Medical students recognized, inspired at 53rd research forum
In his recent keynote address at the 53rd Annual Medical Student Research Forum, Dr. Michael Choti, Chairman of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief for William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, outlined departmental research opportunities.
The event featured the work of 54 UT Southwestern Medical School students who conducted investigations through the Summer Research Program or a yearlong Howard Hughes Medical Institute program. Ten of them – four oral presenters and the authors of six posters selected by faculty judges – received special recognitions.
“This forum is an opportunity to celebrate all the splendid science that you are doing all across campus,” said Dr. Rene Galindo, Assistant Professor of Pathology, Molecular Biology, and Pediatrics, and Associate Dean for Medical Student Research, to attendees in the packed auditorium. Dr. Galindo served as Program Director for the forum.
Dr. Choti joined the UT Southwestern Medical Center faculty in late 2013. He previously was Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery and Professor of Surgery, Oncology, and Radiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He was also a Professor in the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins, conducting research directed at surgical innovation, robotics, and image-guided surgical cancer therapy.
In outlining his vision for the department, he described research as a “diverse portfolio.”
“It’s a balance between basic research, translational research, clinical research – or clinical trials – and health services research,” Dr. Choti said.
Basic and translational research will remain important parts of the portfolio, bolstered by initiatives such as recruiting faculty members and embedding them in established laboratories, Dr. Choti said.
“Much of research (in a surgical department) should be focusing on clinical outcomes and health services research. I would guess about 70 percent of the research that will go on in my department will be in this area,” he said. “Research into costs is very important. Patient satisfaction, readmission, care pathways, patient selection for surgery, reengineering health systems – all of these are opportunities.”
The 10 winners were recognized with monetary awards. The presentation winners, their topics, and mentors were:
Barbara Burton, MS2, “High-Throughput Chemical Screen for EWS-FLI1 Inhibitors Using a Transgenic Zebrafish Model of Ewing Sarcoma.” Mentor: Dr. James Amatruda, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, and Molecular Biology.
Scott Carlson, MS2, “Hippocampal Volume Changes in Patients with Asthma.” Mentor: Dr. E. Sherwood Brown, Professor of Psychiatry.
Erik Contreras, MS2, “MicroRNAs and Related Tissue Remodeling Genes in Rotator Cuff Repair in a Rat Model.” Mentor: Dr. Chris Chen, Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery.
Zehra Farzal, MS3, “Masqueraders of Appendicitis.” Mentor: Dr. Anne Fischer, a former pediatric surgeon at UT Southwestern and Children’s Medical Center, now Surgeon-in-Chief at Beaumont Children's Hospital.
Poster session awards were presented to:
Jeffrey Compton, MS2, “Comparison of Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic (VATS) Lung Biopsy vs. Bronchopulmonary Alveolar Lavage (BAL) for Diagnosis of Fungal Disease in Pediatric Oncology Patients.” Mentor: Dr. Joseph Murphy, Professor of Surgery.
Aurelia Fu, MS2, “Long Term Central Venous Access in a Pediatric Leukemia Population.” Mentor: Dr. Adam Alder, Assistant Professor of Surgery.
Eunjin Jang, MS2, “Pain Scores with Atypical Pain Regiments in Severe Burns.” Mentor: Dr. Steven Wolf, Professor of Surgery.
Demetra Kelenis, MS4, “The Role of Ascl1 in NG2 Cells in the Spinal Cord.” Mentor: Dr. Jane Johnson, Professor of Neuroscience and of Pharmacology.
Jeremy Semeiks, MS4, “Evaluating Patient Perception of Differences in Effectiveness of Oral versus Parenteral Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs.” Mentor: Dr. Lynn Roppolo, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine.
Daniel Stroud, MS2, “Synthesis and Comparative Study of a Library of Small Molecules Capable of Disrupting H1F alpha Dimerization.” Mentor: Dr. Uttam Tambar, Associate Professor of Biochemistry.
Dr. Amatruda holds the Nearburg Family Professorship in Pediatric Oncology Research, and is a Horchow Family Scholar in Pediatrics.
Dr. Brown holds the Aradine S. Ard Chair in Brain Science.
Dr. Choti holds the Hall and Mary Lucile Shannon Distinguished Chair in Surgery.
Dr. Johnson holds the Shirley and William S. McIntyre Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience.
Dr. Tambar is a W.W. Caruth, Jr. Scholar in Biomedical Research.
Dr. Wolf holds the Golden Charity Guild Charles R. Baxter, M.D. Chair.
