A惟A SLU Student Research Forum
Started in 1966, each year the Alpha Omega Alpha Saint Louis University Student Research Forum provides SLU medical students who have performed research with the opportunity to present their findings. Participants will present a poster on their research to faculty and fellow medical students.
The poster presentations will then be judged and winners selected. Two weeks later, five to six finalists will give short (15-minute) talks before fellow students and faculty. Prize money is awarded for the best presentations. The first prize winner is sent to the National Student Research Forum in Galveston, Texas, to compete nationally for additional honors. Finally, participants will also be eligible for the Distinction in Research Award presented at commencement.
Student abstract submissions are typically due at the end of November, with the poster session in mid-January and the final platform presentations at the end of January.
Drs. Theodore K. Malmstrom (Director of Medical Student Research) and Lauren Schwarz (Assistant Dean of Student Affairs) are co-organizers of the program.
SLU Project Earns National Student Research Forum Award
Luke Vest was awarded first place for 鈥淩NA sequencing in a mouse model of gastric adenocarcinoma to understand the role of cytokines in metaplastic transformation鈥� [SLU Faculty Advisor: Richard J. DiPaolo, Ph.D.] at the 2021 SLU A惟A Medical Student Research Forum (February 1, 2021, via Zoom). The winning project was submitted to the National Student Research Forum and selected for an oral presentation (May 14, 2021, via Zoom). We are delighted to announce that Luke Vest received the 2021 National Student Research Forum award 鈥淓xcellence in Infectious Disease & Immunology Research, Oral Presentation鈥� for this research. Congratulations, Luke!
SLU A惟A Medical Student Research Forum Awardees
1st Place: Luke Vest (鈥淩NA sequencing in a mouse model of gastric adenocarcinoma to
understand the role of cytokines in metaplastic transformation鈥�)
2nd Place: Anika Mazumder (鈥淎ssessment of the burden of constipation in patients with
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and possible relationship to dysautonomia鈥�)
3rd Place: Johnny Mollman (鈥淚L-4R伪 promotes autoantibody production in chronic gastritis鈥�)
Honorable Mention: Vruta Kansara, Erika M. Schmidt
1st Place: Rebecca Audette (鈥淚nvestigation into the Mechanism of Th17-Mediated Mucosal
Immunity Against Trypanosoma cruzi鈥�)
2nd Place: Paul Hahn (鈥淐TLA-4 Protects Against Inflammation Induced Gastric Cancer
Via Suppression of IL4/IL13鈥�)
3rd Place (Tie): Loren Roustio (鈥淐omparison of Adolescent and Caregiver Perception
of Social Skills in the Neurodevelopmental Clinic鈥�)
3rd Place (Tie): Luke Vest (鈥淢icroCT Vascular Network Analysis Program: Validation
and Comparison to Manufacturer Software鈥�)
Honorable Mention: Daphne Cheng, Shannon Kurian
1st Place: Anna Sescleifer (鈥淗earing Hypernasality: Online Crowdsourcing of Cleft Speech鈥�)
2nd Place: Samuel Yu (鈥淚L-28A induces gastric epithelial atrophy through apoptosis mediated pathways鈥�)
3rd Place: Daniel Cancilla (鈥淓xploring Novel Drug Combinations for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant鈥�)
Honorable Mention: Matthew Gaubatz, Umar Sheikh, Yuqian Tian
1st Place: Alysia Johnson (鈥淧erspectives on Reproductive Health Decision-Making Among Formerly Incarcerated Women: A Qualitative Study鈥�)
2nd Place (tie): Samiksha Tarun (鈥淧re-Clinical Evaluation of Potency and Efficacy of Anti-CD33 and Anti-CD123 Chimeric Antigen Receptor Expressing T Cells for Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia鈥濃��) and Emily Cybulla (鈥淢echanisms of Replication Fork Rescue in BRCA1-Deficient Cancer Cells鈥�). Ms. Cybulla was also a finalist last year.
Honorable Mention: Caressa Hui, Amisha Patel and Nicole McLaughlin
1st Place: Kevin Bockerstett (鈥淚nterleukin-17A Acts Directly on Gastric Epithelium and Promotes Atrophy and Metaplasia鈥� under the guidance of Rich DiPaolo Ph.D.)
2nd Place: Ariel Axelbaum (鈥淎 Mechanism by which Menopause Promotes Low-Grade Chronic Inflammation鈥�, under the guidance of Rajeev Aurora, Ph.D.)
3rd Place: Emily Cybulla (鈥淚nflammatory Response in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome:
Implications for Normal Aging Progression鈥�, under the guidance of Susana Gonzalo Ph.D.)
Honorable Mention: Wint Yan Aung, Natalie Gaio and Taryn White.
1st Place: Rebecca Rohde ("Assessing university students鈥� sexual risk behavior and knowledge of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV vaccine")
2nd Place (tie): Amanda Waltos ("Evaluation of text messaging as an educational method to improve healthcare utilization") and Shiragi Patel ("Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA: Gene Expression Analysis of Extracellular Matrix in Mice")
Honorable Mention: Jahnavi Trivedi ("TcREG regulate osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast resorption activity through IFN? induced by T-bet and Eomesodermin") and Rusdeep Mundae ("Peripapillary Choroidal Thinning in Healthy and Glaucoma" Perry Xu "Investigating a thickened pituitary stalk in children: A retrospective review and prospective treatment paradigm")