Text, video and photos submitted by Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CI MED)
Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CI MED) welcomed 64 new physician innovators who will train to become the healthcare leaders of the future. The Class of 2030 started the medical journey with the traditional White Coat ceremony on Monday, July 6, 2026.
Through CI MED’s engineering-informed curriculum, the aspiring MDs will prepare to deliver exceptional patient care while also researching and developing new solutions to address healthcare’s most pressing challenges.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome the new medical school Class of 2030. This outstanding group of aspiring clinicians is among the top students nationwide, with the largest number coming this year from right here at U. of I.,” said CI MED Dean Mark Cohen, MD, FSSO, FACS, who is also senior vice president and chief academic officer at Carle Health.
“We are truly honored to welcome our ninth class of physician innovators to our CI MED community. With such impressive backgrounds and unique skill sets, these new medical students will begin their medical careers here in Urbana-Champaign and have the opportunity to create their own impact on the patients they will care for and our broader healthcare community. I am truly inspired to see all they will accomplish during their time here at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. Welcome, Class of 2030, we are so thrilled you are here!” Dr. Cohen said.
Victor E. Stams, MD, MBA, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Carle Health and clinical
assistant professor of surgery at CI MED, presented physician innovators with Healthmaker Coins that provide a restricted endowment of $10,000 to fuel research, innovation and prototyping of new health solutions.
“The Health Maker Coin is a reminder that every student at Carle Illinois has the opportunity to move beyond learning medicine and help shape it. My hope is that the Class of 2030 carries that spirit of curiosity, compassion, and innovation into everything they do for patients,” Dr. Stams said.
Class of 2030 by the numbers:
- 64 New Physician Innovators in training
- 52% women in medicine
- 56% engineers; 78% of those are bioengineers
- 23% with advanced degrees (master’s degree or higher), including 2 PhDs
- 18 states represented; 17 students from Illinois
- 38 universities represented, 24 different undergraduate majors, including eight students with degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- 15 languages spoken (English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Tamil, Thai (Laotian), Urdu, "other”)
Training at the world’s first engineering-based medical school means early clinical immersion –– seeing patients within the first weeks of medical school. The Class of 2030 is spending its first week becoming oriented to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, the medical profession, and CI MED’s research and innovation culture.
Carle Illinois College of Medicine was founded in 2015 as a partnership between the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Carle Health. Carle Illinois is now home to more than 250 students and more than 750 faculty members.
Note: Watch the recording of the Class of 2030 White Coat Ceremony.
Categories: Redefining Healthcare, Community