Carle Illinois College of Medicine

NYCU-CI MED Exchange 2025

New International Student Exchange Fuels Collaboration Across Borders 

A new student exchange program between Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CI MED) and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan (NYCU) is creating new opportunities for global collaboration among future physicians, scientists, and engineers.

Dr. Janet Jokela (left) accompanied NYCU students from Taiwan. They were mentored by faculty and staff members at CI MED's JUMP Simulation Center.
Dr. Janet Jokela (left) accompanied NYCU students from Taiwan. They were mentored by faculty and staff members at CI MED's JUMP Simulation Center. 

Five CI MED students immersed themselves in international health research projects at NYCU’s Taipei campus, while five medical students from NYCU were interns at CI MED’s Jump Simulation Center on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus.  The NYCU students and five interns from the U. of I. developed new extended reality-based assets and interactions for medical simulations. These simulations are aimed at improving medical students’ training in key areas, including the diagnosis of respiratory problems and performing a lumbar puncture (spinal tap).

CI MED students were accompanied to Taiwan by Senior Associate Dean for Engagement Janet Jokela. “Our CI MED students had a unique opportunity this summer to work under the supervision of NYCU biomedical researchers. This experience will expand their horizons, promote international understanding, and advance their careers in exciting new directions,” Jokela said.

Student Tony Tu’s research focused on developing a system to automatically identify reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) by analyzing magnetic resonance angiography scans. RCVS is an under-recognized cerebrovascular disorder that causes recurrent severe headaches and may lead to ischemic stroke if missed. Tu says traveling to Taiwan was crucial for this work because it provided access to a large database of patient MRA studies necessary to train his deep-learning algorithm.

“Working shoulder to shoulder with a bilingual group at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University showed how an international research-sharing system lets countries build on one another’s strengths.”

Tony Tu, Medical Student, Carle Illinois College of Medicine

“Taiwanese clinicians contributed MRA insight and rapid case accrual, while the United States side provided RCVS diagnosis expertise by Dr. Daniel Llano. Each group filled gaps the other could not address alone, proving that global partnerships accelerate discovery and improve generalizability.”

NYCU Students Build New Virtual Assets
for Medical Education

Meanwhile, the visiting NYCU exchange students created virtual assets, including a simulated patient that presents more realistic symptoms and behaviors than high-fidelity manikins can achieve.

A virtual patient simulation created by visiting NYCU at the JUMP Simulation Center presents more realistic respiratory symptoms and behaviors than high-fidelity manikins can achieve.
New virtual assets created by  visiting NYCU students at CI MED's JUMP Simulation Center present more realistic respiratory symptoms and behaviors than high-fidelity manikins can achieve.

Team members leveraged their backgrounds in computer science, data science, and engineering, along with mentorship by the Jump Simulation Center XR Team and U. of I. graduate students who are experts in XR development. Using state-of-the-art technology available through CI MED’s JUMP Simulation Center, including AI-based dialogue, the team designed and built virtual assets that will be integrated into a VR simulation to foster meaningful student collaboration.

The international exchange program is part of the Global Consortium for Innovation and Engineering in Medicine (GCIEM), founded and led by Carle Illinois College of Medicine.

 

“Collaboration is the most powerful way to unite the brightest minds in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges. Through these cultural exchanges, we empower the next generation of physicians — both here and abroad — to better understand one another, while advancing the health, safety, and technological progress of our communities.”
CI MED Executive Vice Dean Dr. Greg Polites