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From AI to Surgical Robotics: Illinois MD/PhD Students Are Tackling Medicine’s Toughest Challenges

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From AI to Surgical Robotics: Illinois MD/PhD Students Are Tackling Medicine’s Toughest Challenges


Carle Illinois College of Medicine’s MD/PhD program is preparing an elite group of Physician Innovators equipped to lead the fight against disease in the research lab and at the bedside. The Medical Scholars Program (MSP) offers unique engineering-informed medical training through CI MED’s MD program, and world-class scientific research experience through the PhD programs at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The program’s earliest trainees are already building solutions to advance how we diagnose and care for patients with heart and kidney disease, neurological injury, and limited access to care.

“We want graduates who don’t just adapt to the future of health care; they help design it.”  — Dr. Dan Llano

MD candidates interested in pursuing a dual degree may apply to become MSP candidates any time after their first year of medical school. For the PhD portion of their program, students must be admitted to one of the U. of I.’s more than 70 doctoral programs. After completing their PhD program, students return to CI MED to complete the requirements of the MD program. This includes the major clinical training phase. Starting in 2027, applicants will be able to apply directly to the MD/PhD program during the medical school application process.

“CI MED’s location within a premier research university is a major differentiator: trainees can learn medicine while simultaneously gaining the technical depth to invent what medicine needs next,” said MSP Director Dr. Dan Llano, a Carle Health physician who earned his MD/PhD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine, which ended its operations on the Urbana-Champaign campus in 2022. 

Parallel Preparation

Llano says cross-disciplinary training produces innovative clinicians who are also trained as research scientists. Their unique skillset will equip them to build solutions ranging from new devices and diagnostics to data-driven clinical tools and scalable health innovations.

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“Dual-degree trainees gain the ability to identify unmet clinical needs at the bedside and then develop mechanistic or technological solutions to those needs. I expect CI MED’s MSP trainees to become clinicians who are also builders — people who can practice excellent medicine while driving discovery and innovation in parallel,” Llano said.



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Des Plaines Rises To No. 9 In Illinois On Latest ‘Best Places To Live’ List – Journal & Topics Media Group

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Des Plaines Rises To No. 9 In Illinois On Latest ‘Best Places To Live’ List – Journal & Topics Media Group


Downtown Des Plaines (Photo courtesy city of Des Plaines Media Services)

For the second straight year, Des Plaines has earned a spot on U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Places to Live” list. In the 2026 rankings, Des Plaines climbed to No. 9 in Illinois and No. 144 overall in the United States, continuing its rise among the country’s top communities.

The recognition reflects Des Plaines’ continued growth and momentum. U.S. News & World Report highlighted the community’s strong local job market, higher incomes, and affordable housing compared to national averages as key factors in this year’s rankings.

“For months, we’ve said Des Plaines is ‘On Its Way,’ and this recognition shows that it is more than just a slogan,” said Mayor Andrew Goczkowski. “People are taking notice of the progress happening throughout our city. From new investment and redevelopment to thriving neighborhoods and community events, Des Plaines continues to grow as a place where people want to live, work, and build their future.”

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Pritzker is hopeful lawmakers will pass bill that could keep Bears in Illinois as deadline nears

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Pritzker is hopeful lawmakers will pass bill that could keep Bears in Illinois as deadline nears


CHICAGO (WLS) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker indicated on Friday that he is optimistic that lawmakers will pass the so-called mega projects bill that could keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois.

But they are racing against a rapidly approaching deadline. The session ends on May 31, just nine days from Friday, and one Chicago lawmaker is casting doubt on whether there is enough support.

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The Illinois Senate has adjourned for the holiday weekend, and members will not return until Monday afternoon. At this point, the legislation that would give the Bears what they need to make a move to Arlington Heights is still in the works.

The Bears head into the home stretch of this legislative session without seeing a clear game plan from the Illinois Senate for how a mega projects bill will pass.

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Senators are still hashing out details of the bill that would give the Bears long-term property tax breaks for a stadium that the team would pay for in Arlington Heights. The only other option that the Bears are considering is a site near Wolf Lake in Hammond, Indiana. The team made clear again on Thursday that there is no viable option in Chicago.

“There really are only two choices: Do we want them in the state of Illinois, or do we want them to move to the state of Indiana? I don’t know about all of you. I would like them to stay in the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said.

But some members of the Chicago delegation still are not buying the Bears’ stance, believing that the industrial site in Hammond is not a serious option.

“But honestly, this looks like the bluff of the century to me, and the idea that the NFL is going to have two teams in Indiana and not one in Chicago… I think it’s an insult to folks’ intelligence,” said Illinois state Sen. Willie Preston, D-Chicago and southwest suburbs.

Preston, who chairs the Senate Black Caucus, says opposition to the mega projects bill is not just from Chicago lawmakers who do not want to see the Bears leave the lakefront. Many others have reservations, too.

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“They’re very concerned about the mega projects bill that would use resources to support a private business while so many people in the state of Illinois, property taxpayers, are struggling and hurt,” Preston said.

Pritzker remains optimistic that lawmakers will pass a bill that allows for the handoff to Arlington Heights, but so far, he has not started calling holdouts into his office for conversations.

“I don’t think any of the legislators are, you know, are unclear about what my position is. I want a business in the state of Illinois to stay in the state of Illinois and not move to another state,” Pritzker said.

The clock runs out on the legislative session on Sunday, May 31, and with many other big-ticket items still on the agenda, including the budget, lawmakers will need to move quickly while the Bears and the NFL wait on the sidelines.

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Behind The Lines: DBR Discusses Illinois’ November Visit To Cameron

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Behind The Lines: DBR Discusses Illinois’ November Visit To Cameron


When Isaac Ambrose from the Champaign Room, a SB Nation sister site dedicated to Illinois, asked us to help preview next season’s visit from Illinois, we knew just who to ask to help them out. Scott Rich is well-versed in the Big Ten and we knew that he would be the guy to talk to […]



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