In 2002, "The Gazette" (Cedar Rapids and Iowa City) and "Chicago Sun-Times" reported that although "a few years ago" many "major medical schools" would have "turned up their noses" at the studies MIU was conducting, "things have changed" and MIU has received so many offers that it has "turned away" collaboration proposals from a few institutions. According to an MIU spokesperson, the university had received almost $18 million in grant support from the National Institutes of Health in the prior 15 years and "its researchers are strict about scientific standards because they work more often with other, larger universities" including the University of Iowa; University of California, Irvine; and University of Hawaii. The article reports that Maharishi University and the University of Iowa were working on a study that looked at the effects of holistic therapy on heart disease.