SIU Med Students Complete Mentored Research Experiences

 Thirteen sophomore medical students from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine recently completed their Mentored Professional Enrichment Experiences (MPEE) with formal presentations to the medical school community in September.

The summer program is an SIU elective between the first and second years of medical school, designed as an opportunity for students to work with physicians or researchers at SIU or other medical campuses. The program concludes with a presentation by each student about their special studies to the SIU medical school community.

“The program provides opportunities for students to explore clinical and basic science research and help them learn how to conduct effective research,” explains Eric C. Niederhoffer, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in Carbondale and program coordinator of the MPEE program.

The students, their project titles and their mentors are – [Note: Eleven students are listed as two declined publicity.]

Melissa A. Schleeper, An Aqueous-Venous Bypass in a Rabbit Model for the Treatment of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma: A Pilot Study, Dr. Steven Shields, St. Louis University School of Medicine ( St. Louis). Schleeper is the daughter of Leo and Janet Schleeper of Brussels.

John Hornick, The Role of Beta-catenin in Esophageal Cancer, Dr. Richard Battafarano, Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis). Hornick is the son of Randall and Joan Hornick of Columbia.

Nicole Dunlap, Delineation of Phenotypes and Genetic Markers in Young Overweight Children Using a Family Based Association Study, Dr. Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, Northwestern Children’s Memorial Research Center (Chicago). Dunlap is the daughter of Brenda Foster of Champaign.

Sarah Starnes, Functional Status Comparison of Nursing Home Residents: United States and Germany, Sherry Robinson, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, SIU School of Medicine ( Springfield). Starnes is the daughter of Randall and Rebecca Starnes of Bloomington.

Sania Raza, IRF-5 Genetic Expression and Microarray Analysis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Dr. Judy Cho and Dr. Laura Harrell, University of Chicago Hospital (Chicago). Raza is the daughter of Rehmat Raza of Chicago.

Tony Jeanmenne, The Development, Testing and Implementation of a Web-Based Prediction Model for Distinguishing Benign from Malignant Vertebral Fractures by Magnetic Resonance Imaging Feature Analysis, Dr. John A. Carrino, Harvard Medical School (Boston). Jeanmenne is the son of Raoul and Teri Jeanmenne of Peoria.

Whitney Luke, Kids Heart Advantage: Efficacy and Correlation of Health Education, Jayne Thompson, R.N. and Yvonne Pellerin, R.N., Memorial Medical Center ( Springfield). Luke is the daughter of Michael and Robyn Luke of Springfield.

Junaia Carter, Can Genotype Predict T-Wave Alternas in Patients at Risk for Fatal Ventricular Arrhythmias?, Dr. Shawn Robinson and Dr. Stephen Gottlieb, University of Maryland School of Medicine ( Baltimore). Carter is the daughter of Angela Carter of Houston, Texas.

Andree B. Venatta, In Vitro Transdifferentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Dopaminergic Neurons, Craig Cady, Ph.D., Bradley University ( Peoria). Venatta is the daughter of Cliff Long of Henry and Beth Long of Toledo.

Lacey Ufkes, The Impact of Parents’ Health Literacy on Communication of the Medication History in the ED Setting, Dr. Stephen Porter, Children’s Hospital Boston. Ufkes is the daughter of John Ufkes of Quincy and Debra Meservey of Mt. Sterling.

Holly Steiner, Dissecting the Biology of Tissue Regeneration Using the Zebrafish, Danio rerio as a Model, Dr. Matthew Goldsmith, Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis). Steiner is the daughter of Harold Jr. and Laura Steiner of Freeburg.

- 30 -