Annual Research Day Highlights Exciting Student-Led Research at Midwestern University

No matter what program students are enrolled in at Midwestern University, there are many opportunities to participate in meaningful and challenging research. Every year, both campuses celebrate the accomplishment of students and their projects by hosting the Dr. Kenneth A. Suarez (KAS) Research Day. The Office of Research & Sponsored Programs (ORSP) and the University Research Committee (URC) hosted the event on the Glendale Campus Friday, April 14, 2023, and again on the Downers Grove Campus on Friday, May 5, 2023.

In total, 360 posters were presented across both campuses, which included more than 375 faculty and 720 student authors. The majority of the posters involved interdisciplinary collaborations between various colleges and programs, as well as with local industries and other universities. A number of the posters have been or are slated for presentation or publication through various conferences and journal outlets as well. Through this annual day of research, students strengthen their communication skills, collaborate with other departments, and establish connections with other networks of faculty researchers from MWU and outside universities.

Glendale Campus Award-Winning Posters, Student Researchers, Faculty Mentors:

Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine (AZCOM)

• Expression of Vitamin D Receptor (VDR), Lymphocyte-Specific Protein Tyrosine Kinase (LCK), and Other Inflammatory Markers in Multiple Sclerosis-Affected Brain Tissue
  Haque, Lamiah Anne, M.S., Rozeboom, Aaron M., Ph.D., Khan, Galam A., M.D.
• Impact of a Medical Scribe Program on the Educational Trajectory of Pre-health and Underrepresented in Medicine Students
  Less, Jacob, B.S., Nguyen, Cathina, M.P.H., RN, M.S.N., FNP-C, Teng, Valerie, M.D., Lin, Steven, M.D.
• Too Late for Rehab?: OMT Improves Shoulder ROM Over a Decade After Surgery
  Miller, Kobe A., B.S., Richie, Carlton, D.O.
• Clinically Relevant Anatomic Variations in the Brachial Plexus
  Patel, Niki T.,S., Smith, Heather F., Ph.D
• Assessing the Effect of Hippocampal Glucose Utilization in Chronically Stressed Male Mice via the Seahorse XFe96 Analyzer
  Ruben, Elias G., S., Ruben, Melissa C., M.A., Suorsa, Parker, B.S., David, Jazmine, M.B.S., Sayasouk, Beverly, M.A., M.S., Nielsen, Calvin, B.S., Chu, Ping, B.S., Huynh, Thu, Ph.D.
• Author and Journal Self-Citation Rates in High-Ranking Radiology Journals From 2022
  Russell, Ian W., OMS-II, Christensen, Michael J., OMS-II, Shipman, Troy J., OMS-II, Ashurst, John, D.O.
• Case Report: Investigating Severe Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis in an Adolescent Male
  Vuong, Stephanie, B.S., Holley, Heather, D.O.

Arizona College of Optometry (AZCOPT)

• Effect of Blur Training on Free Throw Percentage
  Forbes, Riley S., B.S., Smith, Seth W.,S., Bradt, James G., B.S., Sherlock, Hunter C., B.S., Roe, Matthew, O.D., FAAO, FCOVD

Arizona College of Podiatric Medicine (AZCPM)

• Ice Hockey-Related Foot and Ankle Injuries for the Podiatrist: A Literature Review
  Gruden, Caleb, B.A., Sidhu, Kabir,S., Heigh-Rosen, Evelyn, D.P.M

College of Dental Medicine-Arizona (CDMA)

• Anti-bacterial Activity of an Erythritol-containing Treatment on Streptococcus mutans
  Tarr, Emily A.,S., Davis, Megan, B.S., Agostini-Walesch, Gina, Ph.D., Pierre-Bez, Alexandra., D.M.D.

College of Graduate Studies (CGS)

• Dendritic Cell-Natural Killer Cell Crosstalk Differentially Modulates T Cell Subset Activation in Response to Influenza A Viral Infection
  Morson, Connor A.,A., Uppalapati, Chandana K., B.S., Lopez, Brina S., D.V.M., Ph.D., Kronstad, Lisa M., Ph.D

College of Health Sciences (CHS)

• The Benefits (or lack thereof) of Gary Chapman’s 5 Love Languages in Clinical Practice, According to Couple Therapists
  Albano, Caitlyn A., M.A., Jansen, Kate, Ph.D.

College of Pharmacy, Glendale (CPG)

• Design and Synthesis of an Aspartate-β-hydroxylase (ASPH) Inhibitor Theranostic
  Ho, Anh Nguyet,S., Olsen, Mark, Ph.D., Iacoban, Paulina, M.S.

