University at Buffalo (UB)
Recipients of Dean’s and Nader Research Fellowships are, from left, front: Casey Cabrinha and Maria Coluccio; back: Aaron van Dyne, John Lewis Etter, Kyungduk Rho, Christian Cavalieri and Hua Xing Yang.
Dean’s, Nader Recipients Have Varied Research Interests
Published November 19, 2018 This content is archived.
story by bill bruton
The recipients of this year’s Dean’s and Nader Research Fellowships have a wide range of research interests and knowledge.
They provided an update on their research projects during an educational luncheon at the UBMD Psychiatry Conference Room at the new downtown home of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Nader Fellowship Honoree Studies Under Weil
Christian Cavalieri is this year’s recipient of the Nader Fellowship.
The fellowship, which is supported by Nader D. Nader, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesiology, is “geared toward giving medical students exposure to scientific and research methodologies that may serve as a foundation for inspiring them to pursue a career in academic medicine.”
Cavalieri conducted his research under the guidance of Brian R. Weil, PhD, research assistant professor of physiology and biophysics.
“Dr. Weil’s passion for the field, his interests, just seemed to match up with mine,” Cavalieri says. “Dr. Weil does a preclinical model, so he studies pigs to perhaps one day translate to human research and hopefully some kind of treatment for heart disease in the future.”
Cavalieri’s project title is “Preclinical Evaluation of Antibody-Based Antagonism of E-Selectin as a Novel Treatment for Acute Myocardial Infarction.”
Cavalieri is a native of Western New York who earned his undergraduate degree at Canisius College.
“I’ve been in Buffalo my entire life so I was very glad to do research here,” Cavalieri says.
6 Students Receive Dean’s Research Fellowship
The honorees are:
Casey Cabrinha
“Investigation of Anti-Desmoglein IgG Subtypes in Pemphigus Vulgaris Patients Treated with SYNT001”
Mentors: Animesh A. Sinha, MD, PhD, Rita M. and Ralph T. Behling Professor of dermatology; Kristina Seiffert, MD, research assistant professor of dermatology
Maria Coluccio
“Characteristics and Outcomes of Student-Run Forensic Examination Clinic Serving Asylum Seeker Population”
Mentor: Kim Griswold, MD, associate professor of family medicine and psychiatry
John Lewis Etter
“Comparing X-Chromosome Inactivation Profiles in Peripheral Blood and Ovarian Tissue of Healthy Individuals”
Mentor: Kirsten B. Moysich, PhD, research professor of epidemiology and environmental health in UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions
Kyungduk Rho
“Application of Machine Learning to Explore Latent Factors of Symptomatic Vasospasm Following aSAH”
Mentor: Jason M. Davies, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurosurgery
Aaron van Dyne
“Differential Gene Expression in Cardiac Cell Populations Following Exosome Treatment”
Mentor: Jennifer K. Lang, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
Hua Xing Yang
“Role of Exosomes in Retinal Endothelial Dysfunction and Diabetic Retinopathy”
Mentor: Sarah X. Zhang, MD, professor of ophthalmology
Research Conducted as Summer Projects
The fellowships support rising second-year medical student summer research projects with UB-affiliated faculty members. Research was conducted over a 10-week period in the summer.
This year’s recipients — all members of the Jacobs School’s Class of 2021 — will present their research in poster format at the Medical Student Research Forum that will take place in spring 2019.