Congratulations to the Research Day 2026 Winners
Congratulations to the Research Day 2026 Winners
More than 120 posters were presented by medical, nursing, medical biotechnology and pharmacy students covering a wide array of impressive health sciences research.
Congratulations to all the award winners from Research Day 2026.
Best Basic Science Research Poster Award
Sponsored by: Thermo Fisher Scientific
Winner: Rachel Campoli
Poster: “Biofabrication of a Lung Cancer Ex Vivo Model Using Lung-Specific Printable Bioink”
Best Basic Science Medical Student Research Poster Award
Sponsored by: University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford Dean’s Office
Winner: Abbey Dotson
Poster: “Dual-Action Integrin-Targeted Micelles for the Prevention of Early Pericyte Loss in Diabetic Retinopathy”
Best Basic Science MBT Student Research Poster Award
Sponsored by: MBT Program
Winner: Rukshini Venkatesan Bharathi
Poster: “An in-vitro study on the Toxicological Effect of Metal Products on Adipose tissue: Obese Population with Hip Implant”
Best Basic Science Research Poster Award
Sponsored by: MBT Program
Winner: Gitika Thakur
Poster: “Astrocyte-Specific NF-kB Activation Mediates Neurodegeneration in ATL1-Mutant SPG3A Models”
Best Innovative Project Award (First Place)
Sponsored by: Office of Technology Management (OTM) – University of Illinois Chicago
Winner: Naomi Thomas
Poster: “Design and Characterization of EVNaturopatch for the Targeted Modulation of Inflammation and Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis”
Best Innovative Project Award (Second Place)
Sponsored by: Office of Technology Management (OTM) – University of Illinois Chicago
Winner: Jayapoorna Saravanakumar
Poster: “Microneedle Vaccine Delivery System for rBmHAXT(∆Cys) Against Lymphatic Filariasis: A Platform for Next-Generation Vaccines”
Best Innovative Project Award (Third Place)
Sponsored by: Office of Technology Management (OTM) – University of Illinois Chicago
Winner: Hailey Hulse
Poster: “Proof-of-Concept for Salivary COMP Detection for Early Osteoarthritis Using an AI-driven Nano-engineered Biosensor”
Clinical Research Poster Award (First Place)
Sponsored by: Winnebago County Medical Society
Winner: Bamby Dieng
Poster: “The Functional Contribution of Sphingosine Kinase 2 to Lung Cancer Survival and Adaptive Resistance to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in NSCLC Cell Lines”
Clinical Research Poster Award (Second Place)
Sponsored by: Winnebago County Medical Society
Winner: Rachel Thomas
Poster: “Review of Fractional Ablative Lasers for the Treatment of Dermatologic Conditions in Darker Skin Phototypes”
Community/Public Health Research Poster Award (First Place)
Sponsored by: Winnebago County Health Department
Winner: Kira Sampson
Poster: “Mapping the Intersection of Environmental Toxins and Uterine Cancer in Cook County”
Community/Public Health Research Poster Award (Second Place)
Sponsored by: University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford Dean’s Office
Winner: Francis Kazungu
Poster: “Effective Messages and Messengers for Flu and COVID-19 Vaccines”
Excellence in Medical Education and Practice Award
Sponsored by: University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford Department of Health Sciences Education
Winner: Kylie Graves
Poster: “Mapping Core Competencies on Disability for Health Care Education: An Institutional Snapshot”
NCRHP Poster Award for Encouraging Excellence in Rural Health
Sponsored by: National Center for Rural Health Professions
Winner: Austin Flemming
Poster: “A Comparison of Teaching Approaches Between Healthcare Professional Student and School Teacher in Delivering a Smoking and Vaping Cessation Curriculum”
NCRHP Poster Award for Encouraging Excellence in Rural Health
Sponsored by: National Center for Rural Health Professions
Winner: Laura Berger
Poster: “Hazards on the Farm: Identifying the Farm Safety Knowledge and Protocols that Youth in Montgomery and Macoupin Counties Possess”
Excellence in Health Equity Research Award
Sponsored by: Rockford Campus Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Winner: Amaan Chalisa
Poster: “Advancing Transplant Equity: Comparable Transplant Outcomes in Financially Supported Recipients Despite Delayed Access”
Best Use of Literature in a Student Research Project
Sponsored by: Crawford Library of the Health Sciences-Rockford
Winner: Rachel Thomas
Poster: “Using an siRNA Knockdown System in Melanoma Cell Lines to Investigate the Redundant Roles of FZD3 and FZD6 in Human Melanomagenesis”
Best Case Study Award
Sponsored by: UICOMR Office of Research
Winner: Vineeth Rao
Poster: “Concomitant Ankylosing Spondylitis and Isolated Spinal Osseous Sarcoidosis: A Rare Case Report”
Research Mentoring Program-Rockford (RMPR) Award
Sponsored by: University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford-Office of Research
Winner: Mareeswari Paramasivan
Poster: “Efficiency of Nano-engineered Electrochemical Biosensor PancreaAlert to Detect Pancreatic Cancer- A Patient Cohort Study”
Best Rockford Research Mentoring Program Mentor Award
Sponsored by: University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford – Office of Research
Winner: Dr. Jeff Smith
James Scholar Award
Sponsored by: Rockford Gastroenterology Associates
Winner: Sopuluchukwu Anidobu
Poster: “Mitigating Corrosion and its Side Effects from Total Hip Replacement (THR) Using Antioxidants”
Sister Mary Linus Nowak Research Award
Sponsored by: Saint Anthony College of Nursing
Winner: Kayla Shaulis
Poster: “Barriers to Nurses’ Use of Sedation Protocols and Daily Sedation Interruption”