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Four medical students hosted by the University of Illinois Cancer Center as part of the Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials Award Program: Clinical Investigator Pathway Program (Winn CIPP) wrapped up their six-week summer experience by presenting their research projects and attending the 2026 Winn CIPP Symposium, which was held in Chicago this year, and brought together about 80 others medical students from the program who spent their summers at institutions around the country.

The four Cancer Center medical students joined four Winn CIPP students from Rush University, the academic arm of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, at a culminating event on July 8 showcasing the research they conducted throughout the program. The presentations provided students with an opportunity to share their findings, discuss their research experiences, and demonstrate the knowledge and skills they developed throughout the program.

The culminating event marked an important milestone for the eight medical students and highlighted the value of research training experiences that introduce future physicians to cancer research and clinical investigation. Through Winn CIPP, medical students gain hands-on research experience, mentorship, and exposure to career pathways in cancer research. The program helps prepare the next generation of physician-scientists and clinical investigators to advance cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.

Winn CIPP is one of four summer cancer research programs for high school, undergraduate and medical students at the Cancer Center run through the Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination (CRTEC) office. 

The national Winn CIPP symposium began July 10 at Roosevelt University in Chicago and brought together all the students in the cohort from around the country to downtown Chicago for two days of learning, graduation and celebration.

Featured among the speakers on the first day were Cancer Center Director Jan Kitajewski, PhD (pictured 2nd from right), and Cancer Center members Ryan Nguyen, DO, and Paul Grippo, PhD, as panelists, and Cancer Center Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement Abigail Silva, PhD, presented a lecture. Also there to show support for the students and the Winn CIPP program was Cancer Center CRTEC Director Ifeanyi Beverly Chukwudozie, MBA, MPH (pictured 2nd from left).

The four Cancer Center medical students, where they attend medical school, their research projects, and their mentors are listed below.

Justin Chae, Creighton University School of Medicine (pictured far right)

• Research Project: Machine Learning for Lung Cancer Detection Using Cell-Free DNA
• Mentor: Cancer Center member Ameen Salahudeen, MD, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology in the College of Medicine at UIC and an oncologist who cares for patients at UI Health, the academic health enterprise at UIC. His research focuses on novel technologies and artificial intelligence platforms.

Andrea S. McDowell, Rush University Medical Center (pictured far left)

• Research: Evaluating the Performance of the Caprini Risk Assessment Model in Asian Patients: A Race-Specific Calibration Analysis
• Mentor: Cancer Center member John Quigley, MD, Medical Director of the Cancer Center Clinical Trials Office and UI Health hematologist, whose research focuses on leukemia and methods that use cell metabolism to kill cancer cells.

Angel Agyemang Prempeh, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (pictured 4th from left)

• Research: Filling the Gap: Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee (CPAK) Phenotypes in Underrepresented Populations
• Mentor: Joseph Karam, MD, an Assistant Professor of Clinical Orthopedic Surgery at UIC.

Teonna Piphus, Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (pictured 3rd from left)

• Research: Baseline Workflow Assessment of Transthoracic Echocardiography Prior to AI-Assisted Measurement Implementation
• Mentor: Hema Krishna, MD, who practices in the UI Health Division of Cardiology, treating a wide range of cardiac conditions with expertise in valvular heart disease and cardiomyopathies.