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CONNECTIONSBuilding a community of future physician
innovators together

LETTER FROM
THE DEAN
Dear friends,
Reflecting on my first five months at Carle Illinois College ofMedicine, it has truly been an eventful and impactful time
for me. I continue to be humbled and impressed with theincredible dedication and passion I see every day from ourpeople — students, faculty, staff, and community. They makeour unique college an incredible place to work and createa meaningful impact for our community, our state, andbeyond.
We have now graduated our first medical school class andwelcomed our fifth and largest cohort of 59 incredible
future physician innovators. Additionally, we have brought
in incredible new leaders including: Dr. George Mejicano,
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Kara Johnson, Associate
Dean for Finance; Dr. Janet Jokela, Interim Executive
Associate Dean; Dr. JoAnn Archey, Interim Chief Diversity
and Inclusion Officer; and Dr. Brian Aldridge, Interim
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs.
We also had our first group of faculty approved for tenurein the college of medicine; and we’ve partnered with you,our supporters, to provide a new level of education for ourstudents. But I’m even more excited for what lies ahead.
We’ve created a mnemonic using our internal acronym ‘CI
MED’ that reflects the values that inform everything we do atCarle Illinois College of Medicine.

Community,
Organization, &Global Impact –Encompassing
our values ofCollaboration andCompassion

Innovation& Research– Expressing
our values of
Curiosity andCreativity

Medical Education

Excellence –Expanding on
our value forCompetence tobuild a culture of
excellence in all wedoDiversity, Equity, &Inclusion – Valuing
Diversity means
we promote an
inclusive, welcoming
environment for all
who wish to contributeto our mission.

Our college continues to grow in size, in excellence,care and outcomes in this at-risk and underserved

and in influence. Through our new Service-Learning

population.

process, our students reach out to underserved
communities to contribute their skills, energy, andenthusiasm to advance health and health care as partof their training to be physician innovators. I recently
visited the Avicenna Community Health Care Centerin Champaign with Chancellor Robert Jones, andwe were incredibly impressed with the passion anddedication of our medical students who lead andAlso, through community programs spearheadedby Professor Ruby Mendenhall, we are building ahealing infrastructure for families adversely affectedby violence and trauma, where CI MED students andfaculty are conducting research and creating new
innovations that remove barriers to care, enhancequality of life, and improve patient outcomes.

participate each week in this volunteer free health

We are incredibly grateful you have chosen toclinic. Along with many other volunteers, including

partner with us to accomplish great things. As weseveral of our faculty, local health care workers, andlook forward, your support for this work and theseundergraduate students, our students take care

exciting new initiatives has become even more vital.

of many of the uninsured and underinsured in theWith your support in the coming months and years,

county and help them and many immigrants withthere’s no limit to what we can build together!

basic health care needs. With limited funding to date,they have already created a vital resource for ourcommunity, and with your generous support they will
create new programs and resources that will improve

MARK S. COHEN, MD, FSSO, FACS

Dean, Carle Illinois College of Medicine andSenior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer,
Carle Health

FALL 202 2 NEWSLE T TER|

1

CLASS OF 2026:
BUILDING
PHYSICIANINNOVATORS

Carle Illinois Welcomes
Newest, Largest Class59
STUDENTS

2|C ARLE ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University
of Illinois Urbana-Champaign welcomed 59 newphysicians-in-training to its ranks in late June.
The Class of 2026 is fifth and largest cohort in thecollege’s young history, and the first since theinaugural class graduated in May of 2022.
Carle Illinois’ unique engineering-infused curriculum
and competency requirements continue toattract students from a wide range of academic
backgrounds. As with preceding classes, most
students in the Class of 2026 have degrees inengineering (58%), with bioengineering being themost common engineering discipline. Another17% come from non-engineering, math-based

patient-focused engineering design principles.

disciplines. The remaining students arrive at Carle

Through our unique curriculum and rich clinical

Illinois with degrees in more traditional pre-medicine

immersion, they will grow into forward-thinking

disciplines, including biology, neuroscience, andphysician-innovators who are equipped to advancebiochemistry.

medicine, through innovation, research, technology,
and a commitment to clinical expertise andCarle Illinois Dean Mark Cohen said the members ofcompassionate care.”the new class are committing themselves to a newkind of medical education and a new approach tosolving medical problems. “This group of incredibly
accomplished, diverse, and passionate students
chose the Carle Illinois College of Medicine as thebest path to build the future of medicine throughclass member
w
e
sa
en

ale.
fem
re

“To the physician-innovator,
every challenge in healthcare
is an opportunity to thinkoutside the box, collaborate, andelevate their patients’ voices inorder to improve healthcare foreveryone.”

