In separate studies, second-year students Joseph Modica (left) and Taylor Klun assessed the use of MRI-compatible headrests and immobilizing longboards to aid patients.
Forum Showcases 45 Diverse Medical Student Research Projects
Published February 6, 2015 This content is archived.
story by suzanne kashuba
At the 2015 Medical Student Research Forum, aspiring physician-scientists showcased 45 original research projects they conducted at the University at Buffalo, its partner health care agencies and institutions nationwide.
A record number of participants — 49 medical students — shared their projects with peers and faculty members through diverse poster presentations.
Career Enhancement for Varied Interests
Often working as part of interdisciplinary teams, the students explored an array of topics, including novel treatments, molecular mechanisms of disease, patient perspectives and quality-of-life issues.
“These talented medical students have had the rare opportunity to experience the link between basic and clinical research in the early stages of their careers,” says Anthony A. Campagnari, PhD, senior associate dean for research and graduate education.
“They now realize that the insights gained from medical research have the potential to solve many of the most challenging problems facing health care workers today, and they understand the essential role of physician-scientists.”
Top Posters Explore Progenitor Cells; Screening
A faculty panel selected five outstanding projects for special recognition, including three tying for third place and four conducted by second-year medical students.
Michael E. Cain, MD, vice president for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, presented certificates to the award-winning students (listed below) during the Jan. 29 event in the atrium of the Biomedical Education Building.
First Place
Andrew Goelz, Class of 2017
“Intracoronary Cardiosphere-Derived Cell (CDC) Infusion Improves Left Ventricular Function Without Affecting Myocardial Perfusion in a Porcine Model of Acute Myocardial Infarction”
In an experimental model, Goelz found that factors other than increased blood flow contributed to myocardial repair after infusing CDCs, a population of cardiac progenitor cells.
Mentors: Brian R. Weil, PhD; Gen Suzuki, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine; Beth A. Palka; and John M. Canty Jr., MD, Albert and Elizabeth Rekate Professor of medicine and chief of cardiovascular medicine
Second Place
Janaki Vakharia, Class of 2015
“Prevalence of Abnormal Screening Laboratory Tests in Overweight and Obese Children and Adolescents”
In a study of 409 pediatric patients, Vakharia found that screening for insulin-resistant diabetes with fasting insulin tests may be of more value in patients who also have the skin pigmentation disorder acanthosis nigricans.
Mentor: Lucy C. Holmes, MD, clinical associate professor of pediatrics
Third Place (three-way tie)
Meghan McLaughlin, Class of 2017
“Development of a Next-Generation Sequencing Protocol to Investigate Antibody Repertoire of Kawasaki Disease Patients”
McLaughlin sought to define a specific signature for patients with a pediatric systemic vasculitis that can lead to heart disease, including coronary aneurysms.
Mentors: Hakimuddin Sojar, PhD, and Mark D. Hicar, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics
Nicholas Georgalas, Class of 2017
“Trends and Outcomes of Opioid Prescriptions for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain in a Primary Care Clinic”
Georgalas’ chart review of 120 random patients found that opioids provided only minor relief, either alone or in combination with other therapies, yet co-occurring substance abuse was high, and common and significant side effects often required treatment.
Mentor: Muhammad Ghazi, MD
Alexander Ostapenko, Class of 2017
“A Study of Ulnar and Radial Anatomy With Cadaveric Specimens”
Ostapenko photographed and digitally analyzed hundreds of bone specimens to study adult forearm bony anatomy. He found significant differences related to race and gender, which may have applications for the surgical treatment of fractures and dislocations of the forearm and elbow.
