This year’s USF Health Research Day set new records as more participants than ever filled the USF Tampa campus Marshall Student Center on March 3 to showcase the best of their scientific work.

The 33^rd USF Health Research Day included 457 research poster presentations by students, postdocs, residents, faculty, and staff across all health disciplines. Research Day is the largest research-oriented event of its kind at USF and remains the largest celebration of health sciences research collaboration across all four USF Health colleges (medicine, nursing, public health and pharmacy) as well as with colleagues in other USF colleges, including social work and engineering.

From left, Dr. Charles Lockwood, Dr. Kim Orth, Rhea Law, and Dr. Steve Liggett.

Research Day kicked off with the Annual Roy H. Behnke, MD, Distinguished Lectureship featuring speaker Kim Orth, PhD, professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Orth’s presentation was titled “Black Spot, Black Death, Black Pearl: Tales of Bacterial Effectors” – click here for more about Dr. Orth and her work.

Dr. Kim Orth.

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Tampa General Hospital, the primary teaching hospital for USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, was the presenting sponsor for USF Health Research Day 2023.

Following Dr. Orth’s presentation was the judging of work. Judges reviewed the posters that lined the Marshall Center Ballroom, asking the students for more detail and clarifications about their research projects. Presentations ranged from pilot, preliminary, empirical and case studies to system reviews and reviews of literature or charts.

Following the 13^th Annual Joseph Krzanowski Invited Oral Presenters by select students representing medicine, nursing, public health, and pharmacy, Research Day culminated with an Awards Ceremony in the Oval Theatre announcing the winners in 29 competitive categories – including 18 monetary awards totaling $8,600.

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For the list of Research Day 2023 award winners, click here.

For the list of Research Day judges and sponsors, click here.

More photos

Photos by Freddie Coleman, video by Allison Long, USF Health Communications

The familiar sea of colorful research posters decorated the USF Tampa campus Marshall Student Center ballroom on the morning of Feb. 21. USF Health Research Day 2020 marked 30 years of showcasing the best interdisciplinary scholarly research from students, faculty and staff across all health disciplines.

USF Health Research Day 2020 marked 30 years of showcasing the best interdisciplinary scholarly research from across all health disciplines.

More than 340 poster presentations out of over 400 submissions were on display representing the profound span of research conducted within the colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Public Health and Pharmacy, as well as health-related collaborations with other USF colleges and several hospital affiliates. Research Day is the largest interdisciplinary research event at the University of South Florida, and both spotlights existing collaborations and encourages the formation of new ones.

Presentations ranged from pilot, preliminary, empirical and case studies to systemic reviews and reviews of literature or charts.

Yingwei Yang, doctoral student at the College of Public Health and one of the 12 Joseph Krzanowski Invited Oral Presenters, explains her poster presentation on the co-occurring impact of individual and community risk factors on youth’s perceived safety.

Stephen Liggett, MD, associate vice president for research at USF Health, welcomes attendees to Research Day 2020.

Stephen Liggett, MD, associate vice president for research at USF Health, described the poster presentation room as a “beehive” of activity and said, “the energy that you feel during Research Day is contagious. The enthusiasm that researchers have for their own work creates a special environment.”

The Roy H. Behnke keynote speaker was Allan Levey, MD, PhD, Betty Gage Holland Professor and Chair, Department of Neurology, Emory University, and Director, Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Dr. Levey presented, “Racing to a Cure for Alzheimer’s Disease.” Dr. Levey was excited to participate in USF Health’s Research Day, saying that Emory University does not currently have an event like it.

Deanna Chan discusses her poster presentation with keynote speaker, Allan Levey, MD, PhD.

The Roy H. Behnke keynote speaker was Allan Levey, MD, PhD, who presented on his Alzheimer’s disease research.

Dr. Levey is a neurologist and neuroscientist internationally recognized for his work in neurodegenerative disease. He has more than 270 research publications. His work has contributed to understanding the brain systems and mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and in identifying molecular targets for new therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Levey thinks about his passion for Alzheimer’s research at every graduation he attends. “If we don’t do something quickly, 1 out of every 2 of those graduates is going to develop Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Levey said.

