► VIEW A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE 2018 RESEARCH!LOUISVILLE

The University of Louisville Department of Medicine made an impressive showing at the recent 2018 Research!Louisville competitions, held in conjunction with the event's 23rd annual showcase of health/life sciences research conducted at UofL.

A panel of university faculty judges selected the winners of this year's contest from hundreds of entries in the categories of professional/clinical students, basic science grad students, postgraduates and faculty.

Here's a look at finished at or near the top in their respective categories:

Master's Basic Science Graduate Student Award

• 2nd Place: Aaron Whitt - Paraoxonose 2 plays a critical role in non-small cell lung carcinoma proliferation. Mentor: Chi Li, Ph.D.

• 1st Place: Steven Gootee - Completing the Death Certificate Accurately: Results from a survey evaluating existing knowledge among practicing physicians. Mentor: Julio Ramirez, Ph.D.

Doctoral Basic Science Graduate Student Award

• 3rd Place: Anne Geller - The characterization of b-glucan's mechanism of action as an anti-cancer. Mentor: Jun Yan, Ph.D.

Masters Engineering Student Award

• 3rd Place: Justin Heidel - Cardiomyogenic lineage commitment augments cardiac mesenchymal stromal cell anti-fibrogentic paracrine signaling in vitro. Mentor: Joseph Moore, IV, Ph.D.

Norton Healthcare Medical Student Award

• 3rd Place: Justin Winkler - Body Composition in Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Mentor: Stephen Winters, M.D.

• 1st Place: Mallory Zaino - Myocardial infarction regulates prolidase activity and promotes insulin-mediated collagen remodeling in the heart. Mentor: Brad Hill, Ph.D.

Research Associate Award

• 2nd Place: Min Wang - Aldose reductase is involved in the pathogenesis of alcohol-associated liver disease in mice and patients. Mentor: Swati Joshi-Barve, Ph.D.

• 1st Place: Sarah Andres - Cancer-selective metal complexes: effects and a novel mechanism of action. Mentor: Paula Bates, Ph.D.

Research Staff Award

• Winner: Kimberley Buckner - The two Diamond Open Access Journals at the University of Louisville: The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory  Infections and the Journal of Refugee and Global Health. Mentor: William Mattingly, Ph.D.

Public Health & Information Sciences Master's Student Award

• Winner: Ugochukwu Owolabi - Missing laboratory values among patients with pneumonia should not exclude them from analysis in clinical research. Mentor: William Mattingly, Ph.D.

Public Health & Information Sciences Doctoral Student Award

• Winner: Stacey Konkle - Secular Trends in Ambient Volatile Organic Compound Levels, Biomarkers of Exposure and Associations with Cardiometabolic Syndrome: An Analysis of Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the National Monitoring Program. Mentor: Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D.

Public Health & Information Sciences Research & Practice in Public Health Award

• Winner: Connor Glick - Multiple comorbidities among patients with community-acquired pneumonia lead to higher mortality regardless of age. Mentor: William Mattingly, Ph.D.

Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's Foundation Faculty Award in Basic Science

• Winner: Leila Gobejishvili, Ph.D. - Pathogenic role of PDE4 enzymes in the development of liver fibrosis in humans and mouse models.

Louisville Chapter - Women in Medicine & Science

• 1st Place: Smita Ghare, Ph.D. - Assessment of sex-based differences in gut-immune interactions in viral-controlled HIV patients