Blue Distinction Centers

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa named University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics as a Blue Distinction Center^SM for Cardiac Care and as a Blue Distinction Center^SM for Bariatric (weight loss) Surgery.

Driven by a combination of quality and affordability, Blue Distinction is a nationwide program that recognizes health care programs that benefit both consumers and providers.

"Providing a complete line of state-of-the-art cardiovascular care is a high priority of UI Heart and

Vascular Care," says Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, director of UI Heart and Vascular Center and associate director, Cardiovascular Research Center.

"UI Hospitals and Clinics has a long history of excellence in bariatric surgery," says Isaac Samuel, MD, director of UI Obesity Surgery. "We currently perform a stateof- the-art laparoscopic approach to gastric bypass with excellent outcomes."

Macular Degeneration Research

A five-year, $14.6 million grant from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health will fund an international, multidisciplinary effort led by The University of Iowa and The Carver Family Macular Degeneration Center to leverage two recent genetic discoveries into possible treatments for age-related macular degeneration.

Prostate Cancer

A team of UI Health Care researchers in the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center has launched a clinical trial of a therapy that may lead to new treatments for men diagnosed with prostate cancer. The Ad5- TRAIL gene therapy for prostate cancer research trial is designed to test the optimal dosage that can safely be given to patients.