Few other events bring together USF’s emerging scientists better than the annual USF Health Research Day. The day-long event showcases the best and the brightest researchers across all USF Health colleges, as well as guest researchers whose work focus on the science of health. It also allows many of them to spotlight existing collaborations, as well as form new ones, said Phillip Marty, PhD, vice president for USF Health Research.

“These kinds of opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborations are the essence of what academic medicine is all about,” Dr. Marty said. “The best science comes from academic medical and academic health centers.”

This year’s event, the 23rd Annual USF Health Research Day, kept the promise for top research projects and a steady crowd of interested faculty, staff and students reinforced the fact that research is at the heart of USF Health.

A record 340 presenters participated in this year’s USF Health Research Day, an event that showcases the work of graduate and postgraduate students and residents, and even faculty and staff, from throughout USF Health, as well as across campus.

In addition to those from USF, 14 of the poster presenters were students from charter high and middle schools in The Villages, showcasing their own award-winning posters. This is the second year the young students’ posters were judged by USF post doc students. The mentoring effort formed out of a partnership between USF Health and the Villages. The young scientists seem to hold their own when various visitors inquired about their work and the charter students seemed to enjoy interacting with USF faculty, even having a group shot with USF Health CEO Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, dean for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

The event began bright and early, starting off with the 4th Annual Annual Joseph Krzanowski, PhD, USF Health Invited Oral Presentations Session, when only a select few researchers present their work. The 10 invited to present their work orally this year were: Juanjuan Yin, Ingrid Ramirez, Ravi Kasiappan, Lee Stratton, Tigran Kesayan, JungA Alexa Woo, Nadine Nelson, Shabnam Mehra, Evelyn Anegbe, Andrea Bingham and Jessica Gordon.

Immediately following the oral presentations, the full poster presentation session began. Judges made their rounds to each presentation, asking the lead researchers to further explain their methods, results and conclusions before deciding on the award-worthy entrants. Many of the budding researchers use the day-long event as a prime opportunity for collaboration and as a “practice run” for future national research meetings.

Culminating the day was the Roy H. Behnke Distinguished Lectureship, featuring Howard McLeod, PharmD, professor of pharmacogenomics and director of the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His talk was titled “Using the Genome to Guide Therapy.” (See related story)

As the day wound down, winners were announced at the Awards Ceremony: Best MCOM Graduate Student Poster Presentations: – Allergy and Immunology: Chris Laird – Allergy and Immunology: Amorce Lima – Cancer Biology: Nadine Nelson – Cardiovascular: Justin Hooper – Clinical Science and Outcomes Research: Ty Bowman – Molecular and Cell Biology: Shannon Kesl

Best MCOM Medical Student Presentations:

– Med II Student Poster Presentation, Allergy and Immunology: Daniel Olson

– Med II Student Poster Presentation: Cancer Biology: Shonali Midha

– Med II Student Poster Presentation, Chart Reviews and Case Studies: John Pham

– Med II Student Poster Presentation, Clinical Sciences: Yin Zheng

– Med II Student Poster Presentation, Education: Candace Haddock

– Med II Student Poster Presentation: Stephen Aradi – Med III Student Poster Presentation, Chart Reviews and Case Studies: Gregory Horn

Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentations:

Clinical: Annie Castillo

Molecular and Cell Biology: Peter Moran

Neuroscience I: Beatrice Attilus

Neuroscience II: Awa Sanneh

Best College of Nursing Poster Presentation

–  Graduate Student Julie Daugherty

Best College of Pharmacy Poster Presentations:

– Graduate Student: Athar Naif

– Postdoctoral: Chapalamadugu Kalyan

Best College of Public Health Poster Presentations:

– Graduate Student: Margeaux Chavez

– Graduate Student: Korede Adegoke

– Graduate Student: Pamela Guevara

– Graduate Student: Jennifer Sedillo

– Graduate Student: Blake Barrett

– Graduate Student: Christopher Campbell

– Graduate Student: MahmoodaKhaliq Pasha

Best TVCS High School Student Poster Presentation: Kathryn Fairchild

Best TVCS Middle School Student Poster Presentation: Kunal Upadya

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USF Health Vice President’s Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Andrea Bingham

MCOM Outstanding Postdoctoral Poster Presentation: Ravi Pathak

MCOM Outstanding Postdoctoral Poster Presentation: Jessica Chang

MCOM Best Resident Poster Presentation: Jiangchuan Tao

MCOM Best Resident Poster Presentation: Midhir Patel

Watson Clinic Award to a Fourth-Year Medical Student: Chad Engel

Dr. Christopher P. Phelps Memorial Fund Annual Morsani COM Graduate Student Travel Award: Laura Blair

Pediatric Administrators Awards for Best Presentation on Children’s Health: Sarah Maness

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Video by Allyn DiVito, USF Health Information Services

Social Media by Elizabeth Peacock, USF Health Communications

Story by Sarah A. Worth, USF Health Communications

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications

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