HMSOM Medical Student Research Day: Ideas and Inquiry Abound

The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM) fourth annual Medical Student Research Day showed the curiosity and spirit of medical students who aim to improve lives long into the future.

The on-campus event on May 2 brought together more than 180 abstracts on a wide variety of the most current health topics, two keynote speakers, platform presentations, and poster sessions.

Welcome and introductions were made by Vice Dean Stanley R. Terlecky, Ph.D. and Assistant Dean Zhiyong Han, Ph.D.

The keynote speakers were: Barry Kreiswirth, Ph.D., member scientist of the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) and professor of Medical Sciences at the school; and Michael D. Stifelman, M.D., chair of urology at Hackensack University Medical Center, director of Robotic Surgery at Hackensack Meridian Health, and professor at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. Dr. Kreiswirth showed data on his ongoing investigations into the spread of multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, while Dr. Stifelman presented on the techniques involved in robotic buccal mucosa ureteroplasties.

Two students gave presentations as well: first-year student Pramath Kalelkar presented a talk entitled, “Patient-derived organoids for pre-treatment screening in colorectal cancer,” while fourth-year student Arun Sangam spoke on “Epigenomic interactions of Runx-1 in Down Syndrome.”

The poster sessions spanned seven different poster sessions Among the highlights of the 180-plus research posters:

• A review of medical protocols for addressing wartime injuries in low-resource settings
• Genetic influence of miRNA on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
• An assessment of pre-operative hair shaving in neurosurgery, to determine whether it’s medical necessary - or just tradition.
• A narrative review of the prevalence of borderline personality disorders in homicide offenders
• An evaluation of the clinical and ethical considerations in using artificial intelligence in surgery decision making
• Predictive modeling of motor function enhancement in Parkinson’s disease patients undergoing medtronic deep brain stimulation
• A systematic review of the “surgical personality” among medical students

“Every year, this gathering shows the talent of our students, and we are gratified to see the exciting lines of inquiry their engaged minds continue to produce,” said Vice Dean Terlecky.