Meet the IIN Fellows | 2026-27

Intro

Over this 16-month program, cohort members will develop and refine an independent project while learning new strategies. and tools from industry experts and growing their professional networks.

Meet the Fellows

• Josh Averbeck | Professor, School of Communication and Media | Social Media Lab Director | Western Illinois University
  • Project: NeighborBot: Artificial Intelligence and Community Economic Development

• Brandi Barnes | Research Scientist / Adjunct Lecturer | Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • Project: Carnegie Classification Toolkit for IIN

• Hei-Chi Chan | Associate Professor of Mathematics | University of Illinois Springfield
  • Project: Innovation Student Ambassador Program

• M. Diane Cox | Director of Professional Development | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
  • Project: IIN Conference FY26: Powering Illinois’ Future Together

• Ashley N. Frederick | Nursing Instructor | Western Illinois University
  • Project: Lowering the Barrier to Patient Safety:  A Practical Root Cause Analysis Toolkit for Frontline Leaders

• Sammer Saleh Jones | Director for Global Relations, Illinois International | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • Project: U21 Partnership Metrics Survey and Toolkit

• Hui Li | Assistant Professor | Southern Illinois University Carbondale
  • Project: From Bench to Practice: Advancing Translation of IIN-Funded Point-of-Care Diagnostics

• Xiaoli Li | Assistant Professor | Southern Illinois University Carbondale
  • Project: Assessing University Students’ Readiness and Acceptance of Virtual Reality (VR) in Healthcare Education: A Multidisciplinary Pilot Study in Southern Illinois

• Yunchuan Liu | Assistant Professor | Governors State University
  • Project: A comprehensive analysis and actionable recommendations to enhance the preparedness, planning, and mitigation strategies of IIN member universities regarding the energy and water impacts of data center

• Roy Magnuson | Director, Adaptive Edge Institute | Illinois State University
  • Project: Your Move: Teaching AI-Assisted Problem Solving for Non-Technical Staff and Faculty

• Sinan Onal | Professor and Chair | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
  • Project: A Cross-IIN Faculty Development Initiative on AI-Enhanced, Competency-Based Teaching

• Anitha Saravanan | Assistant Professor | Northern Illinois University
  • Project: Broadband for Better Health (B4BH) Playbook for Equitable Digital Health for Older Adults in Illinois

• Anna Smith | Associate Professor | Illinois State University
  • Project: Sustaining Responsible Use of Emerging Technologies across the Illinois Innovation Network

• Kevin Tucker | Associate Professor of Chemistry | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
  • Project: IIN Conference 2026: Powering Illinois’ Future Together