Published April 27, 2020
Thirty-four original research projects from aspiring physician-scientists were on display at the 2020 Medical Student Research Forum.
The medical students showcased projects they conducted at the University at Buffalo, its partner health care agencies and institutions throughout the nation.
They shared their work with faculty members and peers in detailed poster presentations.
The importance of medical research has been spotlighted more than ever this year.
“The Medical Student Research Forum has always been a very important and exciting time, as it provides these future scientists the opportunity to share their research with the medical and scientific community,” says Anthony A. Campagnari, PhD, senior associate dean for research and graduate education. “However, this year it is particularly significant given the current worldwide pandemic of COVID-19.”
“This research forum brings together aspiring physician-scientists and basic researchers, which is exactly what is occurring around the globe in a coordinated effort to identify vaccine antigens and novel treatments to combat the current crisis,” Campagnari adds. “There is a clear need to train more physician-scientists, and exposing medical students to basic research early in their training is a critical step toward reaching that goal.”
Michael E. Cain, MD, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, announced the winners and also gave an introduction and closing.
A faculty panel selected five outstanding projects for special recognition during the event, which took place Jan. 23 in the atrium of the Jacobs School building.
Jenna Betz, Class of 2021
“Inhibition of IL13RA1 Signaling to Prevent the Development of the Human Autoimmune Disease Pemphigus Vulgaris in Genetically Susceptible Individuals”
Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a rare autoimmune disease that causes painful blistering of mucosa and skin.
Animesh A. Sinha, MD, PhD, professor of dermatology, has hypothesized that the downregulation of IL-13Rα1 in peripheral blood monocytes may serve as a protective mechanism against elevated serum IL-13 levels in genetically susceptible individuals.
Working under the direction of Sinha and Kristina Seiffert, MD, research assistant professor of dermatology, Betz showed that IL-13 upregulates the surface expression of HLA proteins while downregulating CD14, suggesting monocyte maturation into dendritic cells is relevant to disease development.
Mentors/collaborators: Seiffert, Sinha.
Zafardjan Dalimov, Class of 2021
“Trends in Minimally Invasive Surgical Therapies for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Treatment Substitution or Treatment Expansion Effect by Prostatic Urethral Lift?”
Dalimov’s research aimed to evaluate trends in utilization of transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), laser prostate surgeries and minimally invasive surgical therapies (MIST), such as transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT), transurethral needle ablation (TUNA), prostatic stent and prostatic urethral Lift (PUL).
The study demonstrates that the number of MIST procedures are on the rise with the highest growth rate observed in PUL procedures. Similar growth trends of PUL procedures were observed across all AUA regions. The marked rise in PUL is associated with the decline in TUMT and laser prostate surgery utilization nationally.
Mentors: Nicole Alavi-Dunn, MD; K. Kent Chevli, MD; clinical professor and chair of urology; Michael Ernst, MD; Harold Hamann, MD.
Kirsten Schlosser, Class of 2022
“History of Trauma: Characteristics of Detained Asylum Seekers in Buffalo, NY”
Schlosser’s research explores detained asylum seekers’ history of trauma in relation to their current detainment from information gathered by the Human Rights Initiative since its founding in 2014.
The research concluded that asylum seekers have a history of trauma and are suffering from mental health disorders due to their past experiences. Through detainment, they may be at risk of re-exposure to a situation reminiscent of the experiences they fled, causing more distress and traumatization.
Mentors: Maria Coluccio; Kim Strong Griswold, MD, professor of family medicine and research professor of psychiatry; Yasmeen Mohammad.
William Murk, Class of 2022
“Metabolic Surgery and Cardiovascular Outcomes”
Murk’s research replicated a previous study showing that metabolic surgery is associated with a 39 percent reduction in the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) compared with non-surgery among obese patients with diabetes. He did modify its design so that the comparison groups had similar levels of baseline information.
