September 10, 2008

SIU Med Students Complete Mentored Research Experiences

Thirteen sophomore medical students from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine 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.

“The program provides opportunities for students to explore clinical and basic science research or investigations in health-related areas with SIU, national and international investigators, and helps them learn how to design and conduct effective research projects,” 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 –
Nadia Ali, Cross Border HIV/AIDS Program Among Nepali Migrants and their Families in Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai, Hemal Shroff, Ph.D., (Mumbai, India) and Sandra Shea, Ph.D., associate professor of family and community medicine, SIU School of Medicine (Carbondale).  Ali is the daughter of Naushad and Donna Ali of Carbondale, Ill.

Adam M. Andruska, Improving Network Analysis and Post-Stimulus Time Histogram Calculation of Patterned Neural Networks to Understand Information Coding, Gregory Brewer, Ph.D., professor of medical microbiology, immunology and cell biology, SIU School of Medicine (Springfield).  Andruska is the son of Gary and Linda Andruska of Marine, Ill.

Jennifer Bunch, Prevention of Cisplatin Ototoxicity by Transplatin, Dr. Leonard Rybak,  Ph.D., professor of surgery and SIUC distinguished scholar, SIU School of Medicine (Springfield).  Bunch is the daughter of Ray and Cathie Bunch of Macomb, Ill.

Melinda L. Carter, Postmortem Detection of Abused Drugs in Bone, Dr. John Murphy, professor and chair of pathology, SIU School of Medicine (Springfield).  Carter is the daughter of M. Sugg Carter of Newport, Tenn. and the late Charlta B. Carter.

Benjamin Chia, Anatomic Relationship of Dorsal K-Wire Pins to Extensor Tendons in Closed Reduction Percutaneous Pinning of Distal Radius Fractures and of K-Wires to the Anterior Interosseous Nerve in Olecranon Tension-Band Wiring of Olecranon Fractures, Dr. Steven Glickel, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center (New York, N.Y.).  Chia is the son of Wak and Cecile Chia of Glen Carbon, Ill.

Deena Chihade, Development of a Novel Matrigel-based Assay for Assessment of Lymphangiogenic Potential Inflammatory Mediators, Growth Factors, and Cytokines, Sophia Ran, Ph.D., assistant professor of medical microbiology, immunology and cell biology, SIU School of Medicine (Springfield).  Chihade is the daughter of Issam and Juliette Chihade of Forsyth.

Samantha Dial, Diffusion Perfusion Mismatch in Acute Ischemic Stroke,
Dr. Lee Jin-Moo, Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, Mo).  Dial is the daughter of Paul and Cathy Dial of West Frankfort, Ill.

Kimberly Dubois, Immunology of Preeclampsia: Effect of Type-1 Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines on Expression of the Transcription Factor GCM1 and Placenta Growth Factor in Human Trophoblast, Donald Torry, Ph.D., professor of medical microbiology, immunology and cell biology, SIU School of Medicine (Springfield).  Dubois is the daughter of Richard and Carol Dubois of Lacon, Ill.

Bethany Kearns, Expression of Ubc9 Enzyme in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Sophia Ran, Ph.D., assistant professor of medical microbiology, immunology and cell biology, SIU School of Medicine (Springfield).  Kearns is the daughter of Michael and Carmella Kearns of Springfield, Ill.

Laura McEnerney, Production of Tolerance in Hindlimb Transplantation in Rats, Dr. Michael Neumeister, professor and division chief of plastic surgery, SIU School of Medicine (Springfield).  McEnerney is the daughter of James and Linda McEnerney of Mahomet.

Richard “Andy” Meyerholz, Development of a Prototype System to Control Acoustic Stimulus Presentation and Assembly of a Tinnitus-like Acoustic Stimuli Bank, Jeremy Turner, Ph.D., assistant professor of surgery, SIU School of Medicine (Springfield).  Meyerholz is the son of Rick and Myra Meyerholz of Rochester, Ill.

Lisa Shah, The Effects of Cimetidine and P450 Inhibition on Endothelin Actions in Closure and Dilation of the Ductus Arteriosus, Dr. Jeff Reese, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.).  Shah is the daughter of Dr. Prashant and Dolores Shah of Centralia, Ill.

Katherine Thompson, Longitudinal Assessment of Treatment Efficacy for Travelers' Diarrhea, Dr. Janak Koirala, associate professor of infectious disease, SIU School of Medicine (Springfield).  Thompson is the daughter of J. Graham and Virginia Thompson of  Ashland, Ill.

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