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Medical students at UIC have a wide range of interests and passions. This is reflected in our large variety of active student organizations. We are proud to present our CMSC organizations for 2023-2024!
If you are a student organization leader and want to add or edit your org’s bio, fill out this form and email the Webmaster (tishfa2@uic.edu) to let them know! (Must be CMSC-affiliated)
For all 2023-24 student organizations, please also make sure your board information is up to date on this spreadsheet.
Addiction Medicine Interest Group (AMIG)
President: Emily Muscat (emusca2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Jen Swartz (jswart7@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Christopher Holden, MD (cholde1@uic.edu)
Secretary: Roosha Mandal
Volunteer Coordinator: Sade Akinfe
M1 Representative: Lillian Eckstein
AMIG’s mission is to increase student awareness and engagement with the field of addiction medicine. In the United States in 2019, 20.4 million people were diagnosed with a substance use disorder (SUD) but only 10.3% received SUD. Nearly 71,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2019. For almost any field of medicine, addiction will play a role in the patient population. This interest group focuses on hosting outside lecturers and career information sessions, providing shadowing and volunteering opportunities, and providing trainings.
Anesthesiology Interest Group (AIG)
President: Raghuram Koganti (rkogan3@uic.edu)
Vice President: Ejehi Erewele (eerewe2@uic.edu)
Specialty Outreach Chair: Deep Patel (dpate317@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Folasade Akinfe (fakinfe2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hokuto Nishioka (hokuton@uic.edu)
The mission of the UIC Anesthesiology Interest Group (AIG) is to immerse students to the field of anesthesiology. We aim to help students explore anesthesiology as a career option through workshops, lunch panels, and shadowing opportunities. AIG also provides opportunities for medical students to network with current residents and attendings. Join our events to learn more!
Follow #sig-anesth-c on Slack to get updates!
Chicago Cancer Society (CCS)
Chicago Cancer Society (CCS)
Co-Presidents: Isaac Lucas (isaacbl2@uic.edu), Zac Hamilton (zhamil3@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Quigley (seanq@uic.edu)
The purpose of the University of Illinois – Chicago Cancer Society is for UIC medical students interested in medical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology, pediatric oncology, gyne/onc or hem/onc to collaborate and find resources. CCS will provide research, networking, and learning opportunities to medical students. CCS will also focus its efforts on community service opportunities by holding outreach events for UI Hospital patients.
ClubID
President: Kristal Scott (kristal3@uic.edu)
Co-President: Katherine Ortell
Treasurer: Snehitha Talugula (stalug2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Scott Borgetti (sborgett@uic.edu)
Other Board Member: Araceli Padron (apadro4@uic.edu)
ClubID is UICOM’s infectious disease specialty interest group. The aim of the group is to learn about, work with, and confront infectious diseases at the community, state, country, and global level, while integrating new approaches for members and faculty co-involvement. Through this interdisciplinary approach, this organization will enrich interested students by improving skills and working collaboratively with a diverse group of specialties related specifically to infectious diseases.
Dermatology Interest Group (DIG)
Presidents: Sam Fathizadeh (samf2@uic.edu) and Tazeena Khan (tkhan34@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Alan Tan (atan37@uic.edu)
Secretary: Nicole Chang
Volunteer Coordinator: Alyson Sato and Victoria Di Franco
Career Outreach Chairs: Jessica Bahnasy and Diana Dangoor
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michelle Bain (mbain@uic.edu)
The Dermatology Interest Group works to connect students with dermatology residents and opportunities for exposure to this field. Our mission is to educate students about the various subspecialties within dermatology and host events with specialists about their research or academic careers. We hope to promote community service within dermatology and education to the surrounding community.
Instagram: @uicom.dig
Diagnostic Radiology Interest Group
President: Hrishikesh Bhaththiwala (hbhath2@uic.edu), Emily Chuang (echuan3@uic.edu), Viraja Alluri (virajaa2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Meet Patel (mpate209@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Karen Xie (karenlin@uic.edu)
Other Board Members: Marianna Vakaki, Arian Karimi, Richard Chiu, Kaitlin Sung
DRIG fosters interest in the field of diagnostic radiology among the student body by organizing events such as the annual post match panel, radiology skills workshops, procedure workshops, and shadowing.
Disability and Medicine Interest Group (DMIG)
President: Dionna Bidny (dbidny2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Angie Murthy (amurth5@uic.edu)
Vice President: Brett Segobiano (brettms2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristi Kirschner (kkirschn@uic.edu)
Our mission is to provide opportunities to unlearn ableism and build a foundation of disability justice. Understanding disability, ableism, & accessibility enables us to be better providers and colleagues.
Emergency Medicine Interest Group (EMIG)
President: Matthew Lam (mlam21@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Lahari Kolli (lkolli2@uic.edu)
Vice President: Arian Karimi (akarim27@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lisa Gehm (lgehm@uic.edu)
The Emergency Medicine Interest Group’s mission is to expose medical students to different aspects of Emergency Medicine through lectures, workshops, and discussion. Our events include classes with UIC EM physicians, bleeding control workshops, panels with current residents, etc.
ENT Student Interest Group (ENT SIG)
President: Amy de la Torre and Vivian Jin (adelat8@uic.edu, vjin3@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Tatiana Dixon (tfeuer1@uic.edu)
The purpose of the ENT Student Interest Group is to provide students with chances to learn more about the field of ENT, which a surgical specialty. Specific events include talks by ENT attending physicians, panels, and volunteering, shadowing, and research opportunities.
Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG)
President: Kavya Anjur (kavyaa2@uic.edu)
Treasurer & Co-President: Shreya Bellur (sbellu3@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sagina Hanjrah (hanjrah@uic.edu)
M1 Reps: Kristen Stark, Elisa Herrera, Nora Chambers
Our mission is to help students learn more about the field of family medicine and provide them opportunities to network with current family practitioners through workshops, panels, and volunteering events.
Group goals
- Expose students early on to the specialty
- Provide fun workshops for students to learn more about practicing family medicine
- Hold informative sessions where students can explore what it means to go into family medicine
- Engage with the broader community
Geriatrics Interest Group (GIG)
President: Kai Cao (kcao4@uic.edu), Cecelia Barry (cabarry3@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Vania Leung (vleung3@uic.edu), Dr. Tanjeev Kaur (tkaur@uic.edu), Dr. Cruz-Madrid (Katya.Cruz-Madrid@va.gov)
Geriatrics Interest Group (GIG) is an interprofessional student organization that seeks to equip students with a skillset for providing care to older adults by offering opportunities to interact with geriatricians, nursing home residents, and students from other colleges. Because adults aged 65 and older are expected to grow to 77 million by 2035, GIG aims to give students an early exposure to caring for the growing elderly population. GIG plans to have events that explore different aspects of geriatrics including lunch talks, shadowing opportunities and volunteering sessions in collaboration with other colleges.
Interventional Radiology Interest Group (IRIG)
President: Ana Gonzalez (agonz213@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Diann George (dgeorg25@uic.edu)
Vice President: Harsh Khilwani
Secretary: Meet Patel
M3 Class Representative: Ashwin Ganesh
Chair of PR & Marketing: Eric Cooper
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ketan Shah (kyshah@uic.edu)
IRIG’s mission as a student organization is to increase awareness and foster excitement among the student body regarding the field of interventional radiology. We host several events throughout the year, including presentations led by IR physicians on clinical cases and IR treatments, ultrasound workshops for hands-on learning, and Q&A panels with IR residents and attendings to provide career planning and guidance.
Medicine-Pediatrics Interest Group (MPIG)
Presidents: Eleanor Esbrook (eesbro2@uic.edu) and Shreya Sarmah (ssarma7@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Shashank Sandu (ssandu2@uic.edu)
Specialty Outreach Chair: Shannon Burke (seb3@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Erin Hickey (ehicke9@uic.edu), Dr. Lauren Williams (laurenrw@uic.edu), Dr. Ana Clara Mauro (amauro2@uic.edu)
The Med-Peds Interest Group is an organization for students at UICOM interested in the dual specialty of Med-Peds. UICOM is uniquely positioned to connect interested students with residents and attendings in the field. This organization focuses on exposing students to many aspects of Med-Peds through networking, education, mentorship, and advocacy.
Obstetrics and Gynecology Student Interest Group (OBGYN SIG)
President: Ashwini Deshpande (adeshp9@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Yashodha Narayanan (ynaray3@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Catherine Wheatley (cwheats@uic.edu)
The OBGYN Interest Group provides a space for students to come together and learn from OBGYN faculty, specialists, patients, and other experts that provide insight into the field. The organization also provides opportunities for interested students to gain more hands-on exposure to OBGYN through shadowing and mentorship. OBGYN Interest Group has collaborated with other student organizations to hold panels and interactive events, and are always open further opportunities for collaboration.
IG: @uicobgynsig
Ophthalmology Interest Club (OIC)
President: Amy Song (amysong2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Haari Sureshkumar (hsures3@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Pooja Bhat (pbhat@uic.edu)
Vice President: Marianna Vakaki (mvakaki2@uic.edu)
OIC is dedicated to providing interested students with clinical, research, volunteering and practical opportunities to learn more about Ophthalmology as well as resources to help students pursue the specialty as a career. Oh, eye SEE! With our help, you will too.
Orthopaedic Surgery Interest Group (OSIG)
President: Mike Foy (mfoy3@uic.edu)
Vice President: Alejandro Gonzalez (algonzal@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alfonso Mejia (amejia@uic.edu)
The Orthopaedic Surgery Interest Group was founded in 2016 in collaboration with The University of Illinois at Chicago Orthopaedics Department. As such, the group has close ties to both residents and faculty within UIC. Our purpose is to provide support and guidance for UIC students with an interest in orthopedics and sports medicine through lectures, mentorship, shadowing, research, clinical involvement, and community events. We host several events throughout the year and provide organized support with the goal of making members competitive applicants in a field that is increasingly hard to get into
Pediatric Interest Group (PIG)
Presidents: Becca Weintrob (Rweint2@uic.edu) & Shreya Sarmah (ssarma7@uic.edu)
Outreach Chairs: Gerrica Alexander, Vivian Nguyen
Marketing Chair: Amy Song
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sara Smith (sboblick@uic.edu)
The Pediatric Interest Group (PIG) is an organization for UIC medical students interested in general and specialty pediatrics including both academic and non-academic medicine. PIG provides amble opportunities for students to network with UI Health pediatricians and researchers through general and specialty panels. PIG also provides several volunteer opportunities through outreach events during the academic year, including the UI Health Hematology/Oncology Thanksgiving Festival and back to school health fairs.