46%
of
th

team-based problem-solving that incorporates

Eve Emmanouilidou

11.9%
of the class identify themselves
as coming from groups that areunderrepresented in medicine.

21“A physician-innovator isequipped with a unique skillset
and patient-focused mindset
to drive progress in the medical
field. I hope to be able to impact
and help the patients I treat andfuture patients facing similar
issues.”Grace Brollyclass members have alreadyearned advanced degrees,
including 5 doctorate degrees
and 16 master’s degrees.
FALL 202 2 NEWSLE T TER|

3

BUILDING THE
FUTURE OF
MEDICINE

Carle Illinois student
start-up targets anemia
testing, wins support
from COZAD Challenge,
iVenture Accelerator

The start-up called Ferritiva — founded bysecond-year medical student Jeffrey Lu — won second
place and more than $20,000 in funding in the COZAD
New Venture Challenge in the spring and was one of 16
ventures across the U of I campuses admitted to the Gies
College of Business iVenture Accelerator program to power
student entrepreneurship through funding, support, andmentorship.
Lu’s team will use their winnings to develop a new point-ofcare immunoassay (LFIA) test that uses saliva rather than ablood test to check for iron deficiency. “Given that saliva is
now used to assess many things such as COVID-19 (like theUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s initiative, ‘SHIELD,
Target. Test. Tell.’) I wondered if saliva could be used for irondeficiency evaluation,” Lu said. Lu says a saliva-based test
would be a more convenient and cheaper way to monitor foranemia among patient populations that are most affectedby iron deficiency anemia, including student athletes.
Next steps include building a prototype, conduct proofof-concept research studies, and pursuit of protection of
their intellectual property. Other Ferritiva members include
Nathan Chung (COO), Shreya Ghosh (CFO), Swathi Ram (UX/UI Designer), Mark Yaroslavsky (R&D Engineer), and Erica
Joo (Market Research).

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C ARLE ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

Ultrasonic Scanner for
Improved ‘Sight’ to Aid
People with Low Vision

A Carle Illinois College of Medicine student team has
designed a new hand-held assistive device that uses soundwave technology to empower people with sight impairments
to move safely and independently in their environment. The
EYES device (Enhancing Your Everyday Sight) -- now in its
first prototype -- uses ultrasound technology to allow people
with low vision to comprehensively scan their environment
for obstacles to avoid hazards.
The scanner locates objects as far away as seven feet andthen pinpoints the obstacle’s direction and proximity.
“Information about any upcoming obstacles is transmitted
back to the user through vibration patterns in the handleof the device,” said medical student Emily Smith, who
spearheaded development, along with fellow medical

Natalie Ramsy

Emily Smith

Katy Stauffer

students Natalie Ramsy and Katy Stauffer. “There aredifferent patterns to tell the user where the obstacle is,and the vibration intensity increases as the user nears the
obstacle,” Smith explained.
“Unlike a traditional white cane, it’s also able to detectobstacles which do not contact the ground, such as signs or
branches, which may present a hazard to the user,” Ramsy
explained.
Read more and see a prototype
demonstration by bioengineering student
Benjamin Salzberg.

FALL 202 2 NEWSLE T TER|

5

New Evidence on
Hearing Loss andAlzheimer’s

A faculty-student research team at Carle Illinois Collegeof Medicine has pinpointed unexpected areas of brain
shrinkage in Alzheimer’s patients with hearing loss. The
work could eventually lead to earlier intervention andnew treatment strategies to delay cognitive decline in
Alzheimer’s Disease patients.
The work is led by Dr. Dan Llano, a Carle Illinois associate
professor of biomedical and translational science andneurologist at Carle Health in collaboration with third-year
medical student Suzy Kwok and Viswanath Devanarayan,
an adjunct professor in the University of Illinois-Chicago’s
department of mathematics, statistics, and computer

Suzy Kwok

Dr. Dan Llano

science.
The team analyzed MRI images of Alzheimer’s patients,
revealing surprising differences in the pattern of brain
shrinkage among AD patients with hearing loss versus AD
patients with normal hearing. “Based on current theories,
most researchers would expect MRIs from AD patients withhearing loss to show neuropathology (shrinkage) in thetemporal lobe, the brain’s auditory and language processing
center,” said Kwok. Instead, the team’s analysis found ahigher incidence of shrinkage in the brainstem and the
cerebellum, which controls movement and balance, among
other functions.
The researchers’ article published in the journal Frontiersin Human Neuroscience, provides new insight into
neuroimaging biomarkers for earlier detection of AD.

