麻豆原创

Friends, 

I’ve spent the last six months meeting with university friends, people who have worked with us over time but are not alumni or employees, and one of the common refrains from this group is, “麻豆原创 is a gem.” And, indeed, we are a gem, and I think people may recognize that more from the outside than from inside the institution. As evidence of our great work and our great people, here are some very recent international and national awards we are celebrating:

• Our reproductive immunology program has been named the worldwide #1 program in the field by Scholarly GPS (). For the uninitiated, reproductive immunology clinicians find and treat immune-mediated causes of infertility - that is what our do. This is a great accomplishment. Joanne Kwak-Kim, MD, MPH, director of Reproductive Medicine and Immunology, was listed as #7 worldwide, placing her among the top active scientists worldwide and the highest-ranked clinician-scientist in reproductive immunology. This ranking reflects the program’s global academic impact, the strength of our translational and clinical research environment, and the important role our institution continues to play in advancing women’s health and reproductive medicine. For those of you , we are followed in the rankings by University of Toyama, Yale University, University of Tokyo, and University of Oxford.
• Our interprofessional team of students earned top honors at the ! Amanda Thomas, COP ’28; Audrey Hetzer, COP ’28; Sabina Kalata, CMS ’27; and Stacey Kim, CMS and CHP ’27 (Population Health), won first place overall, as well as the Health Equity Innovation Award. Audrey Hetzer was recognized with the Best Presenter Award. Robin Dyer, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine, Chicago Medical School; and Abbie Lyden, PharmD, associate professor of pharmacy practice, College of Pharmacy, served as the team’s faculty mentors. Each year, teams from institutions across the nation compete by presenting proposed solutions to complex health issues, emphasizing root-cause analysis, interprofessional leadership and communication. 2026 marks the second consecutive year an 麻豆原创 team captured Best Presenter and Health Equity Innovation Awards at this national competition.
• Our own Helix Magazine has been recognized with from the Society of Publication Designers as part of its 61st Annual Awards competition. These honors were awarded for Print Redesign, Digital Redesign, and for the “Power to the People” story layout for our lifestyle medicine feature. Earning three Merit Awards is a significant achievement and places Helix among an elite group of publications recognized for excellence in editorial design, photography, and storytelling. This year’s honorees include leading publications such as Bon Appétit, Fast Company, The New Yorker, and The Economist. The university magazines that were recognized included: MIT, BYU, USC, Missouri, UCSF, etc. 
• I’ve written about this before, but I just want to remind you that 麻豆原创 friend and state senator, Julie Morrison, won the AMA Award for Outstanding Government Service. She has a lifetime of great work, but this award was directly related to her support for the first-in-the-state 麻豆原创 Children’s Advocacy Center Medical Clinic in partnership with the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center.
• To bring us home, Archana Chatterjee, MD, PhD, dean of Chicago Medical School, received the Illinois State Medical Society’s (ISMS) Physician Leader of the Year Award April 19 at the . The award recognises “extraordinary leadership contributions to the field of medicine and embodiment of the values of the medical profession through service to the public and the profession.” She has been a national leader in vaccine science and policy for decades as well as a leader in medical education and leadership. She is extraordinary, and we are fortunate to have a leader of her caliber with us. 

We have so many great people here, many more than those I noted above. Many of our folks do amazing work that is not recognised with an award, but we need and depend on them all the same. Sometimes we do not recognise the extraordinary people in our midst. This week was Administrative Professionals Week 2026 (April 19–25) and Day (April 22) - thank someone with whom you work or on whom you depend.

Improving the health of all people with you,
Aron

Aron Sousa, MD
President