News & Events

The summer research programs at the University of Illinois Cancer Center have started. The first programs, Undergraduate Cancer Research Exploration and Training Experience (U-CREATE) and Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials Award Program: Clinical Investigator Pathway Program (Winn CIPP), started on June 1.

The U-CREATE program has eight students this year. It is a 10-week, research-intensive summer program for undergraduate students pursuing careers in biomedical fields, cancer research and the health professions. The American Cancer Society supports the program.

There are four medical students enrolled in the Winn CIPP program this year. This program is designed as a six-week experience for medical students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds or with a strong personal connection to promoting community engagement in healthcare.

The remaining summer programs, ResearcHStart and the Cancer Health Engagement Summer Scholars (CHESS), are set to start on June 15.

All students are mentored throughout the summer by Cancer Center members or UIC faculty who help guide them through the research programs.

This year's mentors are: Joseph Karam, MD; Ameen Salahudeen, MD, PhD; Hema Krishna, MD; John (Sean) Quigley, MD; Marta Markiewicz-Potoczny, PhD; Donald Vander Griend, PhD; Carlos Murga-Zamalloa, MD; Wonhwa Cho, PhD; Sandra Pinho, PhD; Dolly Mehta, PhD; Caryn Peterson, PhD; Andrew McLeod, PhD, MS, RD; Sandeep Kumar, PhD; Tristesse Burton, PhD, MSL; Andre Kajdacsy Balla, MD, PhD; Joanna Burdette, PhD; Steve Seung-Young Lee, PhD; Jan Kitajewski, PhD; Jeremy Johnson, PharmD, PhD; Zongmin Zhao, PhD; Jimmy Orjala, PhD; Jean M. Reading, PhD; Shilpa Sant, PhD; Kristen Malecki, PhD, MPH; Yu Gao, PhD; Marian Fitzgibbon, PhD; Ekrem Emrah Er, PhD; Margaret Wright Geise, PhD and Steven Kregel, PhD, from Loyola University.