Symposium

Research

The 22nd Annual Medical Student Health Sciences Research Symposium was held on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023 in Stanton-Gerber. Forty-nine students gave poster presentations about the research they participated in during the Summer Research Program. Monetary awards and certificates were given to the top three presentations in the basic science research, clinical/population health one and clinical/population health two divisions.

Basic Science Division Winners

First Place

Shawn Janairo
Mentors: Dr. David Williams & Dr. Zuchao Ma
Dept. of Surgey

Second Place

Gabrielle Rueff 
Mentor: Dr. Mark Hernandez
Dept. of Medical Education

Third Place

Rupert Congmon
Mentors: Dr. Qian Xie & Dr. Phillip Musich
Dept. of Biomedical Sciences
Dr. Joseph Lee - Dept. of Surgery

Clinical/Population Health A Division Winners

First Place

Jordan Moore

Mentors: Dr. Karen Schetzina and Meredith Jordan
Dept. of Pediatrics

Second Place 

Nikko Beady, Henrik Hahamyan, Hassan Assaad, & Aarsh Patel

Mentors: Dr. Bracken Burns & Dr. Keelin Roche
Dept. of Surgery

Third Place 

Ashlyn Songer

Mentor: Dr. Jim Holt & Dr. Max Bayard
Dept. of Family Medicine

Clinical/Population Health B Division Winners

First Place

Kassidy Morton

Mentors: Dr. Jameson Hirsch
Dept. of Psychiatry &
Dr. Morgan Treaster
Dept. of Pediatrics

Second Place

Anna Wisniewski

Mentor: Dr. Jameson Hirsch
Dept. of Psychiatry
Dr. Morgan Treaster
Dept. of Pediatrics

Third Place

Gabrielle Shipstone

Mentor: Dr. Martin Olsen
Dept. of OB/GYN

Clinical/Population Health C Division Winners

First Place (Tie)

Radha Awasthi


Mentor: Dr. Martin Olsen
Dept. of OB/GYN &
John Kelley
Mentor: Dr. Anthony DeLucia
Dept. of Surgery

Second Place

Mary Brown, Ana Moreno-Allen, & Ryleigh Fleming


Mentor: Dr. Deidre Pierce
Dept. of Internal Medicine

Third Place (Tie)

Radina Porashka


Mentors: Dr. Aubrey Dueweke
Dept. of Psychology
Dr. Dawn Tuell & Dr. Matthew Tolliver
Dept. of Pediatrics &
Alex Shepherd
Mentors: Dr. Jameson Hirsch
Dept. of Psychiatry 
Dr. Morgan Treaster
Dept. of Pediatrics

  • Basic Science Projects

    Hannah Smith
    Behavioral effects of the novel drug PD2244 utilizing a transgenic 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease
    Mentor:  Dr. Russ Brown (Biomedical Sciences)

    Josh Cutright
    K-562 cell Dectin-3 and SR-A expression are not altered by treatment with sepsis associated PAMP’s
    Mentor:  Dr. Tammy Ozment (Surgery)

    Sharon McLennan
    Chronic olfactory epithelial inflammation impairs the olfactory bulb
    Mentor:  Dr. Cuihong Jia (Biomedical Sciences)

    Suzanna Camp
    Compensatory hypertrophy in nephron segments is similar between sexes
    Mentor:  Dr. Aaron Polichnowski (Biomedical Sciences)

    Jack Mullins
    Title:   Effects of perinatal buprenorphine on opioid withdrawal and brain morphology of rat offspring
    Mentor:  Dr. Brooke Schmeichel (Biomedical Sciences)

    Angela Chu
    Candida albicans beta-glucan alters Chlamydia trachomatis infection in vitro
    Mentor:  Dr. Jennifer Hall (Biomedical Sciences)

    Patrick Means
    Sex Differences in Podocyte Density in Rats
    Mentor:  Dr. Aaron Polichnowski (Biomedical Sciences)

    Walker Nowell
    Synaptic gene expression in the anterior cingulate cortex in mouse models associated with social behavior deficits
    Mentor:  Dr. Michelle Chandley (Biomedical Sciences)

    Hassan Syed
    Assessing Vagal Nerve Stimulation Therapy’s Effectiveness in Combating Cellular Responses Contributing to the Pathogenesis of Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction
    Mentor:  Dr. Eric Beaumont (Biomedical Sciences)

  • Clinical/Population Health Prospective Projects

    Parth Goenka, Thaddeus Puzdrakiewicz, & Kevin Zeng
    Antithrombotics in the Fall Patient: Appropriateness and Risk-Benefit Analysis
    Mentor:  Dr. Keelin Roche (Surgery)