He hypothesized that the original findings were spurious, due to differential information bias, since non-surgical controls do not undergo the same pre-diagnostic workup as patients undergoing surgery. When the comparison group was changed to patients undergoing hip/knee replacement, there was no protective effect of metabolic surgery.
He demonstrated that information bias is the most likely explanation for the substantial cardiovascular benefit reported in the earlier study.
Mentors/collaborators: Jeremy Rassen, ScD; Sebastian Schneeweiss, MD, ScD.
Nataliia Paone, Class of 2022
“Effects of Oxygen Concentration on Viability of Human Corneal Endothelial Cells”
The purpose of Paone’s study was to investigate the role of O2 concentration in primary human corneal endothelial cell (HCEnC) culture. In the human eye anterior chamber, [O2] is 2 to 3 percent while HCEnC are typically cultured at ambient O2 ([O2]A; O2in air is 21 percent. She tested the hypothesis that HCEnC cultured at physiologic O2 ([O2] (2.5 percent) would have greater cell viability (CV) compared to HCEnC cultured at [O2]A.
The results support her hypothesis that HCEnCs cultured at [O2] 2.5 percent show greater viability compared to those grown at [O2]A and adapt rapidly to changes in [O2]. Further studies of HCEnCs cultured at physiologic [O2] may impact techniques for HCEnC expansion and understanding of oxidative stress in corneal endothelial disease such as Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy.
Mentors/Collaborators: Maria E. Sousa; Sangita P. Patel, MD, PhD, clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology.
Participants researched many important areas in their projects:
| Student(s) | Project | Mentors/collaborators |
|---|---|---|
| Claudia Aghaie | Measuring Respect at End-of-Life Using the Respect Measurement Tool | Kathleen T. Grimm, MD Sandra Lauer |
| Thomas Barbaccia | Epinephrine Exacerbates Myocyte Injury in a Porcine Model of Carciac Arrest | Shannon E. Allen John M. Canty Jr., MD Ellaine Granica Beth A. Palka Brian R. Weil, PhD Rebeccah F. Young |
| Andrew Beiter | Low Dose Bevacizumab in the Treatment of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) | John H. Lillvis, MD, PhD Andrew L. Reynolds, MD Charles Zhang |
| Matthew Brunton | Let’s Really Talk: A Retrospective Analysis of Online Medical Direction Review From a Tertiary Care Emergency Department | Jason A. Borton, MD
|
| Madison Carlson | The Effect of HMUP Mutants on HMUP-HEME Binding in Bradyrhizobium Japonicum | Mark R. O’Brian, PhD Peipei Wu, PhD |
| Chelsea N. Cleveland | Kidney Transplant Candidate and Caregiver Perceptions of Hepatitis C Seropositive Kidney Donation: A Qualitative Analysis | Beth Dolph, PhD Liise K. Kayler, MD Maria Keller Rachel Seibert |
| Zafardjan Dalimov | Variation in Practice Patterns and Regional Participation in Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Among Urologists | |
| Zafardjan Dalimov | Urologists’ Performance in Merit-Based Incentive Payment System: Prospects in Alternative Payment Models |
|
| Tara Daly | MCL-1 Inhibition by the Selective MCL-1 Inhibitor AMG176 Induces In Vitro Activity Against Burkitt Lymphoma Cell Lines and Synergistically Enhances the Cytotoxic Effect of Chemotherapy and BH3 Mimetics | Matthew J. Barth, MD
|
| Devea R. De | Evaluating the Virulence of Carbepenem-Resistant Pseudomonas Aeruginosa in the Galleria Mellonella Model Under Aztreonam and Ceftazidime-Avibactam Exposure | Brian T. Tsuji, PharmD |
| Alexander Fritz | Comparison of Rod Materials for Lumbar Fusion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis | Jennifer Mao Jeffrey P. Mullin, MD Timothy E. O’Connor, MD John Pollina, MD |
