Med School Minute March 2026

Dean Mark Cohen joined the AAMC in Washington, D.C., to advocate on behalf of our college and to share the tremendous work taking place at CI MED. He met with Senator Tammy Duckworth  on Capitol Hill on March 26 to discuss the importance of additional Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) positions, funding for cutting-edge medical research, strengthening the academic medicine workforce through key federal programs, and more.

Claudius Conrad will be featured on the Illinois Public Media production Prairie Fire in April. He will discuss his research on the use of music in medicine. The program will air on WILL-TV at 7:30 pm on April 16, 2026, and stream on YouTube and the PBS app. Prairie Fire is seen throughout Illinois and in parts of Missouri and Michigan.

Student Billianne Schultz and radiation oncologist Sinisa Stanic teamed up on research that offers new answers for doctors and patients battling rare forms of uterine cancer. The study homes in on two rare and aggressive types of uterine cancer, suggesting that less invasive, targeted radiation therapy after surgery is beneficial for patients with early-stage cancers. Read more here.

A new approach to spinal stimulation therapy under development at CI MED could offer more effective relief for patients with chronic pain, especially those in rural areas. By leveraging real-time data on the patient’s emotional state and physical biomarkers, Prateek Dullur, Ravishankar Iyer, and their cross-disciplinary team seek to optimize pain relief through more personalized delivery of spinal stimulation. Read more here.

Anthony Wong presented his research leveraging AI to discover new drugs to fight type 2 diabetes through a triple-target approach as a finalist in the AMA’s 2025 Research Challenge competition. Wong was the People's Choice Winner in the Innovative Research Award category. Read more about his research here.

Join us for Health Innovation Research Day on Friday, April 3, 2026, from 11 am to 5 pm at the Illini Union. Dhanu Thiyag, MD, an assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and affiliate faculty member of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan, will deliver the inaugural Wade Family Grand Rounds presentation on the topic, “From idea to global women’s health: medicine is innovation, and innovation is medicine.”

Members of the CI MED Class of 2026 celebrated exceptional results in the Residency Match Day on March 20. Physician Innovators were selected by top teaching hospitals – affiliates of Yale, Harvard, Mayo Clinic, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Michigan – as well as clinics and community-based hospitals, to serve patients across the country when they begin residency in July. Of the 48 CI MED students in this year’s match, 20% chose surgical specialties, 33% chose primary care, and 6% chose OB/GYN. Once again, CI MED students landed spots in highly competitive specialties, including neurosurgery, dermatology (3), plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery, and anesthesiology. Read more about Match Day here.

Plan on attending Convocation Ceremonies for the Class of 2026? Don't forget to RSVP for attendance, and order your regalia if you're planning to participate in the processional. Both are due April 5. 

Clinical Sciences:

Holly Rosencranz co-authored a recent article in the BMJ Medical Education Journal on a new tool that maps climate health learning objectives to established AAMC competency domains and provides an adaptable structure for incorporating climate content into existing courses. Rosencranz’s contribution, “The Climate Health Curriculum Tool (CHCT): an assessment framework for integrating climate health education in U.S. undergraduate medical curricula,” builds on CI MED students’ work in the Climate Change, Sustainability, and Planetary Health elective. This elective and the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCH) are providing resources to the Global Consortium for Innovation and Engineering in Medicine on this topic.

Albert England III and James Kumar will perform the Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi on May 2, 2026, at 730 pm at Krannert's Center as members of the U. of I. Oratorio Society. 

Advancement secured a gift to support the research of CI MED’s Associate Dean for Research. Donors Peter and Vicki Bartholow – long-time supporters of Claudius Conrad – provided initial funding. They requested that the public announcement of their gift should be a surprise to their friend. It was announced at the March Town Hall. 

The Advancement team encourages faculty and staff members to share potential donor and corporate relations opportunities with them. Relationships like these can play an important role in building meaningful partnerships that help build funding for the college.

Patricia Rosario joins CI MED as office manager for Marketing & Communications and Advancement. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa, where she completed majors in Russian, linguistics, classics, religion, and art history. She also holds a master’s degree in library and information science, with a graduate certificate in special collections from the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Most recently, she served as the office support specialist for the Native American House at Illinois. 

CI MED continues to shape national conversations in accreditation and medical with a new Academic Medicine publication. Deborah Virant-Young, Kristine Carpenter, Gary Beck Dallaghan, and Colleen Hayden collaborated on a recent publication that highlights how structured rubrics can improve transparency and consistency in medical school accreditation. Read the full publication here.

At the same time, CI MED’s Accreditation/CQI team is advancing our accreditation efforts. The LCME Self‑Study Team Leads Kickoff Meeting will be held on April 6, to launch the next phase of this important institutional process.