The goal in the USA National Plan is to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. Dr. Levey urges interdisciplinary collaboration because he believes that what’s needed for Alzheimer’s research is “people from other fields to join and bring fresh ideas.”

Jasmine Carter and Miranda E. Essa, research assistants in the College of Nursing, set up their poster presentation on the adaption of a web-based intervention system specifically for firefighters and first responders.

Jasmine Carter and Miranda E. Essa, research assistants in the College of Nursing and recent USF graduates of psychology, were part of a team of seven whose research focused on tailored messages aimed towards firefighters for the web-based Tailored Intervention Messaging System (TIMS©). TIMS© is an existing intervention designed to increase cancer screening behavior, and the goal of Jasmine and Miranda’s study was to gather information specifically on firefighters to inform the adaption of this web-based intervention system. The chances of getting colorectal cancer, one of the most preventable of all cancers, is very high in a firefighter and first responder’s environment.

“Firefighters risk their lives for others, but it’s also important that they take care of themselves and get screened for colorectal cancer,” Carter said.

This presentation of research was a culmination of eight months of qualitative work into the risks and barriers for why firefighters and first responders often don’t receive annual colorectal screenings. Essa joined Carter at USF Health Research Day 2020 and was excited to see their research come together in a display.

“We are so excited and hyped to show off all this hard work we’ve been doing for the past eight months and to be able to explain it to people,” Essa said. “This is one of the few cancers you can genuinely prevent, so I think it’s really important information to get out there to everyone.”

Charles Lockwood, MD, MHCM, dean of the Morsani College of Medicine and senior vice president of USF Health, learns about Salma S. Abdelmaboud’s team’s research on sigma-1 receptors.

Salma S. Abdelmaboud, a research assistant in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, presented research on the protective effects of the sigma-1 receptor on lymphatic endothelial cells. The study aimed to test the role of sigma-1 in lymphatic endothelial barrier function and explore its influence in lymphatic endothelial bioenergetics. Collectively, the results suggest that sigma-1 might serve as a potential future therapeutic target for the lymphatic system.

“This was my first time presenting my poster,” Abdelmaboud said. “Dr. Lockwood was the first person I presented my poster to, and I’m so happy that the dean liked what I did.” Abdelmaboud is applying for her PhD and is excited about her interview next week.

Byron Cheon, second-year medical student and one of the 12 Joseph Krzanowski Invited Oral Presenters, explains his poster presentation, “Open Data: Novel Uses and Old Ethical Concerns New Again.”

Tampa General Hospital, the primary teaching hospital for USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, ResearchOne and the USF Federal Credit Union, were the sponsors for USF Health Research Day 2020.

After attendees and the 124 volunteer judges had the chance to buzz around all the poster presentations and interact with the participants, the 11th Annual Joseph Krzanowski Invited Oral Presenters took their research to the Oval Theatre stage. Out of the 12 presenters, Kristi Miley, doctoral student, College of Public Health, won the Outstanding Oral Presentation Award for her presentation titled “Evaluation of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV) Winter Activity in Florida.”

Kristi Miley (center), doctoral student, College of Public Health, won the Joseph Krzanowski, PhD Invited Oral Presentations Award. The USF Health Research Day TGH Presenting Sponsor Awards were presented by Sally H. Houston, MD (right), executive vice president and chief medical officer, and Matthew L. Anderson, MD, PhD (left), director of gynecologic oncology research.

The day-long celebration of research concluded with a ceremony announcing top award and certificate winners:

• The Best Poster in the Field of:
  • Cardiovascular Biology
    • Julia Fedorova
  • Immunology and Microbiology
    • Ojas Natarajan
  • Molecular and Cellular Biology
    • Dante Deascanis
  • Neuroscience
    • Yan Yan
  • Other Clinical Research
    • Andrew Sephien
  • Nursing
    • Dorothie Durosier Mertilus
  • Other Basic Research
    • Olivia Hardy

•  Medical Student Research:
  • Year 1, 2 (Basic Science)
    • Vineet Nadkarni
  • Year 1, 2 (Clinical / Translational Science)
    • John Cheng
  • Year 3, 4
    • Alexander Shahin
  • Case Study / Review Award
    • Zachary Makovich

• Student Basic Sciences:
  • Doctoral Student Research
    • Helena Hernandez-Cuervo
  • COPH Doctoral Student Research
    • Nisha Vijayakumar
  • Masters Student Research
    • Mitchell Farmer
  • COPH Masters Student Research
    • Jan Dahrendorff
  • Undergraduate Student Research
    • Alexander Llauget

• Student Clinical / Translational Sciences:
  • Doctoral Student Research
    • Alexandra Cochrane
  • COPH Doctoral Student Research
    • Kenneth Taylor
  • Masters Student Research
    • Amrita Unnikumaran
  • COPH Masters Student Research
    • Emma Hume
  • Undergraduate Student Research
    • Aizara Ermekbaeva

• Post-Doctoral Scholar Research Award
  • Jea-Young Lee

• The Community Research Award (COPH):
  • Doctoral Student Research
    • Marshara Fross
  • Masters Student Research
    • Davies Toluhi

• The USF Health Dean’s Interdisciplinary Research Award
  • Caitlin Wolfe

• The Outstanding Innovations in Medicine Award
  • Zeinab Motawe

• The Outstanding 4th Year Medical Student Poster Award (Presented by Watson Clinic)
  • Yumna Ahmad

• The Dr. Christopher P. Phelps Memorial Fund Annual Morsani College of Medicine Neuroscience Student Travel Award
  • Sara Cazzaro

• The USF Federal Credit Union Best Poster in the Field of Cancer Biology Award
  • Roukiah Khalil

• The Tampa General Hospital Travel Award for Clinical Fellows
  • David Gajzer

• The Tampa General Hospital Outstanding Medical Resident Research Award
  • Evelena Cousin-Peterson

• The Joseph Krzanowski, PhD Invited Oral Presentations Award
  • Kristi Miley

USF bulls pride from the Research Day 2020 award winners.

More highlights from Research Day 2020

-Photos by Freddie Coleman and video by Allison Long, USF Health Communications and Research

In what was likely the largest USF Health Research Day on record, nearly 360 presenters filled the Ballroom at the Marshall Student Center with their poster presentations, offering a wonderful overview of the range and quality of research taking place at USF Health.

A record crowd of presenters for USF Health Research Day.

This year’s event, held Feb. 24, featured the work of students, residents, fellows and post-doctoral researchers from across USF Health.

Now in its 27^th year, USF Health Research Day has grown in participation and increased the size of the venue, making this year’s event an especially bittersweet moment for Phillip Marty, PhD, associate vice president, USF Health, who has been with USF since 1990 and led the coordination of USF Health Research Day for 15 years — he will be retiring later this year.

“I’m going to miss this, it’s always been fun to be a part of this,” Dr. Marty said. “I’d like to think Research Day has contributed a little bit to the growth of the research programs here, going from a university that was down the ranks a bit to a major research organization in the country.”

Dr. Phillip Marty

USF Health Research Day is a day-long event showcasing science within and across disciplines from across all USF Health colleges, schools and programs, as well as guest researchers from USF programs studying the science of health.

Setting up poster presentations.

This year the morning started with the keynote speaker: the Roy H. Behnke Distinguished Lectureship featured Jack A. Gilbert, PhD, professor of surgery in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago and Group Leader for Microbial Ecology at the Argonne National Laboratory. His lecture was titled “Invisible Influence: The Microbiome and Human Health.”

Dr. Gilbert works with experts in environmental sciences, chemical engineering, marine ecosystems, health and medicine, and other disciplines to try to understand how the complex population of bacteria and other microorganisms we share with the rest of the world, collectively known as the microbiome, shapes our environments and our health. Among the researchers his University of Chicago team collaborates with is USF Health nurse scientist Maureen Groer, PhD, who is studying pre-term babies and their microbiome, neurodevelopment and school readiness.

Keynote speaker Jack Gilbert, PhD, spoke about a hot topic — the microbiome and human health.

