Jeffrey Parrilla-Carrero , PhD knows the face of addiction. As a boy in Puerto Rico, he watched his father battle alcohol use disorder, cycling through attempts to quit that ended in disappointment. The struggle left questions that never stopped tugging at him. Those questions would one day guide Parrilla-Carrero from an aspiring engineer to a neuroscientist — and ultimately, to SIU School of Medicine. Watching his father try and fail to stop drinking sparked young Jeffrey’s curiosity. “At first I thought it was a lack of willpower,” he said. “But I came to understand that addiction is a

Jeffrey Parrilla-Carrero , PhD knows the face of addiction. As a boy in Puerto Rico, he watched his father battle alcohol use disorder, cycling through attempts to quit that ended in disappointment. The struggle left questions that never stopped tugging at him. Those questions would one day guide Parrilla-Carrero from an aspiring engineer to a neuroscientist — and ultimately, to SIU School of Medicine. Watching his father try and fail to stop drinking sparked young Jeffrey’s curiosity. “At first I thought it was a lack of willpower,” he said. “But I came to understand that addiction is a

Predictors of red blood cell transfusion effectiveness: From bench to bedside Tuesday, August 26 | 8-9 a.m. Simmons Cancer Institute, Woerner Conference Room, 1st Floor Nareg Roubinian, MD, MPHTM is an investigator at Vitalant Research Institute, adjunct faculty at UCSF and senior physician in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Kaiser Permanente Oakland. This lecture is part of the inaugural Visiting Lectures on Hematologic Disorders to correspond with the investiture of Ruchika Goel , MD, MPH, as the O.H. Wesly Endowed Chair of Excellence in Hematologic Disorders .

Predictors of red blood cell transfusion effectiveness: From bench to bedside Tuesday, August 26 | 8-9 a.m. Simmons Cancer Institute, Woerner Conference Room, 1st Floor Nareg Roubinian, MD, MPHTM is an investigator at Vitalant Research Institute, adjunct faculty at UCSF and senior physician in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Kaiser Permanente Oakland. This lecture is part of the inaugural Visiting Lectures on Hematologic Disorders to correspond with the investiture of Ruchika Goel , MD, MPH, as the O.H. Wesly Endowed Chair of Excellence in Hematologic Disorders .

Transfusion medicine, hematology and global health Monday, August 25 | 4:30-5 p.m. Memorial Learning Center, 2A Curtis Theater Classroom, 2nd Floor, 228 W. Miller St., Springfield Evan Bloch, MD is professor of pathology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, associate director of transfusion medicine and medical director of the Apheresis Service. He also holds a joint appointment in International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This lecture is part of the inaugural Visiting Lectures on Hematologic Disorders to correspond with the investiture of Ruchika

Transfusion medicine, hematology and global health Monday, August 25 | 4:30-5 p.m. Memorial Learning Center, 2A Curtis Theater Classroom, 2nd Floor, 228 W. Miller St., Springfield Evan Bloch, MD is professor of pathology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, associate director of transfusion medicine and medical director of the Apheresis Service. He also holds a joint appointment in International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This lecture is part of the inaugural Visiting Lectures on Hematologic Disorders to correspond with the investiture of Ruchika

Artificial intelligence and the AI revolution at the intersection of hematology and transfusion medicine Monday, August 25 | 4–4:30 p.m. Memorial Learning Center, 2A Curtis Theater Classroom, 2nd Floor, 228 W. Miller St., Springfield Cassandra Josephson, MD is the Hawkins Family Endowed Chair in the Cancer and Blood Disorders Institute and Professor of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is also the director of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. This lecture is part of the inaugural Visiting Lectures on

Artificial intelligence and the AI revolution at the intersection of hematology and transfusion medicine Monday, August 25 | 4–4:30 p.m. Memorial Learning Center, 2A Curtis Theater Classroom, 2nd Floor, 228 W. Miller St., Springfield Cassandra Josephson, MD is the Hawkins Family Endowed Chair in the Cancer and Blood Disorders Institute and Professor of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is also the director of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. This lecture is part of the inaugural Visiting Lectures on

Yes, you can have your cake and feel good about it, too. Using dates, this recipe helps deliver a sweet treat without mounds of sugar lumped in. Healthy chocolate cake Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes | Serves: 6 I NGREDIENTS 7.5 oz unsweetened baking chocolate 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/4 cup pitted dates, about 10 3 eggs 1/4 cup coconut oil 1 tsp vanilla extract DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350°F In a food processor, pulse chocolate, cocoa powder and baking soda until texture of coarse sand. Pulse pitted dates, then eggs, coconut oil and vanilla

Yes, you can have your cake and feel good about it, too. Using dates, this recipe helps deliver a sweet treat without mounds of sugar lumped in. Healthy chocolate cake Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes | Serves: 6 I NGREDIENTS 7.5 oz unsweetened baking chocolate 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/4 cup pitted dates, about 10 3 eggs 1/4 cup coconut oil 1 tsp vanilla extract DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350°F In a food processor, pulse chocolate, cocoa powder and baking soda until texture of coarse sand. Pulse pitted dates, then eggs, coconut oil and vanilla