Feb. 02, 2026 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo By the time children in Pelotas, Brazil, reached their first day of school, some had already been influenced by decisions made years earlier—at the family table A new analysis from the 2015 Pelotas Birth Cohort suggests that dietary patterns at just two years of age are associated with cognitive […]
Author: Vince Lara-Cinisomo
How social stress can worsen colitis, and what it reveals about the biology of IBD
Jan. 23, 2026 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo Study from AHS researchers links stress to gut inflammation via adrenergic oxidative pathways For decades, patients with inflammatory bowel disease have reported a familiar and frustrating pattern: periods of intense stress are often followed by worsening symptoms or full-blown disease flares. Clinicians have observed the same phenomenon, yet the […]
Happy Birthday, Huff!
Dec. 19, 2025 | Anna Flanagan AHS celebrates the 100th anniversary of Huff Hall By Anna Flanagan Many people still think of the home of the College of Applied Health Sciences as Huff Gym. The building opened in 1925 as the New Gymnasium, giving the University of Illinois men’s basketball team what was then state-of-the-art […]
Illinois Speech and Hearing Science at ASHA 2025
The American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) held the 2025 ASHA Convention from Nov. 20–22 in Washington, D.C. Our Department of Speech and Hearing Science at Illinois was well-represented: several SHS faculty and graduate students were in attendance to accept awards and present seminars on their research and teaching contributions. SHS faculty and students’ ASHA Awards […]
A friendship forged in RST: Dan Bernstein and Alex Roux’s journey at Illinois
Oct. 27, 2025 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo For Dan Bernstein and Alex Roux, the University of Illinois was more than just a place to study—it was the setting for a friendship that would shape their student years and ripple into their careers Both arrived on campus passionate about Illini sports, uncertain of exactly where their paths […]
Remembering Ron Dodd, a leader in public parks and recreation
Oct. 27, 2025 | Laura Payne RST alumni fondly remember a leader in the field Ron Dodd, former director of the Joliet Park District and an RST alumnus, passed away on July 31, 2025, at the age of 84. Dodd was a leader and educator in public parks and recreation and the embodiment of a […]
Remembering Dr. Laurence Chalip, a giant in sport policy and management
Oct. 27, 2025 | Laura Payne RST alumni fondly remember a former department head Dr. Laurence Chalip, former head of the Department of Recreation Sport and Tourism and a Brightbill/Sapora professor, died on Aug. 17, 2025, at the age of 74. Chalip was a global leader and visionary in the field of sport policy and […]
Message from the department head
Oct. 27, 2025 | Carla Santos Dear RST Friends and Alumni, As the fall semester unfolds, I am delighted to share the newest edition of our Recreation, Sport and Tourism newsletter. This issue reflects the breadth of scholarship, creativity and connection that define our department. Among the stories you’ll read are the work of Charis […]
Message from HK Department Head Kim Graber
Oct. 27, 2025 | Kim Graber Dear Alumni and Friends, Now that fall 2025 is underway, I’m excited to share some of the exciting stories from the Department of Health and Kinesiology. Each newsletter reminds me of how fortunate I am to work alongside such passionate faculty, students and alumni who are making a real […]
Insights from the 2025 Chittenden Symposium
Oct. 15, 2025 | Ashley Sims Human-Centered Solutions, Systems-Level Impact On October 8, faculty, students, and researchers from the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering and Department of Health and Kinesiology gathered at the iHotel for the 2025 Chittenden Symposium: “Lifelong Health by Design – Human-Centered Innovations in Chronic Disease Prevention.” The event united experts across disciplines to […]