Science is still in the early stages of this revolutionary research, including working to unravel exactly how the immune system responds to microbial governance, and finding the proper balance between “good” and “bad” bacteria.  But, studies in mice have already shown that altering gut bacteria can change behavior, Dr. Gilbert said, and imbalances in gut bacteria have been found in many diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, , diabetes and obesity. Nearly 400 clinical trials now involve the human microbiome in some component, including studies of how microbes respond to drugs, lifestyle and other factors, he added.

“What are the good bacteria?  How much or how little is needed to have protective effect? How do we get them in the body and activate them to have a defined impact,” Dr. Gilbert said are just some of many questions to be answered. “There is good evidence that some probiotics work, but we don’t know why.”

The topic was chosen because the microbiome has such potential in interest and activities, Dr. Marty said.

“We thought this topic would appeal to just about any researcher,” he said. “If anyone is looking for a research career or a topic for research, that’s a hot area right now, and such an important area for the future, especially in regards to precision medicine as we look at how we can treat disease. We really have to find out what’s going on at that (microbial) level.”

Katherine Stanford, a PhD student in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, explains her work to Dr. Stephen Liggett, associate vice president for research at USF Health.

Attendees hustled from the lecture in the Marshall Center Oval Theatre into the Ballroom to begin reviewing the hundreds of posters tacked onto rows and rows of bulletin boards, including interdisciplinary projects marked with yellow ribbons.  Judges also made the rounds, evaluating each presentation and asking lead researchers questions about their work or to further explain their methods, results and conclusions. As always, for those who are new researchers, USF Health Research Day is a key event in acting as a practice run for future national research meetings.

Following lunch, the crowd returned to the Oval Theatre to hear from the select few who were invited to present their work orally. This year 11 students presented their work at the 8th Annual Joseph Krzanowski, PhD, USF Health Invited Oral Presentations Session. They were: Aurelie Joly-Amado, PhD; April L Darling; Samia VO Dutra; Mark Howell; Shannon Kelly; Fahad Mukhtar; Danny T Nguyen; Emily Palumbo; Prit K Patel, BS; Ellen J Schafer, PhD, MPH, MCHES; Sarah L Todd, MD; and Lan Xu.

At the conclusion of the talk, the much-anticipated awards were presented. Winners for the USF Health Research Day 2017 were:

Best MCOM Graduate Student Poster Presentations:
Doctoral Student Poster Presentation: Allergy and Immunology: Viviana Sampayo-Escobar
Doctoral Student Poster Presentation: Cancer Biology: Emily Palumbo
Doctoral Student Poster Presentation: Cardiovascular and Clinical Science Research: Jin Wei (Basic Science) and Roberto Aponte (Clinical Science)
Masters Student Poster Presentation: Allergy, Immunology and Infectious Disease: Geeta Iyer
Doctoral Student Poster Presentation: Molecular and Cellular Biology: Shpetim Karandrea

Best MCOM Medical Student Presentations:
Med I Student Poster Presentation: Elliot Neal
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Interdisciplinary Research: Nima Hosseinian
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Clinical Science Research: Danny Nguyen
Med II Student Poster Presentations: Education Research: Dana Ciullo
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Global Health Research:  Nupur Godbole
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Public Health Research: Nicole Le
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Case Studies and Chart Reviews: Annie Hendryx
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Gilbert Murimwa
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Sean Sileno
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Kyle Kilinski
Med II Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Yeshuwa Mayers
Med III Student Poster Presentation, Interdisciplinary Case Studies: Manjari Pedapudi
Med III Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: LesleAnn Hayward
Med III Student Poster Presentation, Empirical Studies: Jourdan Cooney
Med IV Student Poster Presentation Case Studies: Mayssan Muftah
Med IV Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Samuel B. Reynolds
Med IV Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Jewel Brown

Best MCOM Medical Resident Poster Presentations:
MCOM Resident Poster Presentations: Case Studies: Emily McClung
MCOM Resident Poster Presentation: Case Studies: Norberto Mancera
MCOM Residents Presentation: Case Studies: Bhumika Patel
MCOM Fellow Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Matthew Perez