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Interest Group (PMRIG)
Co-Presidents/Treasurers: Dionna Bidny (dbidny2@uic.edu) & Liz Troy (etroy2@uic.edu)
Vice President: Brett Segobiano
External Relations Chair: Daniel DeLara
Outreach and Event Coordination Chairs: Julia Nascimben, Taylor Webb
Communications Chair: Antrell Cheatom
Shadowing Coordinator: Roosha Mandal
Phase 1 Representative: Kailee Kozicki
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Theresa Lie-Nemeth (theresa.lie-nemeth@sinai.org)
The primary purpose of this organization is to provide medical students at UIC exposure to the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. This growing field is something that many medical students may not be familiar with and may be attractive to students who are also interested in orthopedics, neurology, and sports medicine. In addition, the rehab issues that physiatrists work with are relevant to internal medicine and a variety of other specialties.
At PMRIG, we coordinate engaging workshops, events, lectures, and networking opportunities for students interested in this field. Additionally we facilitate mentorship and support during the process of applying for PM&R residency.
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Interest Group (PRSIG)
President: Isabella Zorra (izorra2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Isabel Scharf (ischarf2@uic.edu)
Vice President: Mike Edgar
Professional Outreach Chair: Nico Kaplan
Community Service Chair: Deanna Bradley
M3 Liason: Sobhi Kazmouz
M1 Representatives: Catherine Xu, Christina Langone
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Franklin Lew (flew@uic.edu)
The Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Interest Group (PRSIG) will provide students opportunities to further their education and exploration of plastic and reconstructive surgery. PRSIG will serve as a resource for information and guidance, promoting a collaborative environment between students and the UIC plastic surgery team. Our organization will host panels, group discussions, and workshops that highlight the specialty’s diversity and equip students with proper skills for the field.
Slack Page: #sig-plasticsurgery-c
Instagram: @UICPRSIG
PONS (Neurosurgery Student Interest Group)
President: Philip Ostrov (ostrov2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ankit Mehta (ankitm@uic.edu)
Neurosurgeon Panels, Cadaver Lab Workshop, Post-Match Panels, Mentoring
PSYCHED!: Psychiatry Interest Group
President: Chris Freeman (cfreem9@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Sebastián Andrade (sandra25@uic.edu)
Vice President: Joe Bianco (jbianco2@uic.edu)
Secretary: Saneha Borisuth (sboris3@uic.edu)
Speciality Outreach Chair: Jen Swartz (jswart7@uic.edu)
Fundraising & Grants Chair: Elisa Herrera (eherre43@uic.edu)
Events & Activities Chair: Noelle Torres (ntorre41@uic.edu)
Communications & Publicity Chair: Aline Wu (awu46@uic.edu)
Mental Health & Wellness Chair: Angela Hussain (ahussa64@uic.edu)
Advocacy & Social Justice Chair: Saranya Menon (smenon23@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Joseph Cooper (cooperj@uic.edu)
PSYCHED! supports medical students interested in psychiatry and mental healthcare. Our core mission revolves around advocating for improved mental healthcare and increased awareness. We actively strive to deconstruct societal barriers and diminish the stigma that surrounds psychiatry. Through educational initiatives, open discussions, and community engagement, we aim to foster a more informed and empathetic perspective on mental health. Join us as we work ardently to promote substantive change and understanding in the field of psychiatry.
Student Cardiology Society (SCS)
President: Nischal Praveen (nprave3@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Simon Liu (sliu239@uic.edu)
Vice President: Nikith Erukulla
Secretary: Shashank Sandu
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Tofovic (dtofov2@uic.edu)
This organization is intended to increase student involvement in the field of cardiology. We will have attending physicians speak on what they do in their practice, as well as provide opportunities for networking with physicians at UIC.
Student Interest Group in Gastroenterology (SIGGI)
Presidents: Jinhee Kim (jkim788@uic.edu), Monika Stoskute (mstosk2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: N/A
Student Interest Group in Gastroenterology’s mission is to help students learn more about the field of gastroenterology and provide them opportunities to network with current GI specialists through workshops, panels, research, and volunteering events.
Our goals:
– Expose students early on to the specialty.
– Provide fun workshops for students to learn more about practicing GI.
– Hold informative sessions where students can explore what it means to go into gastroenterology.
– Engage with the broader community.
Student Interest Group in Neurology (SIGN)
President: Courtney Ketchum (ketchum3@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Cissy Xiao (cxiao21@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Pritikanta Paul (ppaul5@uic.edu)
The purpose of SIGN is to introduce medical students to the field of neurology by bringing them together with fellow students with similar interests through discussions by neurologists, patient presentations, seminars, journal clubs, learning materials, and arranged shadowings of neurologists in the workplace. Medical students become aware of opportunities, and participate in activities, related to the field of neurology, including opportunities for research, creating a new generation of neurologists.
