2019 Graduate Research Conference Recap
The Graduate Student Association was proud to host the 41st Annual Graduate Research Conference (GRC) on Friday, March 15, 2019, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. This event is an interdisciplinary showcase for researchers, graduate students, professional students and postdoctoral fellows to present their work and discoveries. This year, about 80 abstracts were accepted for oral and poster sessions. Abstracts were inclusive of all graduate programs, with 39 abstracts from applied sciences and 40 from basic science laboratories. Faculty judges generously volunteered their time to provide feedback to students to improve their research projects and communication skills. Dr. Marey Shriver, an alumna from the Program in Molecular Medicine, gave an inspiring keynote address describing her journey from graduate school through her current position as Director for the Research Career Development Program at UMB.
At the end of the day, Outstanding Presentation Awards and a $50 prize were given to the top presenters in each of the ten poster and oral sessions. The Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) and the Geriatrics and Gerontology Education and Research Program (GGEAR) also acknowledged top presentations for the day. We would like to announce and again congratulate these winners from the 41st Annual GRC:
Session A Oral Presentation: Marie Hanscon, "Impact of Secondary Intestinal Inflammation on Long-Term Neurological Outcomes Following Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury in Mice"
Session B Oral Presentation: Meredid Caves, "Caregiver Distress and Burden During Outpatient Allogeneic Peri-Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Period"
Session C Poster Presentation: Vanessa Hill, "The use of the Maternal Oral Screening Tool in the Antenatal Outpatient setting for Maryland Medicaid Patients"
Session D Poster Presentation: Aparna Vadlamani, "Traumatic Brain Injury Severity is Associated with Increased Risk of Stroke in Older Adults"
Session E Poster Presentation: Amy Defnet, "Function Selective ERK Inhibition and Restoration of Retinoic Acid as a Therapeutic Approach to Prevent Airway Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation in Allergic Asthma"
Session F Poster Presentation: Albert Zhou, "Semi-conserved Domains of RIFINs and STEVORs Associated with Severe Malaria Vulnerability Harbor Peptides Reflecting Malaria Exposure"
Session G Poster Presentation: Dante Johnson, "Innovation, Assembly, and Optimization of a Novel Pulse-Chase In Cell Footprinting Method for the Study of Protein Folding"
Session H Poster Presentation: Bianca Zorbach, "Evaluation of a Terminal Weaning Protocol in a Critical Care Unit"
Session I Oral Presentation: Allison Gerber, "Dendritic Cell Derived IL-12p40 Binds Extracellular Proteins to Make Heterodimeric Cytokines"
Session J Oral Presentation: Ava Zapf, "Paracrine communication links Sodium Chloride Cotransporter Activity in the Distal Convoluted Tubule to Remodeling of the Aldosterone-Sensitive Distal Nephron"
GGEAR:
Heather Mutchie, "Feasibility of Four Square Step Test in Hip Fracture Patients"
Brian Johnson, "Repetitive Acoustic Stimulation Throughout a Daytime Nap to Enhance Non-paretic Arm Skill Performance in Older Adults with Chronic Stroke"
Aparna Vadlamani, "Traumatic Brain Injury Severity is Associated with Increased Risk of Stroke in Older Adults"
OTT:
Bashayer Baras, "Developing a Novel Root Canal Sealer with Dual Antibiofilm Strategies of Dimethylaminohexadecyl Methacrylate and Nanoparticles of Silver to Inhibit Root Canal Biofilms"
Abstract Booklet Cover Competition: Erik Klontz
Thank you to our sponsors who help make this event possible, including Cell Signaling Technology, Chromotek, Edge Biosystems, Peprotech, Sarstedt, VWR Scientific, Stellar Scientific, Thermo Fisher Scientific, BD Biosciences, and Gliknik. We also thank all students, volunteers, faculty judges, and the Graduate School for making this event a success. We look forward to seeing you in 2020!
Alyssa Grogan