A central part of every Internal Medicine Research Day celebration is the poster competition. Although this year’s abstract presentations took some reorganizing, the quality and creativity was still on display. So, first, this year’s winners of the 54th Annual Research Day.
In announcing these winners, Research Day Co-Chairs Ryan Boudreau, PhD, and Saket Girotra, MBBS, SM, expressed their gratitude to the 51 participants and the dozens of judges who brought the same rigor to their task as if it had been in person.
Best Basic Science Research Abstract
Jacilara Conceicao – 1st
Transcriptomes of Neutrophils from Individuals with Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, Subclinical L. braziliensis Infection and Healthy Controls in Northeast Brazil
Alicia Eustes – 2nd
Increased Thrombin Generation in COVID-19: A possible role for NETosis
Best Clinical Research Abstract
Emmanuel Akintoyie – 1st
Prognostic Utility of Risk Enhancers and CAC Score Recommended in the 2018 AHA/ACC Multisociety Cholesterol Treatment Guidelines Over the Pooled Cohort Equation: Insights From 3 Large Prospective Cohorts
Erin Evans – 2nd
Association of Epinephrine Prior to Defibrillation with Survival in Patients with In-hospital Cardiac Arrest
Best Trainee Abstract
Gavin McGivney – 1st
Tumor suppressor status alters MPNST profiles and gene expression
Shreya Ghimire – 2nd
How do Th2 and Th17 Inflammation Affect Human Airway Innate Immunity?
Best Abstract by a Resident or Fellow
Nanmeng Yu – 1st
Understanding the role of soluble immune checkpoints in anti-tumor immunity
Jeff Zavala – 2nd
Real-World Analysis of Time to Resolution of Milk Allergy Utilizing Baked-Milk Diet
But before we even arrived at what had to be renamed the “abstract session” because the presentations could no longer be technically thought of as “posters,” Boudreau, Girotra, and the planning committee had organized a full slate of compelling, though virtual, programming. A typical one-day event was split across two to prevent “Zoom fatigue” but this also allowed for the addition of new types of events not typical to Research Day. Two keynote presenters were invited and each of them also participated in career mentoring sessions with postdocs and others on research tracks.
Our first keynote can be seen below.
From P-Hacking to Pandemics: An Editor’s Journey Toward Scientific Humility
Brahmajee K. Nallamothu, MD, MPH, University of Michigan
After Nallamothu’s keynote and his round-table with researchers, short talks from University of Iowa scientists closed out the afternoon. Those are available below.
Mediating Cardiac Transcription
Chad Grueter, PhD, Cardiovascular Medicine
Mechanisms of Microvascular Dysfunction Following Preeclamptic Pregnancy
Anna Stanhewicz, PhD, Health and Human Physiology
Cell-Specific Aptamer Ligands to Treat Cardiovascular Disease
William Thiel, PhD, Cardiovascular Medicine
Psychological Insights to Improve How We Communicate Information About Chronic and Infectious Diseases
Aaron Scherer, PhD, General Internal Medicine
Day Two began with another mentoring session from our second keynote presenter, whose talk can be seen below.
Stem Cells and Genomics for Precision Medicine
Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, Stanford University
After Wu’s presentation, a short break, and some inevitable Zoom hicccups, the abstract competition began. Each set of presenters were grouped by topic and assigned judges who could fairly assess their quality. The groups were assigned separate Zoom “rooms,” into which attendees could dip in and out. The titles and the presenters were wide-ranging and each invited a host of thoughtful and probing questions from judges as well as other attendees.
Our thanks to all those who attended, presented, judged, and, most important, organized the first wholly digital Research Day! We will see you next year!