Trauma and Critical Care (TCC) SIG
President: Xia Liu (xliu258@uic.edu)
Vice President: Michael Lukas (mlukas5@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Makeda Springette (msprin3@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Jacob Avraham (javrah2@uic.edu)
The goal of the organization is to introduce UICOM students to field of acute care/trauma and critical care (surgical&medical). Even as a medical student in clinical years, we won’t necessarily have a chance to gain exposure in these fields. But no matter what type of specialties we choose, we will have mandatory MICU, SICU or trauma blocks as interns. Therefore, we started this organization introducing to our students awesome things about the field, and gain great exposure. Moreover, one of the core aims would be to provide students with the opportunity to learn more about social determine of health of trauma, as well as partner with the community to address the root causes of violence and trauma.
Urology Interest Group
President: Alec Martin (amart352@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dan Garvey (dgarveygu@yahoo.com)
Urology is a unique field that lies at the forefront of robotic surgery and innovation. It is a field of medicine which looks into male and female urinary tract and male reproductive tracts. Medical students often do not get exposure to this area of medicine, except as an elective. Urology intersects with many other areas of medicine, including: geriatrics, gynecology, oncology, and pediatrics making exposure to urology essential and relevant.
Our goal is to provide opportunities for exposure to urology research and procedures via on-hands workshops, residency information sessions and collaboration with other student run and professional organizations.
Chicago Homelessness and Health Response Group for Equity-- UIC (CHHRGE)
President: Jordan Morling (jmorli2@uic.edu)
Vice Presidents: Bingtao Xiang (bxiang3@uic.edu), Jinhee Kim (jkim788@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: N/A
Chicago Street Medicine (CSM)
President: Emily Muscat (emusca2@uic.edu) & Alyssa Horwitz (adhorwi2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Jason Fernando (jfern@uic.edu)
Vice President: Avi Fogel
Secretary: Andrew LaValle
Community Partnerships Chair: Jessica Norman
Research Chair: Mason Clark
Education Chair: Julia Yu
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Pavitra Kotini-Shah (pkotini@uic.edu)
UIC Chicago Street Medicine’s mission as a student-fueled, interprofessional, interdisciplinary organization is to improve the health and well-being of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Chicago through service, education, research, and advocacy. We provide medical students an opportunity to participate in “street runs” on a biweekly basis with a multidisciplinary healthcare team.
Website: chicagostreetmedicine.org
Finding Ophthalmic Care for the Underserved (FOCUS)
President: Haari Sureshkumar (hsures3@uic.edu)
Co-President: Marianna Vakaki (mvakaki2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Heiferman (mheif@uic.edu)
The purpose of this organization is to provide free vision screenings to Chicago’s underserved neighborhoods by working out of the Community Health free clinic. Students will have the opportunity to learn clinical skills related to performing a basic eye exam and apply their non-clinical skills to screen adults for eye disease, including glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy.
Fresh Resources Urban Initiative Team (FRUIT)
President: Ashwini Deshpande (adeshp9@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Eli Walker (epw2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ben Gerber (bgerber@uic.edu)
The University of Illinois Hospital (UIH) and its surrounding community is located in one of the largest food deserts in Chicago. Many of the patients served by UIH live in neighborhoods with limited access to high-quality affordable and nutritious foods.
The Fresh Resource Urban Initiative Team (FRUIT) is a grassroots project with the objective of improving patient access to affordable, fresh produce and additional health resources. FRUIT also recognizes UIC medical students as future medical providers, and aims to increase their knowledge about fresh produce and healthy eating.
With these goals, the FRUIT team commits to promoting healthy eating and lifestyle choices among the UIH patient population and UIC medical students, and to contribute to primary prevention and patient education strategies beyond the clinic.
gUIde – Undergraduate Mentorship Program
President: Ilyas Taraki (taraki2@uic.edu)
Vice President & Founder: Alyssa Kania (akania6@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Fred Zar (fazar@uic.edu)
Instagram: @guide_uic
gUIde is an organization focused on fostering meaningful relationships between University of Illinois at Chicago undergraduates and medical students. We hope to facilitate a dialogue between undergraduates interested in the medical field and current medical students. Our aim is to complement the Pre-Health Department by providing a peer perspective on the medical student lifestyle and the medical school application process.
HeartBeats at UICOM
President: Sydney Chin (schin32@uic.edu), Tim Pan (tpan8@uic.edu), Jenny Wang (jwang349@uic.edu), & Cissy Xiao (cxiao21@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Brandon Cho (bcho22@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. H. Steven Sims (hssims@uic.edu)
Design: Julia Yu
Social Media: Kaitlin Sung
Volunteer Chair: Miguel Del Busto, Isabel Scharf
Fundraising: Lucas Myint
Music Director/Webmaster: Kavya Anjur, Noelle Torres
HeartBeats is a UIC medical student volunteer group that aims to use live and virtual music performances to spread joy within vulnerable communities. After performing, we will then interact with our organizations- for example, either teaching short lessons at the children’s home or just building relationships and spending time with patients over zoom. HeartBeats works in part with Virtual Bedside Concerts, a group based in Boston from Harvard Medical School that was created during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to address isolation in hospitals. Music is a powerful tool for connection and we hope to use that to support patients.