College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM)

• Assessment of the Accuracy of Visual Weight Estimates of Cats
  Steele, Ashley, B.A., Nguyen, Sandy, B.S.N., R.N., Hefferen, Sarah, D.V.M., Kreisler, Rachael, V.M.D., M.S.C.E., DACVP

Graduate Medical Education (GME)

• 1st Place: Cancer Incidence Rate Comparison of Kingman, Arizona to State and National SEER Metrics Echeverria
  Stephanie L., OMS-III, Hasenbalg, Phillip A., D.O.
• 2nd Place: Efficacy of Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Preventing Dehydration in Athletes by Assessing Fluid Status
  Sumpter, Katie,D., Choi, Heesun, D.O.
• 3rd Place: Methylphenidate, Hand Flapping, and Serendipity: New Use of an Old Drug for Treatment of Stereotypy in Autism
  Larson, Spencer, D.O., Shnaydman, Katerina, D.O., Farris, Dana, M.D.
• 4th Place: Mirizzi Syndrome, A Case Report and Review
  Pulsipher, Jonathan E., O., Brown, Andrew, D.O., Badai, Sandy, M.S., Vink, Ian, M.S.

Downers Grove Campus Award-Winning Posters, Student Researchers, Faculty Mentors:

Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (CCOM)

• The Role of miR-126a-5p on Cadmium-Induced Toxicity in NRK-52E Rat Proximal Tubule Epithelial Cells
  Michael Dean, Benjamin Price, Rachel Arceneaux M.B.S., Joshua Edwards Ph.D., Walter Prozialeck Ph.D., Michael Fay Ph.D.
• Inhibition of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4 Enhances Stemness of Older and Geriatric Intestinal Stem Cells by Increasing Mitochondrial Oxygen Consumption Rate and mitoATP Production
  Syed Ahmed, Garrett Weber, Nerise Eddy, Robert Murphy, Sinju Sundaresan Ph.D.
• Role of STAT3 in the LMP2A-Mediated Increase in ATP Generation in B Cell Lymphomas Grace Devitt, Kamaljit Braich, Ryan Incrocci M.S., Michelle Swanson-Mungerson Ph.D.
• Validation of Differentially Expressed Proteins and Markers of Bone and Cartilage Development in Prdm16 Mutants
  Carolyn Byrne M.A., Alyssa Yee, Jennifer Jones, Bryan Bjork Ph.D.
• Is Alternate-Access TAVR Safe for the Sicker? A First Time Inquiry into the NSQIP Database
  Sarin Paluri, Phillip McKegg, Faran Bokhari M.D., William M. Brigode M.D.
• Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment Reduces Pain and Improves Range of Motion in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain
  Emily Daly, Janey Prodoehl PT, Ph.D., Charlotte Bolch Ph.D., Kurt Heinking D.O., Kyle Henderson Ph.D.
• Efficacy of Combined Subanesthetic Ketamine Infusion and Cervical Sympathetic Blockade as a Symptomatic Treatment of PTSD/TBI in a Special Forces Patient with a 1-year Follow-Up: A Case Report
  Zubin Sethi, Dr. Eugene Lipov M.D., Dr. Guriqbal Nandra M.D., Dr. Christopher Frueh Ph.D.
• Rare Angiosarcoma of Gynecologic Origin: A Case Report
  Jennifer Kim, Ju Yong Koh, Assad Semann M.D.

College of Health Sciences (CHS)

• Using Informatics to Describe Physical Therapy for Congenital Muscular Torticollis: A Retrospective Study
  Alexa Harper, Sydney Mitchell, Rebecca Salerno, Elisa Kajiwara, Deborah Anderson PT Ed.D. PCS
• How Acute Care and Inpatient Occupational Therapy Practitioners Describe Their Experiences of Secondary Traumatic Stress
  Ashley Lane, Julianna Suto, Rocio Torres, Emily Simpson Ph.D., M.S., OTR/L
• Occupational Participation, Occupational Identity, and the Role of Social Media for Autistic Adults
  Samantha Asher, Marta Bialyjan, Samantha Tupas, Lisa Mahaffey Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA

College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove (CPDG)

