Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS) (EXT-011)

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS) is documented in the DePaul Resource Map as external partner at DePaul University, External partner organization, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS), Off-campus (North Chicago, IL). Documentation is partial or indirect, so the listing is treated as likely current. Access: 🟡 Yellow — Needs an appointment or affiliation.

Summary 🟡 ~

College / school: External partner organization
Sub-unit: Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS)
Campus/Location: Off-campus (North Chicago, IL)
Last Verified: June 14, 2026

Access (availability): 🟢 Green — open or routine · 🟡 Yellow — appointment or affiliation · 🔴 Red — restricted · ⚪/⚫ White/Black — not yet classified

Verification: ✓ confirmed · ~ likely · ? needs review · ✕ archived

Organization

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS) is a graduate health-sciences university offering medical and biomedical graduate programs. It participates in Chicago-area health-sciences education and research networks.

Access status

Access: 🟡 Yellow — Needs an appointment or affiliation
Rationale: RFUMS collaborations require institutional research agreements.
Access URL: offices.depaul.edu/research-services/Pages/default.aspx
Contact name: Office of Research Services
Contact email: ors@depaul.edu
Verification date: 2026-06-30
Source URLs:
www.rosalindfranklin.edu

Relationship to DePaul

Also listed on the CDS DePaul–Rosalind Franklin partnership page.

DePaul and RFUMS collaborate on accelerated degree pathways that allow qualified students to progress from DePaul undergraduate study into competitive RFUMS master’s and doctoral programs. The partnership has expanded into an inter-institutional collaborative research grant program focused on Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Discovery and Healthcare.

Known collaborations & connections

AI in Biomedical Discovery and Healthcare — collaborative research grant program across institutions (NIH STRONG BRIDGE Facilities).
2023 grant recipients (DePaul ↔ RFUMS collaborative awards; source: archived institutional source):
Machine Learning Discovery of Novel Brainstem Nuclei Controlling Orofacial Behaviors — DePaul PIs: Jacob Furst (CDM), Thiru Ramaraj (CDM); RFUMS PI: Kaiwen Kam; $67,000
Improving Gait Activity Detection from GPS and IMUs with Machine Learning — DePaul PIs: Sungsoon (Julie) Hwang (LAS), Ilyas Ustun (CDM), Muhammad Umer Huzaifa (CDM); RFUMS PI: Chris Connaboy; $65,898
Development of AI Movement Diagnostic System for Neurological Disorder Models — DePaul PI: Eric Landahl (CSH); RFUMS PI: Eun Jung Hwang; $67,000
2024 grant recipients (DePaul ↔ RFUMS collaborative awards; source: archived institutional source):
Self-Operating System for Circulatory Management of Sepsis, Severe Sepsis, and Septic Shock — DePaul PI: Muhammad Umer Huzaifa (CDM); RFUMS PI: Raúl Gazmuri; $66,675
SmokeSense: Advancing Wrist-Worn Devices with AI for Real-Time Smoking Insights — DePaul PI: Mahdi Pedram (CDM); RFUMS PI: Nancy Jao; $66,835
Validation of Inhalation Therapy to Enhance Anti-Malarial Immune Response Using Machine Learning — DePaul PI: Thiru Ramaraj (CDM); RFUMS PI: Rahul Vijay; $67,000
2025 grant recipients (DePaul ↔ RFUMS collaborative awards; source: archived institutional source):
Identifying G-quadruplex Binding Proteins with Roles in Gene Regulation Using AI — DePaul PIs: Alexandru Iulian Orhean (CDM), Jacob Furst (CDM); RFUMS PI: Neelam Sharma-Walia; $66,877
Automating the Evaluation of Foot Posture for Early Identification of Injury-Risk in the Intact Limb of Individuals with Lower Limb Amputations — DePaul PI: Ilyas Ustun (CDM); RFUMS PI: Noah Rosenblatt; $66,691
Optimizing Community Pharmacy Workflow with Real-time Anomaly Detection Using Artificial Intelligence — DePaul PIs: Sina Ansari (BUS), Vahid Alizadeh (CDM); RFUMS PI: Ateequr Rahman; $47,343
2026 grant recipients (DePaul ↔ RFUMS collaborative awards; source: archived institutional source of DPU-RFU Awarded Projects 2026.pdf`):
Development of a Non-Invasive Wearable Biosensor for Rodent Research — DePaul PI: David Hanley (CDM); RFUMS PI: Holly Hunsberger; $66,728 (GRA-034)
Comprehensive Immunological Responses to Epstein–Barr Virus in Heart Transplant Recipients Who Do and Do Not Develop Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease — DePaul PIs: Leonard Jason (CSH), Thiru Ramaraj (CDM); RFUMS PI: David Everly; $67,000 (GRA-035)
Integrating Quantum Computing and Medicinal Chemistry to Accelerate hCNT Inhibitor Discovery — DePaul PI: Jindi Wu (CDM); RFUMS PI: John K. Buolamwini; $67,000 (GRA-036)
FY 2026 program volume (ORS Annual Report FY 2026 — institutional report, Lauren Miller / ORS Chief of Staff): ORS continued the RFUMS inter-institutional collaborative research grant program focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Interdisciplinary Research in Biomedical Discovery and Healthcare. Twelve proposals were submitted and three interdisciplinary projects were selected for funding, including faculty from CSH and JCDM working with RFUMS researchers; grants awarded in FY 2026 totaled over $180K.
Connected DePaul units: CDM-011 (MedIX/IMP), UNI-005 (AI Institute), UNI-001 (sponsored research).

