Growing up in Chicago, Cynthia Thomas, MD, didn’t always dream of being a doctor, but she wanted a career where she could help others and excelled at math and science in middle school. After hearing about the shortage of doctors in underserved areas of her community, in high school she decided that medicine was where she wanted to be. While life’s twists and turns moved her out of her Chicago community and to Springfield with her husband, her passion for community and family medicine moved with her. After graduating from SIU School of Medicine in 1991 and completing her residency in 1994, Dr

Growing up in Chicago, Cynthia Thomas, MD, didn’t always dream of being a doctor, but she wanted a career where she could help others and excelled at math and science in middle school. After hearing about the shortage of doctors in underserved areas of her community, in high school she decided that medicine was where she wanted to be. While life’s twists and turns moved her out of her Chicago community and to Springfield with her husband, her passion for community and family medicine moved with her. After graduating from SIU School of Medicine in 1991 and completing her residency in 1994, Dr

In the days following the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in spring 2020, protests erupted across the United States. Though a pandemic made gatherings more difficult, citizens of all races and ages poured onto the streets to protest injustice and police brutality. Within the School of Medicine, Dean and Provost Jerry Kruse, MD, and Wendi El-Amin, MD, associate dean for equity, diversity and inclusion, wrote open letters expressing sorrow and outrage. Each affirmed the need to make SIU an anti-racist institution. At the same time, medical students across SIU’s

In the days following the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in spring 2020, protests erupted across the United States. Though a pandemic made gatherings more difficult, citizens of all races and ages poured onto the streets to protest injustice and police brutality. Within the School of Medicine, Dean and Provost Jerry Kruse, MD, and Wendi El-Amin, MD, associate dean for equity, diversity and inclusion, wrote open letters expressing sorrow and outrage. Each affirmed the need to make SIU an anti-racist institution. At the same time, medical students across SIU’s

In the days following the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in spring 2020, protests erupted across the United States. Though a pandemic made gatherings more difficult, citizens of all races and ages poured onto the streets to protest injustice and police brutality. Within the School of Medicine, Dean and Provost Jerry Kruse, MD, and Wendi El-Amin, MD, associate dean for equity, diversity and inclusion, wrote open letters expressing sorrow and outrage. Each affirmed the need to make SIU an anti-racist institution. At the same time, medical students across SIU’s

Julio Barrenzuela is adept at overcoming cultural barriers. Now, in the midst of a pandemic, he holds hope that an SIU outreach program can improve the health of Springfield’s Latino and undocumented populations. In spring 2020, Barrenzuela joined SIU’s newly formed Illinois Virtual Care Program as a pandemic health worker (PHW), hired to build bridges between Springfield’s Spanish-speaking communities and its medical community. Since 2015, SIU Medicine has been making progress in neglected neighborhoods of Springfield, using community health workers to connect residents with social services

Julio Barrenzuela is adept at overcoming cultural barriers. Now, in the midst of a pandemic, he holds hope that an SIU outreach program can improve the health of Springfield’s Latino and undocumented populations. In spring 2020, Barrenzuela joined SIU’s newly formed Illinois Virtual Care Program as a pandemic health worker (PHW), hired to build bridges between Springfield’s Spanish-speaking communities and its medical community. Since 2015, SIU Medicine has been making progress in neglected neighborhoods of Springfield, using community health workers to connect residents with social services

Fifteen years ago, Randy Burnside, PhD, was in New Orleans with his wife, her family and a new 2-month-old son when Hurricane Katrina struck, pushing 8 feet of water into their home. He had just been hired to teach at SIU and was preparing to move to southern Illinois. This year, Burnside began a new job as director of MEDPREP just as the coronavirus was making inroads into the United States. He had traversed the Carbondale campus to get there, as an associate professor teaching public administration courses in SIU’s Department of Political Science. His research was focused on behavior

Fifteen years ago, Randy Burnside, PhD, was in New Orleans with his wife, her family and a new 2-month-old son when Hurricane Katrina struck, pushing 8 feet of water into their home. He had just been hired to teach at SIU and was preparing to move to southern Illinois. This year, Burnside began a new job as director of MEDPREP just as the coronavirus was making inroads into the United States. He had traversed the Carbondale campus to get there, as an associate professor teaching public administration courses in SIU’s Department of Political Science. His research was focused on behavior

“I'm a third-generation healer. My father is a physician; my grandmother delivered babies. It's part of my path and I want to honor this legacy.” Wendi Wills El-Amin, MD, is also a third-generation educator. Both her grandfather and mother were science teachers. Her work in academia is not only an extension of her father's work, but it also mirrors her mother's magnetic way of teaching neighborhood kids about the sciences. She can remember asking many questions while she sat on her skateboard, surrounded by neighborhood boys who gathered for “science Saturdays.” Before STEM was in style, many