TRS is always an amazing highlight of the hard work and talent among our trainees in basic science and clinical research. For this year’s poster presentation, abstracts were submitted by undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, residents, and associate fellows. Each poster was judged on scientific merit, presentation and communications skills, and evidence that the trainee understood the significance of their work and played the major role in obtaining the data upon which the poster was based.
The TRS Keynote Speaker was Laurence Boitet, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Education in the Heersink School of Medicine and UAB Medicine's Director of Biomedical Trainee Wellness, who presented, "Burn Bright, Not Out: A Call to Action on Biomedical Trainee Burnout." The panelists were KeAndrea Titer, Ph.D., Associate Professor in division of General Internal Medicine, Megan Hays, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation in the Heersink School of Medicine and Clinical Psychologist, and John Kennedy, Jr., M.D., Professor Emeritus and DOM Senior Advisor and Director of Wellness.
A special thank you to the DOM Research Excellence Advancement and Mentoring Council and DOM faculty who served as judges. We appreciate everyone for their continued support of research in our Department!
Congratulations to the 2024 DOM TRS Winners!
Dyan Alvarez, MD
J. Claude Bennett Award for Excellence in Research by an Associate Fellow (tie)
Division: Gerontology, Geriatrics & Palliative Care
Mentor: Sylvia Huang, PhD
Poster title: Effects of a Multimodal Self-Care Curriculum on Mitigating Burnout and Enhancing Self-Compassion in a Hospice and Palliative Fellowship Program
Naman Shetty, MD
J. Claude Bennett Award for Excellence in Research by an Associate Fellow (tie)
Division: Cardiovascular Disease
Mentor: Pankaj Arora, MD
Poster title: Association of Predicted Deleterious Genetic Variants for Inherited Cardiomyopathies with Clinical Outcomes in a Multi-Ancestry US Population
Haifa Alsharif
Samuel B. Barker Award for Excellence in Research by a Graduate Student (tie)
Division: Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism
Mentor: Sushant Bhatnagar, PhD
Poster title: Exploring the Metabolic Impact of Brain Angiogenesis Inhibitor 3 (BAI3) on Energy and Glucose Homeostasis
Gretchen Bollar
Samuel B. Barker Award for Excellence in Research by a Graduate Student (tie)
Division: Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Medicine
Mentor: Susan Birket, PhD, PharmD
Poster title: Chronic Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa co-infection causes lung structural damage in the adult cystic fibrosis rat
Keri Kemp, PhD
Joseph Reeves Award for Excellence in Research by a Postdoctoral Scholar
Division: Nephrology
Mentor: Sylvie Mrug, PhD
Poster title: Genetic Disruption of the Cardiomyocyte Circadian Clock Impacts Diurnal Variations in Cardiac miRNA Species
Kate McCarty, MD
Thomas N. James Award for Excellence in Research by a Resident
Division: Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology
Mentor: Maria Danila, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.
Poster title: Analysis of Social Determinants of Health Documentation and Prevalence among Patients with RMD in the UAB Health System
Feroze Ganaie, PhD
Jeanne M. Marrazzo Award for Excellence in Research by a Staff Scientist
Division: Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Medicine
Mentor: Moon Nahm, MD
Poster title: Discovery of a novel pneumococcal capsule type 33E that has emerged from vaccine type 33F via a single gene inactivation and may evade 33F-induced immunity
Brianna Monroe
Suzanne Oparil Award for Excellence in Research by an Undergraduate Student
Division: Nephrology
Mentor: David Pollock, PhD
Poster title: Bmal1 contributes to mean blood pressure rhythms in rats on a low salt diet
2024 TRS Poster Semi-Finalists
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J. Claude Bennett Award for Excellence in Research by an Associate Fellow
Semi-Finalist: Drew Robinson, MD
Division: Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Medicine
Mentor: Joseph Barney, MD
Poster title: A Retrospective Review of Which Agents Controlled Hypercalcemia in a Sarcoidosis Population at a Quaternary Referral Center
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Samuel B. Barker Award for Excellence in Research by a Graduate Student
Semi-Finalist: Kathryn Sullivan, PhD
Division: Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology
Mentor: Hui-Chen Hsu, PhD
Poster title: Sex differences in B-cell mitochondrial complex I activity may contribute to increased toll-like receptor 7 signaling in females in lupus
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Joseph Reeves Award for Excellence in Research by a Postdoctoral Scholar (tie)
Semi-Finalist: Ayah Eltoum, MD
Division: Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology
Mentor: James Andrews, MD
Poster title: Exploring the Associations between Self-Reported Sleep Disturbance and Cognitive Impairment among Survivors of COVID-19 Hospitalization
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Joseph Reeves Award for Excellence in Research by a Postdoctoral Scholar (tie)
Semi-Finalist: Abdul Fajol, PhD
Division: Nephrology
Mentor: Christian Faul, Ph.D.
Poster title: Systemic phosphate elevations are associated with an accumulation of phosphate in the lung and alveolar calcification
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Joseph Reeves Award for Excellence in Research by a Postdoctoral Scholar (tie)
Semi-Finalist: Megan Rhoades, PhD
Division: Nephrology
Mentor: David Pollock, PhD
Poster title: Chronic circadian stress raises mean arterial pressure in male, but not female, Bmal1-knockout rats
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Thomas N. James Award for Excellence in Research by a Resident
Semi-Finalist: Giovanna Rosas Chavez, M.D.
Division: Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology
Mentor: Maria Danilla, MD, MPH
Poster title: Use of thermography for expedited rheumatology referral in a primary care setting
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Jeanne M. Marrazzo Award for Excellence in Research by a Staff Scientist
Semi-Finalist: Sami Banerje, PhD
Division: Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Medicine
Mentor: Gang Lui, MD, PhD
Poster title: MafB regulates NLRP3 inflammasome activation by sustaining p62 expression in macrophages
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Suzanne Oparil Award for Excellence in Research by an Undergraduate Student
Semi-Finalist: Katherine Perez
Division: Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism
Mentor: Sushant Bhatnagar, PhD
Poster title: C1ql3/BAI3 Signaling Negatively Regulates Insulin Secretion