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2026 Salon & Reception

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CMS held a salon and reception on May 12, 2026 to celebrate the release of the tenth volume of Synapses and the opening of the gallery exhibit featuring art, photography, and poetry from the journal. The event featured a poetry reading and presentations by student authors and artists. A selection of videos, audio, and photos from the salon can be found below.

Event Recording

MP3 Poetry Readings

Dr. Archana Chatterjee

Archana Chatterjee, MD, PhD, Dean

"Come Rest Awhile"

Listen
Dr. Mark Rosenberg

Mark Rosenberg, MD ’75

"M ssing But Not Forgotten"

Listen

Elizabeth Schmid

Elizabeth Schmid, CMS ’29

"A Part Borrowed"

Listen

Kamsiriochukwu Ugwokegbe

Kamsiriochukwu Ugwokegbe, CMS ’29

"In the Silence"

Listen

Cover Artwork: "Do You Feel Me?"

A photograph of a three-dimensional artwork, seen from a side angle, made from wood and beads. Half of a wooden oval has been decorated with pink and purple beads to represent healthy nerve fibers, while the other half is painted black and gray to represent damaged nerve fibers.

Click here to read about Meghana's artwork

Photos

Five people stand in front of a white backdrop with the Chicago Medical School logo on it.
Featured speakers Ellaina Villarreal, Meghana Mohan, Shannon Nguyen, Anisha Pethkar, and Adi Shrawat
A woman stands at a podium, speaking into a microphone.
Dr. Nutan Vaidya talks about the 10-year history of the creative journal
A young woman and her mother stand on either side of a clear display case containing a 3D artwork, holding a copy of the magazine Synapses with that artwork on the cover.
Meghana Mohan, CMS '28, and her mother with Meghana's artwork "Do You Feel Me?" which was selected for the journal's cover
A young woman stands at a podium. The heads of audience members are visible in the foreground of the photo.
Ellaina Villarreal, CMS ’28, talks about her artwork "The Flower Carrier"
A young woman speaks at a podium in front of a small crowd, while an image of a drawing of a white medical coat is projected onto a screen.
Anisha Pethkar, CMS ’29, reads her poem "white coat"
A young woman stands at a podium and speaks into a microphone.
Shannon Nguyen, CMS ’28, talks about her essay "Clean Clothes Pile"
A young man stands at a podium, smiling at the audience.
Adi Shrawat, CMS ’29, talks about his submission "Welcome to the Skinner Box"
A display of black-framed art, photography, and a printed poem titled "In the Silence"
The exhibit featured selected art, photography, and poetry from the journal
A cross-stitched depiction of a synapses, made with blue thread and beads.
"1 in 2," an artwork by Gwyneth Robins, CMS ’28
An artwork where the bottom half is a painting of a white-clothed figure supporting a large basket on her back while another figure helps lift the load. The top half of the artwork is a collage of photographs and artworks, which fill the painted basket.
"The Flower Carrier," a collage by Ellaina Villarreal, CMS ’28
A smiling young woman stands next to a print of a high-resolution photo of the moon
Desiree Dombrowski, CMS ’29, with her photo "Written in Dust and Light"
A young woman in a colorful shirt stands next to an artwork of a human skull. The left half of the skull is realistically painted, while the right half is decorated with colorful paintings of flowers, wheat fields, the night sky, and water lilies.
Grace O’Hare, CMS ’29, with her artwork "That Which Carries My Brain From Room to Room"
A smiling woman stands next to an artwork depicting a woman smelling a rose, while flowers cover the top of her head. Another woman is standing to the side looking at the artwork.
Makena Horne, CMS ’29 (right) with her artwork "Stop and Smell the Roses"