Graduate Student Research Forum Displays a Broad Field of Research

The Graduate Student Association in the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences (GSBMS) hosted the 31st Annual Graduate Student Research Forum (GSRF) on March 19.

March 25, 2019
31st Annual Graduate Student Research Forum Group Photo
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31st Annual Graduate Student Research Forum

It was a day of great success as evidenced by the quality and depth of the student presentations and a keynote speech by renowned neuroscientist Marina Picciotto, Ph.D. Dr. Picciotto, the Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry and professor of neuroscience and of pharmacology in the Child Study Center, deputy chair for basic science research in the Department of Psychiatry and deputy director of the Kavli Institute for Neuroscience at the Yale School of Medicine, presented "Cholinergic Control of Circuits Underlying Behaviors Related to Anxiety and Depression.” 

The day’s events were moderated by Robert K. Suriano, Ph.D. ’07, assistant professor of biology at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, who returned to campus to serve as master of ceremonies. Dr. Suriano, himself was a winner of a GSRF when he was a student in the GSBMS.

This year’s forum honored Francis L. Belloni, Ph.D., professor of physiology and former dean of the GSBMS, with an Outstanding Service Award and Kenneth M. Lerea, Ph.D., associate professor of cell biology and anatomy and director of the basic medical sciences master’s program, with the 2019 Honored Faculty Award.

“The Graduate Student Research Forum is an opportunity to put the classroom aside for a moment and focus on the wide-ranging novel research of our fellow peers, faculty and mentors. I think this year’s event really encapsulated that and it was truly an enlightening day, from the presentations to the key note speaker,” said Marianna Jolly, chair of the GSRF.

“The Graduate Student Research Forum was a true community event for the Graduate School.   It was a great opportunity for our faculty and students to come together and enjoy the results of many months and years of painstaking research, and to celebrate outstanding student presenters and dedicated faculty mentors,” said Marina K. Holz, Ph.D., dean of the GSBMS.

 

31st Annual Graduate Student Forum Winners

Oral Presentations

First Place

Hannah Mulhall
Akkermansia Muciniphila as a Potential Modulator of Porphyromonas Gingivalis-Induced Inflammation
Mentor: Salomon Amar, D.D.S., Ph.D., vice president for research, professor of pharmacology and microbiology and immunology at New York Medical College (NYMC), provost for biomedical research and chief biomedical research officer for Touro College and University System, and professor of dental medicine at Touro College of Dental Medicine at NYMC

Second Place

Sanjukta Chakraborty
Immunotolerogenic Proteins as Potential Therapeutic Targets in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer
Mentor: Raj K. Tiwari, Ph.D., professor and interim chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Third Place

Kevin Agostinucci
Pharmacological Blockade of TBE 20-HETE Receptor Lowers Blood Pressure and Alters Vascular Remodeling in Mice with Smooth Muscle-Specific Overexpression of CYP-4A12-20-HETE Synthase
Mentor: Michal L. Schwartzman, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology

 

Senior Poster Presentations

First Place

Elizabeth A. Berry
The Impact of Chronic Morphine on the Electrical Properties of Orexin Neurons
Mentor: Christopher S. Leonard, Ph.D., professor and interim chair of the Department of Physiology

Second Place

Alexander A. Moghadam
Pairing of Neonatal Phencyclidine and Adolescent Stress as a Model of Schizophrenia
Mentor: Patric K. Stanton, Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy and neurology 

Third Place (tie)

Corey Gaylets
A Novel Role of the Basal Complex in Cyst Production
Mentor: Dana G. Mordue, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology

Nancy Molina
Synaptic Regulation of Dorsal Raphe Neurons by Prefrontal Cortex in Narcoleptic Mice
Mentor: Christopher S. Leonard, Ph.D., professor and interim chair of the Department of Physiology

 

Novice Poster Presentations

First Place (tie)

Juan A. Azcona
Novel Contribution of Myeloperoxidase-Derived Hypochlorous Acid to 20-HETE Production Post-Ischemia
Mentor: Austin M. Guo, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology

Chiso Nwokafor
Preclinical Findings on the Potential of Intranasal Neuropeptide Y for Treating Hyperarousal Features of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Mentor: Esther L. Sabban, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular biology

Second Place

Tara Jarboe
Profiling of Traditional Chinese Medicine Compound Berberine as Anti-Cancer Agent in Melanoma
Mentor: Raj K. Tiwari, Ph.D., professor and interim chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Third Place

Somaya NoorSaeed
Potential Universal Influenza A Viruses Diagnostic Capture Assay
Mentor: Doris J. Bucher, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology

 

31st Annual Graduate Student Research Forum