Author: tviz2@illinois.edu

Olivia Rojas, a native of Barrington, IL, graduated in December 2023 from the College of Applied Health Sciences with a degree in Community Health and a concentration in Health Planning & Administration. To complement her degree, Olivia also graduated with an Interdisciplinary Minor in Health Technology. Rojas is the first graduate to have earned the Interdisciplinary Minor in Health Technology. This minor is through the Health Technology Education Program (HTEP) in the College of Applied Health Sciences and in collaboration with the Grainger College of Engineering. When asked why she decided to pursue the minor, Rojas noted “the constant change for technology in the healthcare world!” She continued that “technology is an aspect of life that is constantly changing, but to grow with the technology and not fall behind, it is crucial to further your education in any way possible. Technology can have the opportunity to save one’s life and make living easier for those who are sick. It was vital that I took this minor to learn as much I could about the healthcare world to support my major.” Dr. Katelyn Talbott, HTEP assistant director, is excited for the first of many graduates in the upcoming years. “I am thrilled for Olivia to be our first graduate obtaining our Interdisciplinary Minor in Health Technology! From our meetings, Olivia has found great value in the minor that will prove to be a great complement to her career goal of healthcare administration. This minor is beginning to take off as students see how relevant it is to all majors on campus.” With the 19-credit hour minor being interdisciplinary, Rojas notes how the minor helped her achieve a better understanding of technology usage in the healthcare industry. “We took a closer look at how different forms of technologies are created, but also how they can be beneficial to patients and various types of facilities.” Rojas noted that this minor required courses outside of her traditional plan of study, but that “it was a great way to dip my feed into the IT world while incorporating my healthcare background.” This fall, Rojas will be pursuing her Masters in Healthcare Administration in the College of Applied Health Sciences here at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. As she waits for the fall start, Rojas is enjoying her time at home and working at Illinois Bone and Joint, coaching volleyball, and spending time with family. The Interdisciplinary Minor in Heath Technology is part of the Health Technology Education Program through the College of Applied Health Sciences and in collaboration with Grainger College of Engineering. In addition to the Interdisciplinary Minor in Health Technology, HTEP also offers an undergraduate Health Technology certificate; a one-year MS in Health Technology degree; opportunities for Capstone Project Partners from industry, government, and academia; professional education modules; and CHLH 203 – Introduction Health Technology – a Social Sci general education course.

On October 9, 2023 MS in Health Technology students participated the MS-HT Speaker Series:
Career Speed Dating virtual event with industry professionals.
During this event, students connected with advisory board members and industry partners. These
professionals shared their individual experiences and expertise in the area of Human Factors. They then
answered student questions about starting professional careers in the field. The professionals also
offered suggestions to students about how to make and strengthen connections in the field.
The “speed dating” aspect for this event allowed students to have individual conversations with two
different professionals before the event concluded. In additional to all students in the MS in Health Tech
program, participating professionals included Paul Cassidy, Medtronic; Erice Boyle, AARP; Julian Cheng,
Gen 1 Capital; Christopher Khoury, AMA; John Vozenilek, Jump Trading Simulation and Education
Center, OSF; Taylor Craig, Carle Foundation Hospital; and Richard Sit, ICU Medical.
The next MS-HT Speaker Series will be held in spring 2024.

On August 3, 2023 the MS in Health Technology Class of 2023 Capstone Presentations
& Celebration event was held at the iHotel and Conference Center in Champaign, IL. The MS in
Health Technology advisory board, program supporters, department heads, program directors,
incoming students, College of Applied Health Sciences and Grainger College of Engineering
faculty and staff were all among those in attendance at this celebration.

The third MS in Health Technolgy cohort gathered to present their capstone project
posters and celebrate their graduation. The event kicked off with a short welcome from program
director, Dr. Wendy A. Rogers, followed by a luncheon. A poster session followed where all
graduating students presented their poster on the final outcomes of their individual Capstone
Project. In celebrating the August 2023 graduation of the MS in Health Technology class, each
student was presented with a graduation gift.

To conclude the event, the Vitoux Capstone Excellence Award was presented to two
deserving students for their overall work on the capstone project. The Vitoux Capstone
Excellence Award was created after Michael Vitoux visited the McKechnie Family LIFE Home
in 2020. He was inspired by the work each student was putting into their capstone projects and
wanted to recognize this hard work. Faith Washington received the 2023 Vitoux Excellence
Award for her Capstone Project, Centering the Patient User Experience for a Digital Health
Resource and Carson Smith was selected as the 2023 Honorable Mention for his Capstone
Project, Care Partner Medication Education, Decision Support, Reminding and Monitoring
(CaP-MedsRem) System. Mr. Vitoux presented both students with their awards.

The following is a list of each student’s capstone project and capstone project partner.

Rashaad Ali
Development of a wearable-based intelligent app for personalized at-home exercise training in
adults with Multiple Sclerosis
Capstone Project Partner: Manuel Hernandez

Mohamed Almedfa
Centering the patient user experience
Capstone Project Partner: Maria Bahena, Christian Guerrero, & Maureen Rogers

Ben Hardin
SmartPhone apps for Tinnitus and hearing loss
Capstone Project Partner: Fatima Husain

Bryan Himmel
User interface design for a soft and dexterous service robot to support healthcare of older adults
at home
Capstone Project Partner: Girish Krishnan

Ella Marzolf
Building healthier communities through park equity modeling
Capstone Project Partners: Mariela Fernandez & Emily Tucker

Joe Monahan
Development and validation of a fall detection device for older adults who use wheelchairs or
scooters
Capstone Project Partner: Laura Rice

Carson Smith
Conducting needs assessment for Care Partner Medication Education, Decision Support,
Reminding, and Monitoring (CaP-MEDSReM) system
Capstone Project Partner: Raksha Mudar

Faith Washington
Centering the patient user experience
Capstone Project Partners: Maria Bahena, Christian Guerrero, & Maureen Rogers

Eight students in the Master of Science in Health Technology program showcased their Capstone Presentations on Aug. 4 at the I-Hotel in Champaign.

