PEORIA MAGAZINE January 2023

Dr. Kiran Velpula of the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria performs research on glioblastomas. Assisting him are Dr. Maheedhara Guda, research specialist, and Dr. Swapna Asuthkar, assistant professor.

S P O T L I G H T

‘HOPE IS ALWAYS THERE’ Promising research into treatment of most lethal brain cancer, glioblastoma, is happening in Peoria

BY LISA COON PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

K iran Velpula recalls being on stage at an event to raise funds for his research on brain cancer when a group of teen boys approached him. “This group of kids had a cookout or something and raised $100. They

presented me with that check and I asked why they did what they did. One of them said their dad had died of brain cancer,” Dr. Velpula said. “Receiving that $100 check was one of the most touching things I’d experienced,” he said. “I feel the pain of

familymembers who have lost someone to brain cancer. It really drives me in what I do.” Velpula is an assistant professor in the Department of Cancer Biology and Pharmacology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria

20 JANUARY 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE