By Lin Lofley

Dr. J. Gregory Fitz and Dr. Rene Galindo (foreground, left and right) complimented the oral presenters – (background, from left) Stephen Spurgin, Adam Combiths, Austin Moore, and Puneet Kumar – at the 54th Annual Medical Student Research Forum.

At the 54th Annual Medical Student Research Forum, UT Southwestern Medical School students presented their research findings, with six earning individual honors along with four who were chosen to make oral presentations.

Dr. Greg Fitz, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean of the Medical School, encouraged the 54 forum participants to continue their research, and observed that the group needed to be ready to put in the time and effort that it takes to “do” science. “To succeed, it takes total dedication over a period of years. But you will be rewarded.”

Pointing to the faculty mentors of recognized students at the event, Dr. Fitz also encouraged the students to “pick your mentor wisely.

“Who you work with probably matters a lot more than what you work on,” he said. “You may be interested in hematology, or cancer, or developmental biology, but the tools of science converge and the ability to make progress in one area is transferable. It’s the experience of being mentored that matters.”

Dr. Rene Galindo, Associate Dean for Medical Student Research, seconded Dr. Fitz’s advice on mentorship.

“I can’t emphasize enough the value of picking great mentors, versus focusing on the specifics of the project,” said Dr. Galindo, Assistant Professor Pathology, Molecular Biology, and Pediatrics. “It was so valuable to have Dr. Fitz communicate that sentiment to students, and for the students to see in our oral and poster presentations the value of exceptional mentorship.”

Oral presenters were:

Adam Combiths, MS2, “Roles of Ascl1 and Olig2 in the Transcriptional Regulation of Astrocytogenesis.” Mentor: Dr. Mary Johnson, Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology.

Puneet Kumar, MS2, “Muscle cell proliferation increased in injured mice with biomaterial UBM and bone marrow mesenchymal cells combination treatment.” Mentor: Dr. Juquan Song, Assistant Professor of Surgery.

Austin Moore, MS2, “The role of p53 maintenance of Cyclin D1-induced cellular senescence.” Mentor: Dr. Stephen Skapek, Professor of Pediatrics, and of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology-oncology.

Stephen Spurgin, MS4, “Identification of ITGBL1: a novel regulator of adipogenisis.” Mentor: Dr. Rana Gupta, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine.

Poster session honorees were:

Anjali Nambiar, MS2, “Roles of miR-1246, miR-146, and miR-155 and their Targets in Human Trophoblast Differentiation.” Mentor: Dr. Carole Mendelson, Professor of Biochemistry, and of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Gong Chen and Charles Rew, MS2, “Presence of Bland Thrombus is a Negative Indicator for Cancer Specific Survival in Patients Undergoing Nephrectomy for Kidney Tumors with Venous Tumor Thrombus.” Dr. Vitaly Margulis, Associate Professor of Urology.

Rima Shah, MS3, “A bacterial sensor for cholesterol accessibility in red blood cells.” Mentor: Dr. Helen Hobbs, Professor of the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, Internal Medicine, and Molecular Genetics.

Matt Sherman, MS2, “Increased amyloid deposition after TBI correlated with Cognitive deficits and symptom worsening,” Mentor: Dr. Joshua Gatson, Assistant Professor of Surgery, and of Neurological Surgery.

Claire Usala, MS2, “Apolipoprotein E Isoform Influence on Outcomes After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury.” Mentor: Dr. Darryl Miles, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics.

Serena Zadoo, MS1, “A sensitive assay for monitoring wild-type and mutant myocilin secretion.” Mentor: Dr. John Hulleman, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, and of Pharmacology.

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Dr. Fitz holds the Nadine and Tom Craddick Distinguished Chair in Medical Science, and the Atticus James Gill, M.D. Chair in Medical Science.

Dr. Hobbs holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery Jr., M.D., Distinguished Chair in Developmental Biology; the Eugene McDermott Distinguished Chair for the Study of Human Growth and Development, and the [1995] Dallas Heart Ball Chair in Cardiology Research.

Dr. Johnson holds the Shirley and William S. McIntyre Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience.

Dr. Skapek holds the Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Oncology Research.