SparkTalks | Jan. 15, 2026
SparkTalks - Jan. 2026
What:
Igniting the thoughts and solutions of influential UIC changemakers to inspire and create a better world.
- 36 presenters
- 3-minute talks
- 2 hours of inspiration
When:
Thursday, January 15, 2026
1:30 – 4:45 p.m.
Where:
Student Center West, Thompson Room
Registration is now closed. Please contact sparktalks@uic.edu with any questions.
Agenda
| 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. | Check-In |
| 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. |
Chancellor's Welcome
SparkTalks Round 1 (See below for the order of presentations) |
| 2:45 – 3:00 p.m. | Break |
| 3:00 – 4:15 p.m. |
SparkTalks Round 2
(See below for the order of presentations)
Closing Remarks |
| 4:15 – 4:45 p.m. | Reception |
Order of Presentations
SparkTalks - Round 1
- Brian Anderson, A Three Minute Story About Heritage and Horizon
- John Komperda, The intersection of industry and the classroom: Where education becomes practice
- Taylor Watterson, Co-Designing the Future of Pharmacy in Chicago
- Stephanie Torres, Working with communities, not on communities: Leveraging community expertise to help Latine immigrant families cope with immigrant-related stress
- Mike Federle, Exploiting Bacterial Communication Networks to Manipulate Bacterial Pathogens
- Lijun Rong, Study of emerging viruses and development of antivirals
- Katherine Zinsser, Beyond Behavior: Rethinking Preschool Expulsion Through Systems-Level Models
- Denise Kent, Trust, Transparency, and Translation: Enhancing the Participant Experience in Clinical Research
- Norma Ramos, Empowering Engagement and Democratic Learning
- Amy Christison, Healthy Kids U: Applying a Chronic Care Model for Pediatric Obesity
- Lionel Allen, Lead with CARE
- Charles Hounmenou, Prevalence of Child Trafficking in Côte d’Ivoire
- Susan Magasi, Dismantling Ableism in Health and Cancer Care Through Community Engaged Partnership
- Jennifer Brier, Listening to a Women’s History of HIV/AIDS
- Emily Gregori, Transforming Autism Research Through Person-Centered Partnerships and Telehealth
- Yelena Duterte, Veterans Legal Clinic
- Jennifer Kwok, Maternity Care Access and Effects of Obstetric Unit Closures in Illinois
- Afsar Naqvi, Unraveling the Power of Saliva in Oral and Systemic Health
SparkTalks - Round 2
- Blasé Brown, Patient Voices: Using IPE Simulation to reduce bias and discrimination in healthcare for patients with disabilities
- Sajna Razi, Marketing Technologies in Business Education
- Amanda Lewis, What is the State of Racial Justice in Chicago?
- Nicole Gastala, Meeting Community and Clinical Needs: Addressing the Behavioral Health Gap and Opioid Crisis in Chicago
- Stephanie Cologna, Navigating Rare Diseases
- Jeremy Johnson, The mangosteen fruit as inspiration for novel agents for prostate cancer
- Caryn Peterson, Overcoming Barriers to Cervical Cancer Prevention: Engaging Leaders to Enhance Uptake of Prevention Services in Senegal
- Rebecca Vortman, National Engagement, Local Impact: Teaching DNP Students the Power of Advocacy and Systems Leadership
- Tom Imbo, The Laboratory for Quantum Theory at the Extremes (LQuTE)
- Aslihan Karatas, Developing Mold Map for Improving Living Conditions in the Southwest Side of Chicago
- Julie Dowling, Latinos and Racial Identity in the US Census
- Lisa Tussing‑Humphreys, Fasting in Pregnancy. What!?!
- Daysi Diaz‑Strong, The Burden of Resilience: Immigrant Latinas Navigating Legal Exclusion
- Harshad Puranik, In Sync or Out of Tune? Effects of Workplace Background Music (Mis)Fit on Employees
- Hananeh Esmailbeigi, The Hidden Interface: Intraoral Wearables for Precision Speech Rehabilitation
- Scott Benken, Journey toward Critical Thinking: Media’s Influence on Critical Care and Emergency Medicine
- VK Gadi, BRE-04: Window of Opportunity Trial of Preoperative Low Dose Azacitidine in High-Risk Early Stage Breast Cancer
Day-of logistics
Parking
Complimentary and relocation parking (with a current UIC hang tag) is available in the Wood Street Parking Structure, 1100 S. Wood St., Chicago, IL 60616 (6 min walk to Student Center West).
Complimentary parking coupons will be available at the event check-in. Present coupon to the cashier at exit.
Check-in
When guests arrive, signs and staff will be present to help individuals toward the check-in table.
All guests will be required to register in advance and will be asked to check in upon arrival.
Accessibility
CART captions will be provided. Should you require additional accommodations to participate, please contact sparktalks@uic.edu.
Questions or concerns
Questions or concerns? Please contact our team at sparktalks@uic.edu.
Employees may be released from work without loss of pay to attend such events and meetings whenever operations permit. As long as supervisors receive adequate notice of such approved events and meetings and coverage can be arranged, every effort should be made by departments to release employees to attend.