Beckman Institute at Illinois

We are excited to share some leadership updates! Brad Sutton has been named the director of Beckman’s Biomedical Imaging Center, and Andrew Webb will soon join as co-director of the Carl Illinois Advanced Imaging Center. Congratulations to both!

Sutton, Webb named to MRI research leadership positions Two Illinois faculty members are beginning new leadership roles within the university’s magnetic resonance imaging research community.

New research from Beckman is challenging what we know about how the brain works. Researcher Suhnyoung Jun and the CONNECTlab have published findings revealing that the brain runs multiple processes simultaneously, each at its own pace. This could have major implications for neurological conditions like dementia.

Parallel streams: connectome dynamics across timescales Jun is the co-first author of a recent paper that centers on the connectome, the comprehensive neural network within the brain. She works in the CONNECTlab with psychology professor Sepideh Sadaghiani.

Beckman’s newest core facility is almost here! The Illinois Polymer Maker Lab is opening soon and set to transform how researchers develop polymer-based materials using automation and AI. Read the full story and stay tuned for more exciting updates.

Beckman’s new Illinois Polymer Maker Lab commissions first instrument The Illinois Polymer Maker Lab, Beckman’s newest core facility, will open soon in the institute’s basement. The lab will be the first-of-its-kind facility for the automated formulation and testing of polymer-based materials and will soon be open to researchers across campus and across the nation...

The TORM Laboratory at Illinois is combining cancer treatment and regenerative medicine under one roof. From cancer research to thyroid disease, this lab is pushing the boundaries of what is possible. We're so glad to incubate this research right here at Beckman. Read more at the link below!

First-of-its-kind lab at U. of I. combines cancer treatment with regenerative medicine The Translational Oncology and Regenerative Medicine program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a first-of-its-kind initiative uniquely integrating cancer and endocrine research with regenerative medicine technologies to accelerate the development of new cell therapies to treat chroni...

Not all cancer cells respond to chemotherapy the same way and understanding why is important to prevent treatment failure. CCIL member and Beckman researcher Yang Liu and co-PI Chita Subramanian are using advanced multi-scale imaging to identify common features in these drug-tolerant cancer cells. Read more about their advancement in cancer research below!

CCIL Funding Supports Multiscale Imaging to Study Drug-Tolerant Cancer Cells | Cancer Center at Illinois CCIL Funding Supports Multiscale Imaging to Study Drug-Tolerant Cancer Cells May 20, 2026 | Cancer Center News Researchers at the Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) are using advanced imaging to better understand drug-tolerant cells. Cancer cells do not always respond to chemotherapy in the same way.....

Congratulations to the five students from the (dis) Ability Design Studio who took home an Outstanding Oral Presentation Award at the 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium. Baoxu Liang, Emma Morley, Hailey Smith, Niveditha Iyengar, and Zoe Niezyniecki were recognized for their work in co-designing assistive technology for wheelchair and mobility device users. Well deserved!

2026 URS Awards | Office of Undergraduate Research | Illinois View the 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium awards for outstanding presentations and honorable mentions.

We are excited to celebrate Beckman Institute’s 2026 Undergraduate Fellows! Eight outstanding students are being recognized for their work, from better understanding the brain to improving medical imaging. Join us in congratulating this year’s recipients and read more about their work below. Stay tuned for poster presentations at our Celebration event on August 6!

Beckman Institute announces 2026 fellowship, award winners The Beckman Institute has recognized eight student researchers with its annual fellowships and awards for 2026. Many are doing research that will help them better understand the brain, improve medical imaging and create more sustainable, cost-effective materials. The students will present posters at...

Beckman researchers Zach Ladwig and Caterina Gratton are using precision fMRI to study individual brains in detail, revealing a more complex picture of the prefrontal cortex than previously understood. The findings could have implications for how we understand the brain and develop more targeted, individualized interventions.

Beckman researchers map prefrontal cortex in individuals, reveal fine-scale structure with precision fMRI Much like camera settings – filters, flashes and focus – impact what we notice in a final photo, the way that scientists measure something can affect how we interpret and understand it. This is especially true when imaging things that we can’t see on our own, such as activity in the human brai...

We are so proud to congratulate Beckman Institute faculty Deana McDonagh on being elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. As director of the (dis)Ability Design Studio at Beckman, she has dedicated her career to empathic research design that puts users needs at the center. Congratulations, Deana!

Three Illinois faculty elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences – News Bureau Three Illinois faculty elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences April 22, 2026 3:43 pm by Liz Ahlberg Touchstone Biomedical Sciences Editor Honors Share on Facebook Share on X Share via email Three faculty members at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been elected to the Americ...

Beckman Institute researchers are studying how babies communicate and they are looking for families to take part! The LittleBeats study uses wearable technology to better understand infant development and parent-child relationships. Interested? Read the full Q&A and learn how to get involved.

Researching infant cues and rhythms: Q&A with Bethany Lee, Nancy McElwain and Corrie Penrod Babies have a lot going on, but it can be hard to interpret what they’re trying to tell us. Luckily, researchers are working not only to better understand infant development and communication, but expand the accessibility of participation in infant research so that more families are represented.