Allan Levy, MD *

Taken from Lifeline Magazine from the College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Fall 2006: Itís difficult to envision a College of Medicine campus without computers, but when Allan Levy, M.D., joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in 1975 that was the case. The Medical Sciences Building had just been completed, and Dean Daniel Bloomfield had recruited Dr. Levy from Baylor College of Medicine, which had one of the first computer research centers, to head the Collegeís Medical PLATO project. ìThe goal was to convert much of the basic science curriculum to computer,î says Dr. Levy. ìPLATO was a very important step in computerbased education. Not only did we develop many lessons for our students, but we cooperated with 5 to 10 other medical schools who agreed to join the Health Sciences Network. It was pioneering work.î More than 30 years later, microcomputers and web-based learning make that early work seem cumbersome and inefficient, but it was groundbreaking at the time. And because of Dr. Bloomfieldís vision and Dr. Levyís expertise, it put our College and our students in a position to be at the forefront of important technological developments. Dr. Levy takes great pride in the fact that over the years he played a part in developing an environment ìwhere the training of physician-scholars is first rate." Now retired from the College, he continues to be involved in the biomedical informatics field as a consultant and is an active volunteer with CASA, Court-Appointed Special Advocates, where he serves as an advocate for abused and neglected children.