Health Stories & News

University of Northern Iowa professor of languages and literature Jeffrey Copeland

5 questions with Jeffrey Copeland

A deadly outbreak without a cure. Local governments urging residents to stay inside and avoid other people. Medical professionals on the frontlines trying to halt the rapid spread of an infectious disease.

It’s not COVID-19, but the 1924 outbreak of the Black Plague in Los Angeles.

UNI leads groundbreaking study on yoga, Tai Chi as trauma therapy.

UNI leads groundbreaking study on yoga, Tai Chi as trauma therapy

Karen Mitchell had just experienced a series of unthinkable tragedies —  including the death of her partner of almost 20 years — and felt herself in a fugue state. Then she tried an increasingly popular form of yoga developed to help people recover from trauma. The class helped her start a path towards healing.

“I think it has a lot to do with listening to your body. Your body will tell you the truth,” she said. 

UNI is providing equipment for hospitals to response to the coronavirus epidemic.

UNI helps manufacture Cedar Valley's pandemic response

Facing a dire shortage of protective gear for healthcare workers, hospitals in Iowa and across the country have turned to their communities for assistance. In the Cedar Valley, the University of Northern Iowa is helping answer that call. 

UNI campus

UNI experts answer your coronavirus questions

We’re living in unprecedented times and, as our lifestyles drastically alter to slow the spread of coronavirus, we all have questions on how to adapt. In this feature, we’ll turn to UNI experts for jargon-free answers. Have a question you’d like to see answered? Please email us at ur@uni.edu.

How do I tell if I have a cold/flu vs coronavirus? Do only older people get sick?

The novel coronavirus

UNI to gather health experts for a community panel on coronavirus

The University of Northern Iowa will host a health panel on the coronavirus featuring experts from the university and Black Hawk County Health Department in an effort to dispel myths about the virus and provide information to the community on how to prevent and combat its spread.

The panel will be held at 3 p.m., March 11 in the Lang Hall Auditorium on UNI’s campus.

The novel coronavirus

Risk remains low, but UNI prepares for coronavirus

It’s a pathogen that’s quickly become a household name.

Most of the world had never heard of coronavirus until just two months ago, when a novel version known as SARS-CoV-2, which causes a respiratory disease known as COVID-19, quickly began to spread first in China and then across the globe.

It has since infected tens of thousands, disrupted global supply chains and led investors to predict the onset of an economic recession. Planners from the White House to major cities to Major League Baseball have since formed task forces to coordinate responses. 

University of Northern Iowa graduate student Phales Milimo, of the women's and gender studies program.

UNI student seeks to bridge the healthcare gender gap

It was the middle of the afternoon when Phales Milimo saw a pregnant woman go into labor and collapse on the sidewalk.

She was in the Sinazongwe District in southern Zambia, just a five-hour drive from her hometown of Lusaka, the country’s bustling metropolitan capital. Technically, she hadn’t left her country, but it felt like she was in a different world.