    Derek Wenger
    Aromatherapy and medical care: Can odors improve human health?
    Mentor:  Dr. Diego Rodriguez-Gil (Biomedical Sciences)

    Trevor Phelps
    Battle of the Belt: Seatbelt Safety and Education in Teenagers
    Mentor:  Dr. Bracken Burns (Surgery)

    Joe Dossett & Davis Latimer
    Beliefs and Behaviors Toward Vaping in Middle School Students in the Tri-Cities Area
    Mentor:  Dr. Chester Ogborn (Pediatrics)

     Vinila Baljepally, Chase Hayman, & Ethan Ward
    Comparing Chest Tube Thoracostomy in East Tennessee Trauma Centers: Prospective Study Highlighting Differences in Urban vs Rural Locations
    Mentor:  Dr. Lou Smith (Surgery)

    Muhammad Elahi, John Meghreblian, Ansam Qaddoumi, & Sarah Williams
    Incidence and Risk Factors for ICU-Associated Delirium in the Alert Geriatric Trauma Population
    Mentor:  Dr. Lou Smith (Surgery)

    Nicole Burke & Shreya Visvanathan
    Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) Management in Pediatric Primary Care
    Mentors:  Drs. Morgan Treaster and Debra Mills (Pediatrics)

    Sara Myers
    Positive Youth Development Program, Initiation, and Baseline Survey Guangaje, Cotopaxi - Ecuador
    Mentor:  Dr. David Wood (Pediatrics)

    Seth Battad & Paul Duesing
    Process Flow Simplification Leading to Improvement of Asynchronous Tasks in the Internal Medicine Clinic
    Mentor:  Dr. Deidre Pierce (Internal Medicine)

    Gunnar Dowell & Kayla Thomas
    Simulating Normal and Pathologic Cerebrospinal Fluid Opening Pressures in Green-Embalmed Cadavers
    Mentor:  Dr. Ed Mobley (Medical Education)

    Cassidy Pham, Ramsey Regen, & Hannah Tan
    Surgical Resident Education and Performance in Extended Focused Abdominal Sonography for Trauma
    Mentor:  Dr. Lou Smith (Surgery)

  • Clinical/Population Health Division 2 Projects

    Phillip Nichols
    Anterior Thoracic Stabilization Using a KLS Martin Talon Recon Implant System
    Mentor:  Dr. Jeremy Powers (Surgery)

    Jamie Dallas
    Anthropomorphic Measurements for Improved Selection of Tracheostomy Size and Length
    Mentor:  Dr. Lou Smith (Surgery)

    Allen Archer & Michelle Everly
    Assessing Futile Trauma Transfers in Rural Appalachia Following a Regional Healthcare System Merger
    Mentor:  Dr. Bracken Burns (Surgery)

    Eric Beecham & Victoria Starks
    Behavioral Health Model Utilization Among Pediatric Subspecialty Clinics in Rural Appalachia
    Mentor:  Drs. Morgan Treaster (Pediatrics)

    Mary Morgan Barron
    BMI is Not Correlated with Surgical Outcomes in Pediatric Gallbladder Disease
    Mentor:  Dr. Brad Feltis (Surgery)

    Aamir Shaikh
    Co-Morbidities Predict Length of Stay Among Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease – An Analysis of the National Inpatient Sample
    Mentor:  Dr. Hadii Mamudu (Public Health)

    Ashlyn Hodges
    Comparing Neonatal Outcomes of Pregnant Women Treated for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) with Mono-Buprenorphine to Neonatal Outcomes of Pregnant Women Treated for OUD with Combination Buprenorphine + Naloxone
    Mentor:  Dr. Marty Olsen  (Obstetrics & Gynecology)

    Jenny Davis & Efia Nuako
    Faltering Growth: How much does it take to keep them alive to thrive?
    Mentors:  Dr. Michelle Johnson (Rehabilitative Sciences) & Dr. Debra Mills (Pediatrics)

    David Eisenstadt
    Silent Epidemic: Unmasking the Faces of Fatal Drug Overdoses in Northeast Tennessee
    Mentor:  Dr. Emilie Cook (Pathology)

    Chad Gage
    Patient with A Novel Nonsense TBL1XR1 Mutation At The F-Box Like Area. A Case Report.
    Mentor:  Dr. Alvaro Serrano (Pediatrics)

    Emily Rhoton
    Unplanned Intensive Care Unit Admission for Trauma Patients with Initial Non-Intensive Care Beds
    Mentor:  Dr. Lou Smith (Surgery)

    Avery Conkin
    VTE Prophylaxis Guideline Compliance
    Mentor:  Dr. Bracken Burns (Surgery)

    Jennifer Osher
    Breast Cancer Screening and Outcomes in Appalachian Counties
    Mentor:  Dr. Jeremy Powers (Surgery)