Research!Louisville 2018 announces winners

Research!Louisville (R!L) celebrated its 23rd annual symposium showcasing health sciences research at the Louisville Medical Center last week.

R!L received over 400 abstracts and showcased research. Below are the R!L 2018 Winners:

Master’s Basic Science Graduate Student Award: Steven Gootee, Completing the Death Certificate Accurately: results from a survey evaluating existing knowledge among practicing physicians. Mentor: Julio Ramirez, PhD.

Doctoral Basic Science Graduate Student Award: Joshua Royal, Epicertin, a cholera toxin B subunit variant, utilizes an ER retention signalto enhance intenstinal wound healing via an unfolded protein response. Mentor: Nobuyuki Matoba.

Masters Engineering Student Award: Luke Ackerman, Automated Flight Ready Fluid Management System. Mentor: Thomas Roussel.

Doctoral Engineering Student Award: Ahmed Shaffie, A novel technology for Accurate, early, and non-invasive diagnosis of lung cancer.Mentor: Ayman El-Baz.

School of Dentistry Basic Science Student Award: Regina Friedl,Rdh10 mutant mice reveal pharyngeal arch patterning defects underliecleft palate in retinoid deficiency. Mentor: Lisa Sandell. 

School of Dentistry Clinical Science Student Award: Sarah Downes, A novel oral health outreach activity for elementary grade students. Mentor: Cynthia Metz.

Norton Healthcare Medical Student Award: Mallory Zaino, Myocardial infarction regulates prolidase activity and promotes insulin-mediated collagen remodeling in the heart. Mentor: Brad Hill, PhD. 

Postdoctoral Fellow Award: Natia Kelm, Novel Role of Thbs-1/CD47-Drp1 signaling following ischemia reperfusion in the aging heart.

Research Associate Award: Sarah Andres, Cancer-selective metal complexes: effects and a novel mechanism of action. Mentor: Paula Bates.

Research Staff Award: Kimberely Buckner, The two Diamond Open Access Journals at the University of Louisville: The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections and the Journal of Refugee and Global Health.Mentor: William Mattingly, PhD.

School of Medicine Medical Resident Award: Christian Eccles, Skin fiducial markers enable accurate computerized navigation resection of simulated soft tissue tumors: an in vitro cadaveric pilot study.

School of Medicine Clinical Research Fellow Award: Penn Muluhngwi, Identification of Oncogenic Driver Mutations in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients. Mentor: Mark Linder, PhD.

Public Health & Information Sciences: Master’s Student Award Ogochukwu Owolabi,Missing laboratory values among patients with pneumonia should not exclude them from analysis in clinical research.Mentor: William Mattingly, PhD.

Doctoral Student Award: Stacey Konkle, Secular Trends in Ambient Volatile Organic Compound Levels, Biomarkers of Exposure and Associations with Cardiometabolic Syndrome: An Analysis of Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the National Monitoring Program.

Basic Research in Public Health Award. Yiqun Mo, Comparative mouse pulmonary toxicity of nickel nanoparticles with different surface modification. Mentor: Qunwei Zhang.

Research & Practice in Public Health Award: Connor Glick, Multiple comorbidities among patients with community-acquired pneumonia lead to higher mortality regardless of age. Mentor: William Mattingly, PhD.

Nursing Graduate Student: Barbra Cave,Care navigation for moms and babies after universal hepatitis C virus. 

Pharm D Award: Claire Thieneman, Impact of regimen selection on response to antiretroviral therapy in treatment-naïve individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus. 

Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation  Faculty Award in Basic Science: Leila Gobejishvili, Pathogenic role of PDE4 enzymes in the development of liver fibrosis in humans and mouse models.

Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation Faculty Award in Clinical Science: Kimberly Hartson, Predictors of physical activity among a predominantly Hispanic sample of high school aged adolescents. 

Ruth Greenberg Award for Excellence in Medical Education Research: Sara Petruska, Interprofessional learning on Labor and Delivery is associated with improved team climate and increased clinical involvement of students.

Louisville Chapter-Women in Medicine and Science: Smita Ghare, Assessment of sex-based differences in gut-immune interactions in viral-controlled HIV patients.

Excellence in Health Disparities Research Award: Yusuf Mehran, Survival Impact of Prolonged Postoperative Radiation Therapy for Patients with Glioblastoma treated with Combined-Modality Therapy.

NCI Cancer Education Program Norbert J. Burzynski Award Professional Student Category: Evan Delfino, Radioembolization with Yttrium-90 in Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma and a Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt. Mentor: Melissa Potts/

NCI Cancer Education Program Norbert J. Burzynski Award Undergraduate Student Category: Keegan Curry, The development of hybrid lipid-polymer nanoparticle architectures for the sustained-release of small hydrophilic molecules. Mentor: Jill Steinbach-Rankins.

That's a wrap: 23rd annual symposium 

For its 23rd year, R!L’s week-long series of events featured three nursing research symposiums which covered a wide range of topics for nursing research professionals within our local, state and regional communities. Lectures given by outstanding research scientists included the keynote address on the human microbiome in precision medicine by Dr. Joseph Petrosino, interim chair and professor of Microbiology and Molecular Virology, Baylor College of Medicine; the human oral microbiome and its systemic effects by Dr. Irene Yang, assistant research professor, Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing; global health issues and international emergency responses by Dr. Stefanie Bumpus, public health analyst from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and macroaggressions and their impact on the academic environment for health professional students and researchers of color by Dr. Darin A. Latimore, Deputy Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, Yale School of Medicine. Follow the links in this paragraph to view video-recordings of these lectures.

R!L’s schedule also included the UofL Cooperative Corsortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research, the Envirome Institute, recently named The Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky, and the UofL Research Integrity Office’s seminar and global health issues lecture. The University of Louisville and Kentucky One Health/Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation sponsored an in-depth program at the Kentucky Science Center geared toward 7th-12th grade students which offered an introduction to alternative science career opportunities for students interested in biomedical research. The sponsorship of the program involved collaboration with the Greater Louisville Medical Society and Louisville Women in Medicine and Science (L-WIMS), and the UofL School of Medicine’s faculty, staff and students. R!L is sponsored by the University of Louisville, Norton Healthcare, and Kentucky One Health/Jewish Hospital and St. Mary’s Foundation.

R!L received over 400 abstracts and showcased research by master’s, doctoral basic science and engineering students, bioengineering coop students, dental and medical students, postdoctoral scholars, research associates, research staff, medical residents, fellows, public health students, nursing graduates, NCI R25 undergraduates, UofL faculty and PharmDs. R!L co-chairs, Drs. Jon Klein and J. Christopher States acknowledge all volunteer judges for their time and expertise which contributed greatly to the success of R!L 2018.  For R!L winners and video-recording of the ceremony go to www.researchlouisville.org. (Note a revised list of winners has been posted.)

Christopher States, PhD, co-chair of R!L and associate dean for research, conducted the closing program and introduced sponsor representatives Robert Keynton, PhD, interim vice president for research and innovation (UofL); Rhonda Hoffman, CCRP, systems director of research administration (Norton Healthcare); and Ms. Kathy Golightly Sanders, director of major and planned gifts (Kentucky One Health/Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation). Drs. David Hein and LaCreis Kidd presented certificates to the NCI R25 undergraduate award recipients and Dr. Robert Keynton presented to all other R!L winners. Photos of the keynote address and awards ceremony were taken by Ron Harrison (UofL) and video recordings were provided by the UofL ATO support team.