Student Research

Medical Students Receive Awards at Massachusetts Medical Society Research Poster Symposium

Event allows residents, fellows and medical students to present their research.

Ten medical students from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine were recognized recently by the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) at its 17th Annual Research Poster Symposium, which was held in conjunction with its signature education event, Future Health: Best Practices for Advancing Care.

This year, symposium participants competed in four different categories: clinical research, basic research, clinical vignettes, and health policy/medical education. Eight posters were accepted in these categories out of a field of more than 120 abstract entries. Three winners were selected in each category, and several honorable mentions were awarded.

We are very proud that so many of our student’s research accomplishments have been recognized. We are also very grateful for the terrific mentors that made this research possible.

Matthew Layne, PhD

According to the school’s Assistant Dean of Research Matthew Layne, PhD, this distinguished event offers medical students the opportunity to share their research with the community, learn from their peers’ work and network with MMS leadership. “We are very proud that so many of our student’s research accomplishments have been recognized. We are also very grateful for the terrific mentors that made this research possible.”

Among the BU winners were:

First Place

Third-year student Kiyah Adams, who won in the health policy/medical education category for the poster “Improving Patient Connection Rates with AI-Driven Social Needs Referrals in the Emergency Department.”

Third-year student Catherine Sutton, who won in the health policy/medical education category for the poster “Improving Patient Connection Rates with AI-Driven Social Needs Referrals in the Emergency Department.”

First-year student Rama S. Varanasi, who won in the clinical research category for the poster “Anti-VEGF Injections Associated with Renal Function Decline: Prospective Cohort Study.”

Second Place

Third-year student Aryan Wadhwa, who won in the clinical research category for the poster “Cerebral Cavernous Malformation–Related Epilepsy Maps to a Conserved Brain Network.”

Third Place

First-year student Erika Teresa Minetti, MS, who won in the basic research category for the poster “Cardiometabolic Proteomics and Vascular Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes.”

Third–year student Shreya Tripathy who won in the clinical research category for the poster “Cases of Acquired Synesthesia Map to a Common Brain Network.”

Honorable Mention

Third-year student Aaron Moy, who won in the basic research category for the poster “Transplanted Airway Stem Cells Survive Viral Infection and Restore the Airway Epithelium.”

Third-year student Isabelle Joy, who won in the basic research category for the poster “ZUF: A Novel DNA Repair Factor with Implications in PARP Inhibitor Response.”

First-year student Urvika Gupta who won in the basic research category for the poster “Role of BCL11B in Cardiovascular and Neuronal Embryonic Development in Model System Xenopus Laevis.”

Third-year student Nnaemeka Chukwudalu Nnwoke, who won in the clinical research category for the poster “Food Insecurity, Bone Health, and Frailty In U.S. Adults: Implications For Spine Neurosurgery.”