IHSI Affiliate are often at the forefront of interdisciplinary health research addressing personal, public, and planetary health challenges. We are always excited to celebrate their work and accomplishments and build awareness for some of the incredible research occurring at Illinois. If you are an IHSI Affiliate with news to share, please email healthinstitute@illinois.edu.
Building a trusted hub for innovation and collaboration
Sharon Donovan, director of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at Illinois, is driving the effort to establish guidelines for the growing field of personalized nutrition (PN). She recently led two workshops, bringing together experts to address the complex integration of biomedical, genetic, and behavioral data for tailored health recommendations. These workshops culminated in two published papers outlining guiding principles and addressing data and regulatory challenges. Donovan’s leadership positions Illinois as a key hub for advancing PN research, education, and ethical data use, and her work paves the way for the future of data-driven nutrition. “We want the Personalized Nutrition Initiative to be viewed as a trusted place where researchers and companies, and perhaps regulatory agencies, can come together to synthesize current knowledge and identify future directions. We serve as a convener, bringing together experts to have conversations and provide recommendations,” she said. Read more in this article from the College of ACES.
Bridging the gap between research and real people
Prof. Ruby Mendenhall recently participated in a panel and screening of “What’s Left Behind?” Mendenhall is a co-producer on the documentary that examines the aftermath of gun violence in the lives of surviving family members. The documentary came about during Mendenhall’s 2013 research with Co-PIs Professors Gene Robinson, Brent Roberts and Sandra Rodriguez-Zas on how systemic inequalities affect mental and physical health of Black mothers living on Chicago’s south side. Lisa Butler, a graduate student in Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, who helped to interview the Black mothers, saw an opportunity to highlight how the trauma and grief impacts their daily lives and mental and emotional well-being. Prof. Mendenhall loved the idea and offered to support her efforts. “The goal is to convey the humanity of these young people and how their families and the larger community are vulnerable to depression, anxiety, continuous traumatic-stress disorder, and other health challenges due to grief, trauma and stress. In addition to bearing witness to the mental and physical costs of gun violence, this documentary seeks to create spaces where we can collectively work together to dismantle the social inequality that often fosters gun violence.” Prof. Mendenhall said. Learn more about “What’s left behind?”
Supporting disaster affected communities
Congratulations to Prof. Tara Powell for receiving the Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement. Established by the Provost in 2001 and endowed by Dr. Jagdish and Mrs. Madhuri Sheth in 2006, this award recognizes an Illinois faculty member for exemplary accomplishments in teaching, research, and public service in the international arena. Professor Powell’s work not only advances academic understanding but also translates into tangible, life-changing interventions in disaster-affected communities across the globe. Currently, Prof. Powell is collaborating with local agencies in Ukraine to study the implementation of a mental health intervention for children and teachers affected by the ongoing conflict. She also leads a multi-site randomized control trial on the Journey of Hope intervention and co-investigates a study on reducing disparities in disaster-related mental health burdens in Gulf Coast communities. Learn more.
Advancing AI for Evidence-Based Complementary Medicine
Associate Professor Halil Kilicoglu is leading COMBINI, a project funded by a $3.26 million NIH grant, to develop informatics tools that analyze and consolidate scientific literature on complementary medicine and its biological mechanisms. By improving natural language processing methods and integrating knowledge from both complementary and conventional medicine, the project aims to enhance AI-driven scientific discovery and evidence-based healthcare decision-making. Read the full story by the iSchool.
Educating the public
Trent Ford, the Illinois State Climatologist, has been in the media recently, talking about the impacts that recent cuts to the National Weather Service [NWS] and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA]. Ford, recently appeared on the 21 and other media outlets, says the cuts will have wide-ranging detrimental effects, limiting the ability to inform the public about threats from severe and high-impact weather. “Whether you're a farmer, whether you are a backyard gardener or water manager, no matter who it is, we're all touched by the National Weather Service,” Ford said in an interview with WCBU. Learn more.