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. 

About Missouri S&T 

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit  www.mst.edu.