Faculty Development Events:

• Required for Faculty and Staff Annual Policy Attestations: Please complete the attestation form by Friday, May 8, 2024.
• 2026 C.O.M.P.A.S.S. ACGME Program May 1 and 2, 2026: Register here

See the Faculty Affairs & Development calendar for events and seminar series.

Need CI MED-branded resources? Our Branded Resources page on the intranet includes everything from a photo repository to branded templates for PowerPoint presentations, research posters, and Zoom backgrounds available for download. CI MED’s official logos and brand guidelines are also available. 

Media mentions:

• Inki Kim was interviewed  by Medium about technology’s potential to make a positive impact on wellness.
• Janet Jokela authored an opinion piece titled “The service of humanity: Recommitting to physicians’ ethical duties,” published on the KevinMD website.

Health Innovation Professor Brad Sutton is being invested as a Founder Professor in Engineering on Tuesday, March 31.

Hyunjoon Kong, the Robert W. Schaefer Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, was named to the National Academy of Inventors Class of 2026, which includes 231 emerging inventors from NAI’s Member Institutions.

MD/PhD candidate Bhargavee Gnana has been selected to participate in the 2026 American Association for the Advancement of Science Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) Workshop in Washington D.C., on April 12-15. She’s one of four students on U. of I. Urbana-Champaign campus chosen to participate. The workshop aims to educate students about the role of science in policymaking and the federal policy-making process and to empower them with ways to become a voice for research throughout their careers.

Three CI MED students have been honored with Strive awards from the Illinois Women's Resources Center. Jona Kerluku has been selected as a recipient of the 2026 Pat Morey Legacy Award for gender equity work that will benefit the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Busa Oni was selected as this year’s recipient of the Joan Wingo Sunshine Award, honoring an unsung hero on our campus whose everyday contributions brighten the lives of others and act as a guiding light. Allison Whitney was honored with the Advocate Award for advocating for gender equity in their everyday life. The three were chosen by the Strive Awards planning committee at the Illinois Women's Resources Center to receive the honors at a ceremony on March 30, 2026.

How long have you been at Carle Illinois, and where were you before?
I have been in the CIMED since August 2021. Prior to joining Carle Illinois, I was delighted to be a distinguished faculty member at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, where I taught Anatomy, Embryology, and Physiology for about six years, and I was recognized for teaching excellence by receiving the Educator of the Year Award on three occasions. 

Tell me about an interesting project that you’re working on now.
I’m currently working with Carle Illinois leadership, faculty, and staff to develop a fully redesigned curriculum comprising medical knowledge, innovations, and professional development courses for our postbacc program. The Carle Illinois College of Medicine PreHealth Medical Innovation Program is a comprehensive, supportive post-baccalaureate experience designed to help students confidently take their next step into health care. This one-year, fully online, asynchronous program strengthens students’ foundations in core medical sciences while providing robust academic guidance, professional development, and mentorship. Students gain the preparation needed for medical school or other advanced health professions, while also developing an innovative mindset that enhances their applications and prepares them to contribute meaningfully to the future of health care. 

What do you love most about working at Carle Illinois?
The relationship between the anatomy team and our students is uniquely characterized by trust, mutual respect, and a deep sense of belonging. Through consistent mentorship, compassionate guidance, and an unwavering commitment to student success, the anatomy team creates a learning environment where every student feels valued, supported, and fully engaged. This exceptional relationship transforms the anatomy lab into a collaborative, inclusive, and empowering space where students not only learn but thrive, and this is what I really love about working at Carle Illinois. 

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?
I love gardening, especially planting lots of green mint. I am a black tea lover, and the best way to drink black tea is with fresh green mint.

Active Searches:

• Director of Human Resources – Office of Finance and Administration
• Associate Director of PreHealth Academic and Professional Development – Office of Academic Affairs
• Web Manager – Office of Marketing and Communications
• Clinical Course Specialist – Office of Academic Affairs
• Office Administrator – Department of Clinical Sciences
• Office Support Associate – Dean’s Office

Wellness:

Team Jump Simulation averaged a total of 4934.8 minutes of physical activity during the Minutes to Monuments Well-being Challenge, earning another Golden Shoe Award from U. of I. Well-being Services. That’s an average of 176.2 minutes logged per day per team member. Congrats to Mae Vogel, Cedric Dumas, Kristin Allen, Alex Ratcliff, and Team Captain Shandra Jamison. CI MED also fielded two other teams in the challenge.

External Events:

• Cozad New Venture Challenge Demo Day – Thursday, April 16, at the I Hotel and Conference Center
• Cozad Finals Event and Awards Ceremony – Friday, April 17, 2026.