blog posts

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  Ananthan Nambiar selected as newest recipient of Technology-Based Healthcare Fellowship

  Jul 8, 2024 7:15 am1 views

• Meet the nine Illinois students selected as 2024 Mayo Clinic Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows

  Apr 3, 2024 3:15 pm165 views

• Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance welcomes new Technology-Based Healthcare Fellow

  Mar 7, 2024 1:30 pm125 views

• Introducing the ten Illinois undergrads selected as 2023 Mayo Clinic Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows

  May 4, 2023 2:30 pm331 views

• Improving AI models for better patient care

  Dec 13, 2022 9:15 am1 views

  Machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) are exploding in popularity in fields ranging from art to science and everything in between—bioengineering included. While these tools have the potential to bring about significant improvements in healthcare, the systems aren’t perfect. How can we identify when machine learning and artificial intelligence are suggesting solutions that aren’t effective in the real world? 

• Meet our Technology-Based Healthcare Research Fellows

  Oct 25, 2022 2:30 pm305 views

  The Technology-Based Healthcare Fellowship 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. To get the most from the experience, fellows are encouraged to spend one year at Illinois and one year at Mayo Clinic. In January, the Alliance will welcome its twelfth fellow to participate in this unique program.

  Meet the current fellows and learn a bit more about the cutting-edge research they are conducting in collaboration with University of Illinois and Mayo Clinic researchers and clinicians.    

   

   

• Mentee to mentor: Bioengineering professor Yoga Varatharajah mentors two students through Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance education programs

  Oct 21, 2022 3:45 pm280 views

• Two Illinois SURF students co-author publications under mentorship of alumnus Arjun Athreya

  Oct 21, 2022 1:45 pm338 views
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  Illinois undergrads share their Mayo Clinic research experience

  Sep 29, 2022 6:15 am271 views

  At the end of the 2022 program, the fellows shared why they applied to the SURF program, the impact of the experience on their academic or career goals, and advice for future participants in the program. To view photos and learn what the fellows had to say about their summer undergraduate research experience at Mayo Clinic, watch the video.

• Introducing the 10 Illinois students selected as Mayo Clinic's 2022 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows

  Jun 7, 2022 2:30 pm667 views

  Each year, Mayo Clinic invites undergraduates from across the nation to participate in their Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. As part of our longstanding collaboration, Mayo Clinic reserves seven spots each year for Illinois students chosen by the Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance pre-selection committee. This year, we are proud to announce that 10 Illinois students are headed to Rochester, MN to participate in the 2022 SURF program. 

• Illinois students explore health care innovation

  Oct 28, 2021 5:30 am652 views

  The course is typically open to Mayo Clinic students, physicians, scientists, fellows or residents enrolled in certain programs. Mayo Clinic made the opportunity available to U of I students as part of the Alliance’s effort to explore expanded educational and cocurricular opportunities in entrepreneurship and health care innovation.

• Illinois undergraduates get real-world research experience at Mayo Clinic

  Sep 30, 2021 8:00 am340 views

  This year, 11 outstanding Illinois undergraduates participated in the SURF program. The fellows were given the opportunity to present their Mayo Clinic research projects and share their program experiences during a virtual celebration in September.

• How SNPs can be used to detect disease pathways

  Sep 27, 2021 8:15 am111 views

  Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new computational tool that can identify pathways related to diseases, including breast and prostate cancer, using single-nucleotide polymorphisms. SNPs, which refer to mutations in a person’s DNA, are the most common type of genetic variation among people. The researchers hope that the tool can help them discover new pathways that have been previously overlooked.

• Introducing the 11 Illinois students selected as Mayo Clinic's 2021 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows

  May 27, 2021 4:30 pm1881 views

  Each year, Mayo Clinic invites around 180 undergraduates from across the nation to participate in their Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. Sponsored by the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, this 10-week program gives undergraduates a chance to work at the forefront of biomedical research at one of the world’s leading medical centers. Students work in the laboratories of Mayo Clinic faculty on small research projects or as part of ongoing investigations, attend weekly seminars, and get to test their inclinations toward a career in biomedical research.