• Targeting Non-Immune Mediated Intolerances: Low-Hanging Fruit for Direct De-Labeling of Beta-Lactam Antibiotic Allergy Labels (BAAL)
  Hoang Tran, Nour Khankan, Michael Dickens Pharm.D., Weslander, Erin PharmD, BCIDP, Radhika, Polisetty Pharm.D., FIDSA, BCIDP, Sheila Wang Pharm.D., BCPS, AQ-ID
• Making the Case for Precision Dosing: Visualizing the Variability of Cefepime Exposures in Critically Ill Adults
  Jack Chang Pharm.D., Jiajun Liu PharmD, MSc, Mohammad Alshaer PharmD, PhD, Veena, Venugopalan PharmD, Nicole Maranchick PharmD, Charles Peloquin PharmD, Nathaniel Rhodes Pharm.D., M.S., BCPS, Marc Scheetz Pharm.D., M.SC

Chicago College of Optometry (CCO)

• The Effect of Neutral Density Filter-Induced Retinal Image Blur on Pattern-Reversal Visual Evoked Responses
  Brittany Mohning, Brian Le, Seth Miskin, Adrienne Quan O.D., Arijit Chakraborty Ph.D., MPhil
• Caffeine and Visual Cortex Processing: a Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Study
  Nicholas Vo, Amy Nguyen, Eric Knight, Aaron Holmes, Arijit Chakraborty Ph.D., MPhil

College of Dental Medicine-Illinois (CDMI)

• Effects of Photobiomodulation Therapy and Oxidative Stress on Mitochondrial Membrane Potential of Oral Squamous Carcinoma Cells
  Dana Varriello, Brandon Santelli, Jennifer Jones, Thomas Bodenstine Ph.D., John Mitchell Ph.D., Maria Cuevas-Nunez D.M.D., D.M.Sc.
• Calcareous Seaweed and Bioactive Glass Prevent Enamel Demineralization
  Paige Madden, Melisa Alabsy D.D.S. M.H.A., Feng Gao D.M.D. M.S.D., John Mitchell Ph.D., Marcela Rocha de Oliveira Carrilho D.D.S., Ph.D.
• Effects of Tea Tree and Oregano Essential Oils on Cellular Viability and Mitochondrial Health in Dysplastic and Oral Squamous Carcinoma Cells
  Jacqueline Wallowitch, Austin Kim M.A., Jennifer Jones, John Mitchell Ph.D., Thomas Bodenstine          Ph.D., Maria Cuevas-Nunez D.M.D., D.M.Sc.
• Embryonic Morphogen Nodal in a 4NQO-Animal Model of Oral Carcinogenesis
  Senan Susan, Moriah Mallari, John Mitchell Ph.D., Gina Agostini-Walesch Ph.D., Matthew Pytynia, Mae Ciancio Ph.D., Luigi Strizzi M.D. Ph.D., Maria Cuevas-Nunez D.M.D., D.M.Sc.

College of Graduate Studies (CGS)

• Histamine 2 Receptor Influence on Chemokine Production in Macrophages is STAT6-Independent
  Peter Alfano, Ryan Incrocci M.S., Rosalinda Monroy Del Toro M.S., Julie Swartzendruber Ph.D.
• Effects of Photobiomodulation on In Vitro and In Vivo Oral Cancer Models
  Amy Elfar, Matthew Pytynia, Amy Luo, Benjamin Price, Preetha Kanjirath B.D.S., M.D.S., M.S., Maria Cuevas-Nunez D.M.D., D.M.Sc., Mae Ciancio Ph.D., Joshua Gasiorowski Ph.D
• Effects of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in Genioglossus Muscle of Leptin-Deficient Mice
  Muneebah Vaid, Kevin Link, Garrett Borger, Srujith Medharametla, Karyn DiNovo, Isabel Martinez-Pena y Valenzuela Ph.D.

Graduate Medical Education (GME)

• 1st Place: Eye-Popping Spider Bite: Viscerocutaneous Loxosceles Envenomation with Orbital Compartment Syndrome
  Nima Shayesteh M.D., Jonathan Meadows D.O., M.S., M.P.H., DTM, Eric Crandall M.D., Sarah Watkins D.O.
• 2nd Place: Statin Therapy: Let’s Muscle up Something to Talk About
  Ramier Lehne D.O., Batul Kagadawala M.D., Kim Dang D.O., Azkaa Zaman D.O., Areeba Marrium M.D., Tauseef Sarguroh M.D., Magdalena Kotseva M.D.
• 3rd Place: Uncovering the Uncommon: A Unique Case Study of Macrophage Activation Syndrome
  Kim Dang D.O., Charles Geringer M.D.
• 4th Place: The Silent Bowel: Uncovering the Mystery of Hypokalemia as Ogilvie Syndrome
  Saria Adnan Sultan D.O., Sana Saleem M.D., Petro Shafranyuk M.D., Ruba Mateen D.O., Farooq Khan M.D.