| Jordan Gaston | Proteus Mirabilis and Friends: Polymicrobial Modulation of Biofilm Formation and Antibiotic Resistance in Cauti | Marissa A. Andersen Chelsie E. Armbruster, PhD Aimee L. Brauer Alexandra O. Johnson Brian S. Learman Anna Flores-Mireles, PhD |
Andrew Gong
| Trans-Radial Access for Flow Diversion of Intracranial Aneurysms | Jason M. Davies, MD, PhD Rimal Hanif Dossani Elad I. Levy, MD Hamid Rai Gary Rajah Adnan Siddiqui, MD, PhD Kenneth V. Snyder, MD, PhD Michael Tso Kunal Vakharia Muhammad Waqas |
| Lauren Harte | Sensory Innervation of the Long Head of the Biceps Tendon | Stuart D. Inglis, PhD John M. Marzo, MD Taylor Rick |
| Cody Kelso | Development of Epileptiform Discharges Within One Month Following Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Induced by Lateral Fluid Percussion Injury in Rats | Nicole Curtis
|
| Austin Kloc | Comparison of PS785, a Photodynamic Therapy Photosensitizer to Porfirmer Sodium (Photofrin®) for the Treatment of Human Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Xenografts | Kris Attwood, PhD Wiam Bshara, MD Farukh A. Durrani, PhD Chukwumere E. Nwogu, MD, PhD Ravindra K. Pandey, PhD |
| Joseph McGann | Score at the Door: Catching Sepsis Before it Catches You | Emilie Melvin Kristen Miller Laura Schubel |
| Brooks Melnyk | Metal Ion Toxicity in Total Shoulder Arthroplasty | Robert H. Ablove, MD Ross Cole, MD Thomas R. Duquin, MD Michael Edgerton, MD |
| Christina Moore | Oxygen Stress and Estrogen Receptor Expression in Corneal Endothelial Cells |
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| Mary O’Hehir | Novel Biomedical Model for Proximal Junctional Kyphosis | Sigurd Berven, MD Munish Gupta, MD Jennifer Mao Jeffrey P. Mullin, MD Tim O’Connor, MD John Pollina, MD David Polly Jr., MD Dan Rathbone |
| Kaley Reardon
| Examining Associations Between Parent Feeding Styles and Young Children’s Delay of Gratification | Stephanie Anzman-Frasca, PhD Anita Singh Sara Tauriello |
| JoAnna Shaw | The Buffalo Research Registry Participant Satisfaction Survey | Danielle Abramo-Balling Laurene M. Tumiel Berhalter, PhD Megan Wilson |
| Lauren Sielski | Is There a Need to Change Textbook Knowledge? Assessment of the Fidelity of a Pathognomonic Theory in Autoimmune Blistering Disease | John David Baker Michael Depasquale Kristina Seiffert, MD Animesh A. Sinha, MD, PhD |
| Jessica L. Silvestri | Monitoring the Effect of Transcranial Electric Current Stimulation (TES) During a Bimanual Motor Task Via Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) | Lora Cavuoto, PhD Yuanyuan Gao Steven D. Schwaitzberg, MD |
| Sonya Singh | The Effects of Insecure Attachment on Childhood Asthma: Depression and Autonomic Dysregulation as Possible Mechanisms | Quratulain Humayun, MBBS
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| Sarah Soniwala | Quality of Life Measures for Childhood Asthma: How Do Parent and Child Assessments Compare? | Lucy C. Holmes, MD Stacie Lampkin, PharmD Katherine Lee |
| Anne Stoklosa | A Cross-Sectional Survey From One U.S. Medical School Identifying Vaping Knowledge Gap in Medical Education | Deepali Handa, MD |
| Maritza N. Taylor | Comparing Pull Out Force of Cervical Pedicle Screws and Lateral Mass Screws | Jennifer Mao Jeffrey P. Mullin, MD Timothy O’Connor, MD Mary O’Hehir John Pollina, MD Dan Rathbone |
| Kevin Zablonski | The Association of Caregiver Depression With Child Asthma | Quratulain Humayun, MBBS Heather K. Lehman, MD Bruce D. Miller, MD Beatrice L. Wood, PhD |