October 18, 2022

On October 12, Tower Health hosted its second annual Research Day. The event showcased the recent scholarly activity of fellows, residents and medical students across the health system through poster and podium presentations.

A total of 97 abstracts were submitted for consideration in the categories of basic science research, clinical research, case reports and quality improvement. All submissions were peer reviewed and scored by a committee of teaching and research faculty from Reading Hospital, Drexel University College of Medicine, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and Caron Treatment Center. The poster presentations highlighted the research of two fellows, 20 residents, and 14 students from Drexel University College of Medicine.

Two College of Medicine students were among the five highest scoring abstracts, which were shared during the podium presentations:

• Ben Haslund-Gourley, MD/PhD student in the Microbiology & Immunology program: Immunoglobulin N-glycosylation Discriminates Acute Lyme Disease From Endemic Healthy Controls and Mimic Diseases – A Novel Diagnostic
• Anna Roble, MD program class of 2023: Cervical OS Marsupialization in the Initials Management of a Rare Case of Obstructive Uterine Didelphys With Ipsilateral Renal Agenesis

The other highest scoring abstracts came from residents or fellows at two College of Medicine clerkship sites, Tower Health’s Reading Hospital and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children:

• Aparna Baranwal, DO – Reading Hospital OBGYN Residency Program: Robot-Assisted vs Traditional Laparoscopic Hysterectomy in Noncancerous Patients: A 5-Year Retrospective Analysis to Compare Intra-Operative, Postoperative Efficacy and Complications
• Caroline Browning, DO – chief fellow, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children: Use of a QR Code Survey to Improve Fellow Satisfaction with Faculty Member Feedback
• Zohaib Yousaf, MD, MSc, CABIM, MACE, FACP – Reading Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Program: Cerebral Phaeohyphomycosis in Liver Transplant Recipient: A Case Report

Wei Du, MD, professor and chair of psychiatry, senior vice president of academic affairs, and chief academic officer at Tower Health, said, “At Tower Health we are fortunate to have brilliant fellows, residents and medical students as part of our team. In addition to honing their skills as physicians they conduct research projects, and our annual Research Day allows them to showcase their work to their health system colleagues.”

Kenny J. Simansky, PhD, professor of pharmacology and physiology and senior vice dean for research at Drexel University College of Medicine noted that, under Dr. Du’s leadership, “Tower Health Research Day has taken firm hold, grown and established visibility throughout the health system and medical college.” He added, “The high quality of work presented by our medical undergraduates, graduate medical trainees and biomedical doctoral students demonstrates our progress in integrating research with Tower and throughout the college network.”

The event also featured a keynote address from Adrian Dobs, MD, MHS, director, Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Network. Dr. Dobs discussed current trends in clinical research and the importance of organizing a research network. Charles B. Cairns, MD, Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Dean, delivered the closing remarks.