IU Medicine

SUMMER 2024

We have much to be proud of in medical education. The stories in this issue of IU MEDICINE feature our impressive students and the important work we’re doing to train the next generation of healers.

An IU med student listens to a patient's chest with a stethoscope.

RECENT FEATURES

portrait of taylor etchison
Summer 2024

The cost of success

At IU School of Medicine, limiting student debt is a combination of scholarship gifts, controlling costs and sound financial advising.

emily wachner with her two kids in an apple orchard on a sunny day
Summer 2024

A priest's new calling

Emily Wachner believes the scenic journey she has taken so far will, one day, make her a good doctor.

rodolfo gonzalez plays the guitar
Summer 2024

A musician's new tune

Rodolfo Gonzalez traveled the world playing and producing music before he came back to his roots in medicine.

Mychael Spencer in white coat
Summer 2024

An educator's next lesson

For 10 years, medicine remained on the backburner as Myke Spencer became a teacher, then a school administrator, then a principal.

Kamilla Ware at an event for her job at Marian University
Summer 2024

Creating critical continuity for sickle cell patients

IU School of Medicine’s faculty strive to find ways to lower barriers for Hoosiers to access care and pursue research to advance treatments.

a large group photo of the first cohort of urban medicine students in Gary IN
Summer 2024

Urban Medicine: Caring for your diverse community

An estimated 83 million people live in areas without sufficient access to a primary-care physician. Indiana University School of Medicine is attempting to chip away at the problem.

Ted Kitchel boxes against a dummy in the gym. He has short cropped white hair, a black t shirt and black boxing gloves.
Winter 2024

Fighting Back

Former IU basketball star Ted Kitchel takes his fight against Parkinson’s disease seriously – in the gym to keep his motor skills sharp and outside it to raise funds for research.

microscopic sample of brain tissue in light blue, green and black colors with swirling pattern
Winter 2024

Alzheimer’s Holy Grail

Finding a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease is the field's holy grail. Jeff Dage, PhD, has been searching for most of the past decade.

Matt Rutz walks down a hospital hallway filled with hospital beds on wheels. He is wearing dark blue scrubs.
Winter 2024

State of Emergency

IU School of Medicine strives to address burnout, mental health stressors and gender inequities faced by emergency medicine physicians.

VOICES AND INSIGHTS

Kola Okuyemi stands in front of the Department of Family Medicine sign
Summer 2024

Family Medicine chair aims to bridge the gaps in health care

Dr. Kola Okuyemi’s career as an academic family medicine physician has focused on research and training programs to improve the health of underserved populations and advance health equity.

liana apostolova sits across a table from a woman who is a participant in the LEADS study. Apostolova holds a flash card for the woman to read.
Winter 2024

Leading the Way

A landmark IU School of Medicine study of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease enters its fifth year — and has more insights to share.

Dean Hess with his arms crossed in a home library
Spring 2023

A Decade As Dean

Dean Jay Hess brought a fresh perspective — and a game plan — to IU School of Medicine, elevating it to a higher level.

Medical Students in an auditorium
Spring 2023

A Diamond in the Midwest

Steady growth made IU School of Medicine the nation’s largest medical school, but an overhauled curriculum, metric-driven decisions, expanded student services, and new residency programs aim to make it among the best.