treatments-u-scientists-hope-change-inflammation-fighting?publication=20260930&utm_campaign=University+of+Arizona+College+of+Medicine+-+Tucson&utm_content=Researchers+in+the+Depart&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

09/28/2026

Associate Professor of Dermatology Daniel C. Butler, MD, tells the New York Times about how the skin barrier interacts with the immune system and the nerve system, which can lead to chronic itching, especially in aging individuals.

“I have some patients who say, ‘I don’t sleep a wink at night, I’m so uncomfortable.’”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/well/more-aging-signs.html

09/25/2026

Meet Meredith Hay, PhD, professor of physiology and co-inventor of a peptide that she hopes will be a gamechanger for vascular dementia.

Dr. Hay says she was drawn to science based on a fascination with the brain. Remembering her undergrad days, she recalls seeing machinery that could record the electrical activity of a single neuron.

“I thought, wow, we could really understand how the brain works at a cellular level. I was hooked at that point.”

She built a career in which she focused on the connection between the brain and the cardiovascular system. Along the way, she met a tiny peptide called angiotensin (1-7), and eventually tweaked its structure to create PNA5, which she hopes will improve blood flow to the brain and help tame inflammation — and ultimately treat vascular dementia and other conditions caused by inflammation.

After nearly 15 years studying PNA5 in the lab, she’s poised to take the drug candidate to humans. A $9 million award from the National Institutes of Health will fund the first phase of clinical trials, slated to begin later this year.

“I firmly believe we’re going to be able to help patients with vascular dementia, and that’s what gets me up every day.”

Learn more about Dr. Hay’s journey.

https://medicine.arizona.edu/news/2026/researcher-honors-her-mothers-legacy-searching-first-treatment-vascular-dementia?publication=20260925&utm_campaign=University+of+Arizona+College+of+Medicine+-+Tucson&utm_content=Meet+Meredith+Hay%2C+PhD%2C+p&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

09/24/2026

Professor of Medicine Keith Joiner, MD, MPH, spoke to Central Florida Public Media about how “upcoding” can be used to commit Medicare fraud.

The settlement describes how The Villages Health would go back into patients' medical files months later and add diagnoses -- sometimes adding in monitoring, evaluations or treatments.

09/22/2026

Associate Professor of Medicine Jennifer Stern, PhD, speaks to KOLD News 13 about glucagon, which is produced naturally by the pancreas. It raises blood sugar levels when they’re low and signals to the liver to convert fat for energy.

“It turns on pathways that can promote healthy aging — not making a person live longer, but can they live healthier as they age?”

University of Arizona endocrinologist Dr. Jennifer Stern is studying how a hormone the body produces naturally may play a role in healthy aging.