News

SIU PA Program National Medical Challenge Bowl Champions

Published Date:

After winning its third consecutive Illinois Academy of Physician Assistants State Medical Challenge Bowl in April, on May 17, the SIU Physician Assistant Program Medical Challenge Bowl team won the national championship held at the American Academy of Physician Assistants conference in Las Vegas. The SIU team competed against 82 other universities in the tournament.

The SIU team is coached by Don Diemer,  DHSc, PA-C, PA program director. Teammates include Erin Browne, Morgan Rakers, and Joeli Diemer, as well as alternate Alexandra Spillman. Joe Mork also attended as a backup Challenge Bowl team member.  

“We are so proud of our students, who consistently score higher on national tests, and who, obviously, know their stuff when the pressure is on,” said Laurie Dunn-Ryznyk, associate director for the program. 

More from SIU News

Dr. Crosby - ENT Rhinologist

SIU Medicine specialist shapes new sinus surgery standards

SIU physician Dana Crosby, MD, MPH , has helped to craft new clinical guidelines for treating patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, a condition affecting an estimated 1 in 10 Americans. Crosby was a
Anjali Patel AOA 2025 Winner

SIU medical student awarded national research fellowship for work on cancer-fighting immune cells

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Anjali Patel, a second-year medical student at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, has been selected for the 2025 Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship by the
skull base surgery team

Residents gain hands-on experience with world-class skull base surgeons

In the days leading up to International Skull Base Surgery Day celebrated on June 4, residents from the Departments of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and the Division of Neurosurgery at SIU