SIU PAs win Illinois Challenge Bowl
On April 12, the SIU Physician Assistant Program’s Challenge Bowl team won the Illinois Academy of Physician Assistants (IAPA) 2025 State Medical Challenge Bowl.
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science hosted the competition, which brought together top student teams from Rush, Rosalind Franklin, Northwestern, Dominican and SIU.
This is the sixth time that SIU has won the state championship. The PA team has won each of the last six times they have competed. They won five in a row, then the IAPA took a hiatus for COVID. Last year, the SIU team didn’t compete because the contest was scheduled for a Sunday night.
Pictured left to right are Challenge Bowl team members Alec Lawson and Sara Meter; SIU IAPA faculty rep and Program Director Katy Scott; teammate Lauren Pingsterhaus; and Jonah Beer, class president.
The team will vie for the national championship at the American Academy of Physician Associates’ Annual PA Conference on May 19 in Denver. Forty-eight teams, with three PA students to a team, compete to answer medical-related questions on a variety of subjects including physical diagnosis, microbiology, anatomy, OB/GYN, pulmonary, cardiology, primary care, emergency medicine and surgery.
Congratulations—and good luck, team!
