NIH grant to fund researcher development, increase cancer research scope Research suggests that where you live in Illinois impacts your likelihood of dying from certain diseases, specifically cancer. Low-income, rural communities experience significant cancer health disparities, including lower screening rates, increased incidence, later stage at detection, poorer survival rates and higher mortality. A new National Institutes of Health grant will support a research partnership at the medical schools of Southern Illinois University and Washington University to further investigate the cancer

Tom Miller, MD, chairman and residency program director of SIU Quincy Family Medicine, has received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award from the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP). The award is given to a family medicine physician who combines family medicine education and service to the community. Miller will receive the award at the IAFP Annual Awards Banquet on Friday, October 9. Miller, an associate professor family and community medicine, joined the School of Medicine in 1994. He completed a family medicine residency at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill. (1992)

Arts and Culture If you enjoy history, there are many historic sites and museums to visit in Springfield and the surrounding area. One of the most engaging is the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site, about 20 minutes north of Springfield, is another popular destination. Along with the recreated village from the 1800s, the Theatre in the Park at New Salem hosts a variety of theatrical performances from April to August. The Dana-Thomas House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Springfield socialite Susan Dana, is an architectural gem worth experiencing

Harald Lausen, DO, MA, the chief medical officer of SIU HealthCare and assistant dean for clinical education at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, has been appointed chair of the Bureau of Osteopathic Education for the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). The AOA Bureau of Osteopathic Education studies the full continuum of osteopathic medical education and makes recommendations to the AOA board on ways to improve osteopathic medical education and policies that support educational accreditation and certification programs. Lausen, a professor of clinical family & community