Fourth-year students in both Chicago Medical School (CMS) and the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine (SCPM) earned spots in top residencies across the nation during the university's annual Match Day events this month.

Members of the Scholl College Class of 2016 celebrated, on March 21, four years of hard work and excellence that resulted in a 98 percent match rate. The 78 students who will head to three-year podiatric medical/surgical residencies after graduation include Brittany Lang, one of many Scholl College seniors who matched to their first choice. She will train at John Peter Smith Hospital, a county-owned hospital in Fort Worth, TX, where she rotated last June.

"It's one of the top training programs for podiatry and a very unique residency in that it offers a lot of autonomy," said Brittany, who noted that her clinical rotations through Scholl College helped her appreciate both the versatility of the podiatric profession and the roles of different medical and healthcare specialties.

Nancy Parsley, DPM '93, MHPE, Scholl College dean and RFU associate provost for interprofessional strategy, said the success of this year's match highlights the evolution of the profession.

"Podiatric medical students of today graduate with excellent opportunities for residency training," Dr. Parsley said. "This is the beginning of the next phase of their lives, a culmination of so many years of hard work. To see their excitement for the future is very gratifying."

The RFU community also joined Chicago Medical School students and their families on March 18 in the Rothstein Warden Centennial Learning Center as they celebrated a 97 percent match rate for 186 members of the CMS Class of 2016. The match rate for senior medical students across the United States is 94 percent.

"It's four years, one envelope," Dr. James Record, Chicago Medical School interim dean, told students and their families who gathered for breakfast before the match.

"This is a special match and one of the best in Chicago Medical School history," Dr. Record said, alluding to the high percentage of residency matches.