HemAd
President: Katie Lee (klee264@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Kevin Chow (kchow6@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Lewis Hsu (lewhsu@uic.edu)
Secretary: Jonathan Cho
– Spread awareness about hematological conditions
– Increase recruitment for blood donation
– Inform medical students of current events regarding hematologic diseases (i.e. changes in policies, new bills being passed)
– Providing a better understanding of the patient perspective of hematologic diseases
– Providing opportunities for students interested in Heme/Onc in advocacy, service and patient experiences
Medical Students for Choice (MSFC)
President: Paula Herbst (pherbs3@uic.edu) & Elena Sasso (esasso2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Paula Herbst (pherbs3@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Parmida Zarei (pzarei2@uic.edu)
VP of Advocacy: Arya Kadakia (akadak2@uic.edu),
VP of Programming: Ainsley Tran (artran2@uic.edu)
Social Media & Marketing Chair: Nevan Patel (npate328@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Erica Hinz (hinz83@uic.edu)
As an internationally known 501(c)(3) non-profit with a successful track record for change, Medical Students for Choice® (MSFC) stands up in the face of violent opposition. We work to destigmatize abortion provision among medical students and residents, and to persuade medical schools and residency programs to include abortion as a part of the reproductive health services curriculum.
Today one of the greatest obstacles to safe and legal abortion around the world is the absence of trained providers. Most physicians graduate with little more than circumstantial knowledge of abortion. As medical students and residents, we work to make reproductive health care, including abortion, a part of standard medical education and residency training.
Medical Students for Violence Prevention (MSVP)
President: Abhinav Reddy (areddy7@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: N/A
MSVP aims to empower future physicians to properly address the impact of violence on their patient’s health, and equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively advocate on their patient’s behalf and be a leader in volatile patient situations.
Medical Students for Women's Health (MSWH)
Presidents: Kathleen Whittington (kwhitt6@uic.edu), Sydney Wahlen (swhale3@uic.edu), Haley Hultquist (hhultq2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Anna Waddoups (awaddo2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Jennifer Schulte (schulte9@uic.edu)
Other Board Members: Allison Soto, Mish Hukamdad, Paula Herbst, Kelly Yang, Emma Pappano
The purpose of MSWH is to change how women’s healthcare is approached locally and globally through educational reform, constructive conversations, focused volunteer work, and planned research. We hope to learn as much as we instruct; to better strengthen partnerships between female patients and future physicians.
New Life Volunteering Society (NLVS)
President: Snehitha Talugula (stalug2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: David Wu (dwu36@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Vijay Khiani (vijay.khiani@gmail.com)
The New Life Volunteering Society free health clinic serves as a comprehensive medical care facility dedicated to serving the uninsured of Chicago in primary and secondary prevention of chronic medical conditions and also training future health care professionals by providing an educational setting to learn and practice clinical skills.
Patient Perspective Experience (PPE)
President: Pranjal Kadwe (pkadwe2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Diann George (dgeorg25@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Saul Weiner (sweiner@uic.edu)
Founder: Jake Rudolph (jdrudol2@uic.edu)
Vice President – Matching Program: Monica Fehrenbach (mfehre2@uic.edu)
Vice President – Education: Atithi Patel (apate532@uic.edu)
The mission of PPE is to embed and amplify the patient perspectives within the UICOM student experience. At our core, we believe in facilitating interactions with numerous patient populations to guide students in understanding the illness experience. Through our organization’s initiatives, patient experience will shape our perspective and delivery of care.
Some of our ideas include:
- Coordinating a longitudinal matching program between students and chronically ill patient mentors
- Hosting speaker events featuring patients which hone in on patient directed themes
- Advocating for and facilitating the insertion of patient voices into the phase 1 curriculum
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)
Presidents: Vikrant Garg (vgarg5@uic.edu), Yoo Jin Kim (ykim349@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Sarah Messmer (messmer2@uic.edu), Dr. Amanda Osta (aosta1@uic.edu), Dr. Michelle Barnes (mbarnes@uic.edu), Dr. Kelsie Avants (kavants@uic.edu)
Student Run Free Clinic (SRFC)
President: Avneet Shaheed (ashahe5@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Reginald Woodser (rwoods98@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Melvin Lopata (mlopata@uic.edu)
UIC SRFC is a fully volunteer medical student run weekly clinic that operates out of the Community Health Clinic on the West Side of Chicago. We currently focus on general medicine and obstetrics/gynecology with student volunteers supervised by UIC Faculty & Residents.
The UIC Student Run Free Clinic (SRFC) is an organization of UIC Medical Students, Residents, and Faculty dedicated to providing quality health care to uninsured patients in Chicago. Through our partnership with the largest free medical clinic in Illinois, Community Health, SRFC provides primary care and gynecological health care services to patients at Community Health’s West Town location. Through SRFC, UIC students can apply their classroom knowledge in the clinical setting under the mentorship of UIC physicians.
Students For A National Health Program (SNaHP)
President: Raj Patel (rpate334@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Shayan Assaie-Ardakany (sassai2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Peter Orris (porris@uic.edu)
Welcome to Students for a National Health Program, the student arm of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP). PNHP is a single issue organization advocating a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health program with more than 19,000 members. We believe that a single publicly funded, privately delivered universal health care system is necessary for us to provide high quality care to all our patients.
Sustainability in Medicine (SIM)
President: Sara Izquierdo (Sizqui2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Edward Huang (ehuang21@uic.edu)
Vice Presidents: Parmida Zarei, Davey Li
Social Media Chair: Mounika Bhaskara
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Peter Orris (porris@uic.edu)
The purpose of Sustainability in Medicine is to find environmentally friendly ways of practicing medicine. This includes lowering waste, recycling, and reusing medical supplies when possible. By being more cognizant of the environment when providing care, we increase the quality of life of the local and global population.
