Medicine Department Research Day Awards Include Four-Way Tie

The awards include a four-way tie for first place in the “Clinical Research – Resident” category.

The event featured more than 70 abstract posters and six oral presentations from residents and fellows engaged in basic and clinical research.

It was held June 1 at the UB Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

The following research teams were recognized as best in their category (all Department of Medicine unless otherwise noted):

First Place (tie)

Burnout and Health-Promoting Behavior among Resident Physicians in Buffalo, N.Y.
Presenter: Imran Ahmad
Coauthors: Rashmi Bismark, Tyler B. Evans, Carl Li, Michael Noe, Susan Orrange, Michael Leiter

Survival Outcomes after Surgery in Squamous and Papillary Gallbladder Cancer
Presenter: Sandeep T. Samuel
Coauthors: Adrienne Groman, Renuka Iyer, MD, clinical assistant professor

Examining the Barriers to Effective Patient Selection of Over-the-Counter Cold Medications
Presenter: Tiffany Sturgeon, MD
Coauthors: Rachel NeMoyer, Janelle Duah

Correlation of Plasma BNP Levels with Echocardiographic Parameters of Diastolic Function in Patients with Heart Failure and Normal Left Ventricular Systolic Function
Presenter: Bharath Rajagopalan
Coauthors: Gregory Gudleski, Brian Page, MD, research assistant professor

First Place

Testosterone Restores Insulin Sensitivity in Males with Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism through its Novel Anti-Inflammatory Actions and the Suppression of Free Fatty Acids, Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)α, Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling-3 and l _kB kinase (lKK) β Independently of Weight Loss
Presenter: Manav Batra
Coauthors: Sandeep Dhindsa, MD, Husam Ghanim, Sanaa Abuaysheh, Kelly Green, Nitesh Kuhadiya, Sartaj Sandhu, Antoine Makdissi, MD, clinical assistant professor; Ajay Chaudhuri, MD, clinical associate professor; Paresh Dandona, MD, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and chief of endocrinology and metabolism

 Second Place

An Outbreak of Severe Group A Streptococcus Infections Associated with Podiatric Application of a Biologic Skin Substitute
Presenter: Lauren A. Bertelle-Ibrahim
Coauthors: John A. Sellick Jr., DO, associate professor, Alan J. Lesse, MD, associate professor and vice chair for education

First Place

Correlation between Smoking Status, Cotinine Levels with Pharmacokinetics of Erlotinib and Clinical Outcomes in Pancreatic Cancer
Presenter: Ravi Chhatrala
Coauthors: Graham Warren, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Tan Wei, Renuka Iyer, MD, clinical assistant professor

Second Place

Optimizing Treatment of Flt3 Intemal Tandem Duplication Positive Acute Myeloid Leukemia by Combining Flt3 Inhibitors and Cytarabine
Presenters: Chetasi Talati, Arpita Desai
Coauthors: Mohamed Elmeliegy, Jason Den Haese, Meir Wetzler, MD, professor

First Place

Ascitocin: A Newly Identified Broad-Spectrum Anti-Bacterial Agent Present in Human Ascites
Presenter: Rajinder Bajwa
Coauthors: Thomas Russo, MD, professor and chief of infectious disease

Second Place

Novel Signaling Pathways Regulate Nascent Endothelial Cells Derived from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Presenter: Jennifer K. Lang
Coauthors: Fraser J. Sim, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology; Thomas R. Cimato, MD, PhD, assistant professor

First Place

Case Series of Extended Upper Endoscopy Revealing Small Bowel Causes of Obscure Gastrointestinal Bleeding
Presenter: Sumeet Munjal
Coauthors: Akriti Dewanwala, Madhusudhan Sunkavalli, Abha Rani, MD, clinical assistant professor

Second Place

Vancomycin Intermediate Staphylococcus Aureus: An Emerging New Super Bug
Presenter: Naveen Yarlagadda
Coauthors: Brian Tsuji, Rajneesh Bobde, Shahzad Merchant, MD, clinical assistant professor

First Place

Idiopathic Cavernous Sinus Inflammation; The Tolosa-Hunt Syndrome with Sellar Extension Presenting with Hypopituitarism
Presenter: Cherie Lisa Vaz
Coauthors: Jody Leonardo, MD, assistant professor of neurosurgery; Laszlo Mechtler; Lucia Balos, MD, associate professor of pathology and anatomical sciences; Ajay Chaudhuri, MD, clinical associate professor

Second Place

“Zebra” in the Airway
Presenter: Abhishek Kumar
Coauthors: Arjun Mohan, Prerna Kumar, Kurt VonFricken

Anne B. Curtis, MD, Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and chair of medicine, presented the keynote address on the national Block HF clinical trial she led.

The study, showing benefits of biventricular pacing for certain heart failure patients, has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.