• Dr. K. Michael Welch, RFU president and CEO since 2002, announced on March 7 his decision to retire upon appointment of a new president, anticipated in January of 2017. The university is conducting a nationwide search to identify and engage a new leader, an effort assisted by a 14-member Presidential Search Committee. In the coming months, the committee will solicit feedback from members of the RFU community through conversations, a townhall meeting and an online survey. "We are committed to a process that is rigorous, inclusive and fair and that welcomes feedback from all stakeholders," said Gail Warden, MHA, chair, RFU Board of Trustees. "We will work to ensure transparency, accountability and stability throughout this transition." Learn more details of the search on RFU's dedicated Presidential Transition web page.
• The 11th annual All School Research Consortium brought together trainees from each RFU college and school to showcase their research in both the basic and clinical sciences. Held March 16 and organized by the Graduate Student Association, the event included two poster sessions and three symposiums: Neuroscience and Psychology; Clinical Research; and Cancer and Drug Discovery. Jeffrey J. Bazarian, MD, MPH, FACP, of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, delivered a keynote address titled, "Bedside to Bench: How Clinical Concussion Care Can Inform Meaningful Research."
• Chicago Medical School students were inducted into the national honor medical society Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) during a ceremony on March 23. Twenty five CMS seniors and six juniors were selected based on scholarly achievement and professional conduct. Inductees also include CMS alumni: Peter Orris, MD '75, MPH, FACP, professor and chief of occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Illinois-Chicago; and Mervyn Sahud, MD '64, FACP, senior academic associate at Quest Diagnostics/Nichols Institute. Faculty initiates from the Department of Medicine are: Ted Lorenc, MD, clinical instructor and clerkship site director at Centegra; and Ariel Katz, MD, assistant professor. Catherine Arellano, CMS '16, received the Ashley Evans Professionalism Award. See the program for a complete list of awardees and initiates.
• RFU hosted its annual St. Baldrick's Foundation fundraiser for lifesaving pediatric cancer research on March 25. St. Baldrick's participants volunteer to shave their heads as a way to raise money and awareness and to show solidarity with children fighting cancer. The RFU event, which collected more than $18,000, included an estimated 37 shavees. Janhavi Arun, CMS '18, St. Baldrick's chair for the Oncology Interest Group, that organizes the event, said 80 percent of dollars raised goes to research grant funding. "St. Baldrick's is a fun way to be involved in helping patients — until we can work with our own patients," said Janhavi, who also oversaw the sale of t-shirts and raffle tickets in the weeks leading up to the event. Visit RFU's St. Baldrick's Foundation page for more information.
• Nurse Anesthesia Department Chair Franklin McShane, DNP, CRNA, was elected delegate to the Education Committee of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. Dr. McShane will assist in providing direction for nurse anesthetist educational and training programs, develop national training for clinical and didactic educators and make recommendations to the Council of Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs.
• Julie Schwertfeger, PT, MBA, instructor in the Department of Physical Therapy, was elected Illinois Northern District delegate for the Illinois Physical Therapy Association and is slated as a candidate for Illinois delegate-at-large.
• RFU students who help manage the Interprofessional Community Clinic and who presented at the annual Society of Student-Run Free Clinics Conference in January in Phoenix, AZ, shared how they have adapted programs based on patient feedback, the effectiveness of community outreach health screenings and improvement of interprofessional attitudes in students during a March 10 gathering sponsored by the Baldwin Institute. Presenters included: Katherine Derbyshire, CHP '21; Samuel Choi, CMS '18; Nicolas Fox, DePaul University; Kelsi Swanson, CMS ‘18; and Faryal Ahmad, CMS '19.
• "Engaging Physicians in the Health Care Revolution," a webinar co-sponsored by RFU and Harvard Business Review on March 8 featured a discussion of "how healthcare providers must change to compete." Dr. Thomas Lee, chief medical officer of Press Ganey, a company that surveys hospital patients, and a former health system leader, offered steps for driving change in provider organizations. View the webinar, which drew more than 1,500 participants.
• More than 20 College of Pharmacy (COP) students attended the American Pharmacy Association's annual meeting in Baltimore, MD, held March 4-7. Eighteen COP students traveled to the 2016 Pharmacy Legislative Day, held March 2, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.
• April D. Newton, PT, DPT, RFU director of interprofessional education and clinical practice, presented "A Primer on Designing and Funding Interprofessional Research" at RFU on March 23. Dr. Newton is also assistant professor of physical therapy.
• The College of Pharmacy hosted a continuing education night for the North Suburban Pharmacists of Chicagoland. Lauren Angelo, PharmD, MBA, associate professor and assistant dean for academic affairs presented a talk entitled "Immunization Update for Pharmacists and Technicians" to more than 70 local pharmacy professionals and faculty.
• The American Medical Women's Association hosted the 11th Annual Woman-to-Woman Soiree on March 6 in Vernon Hills. Chicago Medical School alumnae and faculty from various specialties and fields shared their professional experiences and insights with future female physicians.
• Physical Therapy program alumni and students earned recognition during the Illinois Physical Therapy Association's (IPTA) annual conference, held March 18-19 in St. Charles. Third-year doctor of physical therapy student Lauren Toner was named IPTA Student of the Year; Megan Simonetti, DPT '14, was named IPTA Emerging Leader of the Year; and Dawn Stackowickz, BS '94, MS '04, DPT '14, was named IPTA Clinical Instructor of the Year.
• Department of Psychology clinical faculty member Howard Lipke, PhD, discussed the Hidden Emotion Articulation (HEArt) Program for Veterans during a podcast interview with Dr. Nancy Smyth, dean of the School of Social Work at State University of New York's University at Buffalo. Listen to the podcast at http://www.insocialwork.org/episode.asp?ep=180.

• Hongkyun Kim, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, was awarded a two-year, $409,500 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study "Alcohol-induced muscle damage in C elegans."
• Three students who participated in the NIH-funded Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine Summer Research Program recently earned national recognition. Rachelle Randall and Elizabeth Litoff, both second-year podiatry students, won first and second place, respectively, in the Oral Presentation category at the Midwest Student Biomedical Research Forum held March 6 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. The forum includes approximately 100 oral presentations from DPM, MD and DO students. Study co-authors on Rachel's presentation, "Telehealth — A Global Solution for Medical Education: an Initiative for Haiti and the United States," include, from the Department of Podiatric Medicine and Radiology: Adam Fleischer, DPM '01, MPH, associate professor; Richmond Robinson, DPM '09, assistant professor; and Robert Joseph, DPM '03, PhD, assistant professor and department chair; and from Hospital Bernard Mevs in Haiti, Dr. Adler Francius. Study co-authors on Elizabeth's presentation, "Is Foot Length Change During Stance Phase Decreased in Individuals with Diabetes?" from the Human Performance Lab, include: Fang "Amanda" Lin, DSc, MMed, BEng, director and assistant professor; Sai Yalla, PhD, assistant professor, CLEAR; and Devan Higginbotham, CMS '19. Second-year podiatry student Brian Farrell has been selected to deliver an oral presentation at the American Podiatric Medical Association 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting (The National) to be held July 14-17 in Philadelphia. Co-authors of the study Brian will present on, "Identification of Biomarkers for Prediction of Healing versus Non-Healing Chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcers," include Stephanie Wu, DPM, MSc, associate dean of research, and professor, in the Department of Podiatric Surgery and Applied Biomechanics; and from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Keith Philibert, MS, senior research associate, and Marc Glucksman, PhD, professor and chair.

