22 Participants Share Findings During 8th GGB Research Day

There were 22 participants, with six delivering oral presentations and 16 presenting a research poster.

Campus cash prizes of $100 were awarded to the best in category in oral presentation and poster presentation.

Teresa Margaret Campbell, genetic counselor in the Division of Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics, was awarded the “Best Oral Presentation Award” for her study titled “Fatty Acid Metabolism Regulator Gene as a Novel Disease-Causing Gene for Congenital Hyperinsulinemia.”

Campbell’s mentors/collaborators are Taosheng Huang, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics and chair of the Division of Genetics; Wensheng Liu, research scientist in pediatrics; Xiaoting Lou; Jesse Slone, PhD, research assistant professor of pediatrics; and Jimmy T. Vu, research technician in pediatrics.

The “Best Poster Presenter Award” was presented to medical student Adetayo Oladele-Ajose, a member of the Class of 2023 at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, for her study titled “Multivariable Biostatistical Approach to Identifying Sites of Accessibility in 5’ Untranslated Regions of RHO mRNA in Various Animal Models.”

Her mentor is John M. Sullivan, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology. The research was conducted in Sullivan’s lab.

“Dr. Sullivan has patiently guided me through difficult concepts and has provided tangible applications of those concepts to the work we do,” Oladele-Ajose said. “He’s kept me focused on the bigger picture when I want to zoom in a little too much, and he has helped guide my thinking in how to approach problems and investigate potential solutions.”

Oladele-Ajose said she felt a “humble sense of pride” that her research earned the top prize in the category.

“I felt pride that the work I’ve been doing as well as my ability to communicate that work was well received by the observers and judges, but also a sense of humility at the world of possibilities that still remains to be discovered,” Oladele-Ajose said.

Margaret M. DeAngelis, PhD, professor of ophthalmology, was the keynote speaker. Her topic was “Multi-Genomic Approaches to Neurodegeneration: From Eye to Brain.”

The GGB Research Day is an annual event that allows students and postdoctoral researchers at UB the opportunity to show their research, according to Michael Buck, PhD, professor of biochemistry and director of the GGB graduate program.

“GGB research day provides the students with a chance to present their research to the UB community and receive feedback to push their research forward,” Buck said. “It is also a great opportunity for GGB faculty from different departments and schools to see the latest research being performed in their colleagues’ research groups.”

“Research in genetics, genomics and bioinformatics is having a profound impact on health outcomes, and that will only grow,” said Allison Brashear, MD, UB’s vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School. “This event just exemplifies how the Jacobs School is at the forefront of that research.”

The GGB Research Day was conducted Jan. 25 online via videoconferencing.