University of Illinois Students for Rare (UISFR)
President: Amy Song (amysong2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lewis Hsu (LewHsu@uic.edu)
Students for Rare aims to increase awareness and education around rare diseases. We host panels to highlight the roles and experiences of rare disease patients, healthcare providers, researchers, and disease advocates. Additional events focus on exposing students to rare disease research, the interdisciplinary nature of caring for rare disease patients, the importance of advocacy and policy work, and how new therapies are developed. We fundraise for relevant causes and participate in rare disease conferences. Students for Rare is an official chapter of NORD Students for Rare, a division of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).
American Medical Association (AMA)
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President: Humzah Qazi (hqazi7@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: N/A
The American Medical Association, founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of physicians—both MDs and DOs—and medical students in the United States. The AMA’s mission is “to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health.” The Medical Student Section (MSS) is the student arm of the American Medical Association. The MSS strives to be medical student’s leading voice for improving medical education and policy with the goal of bettering the future of medicine. The MSS provides student members with an important and visible platform for voicing concerns, advocating for chance, and proposing solution to problems in health care.
American Medical Student Association (AMSA)
President: Michael Alfini (malfin2@uic.edu)
VP + Treasurer: Yashodha Narayanan
Faculty Advisor: N/A
The American Medical Student Association is committed to improving health care delivery, promoting active improvement in medical education, involving its members in the social and ethical obligations of the profession of medicine, assisting in the improvement and understanding of world health problems, and advancing the profession of medicine.
Association of Women Surgeons (AWS)
President: Elana Gordy (egordy2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Patrice Frederick (pfrede1@uic.edu)
The mission of the Association of Women Surgeons is to ENGAGE current and future women surgeons to realize their professional and personal goals. EMPOWER women to succeed. EXCEL in those aspirations through mentorship, education and a networking community that promotes their contributions and achievements as students, surgeons and leaders. We aim to foster an environment supportive of personal values and individual diversity and to advance the highest standards of competence and ethical behavior.
Ethics in Medicine (EiM)
President: David Wu (dwu36@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Brandon Cho (bcho22@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Tim Murphy (tmurphy@uic.edu)
Ethics in Medicine is a student group dedicated to the discussion of moral perspectives in healthcare. Through open dialogue, we explore various contexts of ethics and professionalism in medicine, including areas of clinical care, biomedical research, social progress, and global health. We believe that the careful consideration of these subjects is necessary for the training of more mindful and compassionate physicians in our rapidly evolving healthcare system.
Global Surgery Student Alliance (GSSA)
President: Vanitha Raguveer (raguvee2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Thomas Sims (tlsims@uic.edu)
Our organization is a local chapter of the Global Surgery Student Alliance (GSSA), a national student-run global surgery working group that aims to increase awareness and student exposure to global surgery through education and advocacy, research, and mentorship. Global surgery is a field that focuses on the practice of surgical specialties (including OB/Gyn and Anesthesia) in low resource settings and advocates for reducing the gaps in access to life-saving surgical care in low and middle income countries through capacity building. We hope to serve as a link to engage students in the field and foster the development of the next generation of global surgeons at UIC.
Medical Student Journal Club
President: Klaudio Haxhillari (khaxhi2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Jeremiah Heredia (jhered5@uic.edu)
Vice President: Lawrence Wang (lwang213@uic.edu)
Marketing Chair: Matthew Hillock (mfh2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ana Mauro (amauro2@uic.edu)
Interdisciplinary journal club that explores innovative research in medicine with the intention of being able to effectively analyze research using Evidence-Based Medicine.
Medical Student Research Group (MSRG)
President: Kyleen Jan (kjan2@uic.edu)
VP & Treasurer: Martine Dolan (dolan8@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Amelia Bartholomew (ambart@uic.edu)
We facilitate the process of learning how to perform meaningful clinical research during your time in medical school. We maintain an advising database where students can identify peers with research experience to help them work through research-related problems. We also maintain a playbook of guidelines on how to perform a variety of core research competencies including but not limited to research question development, statistics, and manuscript writing.
Students for Integrative and Alternative Medicine (SIAM)
President: Nirali Chauhan (nchauh5@gmail.com)
Faculty Advisor: Joanna Michel (jmiche3@uic.edu)
The mission of SIAM is to introduce students to holistic therapies that can allow them to best serve their future patients.
Student National Medical Association (SNMA)
Co-Presidents: Raeven Chung (rchung20@uic.edu) & Kaidee Akullo (kakull2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alana Biggers (abigger2@uic.edu)
Student National Medical Association (SNMA) is committed to supporting current and future underrepresented minority medical students, addressing the needs of underserved communities, and increasing the number of clinically excellent, culturally competent and socially conscious physicians.
SNMA chapters based at allopathic and osteopathic medical schools throughout the nation, and some colleges, implement our programs and activities locally. SNMA programs are designed to serve the health needs of underserved communities and communities of color. In addition, SNMA is dedicated both to ensuring that medical education and services are culturally sensitive to the needs of diverse populations and to increasing the number of African-American, Latino, and other students of color entering and completing medical school.
