Last March, Vidya Sundareshan, MD, was on her first family vacation in more than a year, traveling to San Antonio, Tx., to attend her brother’s wedding. Sundareshan had been named co-chief of the SIU Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases (with colleague Vidhya Prakash, MD) on March 1. The trip was a welcome break and an opportunity to tend to her own needs as a busy physician. However, her vibrating phone kept reminding her that multiple health care systems were preparing for the inevitable. The coronavirus outbreak that had been an overseas occurrence before the

Kevin Hascup, PhD, assistant professor of neurology, recently received funding through an NIH grant to research the link between COVID-19 and cellular senescence and its possible impact on Alzheimer’s disease pathology. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), along with respiratory and “flu-like” symptoms, led to an unexpected rise in strokes, brain hemorrhaging, and memory impairment in young (30s and 40s) COVID-19 patients. These phenomena sparked scientific studies of the impact of COVID-19 on the brain, which showed that the virus could infect the brain’s nerve cells, called neurons

Kevin Hascup, PhD, assistant professor of neurology, recently received funding through an NIH grant to research the link between COVID-19 and cellular senescence and its possible impact on Alzheimer’s disease pathology. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), along with respiratory and “flu-like” symptoms, led to an unexpected rise in strokes, brain hemorrhaging, and memory impairment in young (30s and 40s) COVID-19 patients. These phenomena sparked scientific studies of the impact of COVID-19 on the brain, which showed that the virus could infect the brain’s nerve cells, called neurons

In the early ‘70s, Dean Richard Moy and recruiting officials had advertised for instructors at a new “medical school without walls.” The opportunity to create something original within the American medical education system appealed to both experienced professionals looking for change and young risk-takers ready to stretch their wings. As the School of Medicine evolved from an inspired idea to a well-respected institution, there were scores of dedicated people hired as the glue to hold the great experiment together. Three of the founding faculty are still here today, teaching students

In the early ‘70s, Dean Richard Moy and recruiting officials had advertised for instructors at a new “medical school without walls.” The opportunity to create something original within the American medical education system appealed to both experienced professionals looking for change and young risk-takers ready to stretch their wings. As the School of Medicine evolved from an inspired idea to a well-respected institution, there were scores of dedicated people hired as the glue to hold the great experiment together. Three of the founding faculty are still here today, teaching students

In the early ‘70s, Dean Richard Moy and recruiting officials had advertised for instructors at a new “medical school without walls.” The opportunity to create something original within the American medical education system appealed to both experienced professionals looking for change and young risk-takers ready to stretch their wings. As the School of Medicine evolved from an inspired idea to a well-respected institution, there were scores of dedicated people hired as the glue to hold the great experiment together. Three of the founding faculty are still here today, teaching students

In the early ‘70s, Dean Richard Moy and recruiting officials had advertised for instructors at a new “medical school without walls.” The opportunity to create something original within the American medical education system appealed to both experienced professionals looking for change and young risk-takers ready to stretch their wings. As the School of Medicine evolved from an inspired idea to a well-respected institution, there were scores of dedicated people hired as the glue to hold the great experiment together. Three of the founding faculty are still here today, teaching students

A biochemistry laboratory at SIU School of Medicine is sequencing the genomes of SARS-CoV-2 viruses that cause COVID-19 to determine if distinct variants exist in different Illinois communities and specifically in rural versus metropolitan areas. “We’re looking for the ‘personality’ of the genome, to see how it’s changing over time,” says Keith Gagnon, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. “There are a couple of variants and we need to determine which is the most dangerous. Based on what we learn, we can tell the virus’ point of origin, whether it’s

A biochemistry laboratory at SIU School of Medicine is sequencing the genomes of SARS-CoV-2 viruses that cause COVID-19 to determine if distinct variants exist in different Illinois communities and specifically in rural versus metropolitan areas. “We’re looking for the ‘personality’ of the genome, to see how it’s changing over time,” says Keith Gagnon, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. “There are a couple of variants and we need to determine which is the most dangerous. Based on what we learn, we can tell the virus’ point of origin, whether it’s