• Geology helps map kidney stone formation from tiny to troublesome

  May 25, 2021 7:15 am6 views

  Advanced microscope technology and cutting-edge geological science are giving new perspectives to an old medical mystery: How do kidney stones form, why are some people more susceptible to them and can they be prevented?

• Researchers develop new technique to study ‘microcancers’ and screen cancer-fighting drugs

  Apr 23, 2021 1:00 pm89 views

  Three-dimensional microscale hanging drop arrays are useful in drug discovery, regenerative medicine, stem cell research, and biotechnology.

• New computational models to understand colon cancer

  Mar 29, 2021 1:30 pm6 views

  Although the development of secondary cancerous growths, called metastasis, is the primary cause of death in most cancers, the cellular changes that drive it are poorly understood. In a new study, published in Genome Biology, researchers at Mayo Clinic and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new modeling approach to better understand how tumors become aggressive.

   

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  Mayo Clinic algorithm shows potential in individualizing treatment for depression

  Feb 8, 2021 6:00 am12 views

  A computer algorithm developed by researchers within Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign could help clinicians accurately and efficiently predict whether a patient with depression will respond to an antidepressant. 

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  A World in a Grain of Sand: New Discoveries in Kidney Stones

  Nov 16, 2020 6:00 am515 views

  Learn about the fascinating research that uncovered “a world in a grain of sand” with the Mayo Clinic Heritage Film featuring Mayo Clinic and University of Illinois collaborators. 

• Faced with a pandemic, undergraduate research programs innovate and evolve

  Nov 5, 2020 6:00 am30 views

  Disruptions due to COVID-19 didn't deter undergraduates committed to a summer of research training in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) at Mayo Clinic. Instead, they learned to thrive in a virtual environment and even presented their scientific posters online. Illinois student Elizabeth Martin presented a poster about her summer research experience, which focused on DNA barcoding.

• New research uses signal processing methods and machine learning to better diagnose epilepsy

  Aug 12, 2020 3:45 pm2 views

  Illinois researchers, in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, have developed a machine-learning-based approach that uses alpha-rhythm-related features to determine the potential for epilepsy and identify the seizure-generating side of the patient's brain. The results were reported in a paper titled, "Electrophysiological correlates of brain health help diagnose epilepsy and lateralize seizure focus". Yogatheesan Varatharajah, the first author of this paper, was named a finalist in the 2020 Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Student Paper Competition, chosen from over 1000 submissions. Varatharajah is a graduate of electrical and computer engineering at Illinois and will be joining the department of bioengineering as a research faculty this summer. 

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  How Bryan White drove innovation through collaboration

  Feb 20, 2020 1:00 pm212 views

  After a decade of helping to build the Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance into the robust partnership it is today, Director Bryan White will retire on February 29. A few of his colleagues reflected on his incredible impact on individual researchers, on the Alliance as a whole, and on the two partner organizations over the last ten years in this short tribute.

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  Illinois student earns postdoctoral fellowship after completing an Alliance-sponsored internship

  Dec 6, 2019 1:00 pm2603 views

  After completing a summer internship at Mayo Clinic and earning her PhD in Biological Anthropology from Illinois, Abigail Asangba will join the Mayo Clinic staff as a postdoctoral research associate in January 2020.  

• Agenda available for Computational, Data, & Digital Approaches to Advance Health

  Nov 1, 2019 2:30 pm2 views

  Computational, Data, and Digital Approaches to Advance Health will highlight the expertise at Illinois in the applications to health and medicine of AI, machine learning, deep learning, computational imaging, computational genomics, big data and data analytics, and other computational/digital approaches.

• 2019 SURF Experience: Danielle Yee

  Oct 4, 2019 12:30 pm521 views

  Danielle Yee was among seven of Illinois' brightest undergraduates who participated in Mayo Clinic’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) this past summer. The Alliance's commitment to this educational program continues to be a popular, competitive opportunity for Illinois students.

