With support from the Edward Heiken Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute Fund, students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are conducting research that will have significant impact on studies of cognitive and brain health. The students are working collaboratively with an Illinois researcher and a clinical or community partner to learn how research can be applied in real-world settings for improved brain health.
The late Edward (Rick) Heiken, a 1972 economics graduate and long-time donor and supporter of Illinois, gave a more than $4.5 million estate gift to IHSI in 2023 toward brain health research and innovation. The gift currently supports three recipients of the Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance Graduate Fellowship for Technology-Based Healthcare, as well as an undergraduate student and their community-engaged research project through the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI)’s Community-Academic Scholars program.
The Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance Graduate Fellowship for Technology-Based Healthcare provides a unique opportunity for Illinois graduate students to work collaboratively with Mayo Clinic researchers and clinicians on a translational research project aimed at developing new technologies and clinical tools. Fellows typically spend one year at Illinois and one year at Mayo Clinic.
Jiachen Tu, a doctoral student in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, is working with Illinois advisor Professor Fan Lam and Mayo Clinic advisor Professor Kiaran McGee on a novel approach to detecting Alzheimer’s Disease. The team aims to develop and validate a deep learning system that can quickly provide evidence of an onset of Alzheimer’s Disease using MRI data alone.
Tu is enthusiastic for the opportunity to contribute to a highly translational project across two world-class institutions.
“Our project has the potential to significantly reduce the cost and barriers to Alzheimer's screening, bringing early detection to many more patients,” Tu said. “In the spirit of Mr. Heiken's vision — that individuals should be empowered with information about their own brain health — our work strives to extend the reach of brain health assessment to broader patient populations.”
The gift also continues to support Yurui Cao, a doctoral student in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Neeraj Wagh, a doctoral student in the Department of Bioengineering. Cao’s project focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying brain stimulation and its interaction with epilepsy and behavior. Wagh’s project focuses on developing machine learning tools to predict disease states and treatment response in patients suffering from neurological and psychiatric diseases. This research seeks to improve the moderate success rates of current standards-of-care, providing better treatment decisions and outcomes for epilepsy, stroke, and depression patients.
Now in its eighth year, the Community-Academic Scholars Program empowers undergraduate students as active collaborators in community-based research projects. For 10 weeks over the summer, they work full time with university mentors and community mentors on research projects designed to benefit communities served by the partner organization.
Roshellie Salgado is an undergraduate student studying neuroscience who aims to become a physician with a focus on advancing equitable, patient-centered care. This summer, she will work with Health & Kinesiology Prof. Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department to support a study evaluating a remote, mindfulness-based intervention for women with planned Cesarean deliveries.
The fellowship programs and student research experiences offered by IHSI prepare students to address personal, public, and planetary health challenges. Across all programs, students learn to approach research problems using diverse perspectives, including their own viewpoints and life experiences. They not only consider knowledge from different disciplines, but also integrate the perspectives of clinicians, patients, community organizations, and community members.
This blending of expertise, spirit of collaboration, and broad view of health is what spawns health innovation, according to Prof. Stephen Boppart, Director of IHSI.
“IHSI’s campus-wide position as an interdisciplinary research unit for health science, technology, and innovation, and its unique programs and strategic partnerships, offer immense opportunity for researchers, collaborators, students, donors, and anyone invested in health to make a real impact,” said Boppart. “We are grateful to Mr. Heiken for his generosity and vision and continue to seek collaborative opportunities to advance research and translation in brain health and other areas of health innovation.”