Better Care Behind Bars Corrections, SIU Medicine partner to improve health care delivery in state facilities More than 76,000 Illinoisans live behind bars, and nearly 41,000 of those individuals call state prisons home. Like the more than 2.2 million justice-involved individuals in the United States, many suffer from a complex combination of anxiety, post-traumatic stress and a range of chronic health conditions, including hypertension and arthritis. In an effort to improve health care delivery in correctional facilities and meet its mission, SIU School of Medicine is partnering with the

Better Care Behind Bars Corrections, SIU Medicine partner to improve health care delivery in state facilities More than 76,000 Illinoisans live behind bars, and nearly 41,000 of those individuals call state prisons home. Like the more than 2.2 million justice-involved individuals in the United States, many suffer from a complex combination of anxiety, post-traumatic stress and a range of chronic health conditions, including hypertension and arthritis. In an effort to improve health care delivery in correctional facilities and meet its mission, SIU School of Medicine is partnering with the

Dr. Erin Hascup, director of the Dale and Deborah Smith Center for Alzheimer's Research and Treatment, sat down with NPR Illinois' Vanessa Ferguson to discuss the latest in Alzheimer's disease on the program, Community Voices.

Dr. Erin Hascup, director of the Dale and Deborah Smith Center for Alzheimer's Research and Treatment, sat down with NPR Illinois' Vanessa Ferguson to discuss the latest in Alzheimer's disease on the program, Community Voices.

Dr. Erin Hascup, director of the Dale and Deborah Smith Center for Alzheimer's Research and Treatment, sat down with NPR Illinois' Vanessa Ferguson to discuss the latest in Alzheimer's disease on the program, Community Voices.

What brought you to SIU Medicine? I was born in Springfield and spent all of my childhood here, leaving only to go to college, then medical and graduate school. I always knew I wanted to return home eventually. I am fortunate that we have an excellent academic medical program as well as an outstanding hospital system in my hometown. It was an easy decision to move back home when I finished my training to establish my career. Why did you choose neurology as a focus? I was always fascinated with infectious disease stories when I was young, and this led me to start research with Dr. Linda Toth

A pharmacology and neuroscience student at SIU School of Medicine, Jesse Britz, along with Shelley Tischkau, PhD, and the Smith Alzheimer's Center Hascup Labs , recently researched the link between Alzheimer's and circadian rhythm (the body's 24-hour internal clock). Britz, who is from Divernon, earned his PhD this past December. Tell us about your recent research. The whole focus of the project started because sleep/wake cycles are heavily disrupted in Alzheimer’s. For a long time it’s been looked at as a symptom – sundowning is a term that is normally used. People in late-stage Alzheimer’s