Department members do well in Research!Louisville competitions

Several members of the University of Louisville Department of Medicine had good showings in the recent Research!Louisville competitions, held in conjunction with the event's 16th annual showcase of health/life sciences research conducted at U of L.

A panel of U of L faculty judges selected the winners of this year's contest from more than 300 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:

Faculty

SCR Young Faculty Investigator Award

• Joongho  Joh, Ph.D., Brown Cancer Center. "Cutaneous papillomatosis and basal cell carcinoma due to a novel laboratory mouse papillomavirus (MusPV) infection."

Most Promising Basic Science Research

• Rajesh Sharma, Ph.D., Medicine - Oncology.  "Leukotrine B4 receptor BLT1 expression on CD8+ T cells is critical for antitumor immunity."

Professional / Clinical Student Winners

(Medical and Dental students; Graduate Nursing winner; Graduate Public Health students)

Medical Students

First Place

• Jason Park, "Nrf2 phosphorylation is attenuated in tubules of OVE26 diabetic mice." Mentor: Michelle Barati, Ph.D., Division of Nephrology

Graduate Public Health Students

Second Place

• Natasha DeJarnett, "Traditional Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Predict Acrolein Metabolite Level in a Population-Based Study." Mentor: Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., Division of Cardiovascular Medicine

Basic Science Graduate Students

(Masters and Doctoral students winners; Student/Faculty Bioengineering Collaboration winners)

Masters Basic-Science Student Division

First Place

• Jason Hellman, Medicine, "Resolving D1 Modulates Adipose Tissue Macrophage Accumulation and Restores Insulin Sensitivity in Obese Diabetic Mice." Mentor: Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., Division of Cardiology

Doctoral Basic-Science Student Division

Third Place

• Stephanie Mathews, Pharmacology and Toxicology, "Histone Deacetylases Play a Critical Role in regulating IFNα -mediated Anti-HCV Gene Expression." Mentor: Shirish Barve, Ph.D., Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition

Student / Faculty Bioengineering Collaboration

Second Place

• David Muench, Bioengineering, "The VEGF Quadruplex-Forming Sequence Inhibits Lung Cancer Cell Growth." Mentor: Kara Sedoris, Ph.D., Division of Medical Oncology & Hematology

Postgraduates

(Medical Residents, Clinical Research Fellows, Postdoctoral Research Fellows (Postdoctoral Associates/Scholars and Research Associates) and Research Staff)

Residents

Winner

• Robert Cannon, M.D., "Restoration of MicroRNA-122 is an Important Mechanism of Curcumin Mediated Cell Death in HCC." Mentor: Shirish Barve, Ph.D., Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition