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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Health + Wellness

Every person or animal that suffers from ill health and every pathogen that causes disease has its own genome. Research in this area examines how genome function directs the development of healthy bodies and how disorders disrupt that function.

Exploring the genomes of the microbes we live with also allows us to discover the molecular tools they use to aid or attack their hosts or to fight each other, knowledge that can act as a pathway to well-being.

Featured Stories

Stephen Long, Stanley O. Ikenberry Endowed Chair Emeritus (deceased)
Research
Tracing a path through photosynthesis to food security
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Illinois researcher Diwaker Shukla shows how deep learning and large-scale computer simulations can help lead the search for safe synthetic cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals. Photo by Fred Zwicky
Research
New computer simulation could light the way to safer cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals
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A diagram from the lab's published paper in JACS.
Research
DNA Nanostructures Get a Major Upgrade
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Erik Nelson (left) and Postdoctoral researcher Natalia Krawczynska
Research
Researchers Aim to Disrupt Breast Cancer Line of Communication and Prevent Spread
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In human breast cancer cells treated with the preclinical drug ErSO (shown), or with doxorubicin, the cellular protein FGD3 causes another protein, calreticulin (in red on the right), to display on the cancer cell surface, attracting and activating immune cells. Micrographs by Junyao Zhu
Research
Cellular protein FGD3 boosts breast cancer chemotherapy, immunotherapy
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New genomic research shows widespread hybridization among North American giraffes in zoos and private ranches, diminishing their conservation value. Credit: Kari Morfeld.
Research
Wild giraffes lose their conservation safety net as zoo populations hybridize
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