Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute

08/20/2026

Attn Grad Students: Interested in applying advanced statistics to real-world health research?

The Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) Core at IHSI is seeking a motivated graduate student for a Fall 2026 internship.

Working alongside experience bioastatisticians and Illinois faculty, the intern will use the Population Assessment of To***co and Health (PATH) to answer research questions about factors that predict the rate of recovery from distress symptoms of psychopathology.

Interested in building your statistical skills while contributing to health research?

Learn more and apply: https://go.illinois.edu/BERD-Intern

08/19/2026

Join us in welcoming Cathlene Hardy Hansen, Ph.D., to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign!

Cathlene's vision for a better world is evident throughout her more than 20 years of experience, as she has worked across disciplines and traditional silos to develop mutually beneficial programs to help all individuals, their families, communities, and the greater society

A strategic and collaborative leader in public health, disability policy, and higher education, Dr. Hansen is helping lead IHSI’s vision and strategic direction, with a particular focus on the development and management of translational research.

She’s already building relationships with IHSI affiliates and researchers interested in IHSI’s new Brain Health Center Planning Grant.

Learn more about Cathlene, her role with IHSI, and her dedication to inclusive innovation: https://healthinstitute.illinois.edu/news-events/news/ihsi-welcomes-cathlene-hardy-handsen-as-director-of-research-and-innovation

08/19/2026

Each year, we are honored to accept midcareer researchers from the Prairie Research Institute. Strengthening leadership across the research enterprise is vital to Illinois continued research excellence.

08/14/2026

Introducing the 16 rising stars in the 2026-27 cohort of the Emerging Research Leaders Academy!

In addition to managing their growing research programs, several of these mid-career researchers have stepped into positions of administrative service and leadership within their units, professional societies, and on the editorial boards of leading journals. They have secured major awards and earned recognition from professional societies and international conferences.

These rising stars represent 17 academic units in 7 colleges and have affiliations with seven of Illinois’ ten campuswide interdisciplinary research institutes.

Join us in congratulating the 2026-27 Emerging Research Leaders!

From the College of ACES:
🔸Maria Chu, Agricultural and Biological Engineering
🔹Sharde McNeil Smith, Human Development & Family Studies
🔸Josie Rudolphi, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

From the College of Applied Health Sciences:
🔹Dan Fogerty, Speech & Hearing Science

From the Carle Illinois College of Medicine:
🔸Manuel Hernandez, Biomedical and Translational Sciences

From the College of Education:
🔹Miray Tekkumru-Kisa, Curriculum and Instruction
🔸Amber Ray, Special Special Education

From The Grainger College of Engineering:
🔸Wawrzyniec Dobrucki, Bioengineering
🔹Katie Driggs-Campbell, ECE
🔸Nicola Perry, Materials Science & Engineering

From the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences:
🔹Josh Vura-Weis, Chemistry
🔸Phil Anderson, Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, Integrative Biology
🔹Chunyuan Diao, Geography and GIS
🔸Paola E. Mera, Microbiology, School of Molecular & Cellular Biology

From the Prairie Research Institute:
🔸Sarah Baires, Illinois State Archaeological Survey

From College of Veterinary Medicine:
🔹Kari Foss, Veterinary Clinical Medicine

Learn more: https://healthinstitute.illinois.edu/news-events/news/introducing-the-2026-27-emerging-research-leaders

ERLA is facilitated by Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI), in partnership with Beckman Institute, Carle Illinois College of Medicine, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, Social & Behavioral Science Institute, College of Applied Health Sciences at Illinois, Liberal Arts & Sciences at Illinois, The Grainger College of Engineering and the Office of Proposal Development.

08/12/2026

The Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance is pleased to host a poster session featuring 18 undergraduates who spent the summer at Mayo Clinic

Join us on Thursday, Sept. 3 from 3 to 5 p.m., at the Beckman Institute at Illinois to meet the student researchers and learn more about their projects and experiences.

The students contributed to research projects addressing a wide range of health challenges like,

🔸cancer

🔹neurological disorders

🔸mental health

🔹diabetes

🔸digestive health

🔹pregnancy and infant health

🔸blood disorders

🔹infectious disease

🔸and the impact that social determinants of health, like socioeconomic and environmental factors, can have on individual health and wellness

Learn more and register by Thursday, Aug. 27, to help us fully accommodate each guest during the event:

Details: https://calendars.illinois.edu/detail/5589/33556525

Registration: https://redcap.healthinstitute.illinois.edu/surveys/?s=TDC8PDTNAELC4WXR

*About the Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance*
The Mayo Clinic and Illinois Alliance is administered by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute and led in collaboration with the The Grainger College of Engineering, National Center for Supercomputing Applications - NCSA, and Mayo Clinic. Learn more by visiting https://mayoillinois.org

Students came from majors all across campus, including Health and Kinesiology, Chemistry, Molecular & Cellular Biology, Psychology, Neuroscience, Spanish, Statistics, Marketing in Gies College of Business, Bioengineering, Computing and Data Science, and Materials Science & Engineering.

