Each summer, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford selects three to six students to participate in an eight-week research internship program in medical research in the campus’s research laboratories. This highly competitive program offers specialized training to students with high potential for performance in the medical science or a related field. For the summer 2018 cohort, two of the participants were also Howard D. Colman Scholars, a distinction awarded by the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, which has long supported this SMaRT (Summer Medical Research Training) internship program.

Dalton Morris graduated from Rockford Christian High School in 2018 and is now attending the University of Alabama. As a SMaRT intern, he conducted research on the biological and corrosion behavior of 3D printed Titanium alloy for biomedical application. Josiah Rynne graduated from Christian Life High School in 2018 and is now attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During his SMaRT internship, he researched the corrosion inhibitory effect of Vitamin-E on Cobalt Chromium Molybdenum Alloy for biomedical implant application. Dalton and Josiah presented their research during the SMaRT Scientific Forum on August 3 to doctors, researchers, graduate medical students, family, and friends. CFNIL staff were honored to attend the presentations and learn more about each intern’s projects.

CFNIL is proud to support the SMaRT training program and of the ongoing efforts of every Colman Scholar. Dalton and Josiah, congratulations on your achievements and best of luck as you begin you college tenures!