Student Surgical Society (SSS)
Co-Presidents: Daksh Bhargava (dxb12@uic.edu) and Natalia Perez (nperez58@uic.edu)
Treasurers: Daksh Bhargava (dxb12@uic.edu) and Natalia Perez (nperez58@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Amelia Bartholomew (ambart@uic.edu)
We are dedicated to cultivating interest in surgery and maximizing potential of our fellow students to become outstanding surgeons. We accomplish this by facilitating shadowing and research opportunities, guest speaker events, and surgical skills workshops!
email: uicom.sss@gmail.com
instagram: @studentsurgicalsocietyatuicom
ValUIC
President: Raj Patel (rpate334@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Harsh Khilwani (harshk2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Rubenfeld (abr2@uic.edu)
ValUIC seeks to advance care that achieves the best results for patients at the lowest cost at UIHealth and beyond by:
1- Educating UICOM students on value-based medicine. Students will supplement the curriculum with external modules, meeting monthly and interacting with faculty to cement their learning and create a community of advocates.
2 – Engaging in projects with the UIHealth system to evaluate and promote best practices in value-based medicine
American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA)
President: Allison Kufta (akufta2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Jennifer Dau (tdau3@uic.edu)
Vice President: Rita Atalor (ratalo2@uic.edu )
Secretary: Olivia Jazbutis (ojazbu2@uic.edu)
Co-Mentorship Chairs: Vennela Challagondla (vchal@uic.edu) and Alivya Dantuluri (adantu2@uic.edu)
Community Outreach: Berrnadette Tudor (tudor2@uic.edu)
M1 Rep: Malack Abdelsalam (mabdel48@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Amanda Osta (aosta1@uic.edu)
The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) is an organization of women physicians, medical students and other persons dedicated to serving as the unique voice for women’s health and the advancement of women in medicine. The organization was founded by Dr. Bertha VanHoosen in 1915 in Chicago, at a time when women physicians were an under-represented minority. As women in medicine increase in numbers, so have new issues that were not anticipated, and AMWA has been working to address these issues as they arise.
The mission of AMWA is to empower women, promote equality, and raise awareness about women’s health and women in medicine. AMWA is the oldest multispecialty organization dedicated to advancing women in medicine and improving women’s health. The American Medical Women’s Association empowers women to lead in improving health for all within a model that reflects the unique perspective of women.
Website: amwa-doc.org
Instagram: @amwaauicom
Chromotones
President: Angeline Rivkin, (arivki2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: N/A
The Chromotones are an acapella vocal group made up of medical students from UICCOM. We perform at various events, including the M2 anatomy dedication ceremony and annual Christmas caroling in pediatrics! All experience levels are welcome, come sing with us!
College of Medicine Artists (COM Artists)
President: Monika Stoskute (mstosk2@uic.edu)
Body Electric literary/arts magazine Chair: Judy Wang (lwang240@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Sara Cooper (scoope27@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Blackie (blackie@uic.edu)
The COM Artists group provides a creative outlet for students to engage with each other and with the community through music, literature, and visual art.
First Gen Med (1GM)
President: Chris Torlone (ctorlo2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Sam Cubillos (scubil2@uic.edu)
Vice President: Sara Cooper
Social Media Chair/Secretary: Olufunmilola Oyelola
Pre-Medical Initiative Chair: Alexandra Vick
Outreach Chairs: Timmy Bullock, Grace Ogungbile, Eric Freeman
Faculty Advisor: Leelach Rothschild (leelach@uic.edu)
As first generation medical students, we lack the familiarity with the medical system that many of our peers have. Without this background, it’s easy to feel out of the loop in discussions about residency, lifestyle, and research. First Gen Med aims to close the gap. Ultimately 1GM will become a networking tool for first generation med students. It will be a safe space for people to ask questions and connect to mentors who also navigated medicine without family ties.
Humanities in Medicine (HuMed)
President: Kavya Anjur (kavyaa2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Robby Schwarz (rschw@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anna Gramelspacher (annamg@uic.edu) Dr. Michael Blackie (blackie@uic.edu)
HuMed (Humanities in Medicine) embodies an interdisciplinary community with a focus on the humanities. Our aim is to create a structured network for individuals in the fields of visual and performing arts, literature, ethics, and history, through creating a centralized avenue for existing health humanities resources. Our members will demonstrate competency in these areas through personal and professional development, and set the foundation for the development of a future track.
Facebook: HuMedatUIC
Email: uic.humed@gmail.com
Instagram: @humedatuic
Medical Students for Accessible Education (MSAE)
President: Ayala Hurtado (He/him/his) (ahurta7@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Norah Oles (she/her/hers) (noles2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Saul Weiner (sweiner@uic.edu)
Peer to peer support for medical students with any disability including learning disabilities, chronic illnesses, and physical disabilities.
Queer, M.D. (QMD)
Presidents: Brian Landry (blandr2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Nicholas Arambula (naramb3@uic.edu)
Vice Presidents: Elana Thomas
Social Chair: Dole Tran (dtran42@uic.edu)
Accessibility Coordinator: Alexy Jabbour
Faculty Advisor: Andrew Trotter (trottera@uic.edu)
Queer, M.D. is a student group that promotes the acceptance of LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff through education and discussion of LGBTQ health issues and rights. In addition to being an educational and social resource, Queer, M.D. promotes social support and visibility to queer students, faculty, and staff, along with allies. Queer, M.D.. hosts speakers, panels, and workshops on campus; advocates for inclusion of LGBTQ+ health competencies in curricula; and provides opportunities for students and trainees to find mentorship.