The capstone is the final presentation for the students’ Master of Science degrees.  Invited guests included faculty members and capstone sponsors as well as friends and family of the students.  Special guests included Illinois alumni and donors Michael Vitoux and Jim and Karen McKechnie.

Falguni Deshpande was selected to receive the Michael Vitoux Capstone Excellence Award, which included a $2,000 prize. Deshpande’s capstone was entitled “Inclusion of Minority Patients in Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) Clinical Trials through Care Partner Engagement” and was supervised by Kinesiology and Community Health Assistant Professor Mina Raj in the Aging, Caregiving and Technology Laboratory.

Lauren Komrska received honorable mention in the same category, which includes a $1,000 award. Komrska’s capstone in the Disability, Participation, and Quality of Life Laboratory with KCH Associate Professor Laura Rice was entitled “Development and Validation of a Fall Detection Device for Older Adults who use Wheelchairs or Scooters”.

Vitoux was present for the award presentations and said he was impressed by the students’ work.  The recipients were selected by the awards committee based on presentations and assignments about their capstone projects throughout the academic year.

Dr. and Mrs. McKechnie celebrated all of the MS-HT students’ accomplishments at the luncheon and poster session. They were especially proud of the work of Deshpande and Komrska, who were recipients of the 2021-2022 James and Karen McKechnie Fellowship in Applied Health Sciences.

You can find more information on the MS-HT program with the following link;

MSHT: home page | College of Applied Health Sciences (illinois.edu)

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Title: Designing Sociotechnical Systems to Support Teams in Health Care and Health-related Contexts

Speaker: Dr. Abigail Wooldridge

Description: We will explore recent and ongoing work in the Human Factors in Sociotechnical Systems Lab, where we create, integrate and translate knowledge to improve performance, human well-being and quality in complex sociotechnical systems, found in healthcare and health-related settings through interdisciplinary collaborations.

About Dr. Wooldridge: Dr. Abigail (Abby) Wooldridge is an Assistant Professor in the Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering Department, with courtesy appointments across campus and in the Carle Illinois Col-lege of Medicine. She recently received the Presidential Award and Medallion for her leadership on COVID-19 response efforts designing a mobile diagnostic testing system.

1002 HUFF HALL KHAN ANNEX

Title: How do older adults understand their fall risk and can technology help?

Speaker: Dr. Shannon Mejía, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

Description: We engage in activities with an understanding of whether or not we’ll be successful. But how accurate are our assessments, what are the consequences of getting it wrong, and how can technology help? This presentation offers insight on older adults’ awareness of fall risk in daily life, the personal processes of gaining feedback from daily experiences, and the potential for mobile fall prevention technologies to help.

About Dr. Mejía: Shannon Mejía is an assistant professor of technology, health, and aging in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health. Her research examines the processes by which older adults leverage technology and their close relationships to understand and support their health.

Class of 2021: From left to right: Neva Manalil, Gabrielle Choo-Kang, Amrutha Kumaran, Marlene Robles Granda, Asif Huq, and Tia King.

On August 3, 2021, the MS in Health Technology’s first class celebrated the completion of their degrees with a capstone presentation and award ceremony at the I-Hotel. Six students presented their final capstone project videos to members of the MS-HT Advisory Board, faculty members, capstone sponsors, and other guests.  The student capstone projects were diverse and impactful:
Gabrielle Choo-Kang was sponsored by the University of Chicago Medicine for her project on modeling accelerometry data related to frailty, disability, and falls.

Marlene Robles Granda was sponsored by the Applied Research Institute for her project on developing software analytics for prediction of anxiety and depression.

Asif Huq was sponsored by State Farm/ Sundial Labs for his project on developing a digital home assistant tools for older adults’ legacies.

Tia King, was sponsored by AARP for her project that validated use cases for digital health technology.

Amrutha Kumaran was sponsored by Human Factors in Sociotechnical Systems Lab for her project on developing a mobile application to support pediatric care transitions.

Neva Manalil was sponsored by the Applied Research Institute for her project on developing an application to predict anxiety and depression using speech and voice data.

Following the presentations, the Michael Vitoux Capstone Excellence Award was announced.  Asif Huq received the Award, and Gabrielle Choo-Kang received an honorable mention.

Michael Vitoux is a two-time alumni of University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, earning a BA in History in 1968 and a MA in Sociology in 1972. Vitoux competed on the University of Illinois fencing team as an undergraduate student and participated in two Big Ten Championships. He is still active as a fencing instructor and referee. He became interested in supporting the Health Technology program upon hearing Dr. Wendy Rogers (Director of the Health Technology Education Program) speak about it in 2021.

Michael Vitoux Capstone Excellence Award winner Asif Huq, with Michael Vitoux and Nicole Holtzclaw-Stone

On Dec. 4th 2020, MS in Health Technology students presented their capstone project ideas to the Advisory Board. In November, students were matched to their capstone projects and introduced to their project sponsors. In December students presented project ideas to all capstone sponsors, faculty, and the Advisory Board in a Five Minute Madness format. Students received feedback about their capstone projects and next steps for planning in Spring semester.

The Master of Science in Health Technology program held an Advisory Board meeting on October 26, 2020. The MS-HT Advisory Board supports the program through advice and guidance to students on their academics, career, Capstone Project, and other professional issues. Advisory Board members represent healthcare organizations, small and large companies, and community partners. Our students eagerly joined the board meeting via Zoom where they introduced themselves and discussed their interests in health technology.