Do you ever feel like you're moving through your days on autopilot? Are you always thinking ahead to all the chores that need to be done around the farm, instead of focusing on what you're doing at the moment? Do you frequently react strongly to other people or situations instead of thoughtfully responding? These common experiences indicate a lack of awareness, or mindfulness, in your day-to-day life. What does science say about mindfulness that you, as a farmer, can you use to feel healthier and more joyful? What is mindfulness? Researchers and doctors define mindfulness as the state of being

Do you ever feel like you're moving through your days on autopilot? Are you always thinking ahead to all the chores that need to be done around the farm, instead of focusing on what you're doing at the moment? Do you frequently react strongly to other people or situations instead of thoughtfully responding? These common experiences indicate a lack of awareness, or mindfulness, in your day-to-day life. What does science say about mindfulness that you, as a farmer, can you use to feel healthier and more joyful? What is mindfulness? Researchers and doctors define mindfulness as the state of being

Balance problems that often accompany aging can lead to falls and injury. Research has also shown a strong link between balance disorders such as unsteady gait or vertigo and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. An SIU Medicine research scientist has been awarded a $3.2 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to study how cumulative damage to specific hair cells in the inner ear can lead to these troubling balance problems. Her lab will also investigate whether this process is enhanced when there is a predisposition to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Brandon Cox, PhD, and her

Visiting Professor of Orthopedic Surgery Theodore Ganley, MD, presented the 35th Annual Mimi Covert Cameo Memorial Lectureship on Nov. 22, 2021. Ganley is an attending orthopedic surgeon at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the Perman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He co-founded the publication "Research in Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee," or ROCK. Ganley's areas of expertise include ACL reconstruction in elite athletes, arthroscopic meniscus repair and athletic injuries of the knee and shoulder

Ronald Romanelli, MD, ’83 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award Ron Romanelli, MD, has three degrees from SIU and was president of the Orthopedic Center of Illinois in Springfield for more than 20 years. He held leadership roles and served on numerous committees at both Memorial Medical Center and HSHS St. John’s Hospital. Most importantly, his career has been filled with mentoring scores of young learners, contributing in countless ways to the knowledge of SIU students and resident physicians. His impact is seen in orthopedic practices around Illinois and the U.S., filled with confident

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

Throughout her career as a Maryknoll Lay Missioner in East Africa, SIU School of Medicine alumnus Susan Nagele, MD, (’81) provided care to the sick and worked with groups to administer vaccination programs that helped to eradicate measles, polio and other infectious diseases from towns and regions where she served. She had to overcome language and cultural barriers, and bouts with malaria and dysentery. She learned to “make do” with inadequate supplies against a backdrop of extreme poverty, malnutrition and civil unrest. And she persevered to bring improved medical care to some of the most