Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/87674
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION DEAN Dimitri T. Azar, MD, MBA SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR FACULTY AFFAIRS Timothy Erickson, MD SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR STUDENTS Kathleen Kashima, PhD ASSOCIATE DEANS FOR CLINICAL A FFAIRS David Schwartz, MD Patrick Tranmer, MD SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH Larry Tobacman, MD SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ADVANCEMENT; VICE PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FOUNDATION L. Keith Todd ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ADMINISTRATION Todd Van Neck, MPP ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION William Walden, PhD SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ACADEMIC AND EDUCATIONAL A FFAIRS Saul Weiner, MD REGIONAL DEAN, PEORIA Sara L. Rusch, MD, Res '81, FACP REGIONAL DEAN, ROCKFORD Martin Lipsky, MD INTERIM REGIONAL DEAN, URBANA-CHAMPAIGN Uretz Oliphant, MD ILLINOIS MEDICINE EDITORIAL STAFF PUBLISHERS Todd Van Neck, MPP EDITOR IN CHIEF Michael J. Wesbecher EDITORS J. H. Robert Chang, PhD, Sandeep Jain, MD, Nalin Kumar, DPhil MANAGING EDITOR Ed Finkel COP Y EDITOR Kathleen Kopitke CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Richard Asa, Anne Ford, David Haney, Prerna Mona Khanna, MD '91, Bridget Kuehn, Melissa Maleske, Kevin McKeough, John Morrissey, Alice Patenaude, Susan Reich DESIGN Anne Boyle, Boyle Design Associates PHOTOGRA PHY Lloyd DeGrane, Roberta Dupuis-Devlin, Kevin Lee Studio, Susan Reich, Diane Smutny, Brian Thomas Photography, Alina Vargas-Afanasieva, Daryl Wilson Photography Illinois Medicine is a publication of the University of Illinois Office of the Dean. ©2012 All rights reserved. All inquiries should be addressed to: Illinois Medicine Office of the Dean (MC784) 1853 West Polk Street, Room 115A Chicago, Illinois 60612-7333 Phone: (312) 996-4470 Email: medcomm@uic.edu www.medicine.uic.edu MISSION The mission of the University of Illinois College of Medicine is to enhance the health of the citizens of Illinois by educating physicians and biomedical scientists, advancing knowledge of health and disease, and providing health care in a setting of education and research. ON THE COVER Along with University of Illinois President-designate, Robert Easter (back) and UIC Chancellor, Paula Allen-Meares (center), Dean Dimitri Azar (right) congratulates Viviana Fajardo, MD '12 at the 2012 commencement ceremony. Photo by Diane Smutny. features GR ADUATION — COVER S TORY Graduation Elation 16 The University of Illinois College of Medicine Class of 2012 celebrate their achievements on campus and look forward to continued excellence in their residencies, research and beyond. PEORIA — ONCOLOGY Innovation Magnet 20 The centerpiece of a veritable building boom on the College of Medicine's Peoria campus is a $13 million, 24,000-square-foot Cancer Research Center that will attract pioneering studies—and the top-flight researchers who perform them. GRAT E FUL PATIENT Running for a Cause 23 Identical twins Chris and Nikki Haras, fueled by the memory of the devoted dad they lost to diabetes, have run 184 miles and raised nearly $16,000 for the Chicago Diabetes Project as members of the "Cellmates on the Run" charity running team.