A University of Iowa study reveals significant disparities between minority and white clients in success rates for completing substance abuse treatment programs. Moreover, these disparities vary widely from state to state.

What started as an experiment to probe brain circuits involved in compulsive behavior has revealed a surprising connection with obesity. The University of Iowa-led researchers bred mice missing a gene known to cause obesity, and suspected to also be involved in compulsive behavior, with a genetic mouse model of compulsive grooming.

Since 1979, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has been providing leadership in advocacy and education on the subject of mental health in the effort to reduce barriers to treatment and services. In Johnson County (JC), the mainstay of NAMI’s fundraising is the three-mile annual NAMIWalk, which was held in Iowa City on April 27, 2013—the ninth annual walk for this county.

In 2010, almost 2 million American children had at least one parent in active military duty. A new University of Iowa study suggests that deployment of a parent puts these children at an increased risk for drinking alcohol and using drugs.

Jane Paulsen, PhD, professor of psychiatry, neurology, psychology and neurosciences, has been named the Roy J. Carver Chair in Neuroscience. The $2 million fund endowing the chair is a gift from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust of Muscatine, Iowa, made through the University of Iowa Foundation in order to establish the chair. A faculty chair is the highest honor given by the university to an outstanding member of the faculty.

Nine-year-old Virginia Buck does not ask for much for herself. In fact, the only thing she really asks is that you try and understand what she and other kids like her are going through. Virginia is living with Juvenile Huntington disease, a fatal, neurodegenerative genetic disorder that causes problems with walking, talking, thinking and behavior.

Hail to the Chief! We are pleased and proud to have a new President in the University of Iowa Department of Psychiatry. Clinical Professor Michael Flaum, MD, was installed recently as President of the American Association of Community Psychiatrists (AACP).