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C ARLE ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF MEDICINEBUILDING COMMUNITY
Physician innovators from Carle Illinois Collegeof Medicine are targeting health care disparities
affecting people facing barriers to care, including
central Illinois’ LatinX community.
The student interest group Campaña de Salud
hosted a community health fair in September as partof Hispanic Heritage Patriotic Month. Carle Illinois
medical students Aashka Shah, Kellie Mullany,
Sabrina Mann, and Tarika Patel are leaders in thegroup which works to bridge gaps in health careaccess faced by historically underserved populations.

Dan u ancers
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“Currently in the greater Champaign-Urbana
population, 16% of patients report having poor orfair health, with 7% of adults not having healthinsurance. This is widened in populations of color
because having a primary physician is reportedly lesslikely in minority groups in the CU area,” Shah said.
Dr. Carlos Brown, Jr., an emergency department
physician at Carle Hospital, was one of the Spanishspeaking physicians who volunteered at thehealth fair, providing free physical and eye exams,
screenings for diabetes, high blood pressure,and high cholesterol, and advice on good healthpractices. “For Spanish-speaking patients, the first

al
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ree p
s to f eenings.
s
e
c
scr
d ac
es ha er healthhende
ir att s and ot
fahHealt eye exam
andand most difficult barrier to overcome is being
underserved,” Brown said.
The Hispanic Heritage Month Health Fair was
the first event organized under Carle Illinois’ newService-Learning program, which encourages
medical students to become leaders outside theclassroom by understanding and responding
to community needs by creating service-based
experiences.
Cam
pañ
ad
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ded

FALL 202 2 NEWSLE T TER|

7

BUILDING OPPORTUNITY
Ruby Mendenhall has a vision for the future. She
envisions a day when health care and healing,
security, and overall well-being are equally afforded
to all people as a human right. She foresees young
people who have seen far too much gun violence intheir own back yards leading the way to healing theirown communities. She imagines an open pathway
for any student with a passion for the healing arts
to make their dreams come true, regardless of theirrace, social status, gender, or location.
“Addressing social determinants of health will

all
denh
n
e
M
ssor
Profe

save lives,” Mendenhall said. “I’m trying to create
an ecosystem where students can come in, and ifthey’ve got 50 other things going on at home, here’s
place where you can flourish, first individually, butalso collectively.”“I was talking to one of thestudents yesterday. She’s 17
and she said that she’s reallyglad that she’s participatingin this project, because it
had helped her to find herpassion, and her passion isto help others. That really
touched me.”Professor Ruby Mendenhall

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C ARLE ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF MEDICINEWith the support of a $500,000 grant from the
MacArthur Foundation, Carle Illinois Collegeof Medicine’s Associate Dean for Diversity and
Democratization of Health Innovation and sociology
professor is working to give that vision form. Startingin violence-traumatized neighborhoods in Chicago
and communities affected by structural racism,
Mendenhall and her team are crowd-sourcing
innovative solutions that they hope will expand
throughout the country.

They are training primarily Black and LatinX

Mendenhall says she’s excited to see her vision comeyoung people (high school age to young adults) toto life for others. “I was talking to one of the students

partner with community organizations to serve as

yesterday. She’s 17 and she said that she’s really glad

Community Health Workers and Citizen Scientists.

that she’s participating in this project, because it had

Students are being equipped for specific tasks, likehelped her to find her passion, and her passion is totaking blood pressure and measuring blood oxygen

help others. That really touched me.”levels, but they’re also encouraged to take a more
holistic approach to healing in their communities.
Employing innovative tools from a ‘Wellness Store’
designed under the direction of Rachel Switzky at
UIUC’s Siebel Center for Design, the students cocreated and are distributing health and wellness
resources within their own communities.
“We’re working on things like nutrition, andspecifically within that, healthy eating resources forpeople with cancer. We have a partner organization
called the All Healers Mental Health Alliance thatcreated a disaster plan and to train our students
how to help in the event of a disaster,” Mendenhall
said. So far, 25 students have completed the initialtraining and are preparing for their required
internships with community and governmentalorganizations. A second, larger group will begin

