To read more, check out this link: doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...

This study is among the first to apply quantitative ultrasound to postmortem skeletal elements for age-at-death estimation. It also shows how forensic methodological rigor can help better serve underserved aging populations in a forensic context.

New Publication Alert!
Dr. Jieun Kim, Dr. Erin Leslie, and Dr. Hadiah Kedwaii (DO, MWU alumnus) have a new paper out in Forensic Science International.
"Breaking the 50+ Barrier: Cortical Speed of Sound via Quantitative Ultrasound as a New Age-at-death Estimator in Older Adults"

What is an interesting fact about yourself?
• I lived in Kenya for two years

What's your go-to comfort food?
• Beef stew

What is one thing you hope students take away from your classes?
• Learn embryology! It explains a lot about anatomical structures that seem odd.
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What is your main research topic?
• Paleobiology

What is one of your favorite hobbies when you're not working?
• Cycling

What is your favorite anatomical structure and why?
• Chorda tympani, it takes is course through the tympanic cavity, which is super cool.
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Dr. Yang also enjoys culinary practices and spicy food, as indicated in the attached picture where he is making his own chili oil with a key ingredient (Sichuan peppercorn). To get to know Dr. Yang further, we briefly interviewed him!
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The MWU Anatomy Department in Downers Grove welcomes our newest faculty member, Dr. Deming Yang! Dr. Yang earned his Ph.D. and M.A. from Stony Brook University and completed postdoctoral research fellowship at the American Museum of Natural History.
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First “Coffee Tasting @ Noon” in the Anatomy Department!
While reviewing anatomy over coffee, here’s a question:
☕️💪 Which muscle is most active when you flex your elbow with your forearm in a half-pronated position to take a sip?
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Brachioradialis.
Bam!! 💥

A couple photos from the 2025 CGS Picnic, where the Anatomy Department retained our BEAST trophy for another year, thanks to Tyler Speer (CCOM '28) and Dr. Deming Yang!

Congratulations to OMS I students Katherine Derouin and Grace Dollia for winning the poster award at KAS Research Day 2025 with their cadaveric retrospective analysis of a rare congenital hiatal hernia. Your hard work paid off!

Co-authors on the talk are the co-PIs on a project investigating human variation using cadaveric donors from Anatomy courses at MWU: Drs Tim Campbell and Terry Ritzman (MWU Dept of Anatomy, IL) and Drs Leigha Lynch and Heather Smith (MWU Dept of Anatomy, Glendale, AZ).

Sam Ryabov, a second medical student in CCOM, beginning his talk entitled, “Anatomical Variation in Cadaveric Tricuspid Valves and Implications for Transcatheter Tricuspid Repair", at the 2025 KAS Research Day.

Congratulations to the Ebeid Lab and collaborators for their recent publication in the Journal of Neuroscience (doi.org/10.1523/JNEU...)!

Caitlin Hill and Patrick Keefe presenting their research last week at the Chicago Chapter for the Society for Neuroscience meeting!

MWU Anatomy crushing it at the annual CGS trivia!

OMS-III students Rosemary Josenkoski, Brooke Mahoney, and Kianna Ruble were selected as outstanding presentation finalists during the Illinois Osteropathic Medical Association annual research poster competition. Great job team!

Happy holidays from the Anatomy Department in Downers Grove!

The Department of Anatomy at the Midwestern University Illinois Campus is now officially on Bluesky!