Illinois Medicine

LASLEY RECEIVES GRANT TO STUDY GULF WAR ILLNESS Stephen Lasley, PhD, a pharmacologist on the COM Peoria campus, has received a three-year, $715,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to investigate the causes of Gulf War illness. His goal: to uncover new treatment and relief, and possibly to reverse the neuro-inflammation that Lasley and other researchers theorize play into the illness. Lasley has spent 15 years studying the neurological reactions that might have caused the disease plaguing thousands of veterans who served in the war. Researchers believe the disease stems from factors like battlefield stress, pesticides and anti- nerve gas drugs, and Lasley focuses on how stress plays a critcal role in the onset of the disease. To reduce or even reverse brain inflammation, he does experiments with mice and monitors their behavior. Lasley also is applying for another federal grant that could take some aspects of his research and apply it to pesticides. FINKENBINE ELECTED PRESIDENT OF STATE PSYCHIATRIC GROUP Ryan Finkenbine, MD, chair of the department of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at the COM's Peoria campus, has been elected president of the Illinois Psychiatric Society. During a formal proclamation at the Illinois House of Representatives in Springfield, Finkenbine was thanked for his service to the society and congratulated. The director of the Peoria campus' psychiatry residency training program, Finkenbine joined the Peoria campus in 2009. Since then, he and his staff, in collaboration with UnityPoint Health –Methodist, have developed the psychiatry residency program, which is ACGME-accredited and last year graduated its first cohort of residents. Finkenbine maintains an active forensic practice, conducting or coordinating hundreds of criminal and civil forensic evaluations over the past decade. RODRIGUEZ BECOMES ASSISTANT DEAN OF DIVERSITY IN ROCKFORD Pedro Rodriguez, MD, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, has become assistant dean of diversity and inclusion for the College of Medicine's Rockford campus. Board-certified in plastic surgery, Rodriguez will advise Regional Dean Alex Stagnaro-Green, MD, MHPE, and department heads on supporting a diverse and inclusive culture on campus. He also will spearhead efforts to ensure that the medical curriculum delves into and adequately addresses the issue of cultural competence and how it can impact patient care. Rodriguez received his MD from Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, did residency at Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio, and fellowship in plastic surgery at the COM Chicago. He will continue to practice at OSF Cosmetic & Reconstructive Plastic Surgery. PURI TO LEAD GRANT FOR LUNG CANCER EARLY DETECTION RESEARCH Neelu Puri, PhD, an associate professor of biomedical sciences whose work focuses on cancer therapy and obesity, will serve as principal investigator for a $50,000 grant awarded to the COM Rockford to continue work on early screening of lung cancer. The grant, from the Dr. Louis & Violet Rubin Fund of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, will carry forward a collaborative effort to enhance early screening with organizations like OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center's Patricia D. Pepe Center for Cancer Care and UI Health. The 12 | S U M M E R 2 0 1 7 faculty news The latest accomplishments of our distinguished faculty WALDEN NAMED ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR FACULTY AFFAIRS William E. Walden, PhD, has become the associate dean for faculty affairs at the College of Medicine. He previously served as the COM's inaugural associate dean for diversity and inclusion, where he developed strategies to increase faculty and leadership diversity; and he earlier served as special assistant to the provost for diversity, where he led a Chicago-campuswide effort around diversity strategic thinking and planning. Other campus leadership roles have included director of the National Science Foundation-funded Bridge to the Doctorate program, which is instrumental in increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in PhD programs in the STEM field. Walden joined the COM in 1987 after receiving his PhD and postdoctoral training in molecular biology from Washington University in St. Louis. A professor in microbiology and immunology, his research focuses on cellular iron regulation and iron-related gene expression in eukaryotes. He has published numerous articles in peer review journals, and he was elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015. Walden served as a reviewer on national committees and advisory boards including NIH, NSF, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Leukemia Research Foundation and the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students. ELAM APPOINTED ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR DIVERSITY & INCLUSION Gloria Elam, MD, MPH, has been named both associate dean for diversity and inclusion, and director of the Urban Health Program at the College of Medicine. A COM faculty member since 1990, she has been associate professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology, associate head of clinical affairs for obstetrics and gynecology, director of the Center for Women's Health, and president of the UI Health medical staff. Elam has previously served as the clerkship director, residency program director and interim gynecology division director in the department of obstetrics and gynecology. She is active at the national level, where she is a fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and serves as a board examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In 2013, Elam received the ACOG's Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology national Faculty Award for Excellence in Resident Education. She received her MD from Meharry Medical College in Nashville and her MPH from the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. Elam was also a visiting student through the Urban Health Program herself, and she has been a longstanding advocate of improving health care access for the underserved. William E. Walden Gloria Elam Stephen Lasley Ryan Finkenbine Pedro Rodriguez

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