Mentors: Victoria Tote and Malinda Sharkey, MD
Studying Bacteria, Auto Safety, Opioids and More
A complete list of participants, their projects and mentors follows:
| Student(s) | Project | Mentor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Jay Amin | Streptococcus pneumoniae Biofilm Response to Low pH Exposure: Implications for Bacterial Pneumonia Secondary to Acid Aspiration | Bruce A. Davidson, PhD Paul R. Knight III, MD, PhD |
| Beric Berlioz Jessica Strauss | The Impact of Vehicle Type, Weight and Price on Automobile Safety | Joseph Consiglio Dietrich V. Jehle, MD Andrew Walton |
| Caroline Brotzki | Mammalian Corneal Endothelial Protein BTR1 Transports Boron in S. cerevisiae Yeast | Mark D. Parker, PhD Sangita Patel, MD, PhD |
| Veronica Campanella Taylor Klun Abhigyan Malhotra | Patients Immobilized With a Longboard Rarely Have Highly Unstable Thoracolumbar Injuries | Joseph A. Bart, DO Brian M. Clemency, DO, MBA Heather Lindstrom, PhD |
| Jacob Castiglia | Patient Perspectives on Medication Adherence While Coping With Multiple Chronic Conditions | Chester H. Fox, MD Victoria M. Hall, RN, MPH Linda S. Kahn, PhD Bonnie Vest, PhD Angela Wisniewski, PharmD Margaret Zupa |
| Caressa Chen | Evaluation of a Potential Virulence Factor in Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae | Thomas A. Russo, MD |
| Charlotte Cipparone | Accuracy of ICD-9 Codes for Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease: A Practice-Based Research Network Study | Chester H. Fox, MD Linda S. Kahn, PhD Kim S. Kimminau, PhD Ranjit Singh, MB BChir, MBA Matthew Withiam-Leitch, MD, PhD |
| Thomas Dryzmala | Opioid Dependence and Chronic Pain: A Mixed Methods Study | Richard D. Blondell, MD Meghan Chambers Andrew Danzo Rachel Rizzo, MPH |
| Kevin Frodey | Role of Prostaglandin E2 in Impairment of Dendritic Cell Differentiation | Louise Carlson, PhD David Hoekstra Kelvin P. Lee, MD Jayakumar Nair, PhD Haley Spangler Adam Utley Daniela Ventro, PhD |
| Beau Froebel | Bioinformatics Analysis of Utility of the Mutation-Independent Approach for Hammerhead Ribozyme Therapy of Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa Due to Rho Mutations | John M. Sullivan, MD, PhD |
| Nicholas Georgalas | Trends and Outcomes of Opioid Prescriptions for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain in a Primary Care Clinic | Muhammad Ghazi, MD |
| Andrew Goelz | Intracoronary Cardiosphere-Derived Cell Infusion Improves Left Ventricular Function Without Affecting Myocardial Perfusion in a Porcine Model of Acute Myocardial Infarction | John M. Canty Jr., MD Beth A. Palka Gen Suzuki, MD, PhD Brian R. Weil, PhD |
| Matthew Gondek | Engaging Immigrant and Refugee Women in Breast Health Education | Deborah Erwin, PhD Kim Griswold, MD, MPH Martin Mahoney, MD, PhD Elisa Rodriguez Frances Saad-Harfouche, MSW May Shogan |
| Jin Guo | Characterization of Taz Domains Important for the Induction of Breast Cancer Stem Cell Properties and Tumorigenesis | Wiam Bshara, MD Costa Frangou, PhD Qiang Hu, MD, PhD Ying-Wei Li, PhD Song Liu, PhD Carl D. Morrison, MD, DVM He Shen, PhD Lori Shepherd Peiqing Sun, PhD Jianmin Wang, PhD Bo Xu, MD, PhD Nuo Yang, PhD Jianmin Zhang, PhD Qianqian Zhu, PhD |
| Crystal Han | Characterization of Striatin-3 as an Effector Protein in RAC1-GTP-Mediated Schwann Cell-Axon Interactions | Caterina Berti, PhD M. Laura Feltri, MD |
| Jennifer Harb | Salivary Botulinum Toxin Reduces Aspiration Pneumonia in Neurologically Impaired Children | John Faria, MD Dean Yacobucci, MD Michael P. Pizzuto, MD |
| Diana Hong | Transcriptome Analysis in Circulating Neutrophils to Explore Signatures of Intracranial Aneurysm: Towards Diagnostic Biomarker Development | Vincent Tutino Yijun Sun, PhD James N. Jarvis, MD Adnan Siddiqui, MD, PhD Kenneth V. Snyder, MD, PhD Hui Meng, PhD |
| Jin Kim | Enhancing Neuroblastoma Immunogenicity Through Epigenetic Modification and T Regulatory Cell Blockade | Randall Chan, MD Long Hung Sakunthala Muthugounder, PhD Shahab Asgharzadeh, MD |
| Alana Koehler | Verbal Learning Following Early Brain Damage: The Efficacy and Limitations of Neural Plasticity | Angela O. Ballantyne, PhD Doris A. Trauner, MD |
| Lindsay Kosinski | Analysis of Electrical Stimulation as a Novel Antimicrobial Approach for the Treatment of Orthopedic Infections | Lisa Hansen Menachem Tobias Mary Canty Shauna Sauberan Nicole R. Luke-Marshall, PhD Mark Ehrensberger, PhD Anthony A. Campagnari, PhD |
