Each month, the Dean’s Office recognizes and celebrates the achievements of our students, faculty, and staff with this summary.

Melissa Chen, MD, medical director of the Interprofessional Community Clinic, CMS assistant dean of diversity and inclusion, and associate professor of medicine, co-presented a webinar titled “Stigma in Medicine: The Power of Language” as part of the International Association of Medical Science Educators’ “Navigating Strains in Health Education” series. Dr. Chen presented this topic with Dr. J. Corey Williams from Georgetown University Medical Center. Their webinar explored how using stigmatizing language in clinical documentation and oral presentations can communicate biases to other clinicians, impact treatment decisions, and perpetuate racial disparities in the delivery of healthcare services.

Lise Eliot, PhD, professor of neuroscience, presented two talks in Chile this month. On October 22, she spoke at the Universidad Autonoma de Chile in Santiago on “Neuroplasticity and the Origin of Gender Difference.” On October 25, she presented at a meeting of the Chilean Society for Neuroscience in Concón on the topic “Why and How to Account for Sex and Gender in Brain and Behavioral Research.”

Regina de Leon Gomez, MD, FACOG, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and Clinical Foundations of Medicine course director, and Myrtis Sullivan, MD, MPH, FAAP, professor of pediatrics, were invited to give a virtual presentation on “A Look at Climate Through the Reproductive Justice Lens” to the League of Women Voters (Arlington Heights-Mount Prospect-Buffalo Grove Area). Dr. Gomez and Dr. Sullivan discussed how the changed climate and environmental degradation is affecting women's health and contributing to health inequities as factors like heat, pollution, and extreme weather events negatively impact reproductive health.

Caroline Madigan, CMS ’26, co-authored an article titled “Adverse Childhood Experiences, Brain Function, and Psychiatric Diagnoses in a Large Adult Clinical Cohort,” published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Juan Medina-Echeverria and Daniel Sanchez, both CMS ’25, co-authored “Community-Based Initiative: Engaging Youth in Medical Education,” published in Medical Education. The article details the development and implementation of the CMS Mini Medical School, a program for local fourth- and fifth-grade students that is designed to encourage healthcare aspirations among student populations traditionally underrepresented in medicine.

Congratulations to Lalita Prasad-Reddy, PharmD, MS, BCPS, BCACP, CDCES, FCCP, assistant dean of basic science education, vice-chair of foundational sciences and humanities, and associate professor of clinical and molecular pharmacology, who received the Illinois Council of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ICHP) DEIA Impact Award! This award recognizes an individual who has made sustainable contributions to the advancement of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in clinical practice, advancement, or the greater community.  The award was presented at the ICHP annual meeting, held September 12-14 in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.

Siddharth Suresh, CMS ’26, won third place at the 30th annual Golden Stethoscope Awards for his research abstract titled “Assessing the Utility of Diagnostic Ultrasound Over Alternate Modalities in the Post-Operative Imaging of Peripheral Nerves.” At this event, hosted by the Indian American Medical Association-Illinois, medical students and residents are invited to present their research projects. In addition to his award-winning presentation, Siddharth also presented a second abstract titled “Establishing the Correlation between Eye Tracking Patterns and Self-Reported Moral Injury in Veterans Diagnosed with PTSD.”