• Genomics and computer science intersect to improve patient care

  Aug 22, 2019 3:00 pm1 views

  Computational genomics is a field that brings high-performance computing resources to drive precision medicine research toward new discoveries. However, when over 50 Mayo Clinic physicians, researchers and students gathered in June to participate in the Computational Genomics Course, the emphasis was on the needs of the patient.

• Alliance fellow to join Mayo Clinic Department of Health Sciences Research

  Aug 9, 2019 8:00 am274 views

  Dan Wickland, who recently completed his Technology-Based Health Care Research Fellowship and earned his doctorate in Bioinformatics, has accepted a position as a research associate at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida. During his fellowship, Wickland worked with Mayo Clinic and Illinois researchers to analyze genomic sequencing data of more than 10,000 cases and healthy controls from the Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP). Wickland will soon join Mayo Clinic’s Department of Health Sciences Research, where he will continue to work with fellowship adviser Yan Asmann, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical informatics at Mayo Clinic, on a project with Mark Sherman, M.D., professor of epidemiology and laboratory medicine and pathology at Mayo Clinic, that focuses on breast cancer immunogenomics.

• Taking the guesswork out of finding the right depression therapy

  Jun 10, 2019 3:00 pm0 views

  Dr. Bobo has collaborated with Mayo Clinic and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) researchers to develop a model that combines genomics and clinical assessments to uncover patterns of how patients respond to antidepressants.

• Collaborative efforts produce clinical workflows for rapid genetic analysis

  May 3, 2019 9:00 am260 views

  Mayo Clinic and Illinois collaborators have developed a highly efficient workflow that will allow for rapid genetic analysis and better treatment plans for Mayo Clinic patients.

• Promising diagnostics for detecting latent tuberculosis revealed

  Mar 12, 2019 1:45 pm0 views

  A collaboration between the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois, Mayo Clinic, and the University of Michigan are introducing a new machine-learning-driven approach to latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) diagnostics. While leveraging a high throughput detection technology and powerful bioinformatics, this approach aims to reveal multi-marker signatures for LTBI diagnosis and risk stratification.

• What do Yellowstone rocks teach us about kidney stones?

  Jan 7, 2019 8:30 am2 views

  Mayo Clinic and Illinois researchers are turning to Yellowstone National Park to unlock the secrets of kidney stones.

• Illinois students selected to advance team science with positions at Mayo Clinic

  Dec 11, 2018 8:30 am645 views

  Recently, two Illinois students were selected to advance their education and careers at Mayo Clinic. Taylor Crooks, a molecular and cellular biology undergraduate student at Illinois, trained at Mayo Clinic as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. He will be continuing his work as a doctoral student in the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Science. Arjun Athreya, a doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering, participated in the Technology-Based Healthcare Fellowship at Mayo Clinic. He will be taking a faculty position at Mayo Clinic in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

• 2018 SURF Experience: Omar Kashow

  Sep 28, 2018 3:30 pm414 views

  Fourteen of Illinois' best and brightest undergraduates spent the summer of 2018 as research fellows at Mayo Clinic as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) program. The Alliance's commitment to this educational program continues to be a popular, competitive opportunity for Illinois students.

  Omar Kashow, now a senior in the Bioengineering department at Illinois, spent his summer as a SURF at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, in the Cancer Research and Nanotechnology department. 

• Preparing the Next Generation – Interns Engaged in Precision Medicine Research

  Aug 20, 2018 1:30 pm4 views

  When Zachary Stephens started his summer internship at Mayo Clinic in 2013, he was thrust into a world where solving big data challenges can lead to more individualized care for patients. 

• Unlocking the power of genomics data: course offers new tools for discovery

  Aug 6, 2018 1:30 pm0 views

  The 2018 Computational Genomics Course, sponsored by the Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance for Technology-Based Healthcare, was held in June at three locations - Mayo Clinic’s campuses in Rochester, Minnesota; and Jacksonville, Florida; and at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois.

