For students at Western University of Health Sciences in Oregon, the start of the academic school year brings new opportunities to get involved in the community. Each year, a group of students from the Heatherington College of Osteopathic Medicine (WesternU HCOM) and the College of Health Sciences-Northwest (CHS-Northwest) choose to volunteer as mentors in the MIKE Program. 

MIKE is a nonprofit organization that educates and mentors youth to lead healthy lives and build healthy communities. By connecting mentor volunteers and partner organizations like WesternU with local middle and high schools, MIKE teaches healthy behaviors, increases basic health knowledge and health literacy, and provides exposure to healthcare career pathways. Originating in the Portland area, the program now serves urban and rural communities throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington. In 2018, the Sweet Home community requested a peer-to-peer mentoring program connecting its high school and the medical school. The partnership with MIKE launched in Sweet Home in 2020, as a pilot program for rural communities. Today, the program continues to serve as a launchpad for innovation and best practices in workforce pipeline development.

Click the link to read more.

Dr. Janet Konecne, Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy in the College of Health Sciences, earned recognition for her poster presentation, “Artificial Intelligence Adoption, Barriers, and Optimization Among DCEs and ACDCEs in Clinical Education,” at the 2026 Physical Therapy Education Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., held Oct. 14-18, 2026.

WesternU's DPT program is a member of the SoCal Clinical Education Consortium and as part of the ongoing collaboration between universities, six of the members recently produced this research poster. Dr. Konecne and Dr. Myra Stewart from Cal State Northridge represented the group's work and won an award for excellence and clinical relevance by content experts in their field. This is the largest physical therapy educational conference in the U.S., hosted by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Academy of Education and the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy.

Congratulations to Drs. Preshita Desai, Jeffrey Wang and Sunil Prabhu and their collaborators on their recent research accomplishments!

Preshita Desai, BPharm, PhD (PI), Jeffrey Wang, PhD, and Dean Sunil Prabhu, BPharm, PhD, received a $20,000 NIH R01 subaward under the parent grant, “Targeting Tumor Cell Mitochondria for the Prevention and Treatment of Lung Cancer,” led by Dr. F. Kassie at the University of Minnesota.

The project focuses on developing novel lung-targeted nanocarriers for lung cancer prevention and treatment. This award marks the second subaward secured through the ongoing collaboration between WesternU and the University of Minnesota, highlighting the continued success and strength of this research partnership.

Dr. Preshita Desai presented at the 4th Biennial Translational Advances in Cancer Prevention Agent Development (TACPAD) Virtual Meeting, sponsored by the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention, on Sept. 28. Her presentation, “The Perfect Pair: Integrating Drug Synergy and Precision Nanomedicine for Smarter Cancer Management,” highlighted innovative approaches to developing more precise and effective strategies for cancer prevention and management.

Marketing and Communications is holding an open studio portrait day in Pomona:

9-11:50 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Please sign up for a timeslot that works for your schedule if you would like a new studio portrait.

We will schedule additional portrait days for those who cannot come to the studio on this day.