Other aspects of Mendenhall’s project include:• A clinic sponsored by the University of Illinois
System Institute of Government and Public
Affairs (IGPA), providing instruction on
development and implementation on public
policy and trains the next generation of Blackand Latino policymakers.
• The Citizen Scientist Journaling Project headed
by IGPA Director Robin Wilson, allowing student
to share their lived experiences through social
media, words, and images, possibly leading
to a broader, deeper understanding of social
determinants of health.
Professor Mendenhall’s work is funded by a grant from
the MacArthur Foundation, with additional support fromDr. Melissa Hoeppner and the Cancer Center at Illinois.

training soon.
This program is intended to pave the way forearly hands-on experience that leads to increased
opportunities. The hope is that some will attend go
on to attend UIUC, and the Carle Illinois College ofMedicine in particular. “The first step is to start withwhat they’re passionate about, and then give them

“Addressing social
determinants of healthwill save lives,”
Professor Ruby Mendenhall

unprecedented access as high school students andyoung adults, so they don’t have to graduate fromhigh school to have exposure or experience. They
don’t have to get a degree, they don’t have to be
admitted to the University of Illinois. They can getthat experience now,” Mendenhall said.

FALL 202 2 NEWSLE T TER|

9BUILDING EQUITYBlack Physicians Launch,
Thrive and Significance
Scholarshipthey hope to see a broader impact. “Some of thesestudents will go back their home communities topractice. This allows us to directly affect the healthcare of these communities,” Moore said.
Donations to the new fund will be used to createan annual scholarship at Carle Illinois College of

Inspired by their own experiences and those of theircolleagues, a group of Black physicians at Carle
Health is launching an initiative to attract a diverse
student population and support Carle Illinois Collegeof Medicine’s students who come from groups that

Medicine, administered through the University
of Illinois Foundation. Gifts made to the fundcan be credited through both the University of
Illinois Foundation and the Carle Center
for Philanthropy.

are underrepresented in medicine (URiM).
Black Physicians of Carle group leaders haveestablished the Black Physicians Launch, Thrive,
and Significance Fund to provide scholarships
to students at Carle Illinois who are fromunderrepresented groups.
“Given the historical and ongoing lack of URiM
students going into medicine, we thought it would
be good to establish a scholarship fund to makeit easier,” said Dr. Napoleon Knight. “Taking awaysome of the financial burden of going throughmedical school goes a long way to make the journeyt
KnighpoleonDr. Naa little bit easier and will hopefully encourage morequalified students to apply.”
Preference will be given to students who haveshown evidence of addressing health inequities
that persist in Black/African American communities
or who are committed to advancing the state ofdiversity in the medical sciences.
“Most of us (physicians) end up owing a housein student loans due to the high cost of medical
school,” Dr. Henry Moore explained. “We wanted
to take away or at least help with that particularconcern.”
Dr. Moore said he and others wanted to make adifference starting in their own back yard, but

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C ARLE ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

Dr. Henry

Moore

BUILDING OUR VOICE

Carle Illinois College of Medicine opened its new

curriculum, this redesign allows us to build new‘front door’ in late August, with the launch of a freshchannels for showcasing the work going on at Carle

new and expanded website. The clear navigational

Illinois.”

path and attractive design welcome prospective
students, researchers, donors, and collaborators to

In the coming months, the site will build out several

partner with Carle Illinois to revolutionize health carespecialty areas, including tools to make it easier toand medical education.

support the college and stories spotlighting people
whose generous gifts have made Carle Illinois“While the Medical Sciences Building and otherCollege of Medicine thrive and grow. Visit us atamazing facilities like the JUMP Simulation Center

medicine.illinois.edu/giving to see more!

serve as our physical home, the college website
presents our students, our faculty, and our staff tothe world,” Marketing & Communications Director
Ryann Monahan said. “With new tools to highlight
our advanced health care research and our unique

FALL 202 2 NEWSLE T TER|

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BUILDING OUR VOICE

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FALL 202 2 NEWSLE T TER|

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