• Bringing artificial intelligence to the patient’s bedside

  Jul 9, 2018 4:00 pm0 views

  A machine can never replace your doctor. But artificial intelligence—the type of technology behind smart speakers and ride-hailing apps—is now being used to improve medical care.

• Record Number of Illinois Students Accepted into Mayo Clinic SURF Program

  May 14, 2018 9:00 am1073 views

  During summer 2018, fourteen Illinois undergrads will be conducting research in Mayo Clinic labs—a record for number of Illinois students in a given year.

• Artificial Intelligence: Will a Machine Pick your Next Medication?

  Feb 7, 2018 11:00 am0 views

  The Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine is collaborating with the Coordinated Science Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to unleash the potential of artificial intelligence in patient care. Funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, the Mayo Clinic and University of Illinois Alliance and corporate partners are conducting research into the big data challenge: how to develop computer systems that, combined with human intelligence, unlock new analysis of health and disease.

• Visual Analytics for Precision Medicine - Research Collaboration Highlight

  Feb 3, 2017 3:15 pm211 views

• Update: Biomarker Discovery Challenge Projects

  Nov 18, 2016 3:00 pm57 views

  In 2014, the Mayo Clinic and Illinois Alliance awarded seed funding to fourcollaborative research teams to address three grand challenges related tobiomarker discovery. Two projects have reached their conclusion within theseed program, and the Mayo Clinic and Illinois investigators are now usingthe data generated to expand their research.

• Talented Trio Comprises the First Group of Technology-Based Healthcare Research Fellows

  Oct 10, 2016 2:00 pm22 views

• Alliance Introduces New Graduate Fellowship Program

  May 31, 2016 2:45 pm224 views

  This spring, the Mayo Clinic and Illinois Alliance launched a new graduate fellowship program. The Fellowships for Technology-Based Healthcare Research will provide a unique opportunity for PhD students to work on a collaborative project between Mayo Clinic and Illinois with one year of the fellowship spent on the Mayo Clinic campus.

• KBase: Coming to Illinois

  May 16, 2016 2:30 pm32 views

  KBase enables researchers to collaboratively generate,test, and share newhypotheses about geneand protein functions.

• Alliance Builds IT and Bioinformatics Internship Pipeline

  Apr 29, 2016 1:45 pm41 views

  Biomedical informatics, or bioinformatics, is an umbrella term for all the biological studies that utilize computer programming as part of their methodology. It combines computer science, statistics, mathematics, and engineering to interpret biological data.

• Meet Margret Berg Miller, Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance Co-Coordinator

  Mar 25, 2016 9:30 am170 views

  If you have been involved with the Alliance in any way, no doubt you have interacted with Maggie on some level. Here’s a bit of insight into Maggie’s background and how she supports Alliance students and researchers in the clinical research space.

• High Tech, High Touch

  Aug 17, 2015 2:30 pm6 views

  Computational Genomics Course immerses participants in this emerging field.

• Mentoring at Mayo Clinic Important for Illinois Community Health PhD Students

  Aug 7, 2015 2:30 pm18 views

  Alliance connects clinical and translational research opportunities for lllinois Department of Community Health PhD students.

• Update: Microbiome Characteristics Determined in Healthy Pregnancies

  Aug 3, 2015 2:00 pm9 views

  Study lays groundwork for connecting vaginal microbiome abnormalities to pregnancy complications.

• Dr. Nicholas Chia: Modeling an Innovative Research Alliance

  Jul 24, 2015 1:15 pm158 views

  Meet Nicholas Chia, PhD, University of Illinois postdoc fellow turned associate director of Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine's Microbiome Program and Department of Surgery consultant. 

• Biomarker Projects Awarded Seed Funding

  Jul 10, 2015 1:00 pm19 views

  The Mayo Clinic and Illinois Alliance has awarded funding to these four collaborative research proposals that originated from teh Biomarker Discovery Workshop earlier this year. Each project addresses on of the three challenges.