Wilderness Medicine Interest Group (WMIG)
President: Seb Gulka (sgulka2@uic.edu) & April Oertle (aoertl2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Sarah Maggipinto (sarahcm3@uic.edu)
Vice President: Courtney Ketchum
Events Coordinator: Matt Simonson
Secretary: Elana Thomas
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Vinay Mikkilineni (vmikkil1@uic.edu)
We are a group dedicated to getting medical students into the wild and learning the field of wilderness medicine on the way. Students can expect to learn basic survival skills alongside wilderness medicine, spend time with their peers in the outdoors, and gain a better understanding of what a career in wilderness medicine may entail.
Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA)
President: Brandon Chow (bschow2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Amy Lin (alin34@uic.edu)
The Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association at UIC COM is a medical student organization dedicated to improving the health outcomes of underserved Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in Chicago. APAMSA works to provide culturally competent services, resources, support, and education to these communities, and also seeks the professional development of medical students interested in similar goals. APAMSA aims to provide a community of medical students, faculty, physician, and other health professionals for the advancement of these commitments. UIC APAMSA is a chapter organization and a branch of the regional and national APAMSA organization.
Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA)
Presidents: Sarita Davis (sdavis70@uic.edu)
Vice President: Jacqueline Kieltyka (jkielt2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Michael Charles (mcharle2@uic.edu)
Other Board Members: Chris Zhou (dkkeen2@uic.edu), Deanna Keen (dkkeen2@uic.edu), Jacqueline Williams (jwill296@uic.edu)
The Christian Medical & Dental Association provides an avenue for medical students to engage with God and the Christian faith in the midst of medical school, including fostering a strong community among medical students interested in exploring the Christian faith. We hope that students will be able to see how faith intersects with and informs their practice of medicine. Throughout the year, CMDA offers students opportunities to grow spiritually and professionally through guest speaker events, bible studies, and healthcare/missions conferences. Everyone is invited and welcome to join!
Glory Flames Campus Fellowship
President: Doyinsade Awodele (aawode2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Oreoluwa Omoba (somoba3@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Kimberly Densmore (ksd55@uic.edu)
We desire to meet the spiritual needs of UICOM by promoting fellowship and unity rooted in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We understand that graduate school can be an isolating time for students and it’s also a time where spirituality diminishes. To meet this need, we aim to create an open community for students to build and give expression to their faith, to learn more about the love of God and be transformed into future healthcare professionals that bring healing to the world.
International Medical Student Association (IMSA)
Presidents: Sakshi Dureja (sdurej2@uic.edu) & Atithi Patel (apate532@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Sobhi Kazmouz (skazmo2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Laura Hirshfield (lhirshf@uic.edu)
Our mission is to raise awareness about the unique set of challenges international students (on temporary student visas) face as well as provide current international medical students insight on how to surmount such obstacles.
Slack: disc-intlmed-a
Jewish Medical Student Group (JMSG)
Presidents: Rachel Schusteff (rschus4@uic.edu), Chad Simon (czsimon2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: N/A
Latino Medical Student Organization (LMSA)
Co-Presidents: Andres Gascon (agasco2@uic.edu) & Elisa Herrera (eherre43@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Danny Lopez (juandl2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Monica Vela (mvela@uic.edu)
The Latino Medical Student Association was established to serve Latino communities, to inspire young Latinos to pursue medical careers, and to support all who share an interest in teaching the underserved.
Middle Eastern and North African Student Association (MENA)
President: Niki Sabetfakhri (nsabet2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Sabrina Iddir (siddir2@uic.edu)
Service and Advocacy: Hanna Kherzai (kherzai2@uic.edu), Farah Hashim (fhashi3@uic.edu)
Public Relations: Kareem Sharif (kshari2@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Leila Amiri (lamiri@uic.edu) & Dr. Sarah Abboud (abbouds@uic.edu)
The Middle Eastern and North African Student Association (MENA) is dedicated to building a community and support system for students, faculty, and health professionals of MENA descent and anyone interested in the MENA region. By centering cultural awareness and humility, our goal is to encourage dialogue on topics pertaining to Middle Eastern health in the medical community, and to identify opportunities for service and advocacy in the U.S. and abroad.
South Asian Medical Student Association (SAMSA)
President: Nancy Kaul (nkaul2@uic.edu) & Saranya Menon (smenon23@uic.edu)
Vice President: Deepa Dhillon (ddhill2@uic.edu)
Treasurer: Raj Barot (rajb2@uic.edu)
Health Fair Chair: Manisha Singam (msinga3@uic.edu)
Health Advocacy Chairs: Nathan Kumar (nathank3@uic.edu)
Social Chairs: Daksh Bhargava (dxb12@uic.edu) & Isaiah Bell (ibell5@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Memoona Hasnain (memoona@uic.edu)
The South Asian Medical Student Association focuses on fostering a community that will provide support and guidance for future medical students of South Asian descent as well as for members of the greater Chicago South Asian community we serve. SAMSA has traditionally hosted the Diwali night in the fall, an Annual Health Fair, and a Holi celebration in the spring.
Instagram: @uicomsamsa
Email: uicomsamsa@gmail.com
Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS)
President: Omar Martini (omarti29@uic.edu)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Gillian Eastman (geastman@uic.edu)