| Olivia Lucas | Quality of Life Impact of Surgical Resection and Adjuvant Chemotherapy in NSCLC Patients | Alex Adjei, MD, PhD Todd L. Demmy, MD Elisabeth U. Dexter, MD Mark W. Hennon, MD Miriam Huang, MD Chukwumere Nwogu, MD Anthony Picone, MD, PhD, MBA Mary Reid, PhD Wei Tan Sai Yendamuri, MD |
| Sana Maheshwari | Cytokine Expansion Protocols for Adoptive Immunotherapy | Michael J. Donahue Daniel T. Fisher, PhD Minhyung Kim, MD Joseph J. Skitski, MD |
| Christopher Manschreck | Escherichia coli Inhibition by Commensal Bacteria of the Female Genital Tract | Betsy C. Herold, MD |
| Anna-Claire Marrone | Caregivers’ Perceptions of Their Child’s Asthma | Lucy C. Holmes, MD Heather K. Lehman, MD |
| Paul McBride | Post-Stereotactic Radiosurgery Radiation Necrosis: The Three-Month Peak | Andrew Fabiano, MD Dheerendra Prasad, MD Jingxin Qiu, MD, PhD |
| Duration of Post-Stereotactic Radiosurgery Radiation Necrosis | Andrew Fabiano, MD | |
| Meghan McLaughlin | Development of a Next-Generation Sequencing Protocol to Investigate Antibody Repertoire of Kawasaki Disease Patients | Mark D. Hicar, MD, PhD Hakimuddin Sojar, PhD |
| Sarina Meikle | Effect of HIV Infection on Macrophage Polarization in Human Macrophage-Like THP-1 Cells | Amy Jacobs, PhD Priyanka Saminathan, MSc Hyun Ah Yi, PhD |
| Khulkar Mirzozoda | Expression of Survivin Splice Variants in Malignant Glioma | Michael Ciesielski, PhD Robert A. Fenstermaker, MD Cheryl Frank |
| Joseph Modica | Benefit of an Intraoperative MRI-Compatible Headrest in Pediatric Neurosurgery Patients | Frederick Boop, MD Paul Klimo Jr., MD, MPH |
| Sarah Morse | A Retrospective Chart Review of Calcium Supplementation in Special Needs Children | Amanda Persaud, MD Stacie Thoman, PharmD |
| Daniel Mueller | Evaluation of Potential Emergency Department Guidelines for Neuroimaging and Cognitive Status Among Adults Age >75 and Older | Bruce J. Naughton, MD James Naughton Angela Wisniewski, PharmD |
| Alexander Ostapenko | A Study of Ulnar and Radial Anatomy With Cadaveric Specimens | Malinda Sharkey, MD Victoria Tote |
| Lydia Park | Functional Characterization of ESR1 Mutations Found in Cancers | |
| John Pinski | Low Level-of-Evidence and Methodological Quality of Clinical Outcome Studies on Cartilage Repair of the Ankle | Lorraine A. Boakye John G. Kennedy, MD, FRCS (Orth) Yan Ma, PhD Christopher D. Murawski Keir A. Ross |
| Vincenzo Polsinelli | Hypertension in Rural Haiti: Results From a Cross-Sectional Survey | David M. Holmes, MD Pierre-Louis Joizil Joseph Morvillo Ketheline Rock, RN Nikhil Satchidanand, PhD Robert Scagnelli Ranjit Singh, MB BChir, MBA John Taylor, MBA Kathryn Williams |
| Samuel Racette | Mechanisms of Neutrophil Activation in the Tumor Microenvironment of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer | Kassondra Grzankowski, MD Anm Nazmul Khan, PhD Brahm H. Segal, MD Andrew Siaw-Asamoah |
| Patrick Rooney | Characterizing the RAC1 Effector BORG4 in the Peripheral Nervous System | Caterina Berti, PhD M. Laura Feltri, MD |
| Kathleen Soltis Diva Wilson | Primary Care Physical and Mental Health Needs of Asylum Seekers | Kim Griswold, MD, MPH Pam Kefi |
| Jill Sperrazza | A Phase I Study of Lenalidomide and Cytarabine in Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia | William E. Brady, PhD Laurie A. Ford Elizabeth A. Griffiths, MD Wei Tan James E. Thompson, MD Carlos E. Vigil, MD Eunice S. Wang, MD Meir Wetzler, MD |
| Kristina Tangelder | Creating a Model to Examine the Result of Bone Loss on RSA Baseplate Stability | Thomas R. Duquin, MD Mark Ehrensberger, PhD |
| Jennifer Taylor | Vitamin D and its Association With Asthma and Eczema in Pediatric Chronic Pain Patients | Tracy E. Harrison, MD Christina M. Pabelick, MD |
| Janaki Vakharia | Prevalence of Abnormal Screening Laboratory Tests in Overweight and Obese Children and Adolescents | Lucy C. Holmes, MD |
| Elizabeth Zoé Welch | IL13Ra1 Downregulation as a Protective Factor in a Human Organ-Specific Autoimmune Disease | Kristina Seiffert-Sinha, MD Animesh A. Sinha, MD, PhD |
| Winston Wong | Cardiac Autonomic Remodeling in Viable, Dysfunctional Myocardium Following Coronary Revascularization | John M. Canty Jr., MD James A. Fallavollita, MD Stanley F. Fernandez, MD, PhD Gen Suzuki, MD, PhD |
| Elliot Yu | Patterns and Prevalence of Polytobacco Use Among College Students | Gary Giovine, PhD Martin Mahoney, MD, PhD |