The panel will focus on the study “Environmental Risk Factors and Iowa’s Cancer Crisis”

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Four authors and contributors of the 2026 landmark study linking environmental risk factors to Iowa’s cancer crisis will speak on a panel at the University of Northern Iowa on Thursday, Sept. 10. The panel discussion is free and open to the public, and will begin at 4 p.m. in Curris Business Building’s John Deere Auditorium. 

In Spring 2026, an expert group of doctors, cancer researchers, lawyers, environmentalists and public health officials authored a landmark study: “Environmental Risk Factors and Iowa’s Cancer Crisis.” The study documented Iowa’s status as one of the leading states in the nation for new cancer cases, and one of the only states in which cancer rates are increasing. “Iowans deserve to know what risks we are facing,” the authors wrote. “We cannot escape what has been allowed to contaminate the environment in which we live.”

In this panel discussion, the Aldo Leopold Distinguished Lecture series hosts four authors and contributors to the report to highlight findings and discuss what Iowa needs to do next to give its citizens the “long, healthy and satisfying lives” they deserve.

The panelists who will discuss their study are: 

Richard Deming, MD, Oncologist and Founder of Above + Beyond Cancer (report co-author)

Kerri Johannsen, Senior Director of Policy and Programs, Iowa Environmental Council (report author)

Adam Shriver, PhD, Board member of the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust and the Welfare Footprint Institute, and is the co-chair of the Iowa Food System Coalition Environmental Stewardship Committee (report author)

The moderator is:

Audrey Tran Lam, MPH, Environmental Health Program Director, University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy & Environmental Education (report contributor)

The study was sponsored by the nonprofit Iowa Environmental Council and the Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement, a nonpartisan public policy research institute located at Drake University. The study is available online. 

The panelists are most recent visiting speakers in the Aldo Leopold Distinguished Lecture Series. For more information, including other speakers, see https://leopold-lectures.uni.edu. 

If you need a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Chris Martin at 319-273-6985 prior to the event.