{"id":142454,"date":"2026-03-04T17:08:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/?post_type=bu-article&p=142454"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:21:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T19:21:30","slug":"annual-medical-student-research-symposium-spotlights-bus-rich-research-ecosystem","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/news-events\/articles\/2026\/annual-medical-student-research-symposium-spotlights-bus-rich-research-ecosystem\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Medical Student Research Symposium Spotlights BU\u2019s Rich Research Ecosystem"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnnual Medical Student Research Symposium Spotlights BU\u2019s Rich Research Ecosystem\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Students present wide range of research from basic science to translational medicine.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n
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March 4, 2026<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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In her introductory remarks at this year\u2019s Medical Student Research Symposium, Hee-Young Park<\/a>, PhD, dean ad interim<\/em>, pointed to the school’s strategic plan and its goal of \u201cbuild(ing) a world-class collaborative research ecosystem that drives innovation, enables breakthrough science to treat and cure illness and advance wellness for people around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAreas of research now span across basic science and basic bench research, to translational, computational and socially relevant studies,\u201d said Park. \u201cToday, we’re going to be learning from, and be exposed to, a range of important research done by our medical students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is terrific to see the breadth and depth of research that our students are engaging in. We are also very grateful for all the terrific mentors that make these research projects possible.<\/p>Matthew Layne, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry & cell biology and assistant dean of research<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The annual symposium was held Feb. 13 in Hiebert Lounge. Ninety abstracts were submitted for consideration, and the symposium showcased a wide array of poster displays. A faculty panel selected six student speakers from 40 applicants to give brief talks on their research and judges chose 10 students to receive Serchuck Poster Awards.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoing a presentation in this format to a more general audience is really good practice because students need to explain the importance of what they’re doing to people who aren\u2019t experts in the field,\u201d said Medical Student Summer Research Program<\/a> (MSSRP) Director Shannon Fisher<\/a>, MD, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology, physiology, & biophysics and director of the third-year research selective and fourth-year research elective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students and faculty viewing research posters at the symposium <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThey’re amazing students and I love hearing about their research,\u201d said poster contest judge Tara Moore<\/a>, PhD, associate dean of research ad interim<\/em> and professor of anatomy & neurobiology. \u201cI find the students do such a great job describing their projects. I’m a neuroscientist and most of the posters are not in neuroscience, but it’s an opportunity (for me) to learn new things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is terrific to see the breadth and depth of research that our students are engaging in,\u201d said Matthew Layne<\/a>, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry & cell biology and assistant dean of research. \u201cWe are also very grateful for all the terrific mentors that make these research projects possible.\u201d Students interested in research can choose the Learn, Experience, Advocate, Discover and Serve (LEADS) research track; third-year students may pick a four-week research block as a selective and fourth-year students can choose from 4-, 8-, or 12-week research electives. A yearlong research option adds a year to medical school and the MD\/PhD program includes extensive research and clinical experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second-year medical student Jessica Czapla<\/a> describes herself as a lifelong learner. She participated in research over the summer as one of the students selected for the MSSRP. \u201cBeing at the forefront of research is really important to me,\u201d said Czapla, who presented a study on the link between communication and screening frequency for high-risk prostate cancer patients. \u201cI really enjoy not only being able to share my results but learning about other research.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riya Manchanda<\/a>\u2019s research led her to consider a career in stroke neurology. The second-year medical student works with Jos\u00e9 Romero, MD, associate professor of neurology, using Framingham Heart Study data to understand how lifetime trends in cholesterol and triglyceride levels correlate with stroke rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe found that high levels of LDL cholesterol over an individual’s lifetime almost doubles the stroke risk even when they’re healthy at baseline \u2013 even when they have nothing else wrong with them,\u201d Manchanda said. \u201cWhile it doesn\u2019t directly translate into a change in clinical guidelines yet, the research does raise questions like \u2018Should we be putting people on statins earlier? Should we be putting them on statins for longer time periods?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students
Students selected by a faculty panel to present their research at the annual symposium included (left to right): Kevin Chen, Erika Minetti, Aryan Wadhwa, Sabrina Mellinghoff, Willa Molho and Sydni Britton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The six students selected to present their research at the symposium included first-year student Erika Minetti on the cardiovascular health effects of E-cigarettes; second-year MSSRP student Sabrina Mellinghoff<\/a>, discussing the impact of disadvantaged neighborhoods on breast cancer risk and mortality in Black women; second-year MSSRP student Willa Molho<\/a> investigated infant feeding choice in postpartum HIV mothers; second-year LEADS research track student Sydni Britton<\/a>, described her work on genetic detection of senescent fibroblasts that drive chondrogenic extracellular matrix abnormalities; third-year research selective student Aryan Wadhwa<\/a>, explained cerebral cavernous malformation-related epilepsy maps; and MD\/PhD student Kevin Chen<\/a> focused on the restoration of CFTR function using airway basal cell transplantation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judges selected 10 students to receive Serchuck Poster Awards as the top research poster presentations. The award honors the late Jerome Serchuck, a longtime MSSRP donor. The winners were first-year student Pratham Bhatt<\/a>; second-year students Samra Beyene<\/a>, Kylie Tang<\/a>, Jingtong Huang<\/a>, Sarah Chang<\/a>, Joshua Kim<\/a> and Benjamin Chun; third-year students Rohini Kambhampati and Ashley Bodnar<\/a>; and MD\/PhD student Rose Zhao<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In her introductory remarks at this year\u2019s Medical Student Research Symposium, Hee-Young Park, PhD, dean ad interim, pointed to the school’s strategic plan and its goal of \u201cbuild(ing) a world-class collaborative research ecosystem that drives innovation, enables breakthrough science to treat and cure illness and advance wellness for people around the world.\u201d \u201cAreas of research […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":903,"featured_media":142470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"Student Research","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[94,358,457],"bu-publication":[367],"medicine-article-category":[],"medicine-topic":[],"news-article-category":[385,384],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[390],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/142454"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/903"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142454"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/142454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142493,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/142454\/revisions\/142493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142454"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=142454"},{"taxonomy":"medicine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/medicine-article-category?post=142454"},{"taxonomy":"medicine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/medicine-topic?post=142454"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=142454"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=142454"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=142454"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=142454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}