07/29/2026

Early-career faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and research and engagement professionals are invited to learn more about Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) funding opportunities in perinatal mental health at the PCORI Pathways PERIMENTOR Summer Workshop on August 5, 2026, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

This virtual workshop is hosted by the Pathways to Perinatal Mental Health Equity team, including IHSI Affiliate Karen Tabb-Dina, one of the nation’s top researchers in perinatal mental health studies and a professor in the School of Social Work.

The workshop includes an overview of funding opportunities for perinatal mental health research and engagement, followed by interactive breakout sessions that focus on three types of funding opportunities.

Registration closes Aug. 3. https://illinois.zoom.us/meeting/register/Pq1gevesSoy5W_kQ7TCQ_Q

About Pathways to Perinatal Mental Health Equity

University of Illinois is a part of “Pathways to Perinatal Mental Health Equity.” Located in the Beckman Institute at Illinois, the multi-university research program led by UMass Chan Medical School, compares the clinical effectiveness of a health system-focused approach versus a healthcare-community partnership approach to mental health care during pregnancy. The program’s focus is developing better practices for supporting perinatal mental health needs, and training researchers and medical professionals on those practices.

Researchers in University of Illinois Department of Communication; University of Illinois Psychology Department, Department of Health and Kinesiology at Illinois, Human Development & Family Studies at Illinois, Family Resiliency Center, and Education at Illinois may be interested in learning more about this work.

07/17/2026

Thank you to the staff at Champaign-Urbana Public Health District for welcoming the I-SUMMER scholars to tour the facility and learn about the services CUPHD offers.

Four of the scholars are working with CUPHD this summer on projects related to nitrous oxide misuse, health care worker wellbeing, and overdose risk in poly substance use. CUPHD extended a welcome to the whole cohort.

Dr. Mamadou Tounkara, Public Health Administrator and Executive Director of CUPHD, also took some time to meet and talk with the scholars. Overall, it was an engaging visit! Thanks again for your hospitality!

07/17/2026

Join IHSI and Illinois Extension to hear from Carle Illinois College of Medicine's Jona Kerluku. Learn more about potential side effects, emerging questions about long-term use, and how these drugs affect the body during and after treatment. She will also discuss the broader issues, including access, affordability, and shifting cultural perspectives on weight and health.

GLP-1 medications are transforming how we approach weight loss. This session examines potential side effects, emerging questions about long-term use, and how these drugs affect the body during and after treatment. The discussion also explores broader issues, including access, affordability, and shifting cultural perspectives on weight and health.

Understanding GLP-1 Weight-Loss Medications: Clinical and Societal Impacts
✅July 22 at noon
✅Register at: https://extension.illinois.edu/events/2026-07-22-understanding-glp-1-weight-loss-medications-clinical-and-societal-impacts

Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute

07/17/2026

🎉🎊Join us in celebrating our inaugural cohort of Illinois-Substance Use and Mental Health Mentored Experience and Research (I-SUMMER) scholars🎉🎊

With support from an The National Institute on Drug Abuse - NIDA 🎉 R25 research education grant, IHSI has been able to invite 9 scholars to contribute to community engaged research projects focused on substance use and mental health comorbidities.

🎉🎊 Meet the new cohort! 🎉🎊

Curtis Lok and Louisa Nwaigbo are working with Prof. Jacinda K. Dariotis and Rosecrance Behavioral Health to investigate early life predictors of substance use risk-taking among transition-aged youth.

J Beto is also working with Prof. Dariotis and Champaign Unit 4 Schools on a Youth Participatory Action Research Experience related to substance use.

Emily Depke and Gurneer Sidhu are working with Professor Rachel Hoopsick, and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) on a study examining how to best support healthcare worker well-being.

Sophia Stuart is also working with Professor Hoopsick and a mentor from CUPHD on a study examining nitrous oxide misuse among young adults.

Blessing Eyinle is working with a mentor from UI Health and Professor Charee Thompson to explore mental health and substance use screening and interventions to improve women's health.

Dontavious Williams is working with mentors from Urbana Park District as well as Professors Moses Okumu and Doug Smith to better understand substance use and mental health among young adults in Champaign-Urbana.

Kaile Yang is working with Professor Hyojung Kang and CUPHD on understanding polysubstance use patterns and overdose risk in Champaign-Urbana.

We also want to express many thanks and congratulations to the IHSI team members and affiliated researchers for bringing this vision to life!

Learn more about the scholars and their projects at the link on our LinkTree!