{"id":92991,"date":"2023-04-25T12:51:26","date_gmt":"2023-04-25T16:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/?p=92991"},"modified":"2023-04-25T14:21:14","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T18:21:14","slug":"29th-annual-henry-i-russek-student-achievement-day-celebrates-gms-academic-research-and-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/2023\/04\/25\/29th-annual-henry-i-russek-student-achievement-day-celebrates-gms-academic-research-and-service\/","title":{"rendered":"29th Annual Henry I. Russek Student Achievement Day Celebrates GMS Academic Research and Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

Graduate Medical Sciences marked\u00a0the 29th<\/sup>\u00a0Annual Henry I. Russek Student Achievement Day<\/a>\u00a0on Friday, April 21, in the Hiebert Lounge.<\/p>\n

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Professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Shelley Russek, PhD, gives opening remarks at the 29th Annual Henry I. Russek Student Achievement Day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Russek Day, held each year since 1994, honors the memory of both Henry I. Russek, MD, a prolific physician scientist in cardiology, and his wife, philanthropist Elayne Russek. The Russek\u2019s daughter,\u00a0<\/span>Shelley Russek<\/a>, PhD, organizes the event each year to celebrate the ongoing achievements of the graduate student body at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.<\/p>\n

Russek is a professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, director of the Graduate Program for Neuroscience and the president of The Russek Foundation.<\/p>\n

She explained that the mission of Russek Day each year goes above and beyond academic research \u2013 it incorporates how students balance their research with service to their departments, their programs and their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach person getting an award today is giving something back to the community in balance with their outstanding research mission,\u201d Russek said. \u201cThat\u2019s behind a lot of what my family believes in and why we started this endowment 29 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event also began with remarks from Associate Provost and Dean of Graduate Medical Sciences\u00a0<\/span>C. James McKnight<\/a>, PhD, who applauded the presenting students on the caliber of their research within GMS.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy job is to make sure that all you students get the best experience you can have while you\u2019re on campus learning science,\u201d McKnight said. \u201cHopefully, we\u2019re imparting the joy of science. That\u2019s our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The keynote speaker for this year\u2019s event was David Housman, PhD, a Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Housman is credited for his contribution to discovering the HTT gene, which causes Huntington\u2019s disease, the role of p53 in cancer, WT1 in Wilms Tumor and was a co-founder of Genzyme .<\/p>\n

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Keynote speaker David Housman, PhD, presents \u201cTreating Multiple Sclerosis: An MD\/PhD Student Teaches Us.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Housman Lab uses genetic approaches to identify the molecular bases of human disease pathology, specifically in diseases like Huntington\u2019s, cancer and cardiovascular disease. His lab works to develop effective intervention strategies for fighting trinucleotide repeat disorders.<\/p>\n

Shoumita Dasgupta<\/a>, PhD, introduced Housman to the audience. Dasgupta, an MIT alumna, is a former undergraduate Housman lab member and described her time in the Housman lab as her \u201corigin story in genetics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dasgupta, a professor of medicine in the Biomedical Genetics Section, is now the founding director of the Genetics and Genomics Graduate Program and the assistant dean for diversity & inclusion at Chobanian & Avedisian SOM.<\/p>\n

During his presentation, Housman drew from his expertise in genetics and human disease and his team\u2019s lab work to present \u201cTreating Multiple Sclerosis: An MD\/PhD Student Teaches Us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Housman\u2019s address, students presented their research during a lunchtime poster presentation session. Prior to the event, departments selected award winners, who displayed stickers on their posters and nametags.<\/p>\n

First-prize recipients delivered oral presentations of their research in the afternoon. This year\u2019s recipients were:<\/p>\n