Carle Illinois College of Medicine is giving the next generation of medical researchers an opportunity and platform to share their work and ideas with the broader research community this April. The 19th Annual Health Innovation Research Day on April 16 is a virtual event highlighting “Innovations in Health: Past, Present, and Future” through the eyes of seasoned experts and developing researchers alike.
Research Day 2021 incorporates presentations by established medical experts, and a poster session and competition for developing researchers, to create a dialogue over ideas, scholarship, and research. “We want to ‘close the gap’ and foster innovation and research collaborations between the various groups in the research community, across disciplines,” said Carle Illinois Executive Associate Dean and Chief Diversity Officer Stephen Boppart, co-chair of this year’s Health Innovation Research Day.
Carle Illinois students, residents, and fellows are invited to submit an abstract of their original research as part of a poster session and contest. The competition allows these developing researchers an opportunity to share their work and get valuable input from attendees and a panel of seasoned experts. “We want to encourage a sense of building innovation that Carle Illinois is starting to drive, and showcase the medical research that’s going on,” said Boppart.
Entries are being accepted through February 22, 2021, in three categories: “Clinical Case Reports,” “Public Health, Humanities, and Ethics,” and “Research and Innovation.” Guidelines and submission requirements are available on the Innovation Research Day website here.
This year marks an evolution in this Research Day event itself. For 18 years, the event was planned and hosted by the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign. This will be the first year Carle Illinois has taken the lead in organizing and co-hosting the event, along with both the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign and Carle Graduate Medical Education.
The Health Innovation Research Day is part of Innovation Week 2021, a series of events designed to inspire innovation and research in the Carle Illinois and local medical community. Activities kick off on Wednesday, April 14, with the campus-wide Cozad New Venture Challenge, a competition designed to spur students to collaboratively propose and create new start-up companies. The week culminates in Carle Illinois’ Spring Health Make-A-Thon competition on Saturday, April 17, in which twenty teams of finalists will enter the ‘dolphin tank’ to pitch their ideas for innovative solutions to broad-based health problems. Ten winning teams will receive $10,000 in support to transform their idea into a working product prototype or process. Other Innovation Week events are being planned.
Health Innovation Research day is open to anyone with an interest in medical research and innovation, but advance registration is encouraged. To register, click here.
Carle Illinois emphasizes research, innovation, and creative problem-solving in all phases of its curriculum, as part of its mission to train the world’s next generation of physician-innovators.
For more information on abstract guidelines and submission, click here.