Two teams of Missouri S&T students and alumni have advanced to the semi-finals of the Global Health Innovation Grand Challenge hosted by the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. 

The winning teams compete for a prize of $250,000 in funding to advance the development of their ideas into real-world clinical use. 

Each team is competing in different categories to solve a specific problem. Team one is competing in the sub-category “Slowing or Reversing Disease Progression in Aging Populations.” This team developed “OsteoInjex,” a new biomaterial to treat osteoarthritis. 

The students and alumni from S&T on this team are: 

• Aiden Pickett, junior in computer science and psychology 
• Christian Bigler, senior in biological science 
• Julia McIntrye, master’s degree student in biological science 
• Kiernan O’Boyle, Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering 
• Maya Washington, second year medical student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), who earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from S&T in 2022  
• Parker Boyce, third year medical student at UMKC, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from S&T in 2022 

Team two is competing in the sub-category “AI Applications to Improve Outcomes in Rural or Underserved Areas Globally.” They developed “RuralMed,” an AI-driven system designed to improve emergency care in rural areas. 

The students and alumni from S&T on this team are: 

• Emily Pesselato, master’s degree student in chemical engineering 
• Kenzie Kilpatrick, senior in psychology 
• Caleb Ehlers, sophomore in chemistry 
• Austin Ennis, Ph.D. student in bioengineering 
• Adrian Peacock, second year medical student at the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU), who earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from S&T in 2022 
• Sarah Thornton, second year medical student at MU, earned a bachelor’s degree in ceramic engineering from S&T in 2022 

Dr. Julie Semon, associate professor of biological sciences, helped prepare the teams for competition. 

“Though we had a lot of great candidates to put on teams, I chose these folks for a few reasons,” Semon says. “They communicate well with other areas of study, each of them works well in groups and individually, each of them has a natural curiosity and they go above and beyond in life. They’re all very altruistic.” 

The teams will attend the Global Health Innovation Grand Challenge conference April 6-8 in Champaign, Illinois.