The University of Iowa Research Development Office and Implementation Science Center are sponsoring a three-day Ideas Lab on Reducing Iowa’s Cancer Risk through Novel Collaborations on January 12-14, 2026. This in-person event will be hosted at the Terry Trueblood Park Lodge. See the webpage for additional details.

Ideas Lab Objective

The objective of this Ideas Lab is to develop novel and exciting proposals for interdisciplinary research that will generate (a) strategies for integrating precision medicine with other risk factors to prevent and treat cancer in Iowa and (b) implementation processes to increase the likelihood of adoption of these strategies. These priorities should consider the unique risk factors in Iowa and the rurality of the state in developing research questions that can reduce the rate of newly diagnosed cancers and improve the effectiveness of treatment.

Eligibility Criteria

All faculty and staff members for whom research and scholarship are assigned as one of their primary job responsibilities and have at least 50% university appointment during the academic year at one of the three Regents Universities are eligible to apply.

Apply to be an Ideas Lab Fellow

Approximately 30 participants will be selected to be an Ideas Lab Fellow. Prioritization for acceptance will be based on disciplinary diversity and responses to the application questions.

Note: Not all applicants will be accepted to participate in the Ideas Lab; however, there will be opportunities to connect following the Ideas Lab as one of the goals of this activity is to build community across and beyond the University of Iowa.

Complete the application here by October 31 at 5pm. Fellows will be notified the week of November 17.

Please note: participation requires committing to all three days of the Ideas Lab.

Participate in an Onramp Talk

Onramp talks are hourlong sessions including background information on the challenge followed by ideating and networking between attendees. In our sessions, we’ll discuss the goals of the Ideas Lab and background information such as: a) why is this important, b) what’s been tried to date, c) why we are stuck in finding solutions, and d) why your participation is vital. Following a brief presentation, we’ll invite attendees to begin discussing how their different disciplinary backgrounds may help generate novel strategies for reducing cancer risk.

• Session 1 - Wednesday, October 15 at 10am-11am in College of Public Health Building. Register here

• Session 2 - Thursday, October 16 at 9am-10am in University Capitol Center. Register here

Questions?

For more information, contact Aaron Kline at the Research Development Office: vpr-rdo@uiowa.edu.