• DePaul University's College of Science and Health brought the latest cohort of Pathways Honors students to campus on Feb. 26 to meet their RFU faculty mentors and tour RFU facilities. Volunteer faculty will provide guidance to DePaul undergraduate students preparing to apply to RFU health professions graduate degree programs under the Alliance for Health Sciences. Students receive career guidance and are connected with opportunities to shadow healthcare providers; mentors also answer questions about their own careers. Students may also receive help in strengthening their undergraduate experiences to make them strong candidates for graduate admission, including involvement in research projects or community healthcare activities. Two previous cohorts of DePaul Pathways Honors students are also working with RFU faculty mentors and many are now applying to or entering RFU. Many of these students will also apply to the Early Opportunity Program, established in 2015, which offers early admission decision to one of six professional programs at RFU. The first group of Pathways Honors students, accepted into the Early Opportunity Program in 2015, will pursue graduate degrees in medicine, physician assistant, pharmacy and podiatry.

• Articles on Chicago Medical School's 2016 Match Day event appeared in several publications including editions of the Daily Herald and Chicago Tribune. The stories featured comments from two CMS students: Elizabeth Caudill, a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Iraq War, and Denise Nunez, a first-generation American who hopes to treat people in her family's native Dominican Republic.

Zion-Benton High School Visit

Red Lantern Show

Slam Dunk Contest

ASRC

CMS Match Day

SCPM Match Day

Staff Awards Ceremony

St. Baldrick's Fundraiser

• Bruce Jacob, DPM '76, was elected treasurer of the Michigan Podiatric Medical Association.
• Dennis Frisch, DPM '82, was elected vice president of the American Podiatric Medical Association.
• Adam D. Singer, MD '86, was appointed to the board of directors of MDVIP, a network of primary care physicians focused on personalized preventive healthcare.
• William K. Oliver, III, DPM '87, was re-appointed to the Indiana Board of Podiatric Medicine.
• Joseph Borreggine, DPM '88, was elected chair of the Illinois Podiatric Medical Licensing Board.
• Karen Cassiday, PhD '90, authored an article titled "Do the Anxiety Detox" for livehappy.com.
• Patrick DeHeer, DPM '90, blogged about the importance of mentoring in promoting the podiatric profession in podiatrytoday.com.
• Michael Nirenberg, DPM '91, presented at the American Association of Forensic Sciences annual conference in Las Vegas, NV.
• Audrey Ormberg, MD '95, was profiled in a story in The Madisonville (TX) Meteor newspaper titled "Madisonville by way of Norway."
• Jon Purdy, DPM '99, was elected treasurer of the American Academy of Podiatric Practice Management Board.
• Stuart Richer, OD, PhD '96, was interviewed for an article in AOA Focus magazine titled "6 nutrition questions you should be asking patients." Dr. Richer is CMS clinical associate professor of family medicine.
• Dyane Tower, MHA '08, DPM '09, received the Rising Star Award from the American Podiatric Medical Association.
• Aaron Bush, MHA '12, was profiled in a Daily Herald column about the connection between his career in health care and his recent investment in a Chicago restaurant that specializes in healthy food.

• Jeff Damaschke, PhD, PT, DPT, MS, gave a presentation on osteoarthritis at Round Lake Library on March 10. Organized by community health partner Mano a Mano Family Resource Center in collaboration with RFU, the presentation, which was attended by approximately 60 people, included a simultaneous Spanish translation.
• Art From the Benchtop is on display through March 31 in the Scholl Gallery. The annual exhibition of selected images from the current research of Rosalind Franklin University students and postdoctoral research associates is presented by the Graduate Student Association in cooperation with the Division of Institutional Advancement.