Best College of Nursing Poster Presentation:
CON Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Samia Dutra

Best College of Pharmacy Poster Presentations:
Postdoctoral Poster Presentation: Zainuddin Quadri
Postdoctoral Poster Presentation: Malathi Narayan

Best College of Public Health Poster Presentations:
Graduate Student: Yingwei Yang
Graduate Student: Caitlin Wolfe
Graduate Student: Korede Adegoke
Graduate Student: Stacey Griner
Graduate Student: Kyle Watterson
Graduate Student: Omotola O Balogun
Graduate Student: Abimbola Michael-Asalu

Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentations:
Allergy, Immunology and Infectious Diseases: Sanjay Mahendrasah
Neurosciences: Anisha Kesarwani
Neurosciences: Amirthaa Suntharalingam
Clinical Sciences: Alejandra Mallorga
Interdisciplinary Research: Achintya A. Patel
College of Pharmacy: Interdisciplinary and Public Health Research: Phillip Pham

Top Awards
USF Health Vice President’s Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Mark Howell
MCOM Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar Poster Presentation: Lisa Kirouac
MCOM Outstanding Fellow Trainee Poster Presentation: Chinedu Nwabuobi
MCOM Outstanding Resident Trainee Poster Presentation: Harrison Cobb
Outstanding Global Pediatric Behavioral Health Poster Presentation: Yingwei Yang
Outstanding Innovations in Medicine Poster Presentation: Muhammad Jaffer
Watson Clinic Award to a Fourth-Year Medical Student: Ali Antar
Dr. Christopher P. Phelps Memorial Fund Annual MCOM Neuroscience Graduate Student Travel Award: Jeremy Baker

Winner Mark Howell with Dr. Phillip Marty.

Keynote speaker Dr. Jack Gilbert.

Story by Sarah A. Worth, USF Health Communications
Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications
Video by Vjollca Hysenlika, USF Health Communications
Social media by Emily Wingate, USF Health Communications

For 25 years, the USF Health Research Day has provided emerging scientists with a venue for presenting their research to peers and judges and showcasing to the broader USF community the new and innovative work taking place in the colleges, schools and programs at USF Health.

The student-centric event that emphasizes the importance of research inquiry and the nuances of scientific discovery has experienced phenomenal growth since starting 25 years ago, when a few dozen presenters displayed their work along the breezeways of the Health Sciences Center.

Posters were displayed along the HSC breezeways and sometimes meant chilly and windy weather.

Along with the growth is an increase in the level of work being presented, said Phillip J. Marty, PhD, vice president for USF Health Research.

“With every year, we see higher caliber research,” Dr. Marty said. “The bar continues to rise and our students, residents and fellows raise their level work along with it.”

Plan to attend this year’s 25^th USF Health Research Day, which is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 20, at the USF Marshall Student Center.

Start your morning at 8 a.m. in the Oval Theatre at the Marshall Center to hear oral presentations by the select few chosen to present their work. Then make your way to the Ballroom to see the more than 330 poster presentations from students, trainees, faculty and staff across all four USF Health colleges, as well as USF collaborators whose research focuses on the science of health.

Then head back to the Oval Theatre at 1 p.m. to hear the Roy H. Benke Distinguished Lecturer David Swerdlow, MD, present the keynote address titled “What are the critical epidemiologic questions that need to be answered at the start of an epidemic:  What we learned from Influenza A (H1N1) and MERS and how that applies to the Ebola outbreak.” Dr. Swerdlow is associate director and medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

USF Health will be livestreaming the keynote address at 1 p.m. EST. So, if you’re interested and can’t make it, you can watch it LIVE from your computer here.

The awards ceremony follows Dr. Swerdlow’s talk, the culmination of outstanding research from across USF Health.

USF President Judy Genshaft attends her first USF Health Research Day in 2001.

Dr. Joseph Krzanowski (third from right), a founder of the USF Health Research Day, and then USF President Betty Castor listens as now MCOM alum Jason Cord describes his project SAJON.

There will be many more photos from previous Research Days on display at the Feb. 20 event.

Click here for more information about USF Health Research Day.