Discovery Day 2024
Thursday, November 7

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City for our annual day of research!

Doctoral and master's students, medical students, MD/PhD students, undergraduate, residents, clinical fellows and postdoctoral trainees from the Drexel University College of Medicine community presented their research, featuring posters and platform presentations on biomedical science and clinical research topics.

View Discovery Day 2023 Photo Gallery on Facebook

Discovery Day 2024 Winners

Presentations were judged for awards across several categories.

Bondi Fellowship Recipient

• Katelyn Reeb, Pharmacology & Physiology PhD candidate, mentor Andréia C. K. (Fontana) Mortensen

Barry Waterhouse Outstanding Platform Presentation

• 1^st Place – Natalie Smolin, Biomedical Science, mentor Catherine von Reyn
  Neuronal identity control at the resolution of a single transcription factor isoform
• Honorable Mention – Abigail Onufer, Microbiology & Immunology, mentor Alison J. Carey
  Influenza virus-induced type I interferons disrupt alveolar epithelial repair and tight junction integrity in the developing lung

Outstanding Junior Graduate Student Poster

• 1^st Place – Wenqiang Huang, Neuroscience
  Anterior cingulate cortex in complex associative learning: monitoring action state and action content
• 2^nd Place – Dayani Pillai, Neuroscience
• 3^rd Place – Haley Croke, Biomedical Engineering
• Honorable Mention – Jenna Hunt
• Honorable Mention – Corinne Marble
• Honorable Mention – Gu Gu Nge
• Honorable Mention – Eilidh Sidaway

Outstanding Senior Graduate Student Poster

• 1^st Place – Jenna McGrath, Neuroscience
  Deep dorsal glycinergic interneurons that inhibit Shox2 interneurons overlap with molecularly-defined populations involved in sensorimotor function in the spinal cord
• 2^nd Place – Julia Perhacs, Biological Science
• 3^rd Place (tie) – Rachel Berman, Molecular & Cell Biology & Genetics
• 3^rd Place (tie) – Akari Seiner, Biomedical Engineering
• Honorable Mention – Bo Lim Lee
• Honorable Mention – Anthony Moreno-Sanchez
• Honorable Mention – Oluwatofunmi Oteju
• Honorable Mention – Alyssa Sanders
• Honorable Mention – Riley Young

Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellows Poster

• 1^st Place – Jill Lawrence, Microbiology & Immunology
• 2^nd Place – Jason Wickman, Pharmacology & Physiology

Medical Student Award for Bench Research

• 1^st Place – Jake Fanizza
• 2^nd Place – Amelia Mantione
• 3^rd Place – Ryan Baron
• Honorable Mention – Julia Danon
• Honorable Mention – Trinity Hart
• Honorable Mention – Ngoc Hoang
• Honorable Mention – Kacie Wheeler

Medical Student Award for Case Studies, Community Service and Educational Studies

• 1^st Place – Jessica Lewis-Owona
• 2^nd Place – Fan Tang
• 3^rd Place – Gabi Ramos
• Honorable Mention – Akshat Modi
• Honorable Mention – Jessica Lu
• Honorable Mention – Josh Maret

Medical Student Award for Clinical Research and Epidemiology

• 1^st Place (tie) – Wesley Perez Cervantes
• 1^st Place (tie) – Joseph Rajasekaran
• 3^rd Place (tie) – Sanya Ailani
• 3^rd Place (tie) – Lilian Lipovetsky
• Honorable Mention – Camellia Edalat
• Honorable Mention – Jacob Williams
• Honorable Mention – Saahil Adusumilli
• Honorable Mention – Grace Axelson

Outstanding Clinical Resident/Fellow Poster – Research

• Megan Schlegelmilch

Outstanding Undergraduate Poster

• 1^st Place – Denney Garrett
• 2^nd Place – Mangalam Karuppiah

 
“A Grand Tradition:” Discovery Day’s Storied Past, Bright Future

For many years, Hahnemann University held Grad School Day, an opportunity for biomedical graduate students to share their research with their peers. Elizabeth Blankenhorn, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology, has fond memories of the event’s earlier days, which included a day of graduate student research presentations at Hahnemann University followed by an elegant evening celebration at the Franklin Institute. She describes Grad School Day as “a grand tradition.” Read more.

 
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