Collaborative documents

Document type	Scope	Parties	Status	Source
2023 awarded collaborative projects	Three DePaul ↔ RFUMS research awards (titles, PIs, amounts)	DePaul ↔ RFUMS	Documented in local awards summary	archived institutional source
2024 awarded collaborative projects	Three DePaul ↔ RFUMS research awards (titles, PIs, amounts)	DePaul ↔ RFUMS	Documented in local awards summary	archived institutional source
2025 awarded collaborative projects	Three DePaul ↔ RFUMS research awards (titles, PIs, amounts)	DePaul ↔ RFUMS	Documented in local awards summary	archived institutional source
2026 awarded collaborative projects	Three DePaul ↔ RFUMS research awards (titles, PIs, amounts)	DePaul ↔ RFUMS	Documented in local awards summary	archived institutional source of DPU-RFU Awarded Projects 2026.pdf`
Formal MOU / articulation agreement (text)	Full legal terms	DePaul ↔ RFUMS	Not publicly posted in sources reviewed	Map verification (May 2026)

Verification

Status: ~ Likely current
Rationale: Major external partner maintains active public website and standard user/membership access pathways; DePaul relationship documented on map.
Last verified: 2026-06-14
Evidence:
Partner primary website reachable (May 2026)
DePaul cross-references and partnership notes in resource map (May 2026)
Rosalind Franklin University site active
BRIDGE grant documents programs
2023 DPU–RFU awarded projects summary lists three collaborative grants (June 2026)
2024 DPU–RFU awarded projects summary lists three collaborative grants (June 2026)
2025 DPU–RFU awarded projects summary lists three collaborative grants (June 2026)
2026 DPU–RFU awarded projects summary lists three collaborative grants (June 2026)

Equipment

External university partner; not DePaul inventory.

Last verified: July 29, 2026.

Contacts (resource-level)

Website: Rosalind Franklin University

People & contacts

Named contacts when publicly documented.

Aron Sousa (Director)
Ilyas Ustun (Collaborator) — Profile

Source URL

Official links are listed under Contacts above.

Documented Relationships

Biomedical education and AI-in-healthcare research partner; complements Rush (EXT-010) and CCHE (UNI-012) in Chicago health-sciences ecosystem.

Documented connections

Generated from documented publication and people connections. Superscript numbers open Sources below. Multiple sources on one claim are grouped as ^1,4. Grant links are listed on publication and grant pages.

Publications

Development of a Novel Pathways Program for Pre-Health Students by a Private Four-Year University and a Private Health Professions University (2018) — documented, collaborates with · DOI¹
Sustained Hippocampal Synaptic Pathophysiology Following Single and Repeated Closed-Head Concussive Impacts (2021) — documented, collaborates with · DOI²
Presynaptic BK channel localization is dependent on the hierarchical organization of the actin cytoskeleton (2015) — documented, funded with · DOI³
Application of Machine Learning Techniques to Drive Immunological Insights Towar (2024) — supporting, mentions · DOI⁴

People on linked publications

Thiru Ramaraj (coauthor; PUB-074)⁴
Dorothy Kozlowski (author; PUB-183)²
Jacob Furst (author; PUB-186)³
Daniela Raicu (author; PUB-186)³

Sources

a partnership between DePaul University and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS) created the Pathways Honors program. Archived source retained by Resource Map maintainers. View current source
Ethics statement: approved by Rosalind Franklin University IACUC and DePaul University IACUC; DePaul-RFUMS pilot awards. Archived source retained by Resource Map maintainers. View current source
Acknowledgments: DePaul-RUFMS Pilot Project Grant (H.K. and D.R.). Archived source retained by Resource Map maintainers. View current source
Named in a published article. Archived source retained by Resource Map maintainers. View current source

Notes

Sources: NIH STRONG BRIDGE Facilities (May 2026); 2023–2024 DPU–RFU awarded projects summaries (archived institutional source); 2025 DPU–RFU awarded projects summary (archived institutional source); 2026 DPU–RFU awarded projects summary (archived institutional source). DePaul News articles (2023–2025 cohort announcements) captured as corroboration in the 2024-and-2023 report. Confirm current articulation programs on DePaul and RFUMS registrar pages on. Grant records GRA-040–042 (2023), GRA-043–045 (2024), GRA-037–039 (2025), and GRA-034–036 (2026) in ; facility links not asserted — sources name colleges only.