Loyola University Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine

Stritch Magazine 2020

In my first draft of this note, I began by writing about Loyola’s 150th anniversary as a time to reflect on how Stritch has contributed to the University’s rich history and on the unique qualities of a Stritch education. But as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic wreaked havoc across the globe and closer to home, I paused, and instead reflected on the resilience and adaptability of Stritch and the University during this challenging and uncertain time. With care and concern for our students, faculty, and staff among our top priorities, Loyola University Chicago moved more than 3,400 class online within 10 days and closed our campuses, all while maintaining academic continuity.

When our students matriculated, I doubt any of them ever imagined they would be studying medicine or graduating to their residencies during a global pandemic. But this semester was unlike anything that any of us have experienced. When students were unable to continue in their clinical experience, they found new ways to serve, such as volunteering to answer the COVID Hotline at Loyola Medicine and organizing a GoFundMe to provide locally sourced meals to hospital staff.

Our faculty and staff, too, are dedicated to ensuring current and prospective students experience the traditional medical school milestones. For example, more than 570 people joined us virtually for our first-ever online Match Day. We also welcomed over 300 prospective students to our first virtual Second Look.

During this 150th anniversary year, while we are called to re-examine how we teach and engage with the Loyola community and our various partners, I continue to take great pride in the education we provide to the next generation of clinicians and researchers. Clearly, we are poised to tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow.

I hope we will be able to welcome many of our alumni back to campus for the Stritch Reunion Weekend, which we plan to have September 25-27. To register and get updates on the status of this year’s event, visit LUC.edu/stritchreunion.

Please stay well and safe, and follow your community’s public health guidelines. Thank you for your interest in and support of Loyola’s Stritch School of Medicine.

Blockquote Image Background
In health care, patients, their families, even physicians and nurses face challenging ethical questions. My thought is, ‘How can I help them in the process?’ ”
- Katherine Wasson, PhD, MPH

Everyday ethics

Confronting questions at the bedside and beyond

Patients and their families can encounter a mountain of questions when faced with health care challenges. What is the best course of treatment? What are the patient’s wishes if they are unable to advocate for themselves? In situations where those questions are unclear or concerns arise, a bioethicist can provide a unique perspective and help ensure the patient receives the best care. Read more about how Stritch's Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Healthcare Leadership is confronting questions at the bedside and beyond.

2020 Stritch Magazine Stories
A good steward

A good steward

A student’s personal loss fuels his mission to improve the system.  LEARN MORE

Answering the Call

Answering the Call

After their clinical experiences were postpones, medical students found a new way to serve during the COVID-19 pandemic.  DETAILS

Match Day 2020

Match Day 2020

Amid a worldwide health crisis, the Stritch Class of 2020 still came together—albeit in a virtual format this year—to celebrate one of the most im- portant milestones in a medical students’ educational journey: Match Day.  READ

Loyola sepsis study may save lives

Loyola sepsis study may save lives

A sepsis care quality improvement program saves lives, shortens hospital stays and reduces healthcare costs, according to a study by researchers at Loyola Medicine and Loyola University Chicago.  MORE

See, test, treat– and potentially save a life

See, test, treat– and potentially save a life

See, Test and Treat® Event to Offer Free Cancer Screenings to Uninsured Women.  DETAILS

Device shows promise treating new range of neurological disorders

Device shows promise treating new range of neurological disorders

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has shown significant efficacy in treating major depressive and obsessive compulsive disorders.   READ MORE

ALS Center opens at Maywood campus

ALS Center opens at Maywood campus

Loyola Medicine is opening a multidisciplinary ALS Center to provide comprehensive care that will help ALS patients in the western suburbs live longer, with improved quality of life.  LEARN MORE

Best of the best

Best of the best

Thirty-three Loyola physicians named to Chicago Magazine’s Top Doctors 2020 List.  READ

Homeboy Industries’ mission inspires new collaboration

Homeboy Industries’ mission inspires new collaboration

Father Greg Boyle, SJ, founded Homeboy Industries three decades ago, to help improve the lives of former gang members in East Los Angeles.  READ MORE

Believe in yourself

Believe in yourself

DACA student wins national award for service.  DETAILS

Small cells, big ideas

Small cells, big ideas

Loyola professors embark on an NIH-funded project with potential to impact the foundations of memory and cognition research.  LEARN MORE

Leaving his legacy

Leaving his legacy

John Dowdle (MD ’74) has watched medicine evolve. At the time he attended Stritch, there were only a handful of women in his class. Now, more than 50 percent of the school’s students are female.  DETAILS

Caring for those who serve – and the underserved

Caring for those who serve – and the underserved

Alumna Elizabeth Ernst-Signore (MD ’14) caught the service bug during her time at the Stritch School of Medicine, where she joined an ob-gyn interest group that visited local clinics in the Maywood area every month.  READ MORE

Loyola Legacy in Bolivia

Loyola Legacy in Bolivia

Taking a year off from medical school to work in a South American clinic isn’t a common practice for most medical students.   READ MORE

Effects of the Affordable Care Act

Effects of the Affordable Care Act

As the US faces a shortage of primary care physicians, a team of Loyola researchers is exploring how health systems can continue to effectively deliver care to patients.  LEARN MORE

Cardiac metabolism and heart failure

Cardiac metabolism and heart failure

Last year, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute awarded Stritch Assistant Professor Gregory Aubert $159,000 for his research into cardiac metabolism as a potential course of treatment for heart failure.  READ

Loyola Legacy in Bolivia

Loyola Legacy in Bolivia

For over a decade, Stritch has partnered with CHMP, sending faculty and resident volunteers to Bolivia to care for patients.  DETAILS

Surgeon, sailor, singer

Surgeon, sailor, singer

The Stritch Medal recognizes outstanding accomplishments of a Loyola graduate or faculty member who is dedicated to research, education, and patient care.  DETAILS

Understanding blood cell development

Understanding blood cell development

A Loyola study funded by the National Cancer Institute investigates this type of leukemia, specifically the role of the AF9 protein, which is important to blood cell development.   LEARN MORE

A lesson in health care safety

A lesson in health care safety

More than 300 Medical and Nursing Students team up for Infection prevention training  LEARN MORE

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Email questions, address changes, or comments to stritchalumni@luc.edu.

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